Sulfur Dioxide Transported From the Residual Layer Drives Atmospheric Nucleation During Haze Periods in Beijing
Yonghong Wang, Yongjing Ma, Chao Yan, Lei Yao, Runlong Cai, Shuying Li, Zhuohui Lin, Xiujuan Zhao, Rujing Yin, Chenjuan Deng, Juha Kangasluoma, Xu‐Cheng He, Simo Hakala, Xiaolong Fan, Siyu Chen, Qingxin Ma, Veli‐Matti Kerminen, Tuukka Petäjä, Jinyuan Xin, Lin Wang, Baoxian Liu, Weigang Wang, Maofa Ge, Jingkun Jiang, Yongchun Liu, Federico Bianchi, Biwu Chu, Neil M. Donahue, Scot T. Martin, Hong He, Markku Kulmala
Abstract
Abstract New particle formation (NPF) is a global phenomenon that significantly influences climate. NPF also contributes to haze, with pronounced negative impacts on human health. Theory and observations both show that nucleation is favored during clean days and inhibited during haze episodes due to a high pre‐existing condensation sink (CS). Here we show that the surprising occurrence of NPF during haze days in Beijing is associated with a high concentration of sulfuric acid dimers. With both field observations and model simulations, we demonstrate that downward mixing of sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ) from the residual layer aloft enhances ground level SO 2 , which in turn elevates sulfuric acid dimer after rapid SO 2 oxidation in the polluted air. Our results address a key gap between the source of SO 2 and its atmospheric oxidation products during haze conditions in a megacity, Beijing, providing a missing link in a complete chain describing NPF in the polluted atmosphere.