Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics www.atmos-chem-phys.net 1680-7316 1680-7324 10 3 2010 10.5194/acp-10-1071-2010 http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/1071/2010/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/1071/2010/acp-10-1071-2010.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/1071/2010/acp-10-1071-2010.pdf 1071 1091 2010-02-02 Changes in the production rate of secondary aerosol particles in Central Europe in view of decreasing SO₂ emissions between 1996 and 2006 A. Hamed amar.hamed@uef.fi W. Birmili J. Joutsensaari S. Mikkonen A. Asmi B. Wehner G. Spindler A. Jaatinen A. Wiedensohler H. Korhonen K. E. J. Lehtinen A. Laaksonen Department of Physics and Mathematics, University of Eastern Finland (University of Kuopio), P.O. Box 1627, 70211 Kuopio, Finland Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Permoserstrasse 15, 04318 Leipzig, Germany Division of Atmospheric Sciences, Department of Physical Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 64, 00014 Helsinki, Finland Finnish Meteorological Institute, Kuopio Unit, P.O. Box 1627, 70210 Kuopio, Finland Finnish Meteorological Institute, P.O. Box 503, 00101 Helsinki, Finland In anthropogenically influenced atmospheres, sulphur dioxide (SO₂) is the main precursor of gaseous sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄), which in turn is a main precursor for atmospheric particle nucleation. As a result of socio-economic changes, East Germany has seen a dramatic decrease in anthropogenic SO₂ emissions between 1989 and present, as documented by routine air quality measurements in many locations. We have attempted to evaluate the influence of changing SO₂ concentrations on the frequency and intensity of new particle formation (NPF) using two different data sets (1996–1997; 2003–2006) of experimental particle number size distributions (diameter range 3–750 nm) from the atmospheric research station Melpitz near Leipzig, Germany. Between the two periods SO₂ concentrations decreased by 65% on average, while the frequency of NPF events dropped by 45%. Meanwhile, the average formation rate of 3 nm particles decreased by 68% on average. The trends were statistically significant and therefore suggest a connection between the availability of anthropogenic SO₂ and freshly formed new particles. In contrast to the decrease in new particle formation, we found an increase in the mean growth rate of freshly nucleated particles (+22%), suggesting that particle nucleation and subsequent growth into larger sizes are delineated with respect to their precursor species. Using three basic parameters, the condensation sink for H₂SO₄, the SO₂ concentration, and the global radiation intensity, we were able to define the characteristic range of atmospheric conditions under which particle formation events take place at the Melpitz site. 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