Traffic is a major source of atmospheric nanocluster aerosol

作者：Topi Rönkkö, Heino Kuuluvainen, Panu Karjalainen, Jorma Keskinen, Risto Hillamo, Jarkko V. Niemi, Liisa Pirjola, Hilkka Timonen, Sanna Saarikoski, Erkka Saukko, Anssi Järvinen, Henna Silvennoinen, Antti Rostedt, Miska Olin, Jaakko Yli-Ojanperä, Pekka Nousiainen, Anu Kousa, Miikka Dal Maso · 发表于：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 年份：2017 · DOI：10.1073/pnas.1700830114 · 被引用次数：331 · 研究领域：Air Quality and Health Impacts、Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols、Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting

Significance We report the significant presence of traffic-originated nanocluster aerosol (NCA) particles in a particle diameter range of 1.3–3.0 nm of urban air, determine the emission factors for the NCA, and evaluate its global importance. Our findings are important because they significantly update the current understanding of atmospheric aerosol in urban areas. They demonstrate that in urban air, extremely small particles form a significant fraction of the total particle number and are a direct result of anthropogenic emissions, that is, the emissions from road traffic. Thus, our findings also imply that in urban areas, an atmospheric nucleation process is not necessary for the formation of a large number of particles that affect population health and climate.