About this Research Topic
Aerosols, known also as particulate matter, are defined as a set of liquid or solid particles suspended in a gaseous or liquid medium. In the atmosphere, these particles are mainly located in the troposphere. Desert dust carried by the winds or soot created by biomass fires are examples of atmospheric aerosols. Considering their various emission sources as well as their different modes of formation, aging, and deposit processes, the study of these particles is very complex.
Aerosols are made up of a wide range of chemical species and their chemical composition is extremely variable depending on the proximity of the emission sources (marine, terrigenous, urban, or industrial). In general, an aerosol consists of an organic fraction including carbonaceous derivatives and elementary carbon, and an inorganic fraction. Characterizing the chemical and physical properties of aerosols helps to determine source emissions, elucidate the mechanism of long-range transport of anthropogenic pollutants, and validate both regional and global atmospheric models. Furthermore, information on the chemical composition of aerosols constitutes a useful resource to evaluate the impact and the risk of air pollution on human health and the environment. A large panel of characterization techniques is possible, and several of them must be carried out in parallel to obtain a chemical profile allowing the identification of the sources.
The size ranges of aerosols generally observed in the atmosphere range from a few nm to a few tens of μm. This great diversity in aerosol size implies that they do not have the same sources (and therefore not the same chemistry), nor the same dynamics of evolution. However, not all these sizes contribute equally to aerosol mass. It is, therefore, necessary to properly assess which sources can effectively be evaluated via global aerosol chemical analyses using adequate and specific characterization techniques.
This Research Topic aims to present the recent advances in aerosol characterization techniques, how they contribute to a better understanding of aerosol sources, and to identify the contribution of different sources to total aerosol masses. Contributions of innovative research, novel solutions, and technologies will help in addressing air pollution monitoring as well as the environmental risk associated with aerosol pollution.
This Research Topic will collect comprehensive review papers and research articles of any scientific work and fundamental study related to but not limited to the following themes:
• The characterization of atmospheric aerosols, including instrumentation, measurements, online and offline physicochemical characterization, and data analyses;
• Recent advances in methods, models, and techniques to identify and quantify the sources apportionment of aerosols in different environments. Aerosols and atmospheric pollutants of interest can include sulfates, nitrates, heavy metals, mineral dust, microplastics, organic carbon, black carbon, VOCs, and PAHs.
• Presentation of short or long-term aerosol characterization experiment results with a focus on different characterization techniques and source identification;
• Chemical transport models for establishing dispersion of atmospheric aerosols.
Aerosols are made up of a wide range of chemical species and their chemical composition is extremely variable depending on the proximity of the emission sources (marine, terrigenous, urban, or industrial). In general, an aerosol consists of an organic fraction including carbonaceous derivatives and elementary carbon, and an inorganic fraction. Characterizing the chemical and physical properties of aerosols helps to determine source emissions, elucidate the mechanism of long-range transport of anthropogenic pollutants, and validate both regional and global atmospheric models. Furthermore, information on the chemical composition of aerosols constitutes a useful resource to evaluate the impact and the risk of air pollution on human health and the environment. A large panel of characterization techniques is possible, and several of them must be carried out in parallel to obtain a chemical profile allowing the identification of the sources.
The size ranges of aerosols generally observed in the atmosphere range from a few nm to a few tens of μm. This great diversity in aerosol size implies that they do not have the same sources (and therefore not the same chemistry), nor the same dynamics of evolution. However, not all these sizes contribute equally to aerosol mass. It is, therefore, necessary to properly assess which sources can effectively be evaluated via global aerosol chemical analyses using adequate and specific characterization techniques.
This Research Topic aims to present the recent advances in aerosol characterization techniques, how they contribute to a better understanding of aerosol sources, and to identify the contribution of different sources to total aerosol masses. Contributions of innovative research, novel solutions, and technologies will help in addressing air pollution monitoring as well as the environmental risk associated with aerosol pollution.
This Research Topic will collect comprehensive review papers and research articles of any scientific work and fundamental study related to but not limited to the following themes:
• The characterization of atmospheric aerosols, including instrumentation, measurements, online and offline physicochemical characterization, and data analyses;
• Recent advances in methods, models, and techniques to identify and quantify the sources apportionment of aerosols in different environments. Aerosols and atmospheric pollutants of interest can include sulfates, nitrates, heavy metals, mineral dust, microplastics, organic carbon, black carbon, VOCs, and PAHs.
• Presentation of short or long-term aerosol characterization experiment results with a focus on different characterization techniques and source identification;
• Chemical transport models for establishing dispersion of atmospheric aerosols.
Keywords: atmospheric aerosols, characterization techniques, organic fractions, inorganic fractions, emission sources, receptor models, atmospheric pollutant, source identification, transport model, source apportionment, aerosol, physicochemical, dispersion
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
