posted on 2024-01-30, 23:13authored byMorten Engsvang, Yosef Knattrup, Jakub Kubečka, Jonas Elm
To
understand Arctic amplification, it is necessary to understand
both the direct and indirect aerosol effect. Especially the indirect
aerosol effect is important, due to the low background level of cloud
condensation nuclei in the Arctic. Previous studies have shown how
iodine oxyacids can contribute to the formation of aerosols in marine
and polar areas, and we speculate that chlorine oxyacids, if present,
could also contribute to particle formation. Recent measurements have
observed the presence of chloric (CA) and perchloric acid (PA) in
significant concentrations in the Arctic. Using quantum chemical methods,
we have studied the (acid)0–2(base)0–2 clusters, where the acid denotes CA, PA, or sulfuric acid (SA) and
the base denotes ammonia, methylamine, dimethylamine, or trimethylamine.
This allowed us to simulate the cluster formation potential of the
chemical species. We found PA to have a high nucleation potential
but, due to low concentrations, should only be present as a minor
constituent of nucleating clusters. However, at low temperatures during
high concentration events, it can become a substantial additional
contribution to SA-driven nucleation. Therefore, further measurements
and studies of larger multicomponent clusters should be pursued in
order to constrain the potential contribution of PA to Arctic nucleation.