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Centre for Atmospheric Science

The Manchester Aerosol Chamber - Research Activities and Highlights

Various types of aerosol experiments are possible, ranging from studies of unreactive seed aerosols in an inert atmosphere with changing T and RH conditions, through self-nucleation of condensable precursors in the absence of seed particles, to condensation of precursors to controlled composition seed particles in a controlled oxidizing environment. Single precursor VOCs or real emissions from natural and anthropogenic sources can be tested under a wide set of experimental conditions, for both photo-oxidation and reaction with O3, with particular focus on near-atmospheric (e.g. 10 ppb) chamber conditions. Experiments using low concentrations of reagents under different oxidant regimes and humidity can be carried out and the effect of nucleation vs partitioning by condensation to pre-existing aerosol is usually studied through the use of seed aerosols. Experiments may use wet or dry seed populations of inorganic or organic seed populations with the capacity to mimic multicomponent aerosol with both fresh organic emissions and background secondary aerosol in terms of broad chemical functionality.