The Aerosol Enigma: New Findings Could Change Air Quality Forever

An international group of researchers has successfully documented the first clear evidence of long-hypothesized catalysts involved in aerosol formation.
Eighty-five percent of Earth’s atmosphere is contained within the troposphere, the lowest atmospheric layer. Despite this, significant gaps in our knowledge persist regarding the chemical processes that alter the composition of the troposphere.

One especially important gap in knowledge is the formation and prevalence of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), which impact the planet’s radiation balance, air quality, and human health. But that gap is closing — due to the groundbreaking discoveries of an international team of researchers led by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL).