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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Rapid growth of anthropogenic organic nanoparticles greatly alters cloud life cycle in the Amazon rainforest

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Author(s):
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Zaveri, Rahul A. [1] ; Wang, Jian [2] ; Fan, Jiwen [1] ; Zhang, Yuwei [1] ; Shilling, John E. [1] ; Zelenyuk, Alla [1] ; Mei, Fan [1] ; Newsom, Rob [1] ; Pekour, Mikhail [1] ; Tomlinson, Jason [1] ; Comstock, Jennifer M. [1] ; Shrivastava, Manish [1] ; Fortner, Edward [3] ; Machado, Luiz A. T. [4] ; Artaxo, Paulo [5] ; Martin, Scot T. [6]
Total Authors: 16
Affiliation:
[1] Pacific Northwest Natl Lab, Richland, WA 99352 - USA
[2] Washington Univ, St Louis, MO 63130 - USA
[3] Aerodyne Res Inc, Billerica, MA 01821 - USA
[4] Natl Inst Space Res, BR-12227010 Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil
[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Phys, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil
[6] Harvard Univ, Cambridge, MA 02138 - USA
Total Affiliations: 6
Document type: Journal article
Source: SCIENCE ADVANCES; v. 8, n. 2 JAN 2022.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

Aerosol-cloud interactions remain uncertain in assessing climate change. While anthropogenic activities produce copious aerosol nanoparticles smaller than 10 nanometers, they are too small to act as efficient cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). The mechanisms responsible for particle growth to CCN-relevant sizes are poorly understood. Here, we present aircraft observations of rapid growth of anthropogenic nanoparticles downwind of an isolated metropolis in the Amazon rainforest. Model analysis reveals that the sustained particle growth to CCN sizes is predominantly caused by particle-phase diffusion-limited partitioning of semivolatile oxidation products of biogenic hydrocarbons. Cloud-resolving numerical simulations show that the enhanced CCN concentrations in the urban plume substantially alter the formation of shallow convective clouds, suppress precipitation, and enhance the transition to deep convective clouds. The proposed nanoparticle growth mechanism, expressly enabled by the abundantly formed semivolatile organics, suggests an appreciable impact of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud life cycle in previously unpolluted forests of the world. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 17/17047-0 - Aerosol and clouds life cycles in Amazonia: biogenic emissions, biomass burning and impacts on ecosystem
Grantee:Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants
FAPESP's process: 13/05014-0 - GoAmazon: interactions of the urban plume of Manaus with biogenic forest emissions in Amazonia
Grantee:Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants