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  • Large contribution to secon...
    Lamkaddam, Houssni; Dommen, Josef; Ranjithkumar, Ananth; Gordon, Hamish; Wehrle, Günther; Krechmer, Jordan; Majluf, Francesca; Salionov, Daniil; Schmale, Julia; Bjelić, Saša; Carslaw, Kenneth S; El Haddad, Imad; Baltensperger, Urs

    Science advances, 03/2021, Letnik: 7, Številka: 13
    Journal Article

    Aerosols still present the largest uncertainty in estimating anthropogenic radiative forcing. Cloud processing is potentially important for secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation, a major aerosol component: however, laboratory experiments fail to mimic this process under atmospherically relevant conditions. We developed a wetted-wall flow reactor to simulate aqueous-phase processing of isoprene oxidation products (iOP) in cloud droplets. We find that 50 to 70% (in moles) of iOP partition into the aqueous cloud phase, where they rapidly react with OH radicals, producing SOA with a molar yield of 0.45 after cloud droplet evaporation. Integrating our experimental results into a global model, we show that clouds effectively boost the amount of SOA. We conclude that, on a global scale, cloud processing of iOP produces 6.9 Tg of SOA per year or approximately 20% of the total biogenic SOA burden and is the main source of SOA in the mid-troposphere (4 to 6 km).