Particulate matter, air quality and climate: lessons learned and future needs

作者：Sandro Fuzzi, Urs Baltensperger, K. S. Carslaw, Stefano Decesari, Hugo Denier van der Gon, Maria Cristina Facchini, David Fowler, Ilan Koren, Ben Langford, Ulrike Lohmann, Eiko Nemitz, Spyros Ν. Pandis, Ilona Riipinen, Yinon Rudich, Martijn Schaap, Jay Gates Slowik, Dominick V. Spracklen, E. Vignati, Martin Wild, Martin L Williams, Stefania Gilardoni · 发表于：Atmospheric chemistry and physics · 年份：2015 · DOI：10.5194/acp-15-8217-2015 · 被引用次数：973 · 研究领域：Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols、Air Quality and Health Impacts、Atmospheric aerosols and clouds

Abstract. The literature on atmospheric particulate matter (PM), or atmospheric aerosol, has increased enormously over the last 2 decades and amounts now to some 1500–2000 papers per year in the refereed literature. This is in part due to the enormous advances in measurement technologies, which have allowed for an increasingly accurate understanding of the chemical composition and of the physical properties of atmospheric particles and of their processes in the atmosphere. The growing scientific interest in atmospheric aerosol particles is due to their high importance for environmental policy. In fact, particulate matter constitutes one of the most challenging problems both for air quality and for climate change policies. In this context, this paper reviews the most recent results within the atmospheric aerosol sciences and the policy needs, which have driven much of the increase in monitoring and mechanistic research over the last 2 decades. The synthesis reveals many new processes and developments in the science underpinning climate–aerosol interactions and effects of PM on human health and the environment. However, while airborne particulate matter is responsible for globally important influences on premature human mortality, we still do not know the relative importance of the different chemical components of PM for these effects. Likewise, the magnitude of the overall effects of PM on climate remains highly uncertain. Despite the uncertainty there are many things that cou...