What are atmospheric aerosols?
Atmospheric aerosol classification. • Particle size distribution of atmospheric aerosols. Readings: Turco: p. 46-48 ; Brimblecombe: 55-73; • What are atmospheric aerosols? Atmospheric aerosols ( or particulate matter) are solid or liquid particles or both suspended in air with diameters between about 0.002 mm to about 100 mm. • Aerosol particles vary greatly in size, source, chemical composition, amount and distribution in space and time, and how long they survive in the atmosphere. Primary atmospheric aerosols are particulates that emitted directly into the atmosphere (for instance, sea-salt, mineral aerosols (or dust), volcanic dust, smoke and soot, some organics). Secondary atmospheric aerosols are particulates that formed in the atmosphere by gas-to-particles conversion processes (for instance, sulfates, nitrates, some organics). • A significant fraction of the atmospheric aerosols is anthropogenic in origin. Therefore, atmospheric natural and anthropogenic aerosols are defined. Ma
