The formation, properties and impact of secondary organic aerosol: Current and emerging issues
Journal article, 2009

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) accounts for a significant fraction of ambient tropospheric aerosol and a detailed knowledge of the formation, properties and transformation of SOA is therefore required to evaluate its impact on atmospheric processes, climate and human health. The chemical and physical processes associated with SOA formation are complex and varied, and, despite considerable progress in recent years, a quantitative and predictive understanding of SOA formation does not exist and therefore represents a major research challenge in atmospheric science. This review begins with an update on the current state of knowledge on the global SOA budget and is followed by an overview of the atmospheric degradation mechanisms for SOA precursors, gas-particle partitioning theory and the analytical techniques used to determine the chemical composition of SOA. A survey of recent laboratory, field and modeling studies is also presented. The following topical and emerging issues are highlighted and discussed in detail: molecular characterization of biogenic SOA constituents, condensed phase reactions and oligomerization, the interaction of atmospheric organic components with sulfuric acid, the chemical and photochemical processing of organics in the atmospheric aqueous phase, aerosol formation from real plant emissions, interaction of atmospheric organic components with water, thermodynamics and mixtures in atmospheric models. Finally, the major challenges ahead in laboratory, field and modeling studies of SOA are discussed and recommendations for future research directions are proposed.

Author

Mattias Hallquist

University of Gothenburg

J. C. Wenger

University College Cork

U. Baltensperger

Paul Scherrer Institut

Y. Rudich

Weizmann Institute of Science

David Simpson

Chalmers, Department of Radio and Space Science, Global Environmental Measurements and Modelling

M. Claeys

University of Antwerp

J. Dommen

Paul Scherrer Institut

N. M. Donahue

Carnegie Mellon University (CMU)

C. George

Université de Lyon

Institut de Recherches sur la Catalyse et l'Environnement de Lyon

A. H. Goldstein

University of California

J. F. Hamilton

University of York

H. Herrmann

Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research

T. Hoffmann

Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Y. Iinuma

Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research

M. Jang

University of Florida

M. E. Jenkin

Atmospheric Chemistry Services

J. L. Jimenez

University of Colorado at Boulder

A. Kiendler-Scharr

Forschungszentrum Jülich

W. Maenhaut

Ghent Institute for Nuclear Sciences

G. McFiggans

University of Manchester

Th. F. Mentel

Forschungszentrum Jülich

A. Monod

Aix Marseille University

A. S. H. Prevot

Paul Scherrer Institut

J. H. Seinfeld

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

J. D. Surratt

California Institute of Technology (Caltech)

R. Szmigielski

University of Antwerp

J. Wildt

Forschungszentrum Jülich

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics

1680-7316 (ISSN) 1680-7324 (eISSN)

Vol. 9 14 5155-5236

Subject Categories

Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences

Chemical Sciences

DOI

10.5194/acp-9-5155-2009

More information

Latest update

5/9/2019 5