New Particle Formation and Sub-10 nm Size Distribution Measurements during the A-LIFE field experiment in Paphos, Cyprus | CU Experts

Abstract. Atmospheric particle size distributions were measured in Paphos, Cyprus, during the A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, lifetime and dynamics) field experiment from April 3–30, 2017. The newly developed DMA-train is deployed for the first time in an atmospheric environment for the direct measurement of the nucleation mode size range between 1.8–10 nm diameter. The DMA-train setup consists of seven size channels, of which five are set to fixed particle mobility diameters and two additional diameters are obtained by alternating voltage settings in one DMA every 10 s. In combination with a conventional Mobility Particle Size Spectrometer (MPSS) and an Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (APS) the complete atmospheric aerosol size distribution from 1.8 nm–10 µm is covered. The focus of the A-LIFE study is to characterize new particle formation (NPF) in the Eastern Mediterranean region at a measurement site with strong local pollution sources. The nearby Paphos airport was found to be a large emission source for nucleation mode particles and we analysed the size distribution of the airport emission plumes at approximately 500 m from the main runway. The analysis yielded 9 NPF events in 27 measurement days from the combined analysis of the DMA-train, MPSS and trace gas monitors. Growth rate calculations were performed and a size-dependency of the initial growth rate (;

Brilke S; Fölker N; Müller T; Kandler K; Gong X; Peischl J; Weinzierl B; Winkler PM

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