title: Direct observation of aqueous secondary organic aerosol from biomass-burning emissions.
abstract: The mechanisms leading to the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) are an important subject of ongoing research for both air quality and climate. Recent laboratory experiments suggest that reactions taking place in the atmospheric liquid phase represent a potentially significant source of SOA mass. Here, we report direct ambient observations of SOA mass formation from processing of biomass-burning emissions in the aqueous phase. Aqueous SOA (aqSOA) formation is observed both in fog water and in wet aerosol. The aqSOA from biomass burning contributes to the "brown" carbon (BrC) budget and exhibits light absorption wavelength dependence close to the upper bound of the values observed in laboratory experiments for fresh and processed biomass-burning emissions. We estimate that the aqSOA from residential wood combustion can account for up to 0.1-0.5 Tg of organic aerosol (OA) per y in Europe, equivalent to 4-20% of the total OA emissions. Our findings highlight the importance of aqSOA from anthropogenic emissions on air quality and climate.
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy; s.gilardoni@isac.cnr.it.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-7312-5571
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilardoni
authors.affiliation: Aerodyne Research Inc., Billerica, MA 01821;
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Massoli
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paglione
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Giulianelli
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Matteo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rinaldi
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Decesari
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sandrini
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 00133 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Costabile
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 00133 Rome, Italy;
authors.forename: Gian Paolo
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Gobbi
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
authors.forename: Maria Chiara
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Pietrogrande
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Ferrara, 44121 Ferrara, Italy;
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Visentin
authors.affiliation: Agenzia Regionale per la Prevenzione, l'Ambiente e L'Energia, 40139 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabiana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Scotto
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Sandro
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fuzzi
authors.affiliation: Italian National Research Council-Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, 40129 Bologna, Italy;
authors.forename: Maria Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Facchini
mesh_terms: D000336:Aerosols / Q000737:chemistry*; D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry*; D000397:Air Pollution; D018533:Biomass; D002244:Carbon / Q000633:toxicity*; D002980:Climate; D005060:Europe; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000633:toxicity; D014867:Water / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D000336:Aerosols; D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D014867:Water; D002244:Carbon
keywords: air quality; aqueous processing; biomass burning; particulate matter; secondary organic aerosol