New ACP Letter: Strong particle production and condensational growth in the upper troposphere sustained by biogenic VOCs from the canopy of the Amazon Basin

13 January 2023

The origins of the abundant cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the upper troposphere (UT) of the Amazon remain unclear. With model developments of new secondary organic aerosol schemes and constrained by observation, the authors show that strong aerosol nucleation and condensation in the UT is triggered by biogenic organics, and organic condensation is key for UT CCN production. This UT CCN-producing mechanism may prevail over broader vegetation canopies and deserves emphasis in aerosol–climate feedback.

Contact: Yafang Cheng (yafang.cheng@mpic.de)