Comparison of formation conditions of secondary aerosol particles in boreal forests of Southern Finland and Siberia

RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES VOL. 11, ES4002, doi:10.2205/2009ES000410, 2010

Comparison of formation conditions of secondary aerosol particles in boreal forests of Southern Finland and Siberia

Yu. S. Lyubovtseva,¹ V. A. Zagaynov,² T. V. Khodzher,³ M. Kulmala,⁴ M. Boy,⁴ M. Dal Maso,⁴ H. Junninen,⁴ V. A. Obolkin,³ V. L. Potyomkin,³ Yu. G. Biryukov,² and A. A. Lushnikov²

¹Geophysical Center RAS, Moscow, Russia

²Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry, Moscow, Russia

³Limnological Institute of RAS, Irkutsk, Russia

⁴Department of Physical Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland

Abstract

Complex measurements of size distributions and chemical content of aerosols, trace gases SO₂, NH₃, ozone, and meteorological parameters were performed in boreal forests of Central Siberia during 03.2005–05.2006 at the rural station of Listvyanka. The data from Listvyanka are then analyzed from the point of view of their similarities and differences with respective data at Hyytiälä background station (Southern Finland). The goal of this paper is to compare the conditions of formation of secondary aerosol particles in boreal forests in two different regions: in Southern Finland (Hyytiälä station) and Siberia (Listvyanka station).

Our main conclusion is that the particle formation–growth processes in Listvyanka occur in presence of high (compared to Hyytiälä) concentrations of sulfur dioxide and ammonia. We show that their concentrations are enough for providing the particle growth up to 3.5 nm h^-1 with much higher concentration of the nucleation mode particles in contrast to Hyytiälä, where the sulfuric compounds are much less concentrated and the nucleation mode particles grow by consuming low volatile organic vapors that result from photochemical processing of highly volatile organic plant emissions.

On the other hand, the nucleation bursts in Siberia occur more seldom than in Hyytiälä. The difference in UVB irradiation regimes at Siberian stations and in Hyytiälä can lead to different seasonal patterns of the particle formation–growth rates and the concentrations of nucleation mode in Siberia.

Received 12 December 2009; accepted 2 March 2010; published 23 March 2010.

Keywords: secondary aerosol particles, boreal forests, Southern Finland, Siberia

Citation: Lyubovtseva Yu. S. V. A. Zagaynov, T. V. Khodzher, M. Kulmala, M. Boy, M. Dal Maso, H. Junninen, V. A. Obolkin, V. L. Potyomkin, Yu. G. Biryukov, and A. A. Lushnikov (2010), Comparison of formation conditions of secondary aerosol particles in boreal forests of Southern Finland and Siberia, Russ. J. Earth Sci., 11, ES4002, doi:10.2205/2009ES000410.