Competition not concentration matters when forming cloud-influencing aerosols
Tuesday, April 14, 2015 - 06:30
in Physics & Chemistry
Tiny aerosols greatly influence cloud formation and sunlight's scattering or absorption. Yet, the factors that influence the formation of these aerosols, known as secondary organic aerosol or SOA, are often assumed. Researchers determined that previous assumptions about nitrogen oxide levels were overly simplistic; the amount of SOA produced from isoprene released by trees as well as the SOA volatility are more accurately tied to interactions with electron-rich, carbon-based chemicals, known as organic peroxy radicals, that compete with nitrogen oxides in reactions.