Project description
Shedding light on aerosol formation and impact
Climate change presents a significant threat to people worldwide, underscoring the need for innovative air quality and weather forecasting models that have reduced uncertainties during climate change projections. Developing these models will require a better understanding of aerosol growth and formation. The EU-funded BAE project will address this need by investigating amines. These are expected to form aerosol particles at much higher rates than pollutants such as ammonia; however, they are not currently accounted for in atmospheric projections. The project will also study base molecules and their impact on aerosol formation and other particles, providing critical insights into the atmosphere and related effects.
Objective
Aerosol formation and growth mechanisms need to be better understood to improve air quality and weather prediction models, and reduce uncertainty of radiative forcing in climate change projections. Globally, half of the aerosol population is formed via gas-to-particle conversion and the fraction exceeds 90% in high latitudes. In many locations, the initial molecular cluster forms from sulphuric acid and ammonia or dimethylamine. Growth to an aerosol particle is often explained by the condensation of sulphuric acid, methanesulfonic acid and highly oxygenated organic compounds. While the roles of strong acids and organic compounds and their oxidation channels are quantified in laboratory and field studies, cation detection and neutral atmospheric base measurements are notably under-represented. An important innovation of this project will be the direct measurement of cations and neutral base molecules and clusters based on mass spectrometry.
Ammonia, a base predominantly emitted by agriculture, is a key air pollutant in the formation of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). In western Europe, up to half of PM2.5 is attributed to ammonia pollution because of its ability to form aerosols in reactions with common atmospheric acids. Current atmospheric models do not include amines, which can form aerosol particles at a 1000-times faster rate than ammonia. To uncover the composition and level of toxicity of PM2.5 as well as the scattering and absorption of sunlight by aerosol particles, it is critical to understand the atmospheric chemistry and molecular pathways that control their formation and growth. The project will focus on the role of base molecules in the formation of new particles and their fate in the atmosphere and is led by an established PI with a demonstrated history in ground breaking nanoaerosol and precursor studies. It will underpin the modelling of atmospheric aerosol processes, which are subject to major precursor emission changes in Europe and beyond.
Fields of science
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesmeteorology
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringair pollution engineering
- natural scienceschemical sciencesorganic chemistryamines
- natural sciencesearth and related environmental sciencesatmospheric sciencesclimatologyclimatic changes
- natural scienceschemical sciencesanalytical chemistrymass spectrometry
Programme(s)
- HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC) Main Programme
Topic(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC GrantsHost institution
2121 Nicosia
Cyprus