Ambient aerosols are recognized as the major air pollutant with a pronounced impact on the ecosystem, climate forcing and human health. However, aerosol formation and aging mechanisms are not yet well understood. Physical, chemical, and optical characterization and time-resolved investigations of the complex multiphase system providing new aspects and knowledge about the lifecycle of atmospheric aerosols is of our utmost interest, with an emphasis on their roles in cloud formation, Earth’s radiative forcing and climate change.

Atmospheric Aerosol Studies working group is a highly interdisciplinary scientific forum that strives for the scientific exchange and the highest-level scientific discussions within the wide aerosol science community. We warmly welcome contributions from the field as well as laboratory, chamber and modelling studies that consider any aspect of atmospheric aerosols including their formation and aging.

The Topic of Aerosol Measurement Techniques covers all aspects related to the measurement of aerosol and their properties and the evaluation of the resulting data. These techniques cover a very wide range of applications, including atmospheric, workplace, and process aerosols. The main topics are:

Sampling and measurement of aerosols. This includes both ambient and workplace environments and issues relating to sampling strategies, selection of sites, sampling artifacts, development and improvement of sampling techniques as well as physical and chemical analysis.

Development of new measurement approaches. This includes, but is not limited to, new approaches and applications of optical techniques, aerosol sizing and other physical parameters, chemical composition and the miniaturization of aerosol sensors.

Data analysis techniques. Issues relating to the interpretation of aerosol measurements such as source apportionment, relationship to other measurements such as gaseous and meteorological parameters.

Legislation and policy. Application of aerosol measurements to the regulatory framework such as the measurement of limit values, methodologies connected to demonstration of natural contribution to PM burden – e.g. sea salt, dust episodes, natural organic emissions.

Atmospheric science. The innovative use of existing instrumentation or the application of new instrumentation to study new or established issues in aerosol science.

Many aerosols lead to adverse health effects while others have therapeutic uses; thus aerosols and health are closely linked. Understanding the relationships between exposure and effects is key to understanding and mitigating health impacts. In this theme we invite contributions related but not limited to:

• Exposure sources, levels and assessment techniques
• Respiratory tract processes
• Microenvironments in indoors and at workplaces
• Health-relevant aerosol characteristics
• Health responses from toxicology to epidemiology

See detailed abstract topics for more keywords. The Working Group warmly promotes and facilitates interdisciplinary communications to exchange information in diverse fields such as physics, chemistry, medicine, biology, pharmacy, toxicology, epidemiology, exposure science, engineering, and others.

The topic 5 work group comprise three main subjects, that all target basic aerosol processes (aerosol chemistry, modelling and fundamentals).

Aerosol chemistry: Chamber and flowtube studies looking into oxidation processes of both anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds. Also includes gas-phase kinetic studies of new aerosol precursors.

Aerosol modelling: All aspects of aerosol modelling, including both regional and global models, quantum chemical calculations and molecular dynamic simulations.

Fundamentals: Studies of aerosol dynamics, aerosol filtration, interaction between aerosols and surfaces, nucleation and growth, coagulation, agglomeration, and fragmentation. Also includes fundamental physical/chemical properties of aerosols as well as aerosol optical properties.