Spherical tarball particles form through rapid chemical and physical changes of organic matter in biomass-burning smoke.

ABSTRACT: Biomass burning (BB) emits enormous amounts of aerosol particles and gases into the atmosphere and thereby significantly influences regional air quality and global climate. A dominant particle type from BB is spherical organic aerosol particles commonly referred to as tarballs. Currently, tarballs can only be identified, using microscopy, from their uniquely spherical shapes following impaction onto a grid. Despite their abundance and potential significance for climate, many unanswered questions related to their formation, emission inventory, removal processes, and optical properties still remain. Here, we report analysis that supports tarball formation in which primary organic particles undergo chemical and physical processing within ∼3 h of emission. Transmission electron microscopy anal

SUBMITTER: Adachi K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6765284 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature