Molecular-level closure of new-particle growth rates over the Finnish boreal forest

 

Authors

Joel Thornton — University of Washington
Claudia Mohr — University of Washington
Felipe Lopez-Hilfiker — University of Washington
Ben Hwan Lee — University of Washington
Siegfried Schobesberger — University of Eastern Finland

Category

Secondary organic aerosol

Description

We evaluate the ability of measurements from the University of Washington high-resolution time-of-flight chemical ionization mass spectrometer during the U.S. DOE ARM campaign, BAECC, to constrain the volatility distribution of ambient organic vapors. We use this observed distribution together with the MABNAG model to calculate the growth rate of particles from 3 nm to 30 nm during individual new-particle formation events that occurred during the BAECC campaign. We evaluate the extent of closure between the predicted and observed growth rates, describe the important characteristics of the >100 compounds measured simultaneously in each event, and conclude as to our molecular-level understanding of new-particle growth to cloud condensation nuclei sizes.