The important roles of surface tension and growth rate in the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration: evidence from field measurements in southern China

The contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration (N-CCN) varies largely under different environments and depends on several key factors such as formation rate (J), growth rate (GR), distribution of preexisting particles, and properties of new particles during NPF events. This study investigates the contribution of NPF to the N-CCN and its controlling factors based on measurements conducted at the Heshan supersite, in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China during fall 2019. The size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei activity and size-resolved particle hygroscopicity were measured by a cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNc) and a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (HT-DMA), respectively, along with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) and a diethylene glycol scanning mobility particle sizer (DEG-SMPS) for particle number size distribution (PNSD). A typical NPF event on 29 October was chosen to investigate the contribution of the NPF to N-CCN under several supersaturation (SS) ratios. Two particle properties (hygroscopicity and surface tension) affect CCN activation with the latter being more important in terms of the CCN concentration (N-CCN). A lower value of surface tension (i.e., 0.06 N m(-1)) than the pure-water assumption (0.073 N m(-1)) could increase the N-CCN at SS = 1.0% by about 20% during the nonevent period and by about 40% during the event. In addition, an earlier peak time corresponding to a lower critical diameter (D-50) was also observed. The results show that high formation rate, growth rate, and low background particle concentration lead to high number concentrations of newly formed particles. The high growth rate was found to have the most significant impact on the N-CCN, which can be attributed to the fact that a higher growth rate can grow particles to the CCN size in a shorter time before they are scavenged by preexisting particles. Two other NPF events (an event on 18 October in this campaign and an event on 12 December 2014 in Panyu) were chosen to perform sensitivity tests under different scenarios (growth rate, formation rate, and background particle concentration). The calculated N-CCN at SS = 1.0% on 12 December 2014 was significantly lower than that from the other two events. The event on 12 December was re-simulated using the growth rate taken from the event on 18 October which resulted in similar CCN concentrations between the two events (12 December and 18 October), implying that the growth rate is the major impact factor for CCN activation. Our results highlight the importance of growth rate and surface tension when evaluating the contribution of NPF to the N-CCN.

Automated summary

The study investigated the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and its controlling factors, with results showing that high formation rate, growth rate, and low background particle concentration lead to an increase in newly formed particle number concentration. The growth rate was found to have the most significant impact on CCN activation.