Aerosol Particles Below 3 Nanometres Can Reach Sizes Having Climatic Impacts: Study

Scientist have found frequent formation of sub-3nm aerosol particles in the atmosphere.

Scientists, tracing the concentration, size and evolution of aerosol particles smaller than 3 nanometres at an urban location in India, have found frequent formation of sub-3nm aerosol particles in the atmosphere. This has critical importance as a major fraction of these newly formed particles can reach to sizes of cloud condensation nuclei where they have climatic impacts, the Department of Science and Technology said. The formation of small molecular clusters of sub-3nm size is technically called aerosol nucleation and subsequent growth of these newly formed clusters to the large sizes is called atmospheric new particle formation (NPF). NPF occurs everywhere in the terrestrial troposphere, and therefore it is a large source of aerosol numbers to the atmosphere. Though extensively studied globally using field observations, laboratory experiments and modelling approach, it is largely unexplored in India.