Atmospheric particles (aerosols) are a major component of urban and regional air pollution, causing more than a million premature deaths annually, reducing visibility (haze), distorting the radiative energy budget of the lower atmosphere and surface, and modifying cloud nucleation, precipitation, and lifetimes. While some of these are emitted directly and their sources are relatively easy to identify (e.g., dust, soot, and some organics), many are produced in the atmosphere by condensation of gases formed as products of photochemical reactions among the numerous pollutant and natural compounds present in the atmosphere. This second category, which includes sulfates, nitrates, and most organics, can be much more difficult to attribute to specific sources. Urban plumes, with their reactive nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, can continue to generate particles for several days downwind. Recent studies suggest that they can interact with rural emissions (e.g., isoprene and terpenes from forests and agriculture) to increasethe regional particle burden substantially. Field measurements and modeling studies are begun to reveal the complex formation, properties, and removal processes for these aerosols.

Understanding the origin of aerosols at the urban-regional interface

246th National Meeting (2013)

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