Browsing by Author "Gagné, Stéphanie"

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    EUCAARI ion spectrometer measurements at 12 European sites – analysis of new particle formation events
    (Copernicus, 25.08.2010) Manninen, Hanna E.; Nieminen, Tuomo; Asmi, Eija; Gagné, Stéphanie; Häkkinen, Silja; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Aalto, Pasi Pekka; Vana, Marko; Mirme, Aadu; Mirme, Sander; Hõrrak, Urmas; Plass-Dülmer, Christian; Stange, Gert; Kiss, Gyula; Hoffer, András; Törő, N.; Moerman, Marcel; Henzing, Bas; de Leeuw, Gerrit; Brinkenberg, Marcel; Kouvarakis, Giorgos N.; Bougiatioti, Aikaterini; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; O'Dowd, Colin D.; Ceburnis, Darius; Arneth, Almut; Svenningsson, Brigitta; Swietlicki, Erik; Tarozzi, Leone; Decesari, Stefano; Facchini, Maria Cristina; Birmili, Wolfram; Sonntag, André; Wiedensohler, Alfred; Boulon, Julien; Sellegri, Karine; Laj, Paolo; Gysel, Martin; Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Weingartner, Ernest; Wehrle, Günther; Laaksonen, Ari; Hamed, Amar; Joutsensaari, Jorma; Petäjä, Tuukka; Kerminen, Veli-Matti; Kulmala, Markku [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]
    We present comprehensive results on continuous atmospheric cluster and particle measurements in the size range ~1–42 nm within the European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) project. We focused on characterizing the spatial and temporal variation of new particle formation events and relevant particle formation parameters across Europe. Different types of air ion and cluster mobility spectrometers were deployed at 12 field sites across Europe from March 2008 to May 2009. The measurements were conducted in a wide variety of environments, including coastal and continental locations as well as sites at different altitudes (both in the boundary layer and the free troposphere). New particle formation events were detected at all of the 12 field sites during the year-long measurement period. From the data, nucleation and growth rates of newly formed particles were determined for each environment. In a case of parallel ion and neutral cluster measurements, we could also estimate the relative contribution of ion-induced and neutral nucleation to the total particle formation. The formation rates of charged particles at 2 nm accounted for 1–30% of the corresponding total particle formation rates. As a significant new result, we found out that the total particle formation rate varied much more between the different sites than the formation rate of charged particles. This work presents, so far, the most comprehensive effort to experimentally characterize nucleation and growth of atmospheric molecular clusters and nanoparticles at ground-based observation sites on a continental scale.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
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    Results from the CERN pilot CLOUD experiment
    (Copernicus, 15.02.2010) Duplissy, Jonathan; Enghoff, Martin Bødker; Aplin, Karen L.; Arnold, Frank; Aufmhoff, Heinfried; Avngaard, Michael; Baltensperger, Urs; Bondo, Torsten; Bingham, Robert; Carslaw, Ken S.; Curtius, Joachim; David, A.; Fastrup, Bent; Gagné, Stéphanie; Hahn, F.; Harrison, Richerd Giles; Kellett, Barry; Kirkby, Jasper; Kulmala, Markku; Laakso, Lauri; Laaksonen, Ari; Lillestøl, Egil; Lockwood, Mike; Mäkelä, Jyrki Mikael; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Marsh, N. D.; Nieminen, Tuomo; Onnela, Antti; Pedersen, E.; Pedersen, Jens Olaf Pepke; Polny, Josef; Reichl, Udo; Seinfeld, John H.; Sipilä, Mikko; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Svensmark, Henrik; Svensmark, Jacob; Veenhof, Rob; Verheggen, B.; Viisanen, Yrjö; Wagner, Paul E.; Wehrle, Günther; Weingartner, Ernest; Wex, Heike; Wilhelmsson, Mats; Winkler, Paul M. [in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics]
    During a 4-week run in October–November 2006, a pilot experiment was performed at the CERN Proton Synchrotron in preparation for the Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets (CLOUD) experiment, whose aim is to study the possible influence of cosmic rays on clouds. The purpose of the pilot experiment was firstly to carry out exploratory measurements of the effect of ionising particle radiation on aerosol formation from trace H2SO4 vapour and secondly to provide technical input for the CLOUD design. A total of 44 nucleation bursts were produced and recorded, with formation rates of particles above the 3 nm detection threshold of between 0.1 and 100 cm−3s−1, and growth rates between 2 and 37 nm h−1. The corresponding H2O concentrations were typically around 106 cm−3 or less. The experimentally measured formation rates and H2SO4 concentrations are comparable to those found in the atmosphere, supporting the idea that sulphuric acid is involved in the nucleation of atmospheric aerosols. However, sulphuric acid alone is not able to explain the observed rapid growth rates, which suggests the presence of additional trace vapours in the aerosol chamber, whose identity is unknown. By analysing the charged fraction, a few of the aerosol bursts appear to have a contribution from ion-induced nucleation and ion-ion recombination to form neutral clusters. Some indications were also found for the accelerator beam timing and intensity to influence the aerosol particle formation rate at the highest experimental SO2 concentrations of 6 ppb, although none was found at lower concentrations. Overall, the exploratory measurements provide suggestive evidence for ion-induced nucleation or ion-ion recombination as sources of aerosol particles. However, in order to quantify the conditions under which ion processes become significant, improvements are needed in controlling the experimental variables and in the reproducibility of the experiments. Finally, concerning technical aspects, the most important lessons for the CLOUD design include the stringent requirement of internal cleanliness of the aerosol chamber, as well as maintenance of extremely stable temperatures (variations below 0.1 °C).
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
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    Role of sulphuric acid, ammonia and galactic cosmic rays in atmospheric aerosol nucleation
    (Springer, 24.08.2011) Kirkby, Jasper; Curtius, Joachim; Almeida, João; Dunne, Eimear; Duplissy, Jonathan; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Franchin, Alessandro; Gagné, Stéphanie; Ickes, Luisa; Kürten, Andreas; Kupc, Agnieszka; Metzger, Axel; Riccobono, Francesco; Rondo, Linda; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Tsagkogeorgas, Georgios; Wimmer, Daniela; Amorim, Antonio; Bianchi, Federico; Breitenlechner, Martin; David, André; Dommen, Josef; Downard, Andrew; Ehn, Mikael; Flagan, Richard C.; Haider, Stefan; Hansel, Armin; Hauser, Daniel; Jud, Werner; Junninen, Heikki; Kreissl, Fabian; Kvashin, Alexander; Laaksonen, Ari; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Lima, Jorge; Lovejoy, Edward R.; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Mikkilä, Jyri; Minginette, Pierre; Mogo, Sandra; Nieminen, Tuomo; Onnela, Antti; Pereira, Paulo; Petäjä, Tuukka; Schnitzhofer, Ralf; Seinfeld, John H.; Sipilä, Mikko; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Tomé, Antonio; Vanhanen, Joonas; Viisanen, Yrjo; Vrtala, Aron; Wagner, Paul E.; Walther, Hansueli; Weingartner, Ernest; Wex, Heike; Winkler, Paul M.; Carslaw, Kenneth S.; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Baltensperger, Urs; Kulmala, Markku [in: Nature]
    Atmospheric aerosols exert an important influence on climate through their effects on stratiform cloud albedo and lifetime and the invigoration of convective storms. Model calculations suggest that almost half of the global cloud condensation nuclei in the atmospheric boundary layer may originate from the nucleation of aerosols from trace condensable vapours, although the sensitivity of the number of cloud condensation nuclei to changes of nucleation rate may be small. Despite extensive research, fundamental questions remain about the nucleation rate of sulphuric acid particles and the mechanisms responsible, including the roles of galactic cosmic rays and other chemical species such as ammonia. Here we present the first results from the CLOUD experiment at CERN. We find that atmospherically relevant ammonia mixing ratios of 100 parts per trillion by volume, or less, increase the nucleation rate of sulphuric acid particles more than 100–1,000-fold. Time-resolved molecular measurements reveal that nucleation proceeds by a base-stabilization mechanism involving the stepwise accretion of ammonia molecules. Ions increase the nucleation rate by an additional factor of between two and more than ten at ground-level galactic-cosmic-ray intensities, provided that the nucleation rate lies below the limiting ion-pair production rate. We find that ion-induced binary nucleation of H2SO4–H2O can occur in the mid-troposphere but is negligible in the boundary layer. However, even with the large enhancements in rate due to ammonia and ions, atmospheric concentrations of ammonia and sulphuric acid are insufficient to account for observed boundary-layer nucleation.
    01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift