Low temperature reactivity of tropospheric aerosols

Aerosols are very small liquid and solid particles suspended in a gaseous medium, e.g. air. They influence the chemistry of trace gases within the Earth's atmosphere. This project has two parts. In the first we propose to develop a state of the art apparatus that will allow measurements of particle size and related properties at low temperatures and at a significantly improved level of accuracy and precision over what is currently available. Second, we want to use this new instrument to study the reactivity of atmospheric trace gases with different types of aerosol particles. These measurements will improve and extend our ability to describe atmospheric chemistry at the global scale within computer models. The work programme presented involves the study of chemistry under conditions relevant to the polar regions and at higher altitudes in the atmosphere.