Isoprene nitrates drive new particle formation in Amazon’s upper troposphere
New particle formation (NPF) in the tropical upper troposphere is a globally important source of atmospheric aerosols<sup>1-4</sup>. It is known to occur over the Amazon basin, but the nucleation mechanism and chemical precursors have yet to be identified<sup>2</sup>. Here we present comprehensive in situ aircraft measurements showing that extremely low-volatile oxidation products of isoprene, particularly certain organonitrates, drive NPF in the Amazonian upper troposphere. The organonitrates originate from OH-initiated oxidation of isoprene from forest emissions in the presence of nitrogen oxides from lightning. Nucleation bursts start about 2 h after sunrise in the outflow of nocturnal deep convection, producing high aerosol concentrations of more than 50,000 particles cm<sup>-</sup><sup>3</sup>. We report measurements of characteristic diurnal cycles of precursor gases and particles. Our observations show that the interplay between biogenic isoprene, deep tropical convection with associated lightning, oxidation photochemistry and the low ambient temperature uniquely promotes NPF. The particles grow over time, undergo long-range transport and descend through subsidence to the lower troposphere, in which they can serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) that influence the Earth's hydrological cycle, radiation budget and climate<sup>1,4-8</sup>.
Authors
- Linda Ort (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-8883-5201)
- Bruna A. Holanda (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3444-0912)
- Birger Bohn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4177-3934)
- K. Barmpounis
- Rachel I. Albrecht (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0582-6568)
- Micael A. Cecchini (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0219-2857)
- Subha S. Raj (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-6663)
- Nidhi Tripathi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8133-3303)
- Marcel Zauner-Wieczorek (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0867-665X)
- Achim Edtbauer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8824-2132)
- Thomas Klimach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2472-8827)
- Sreedev Sreekumar (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4948-4187)
- Katharina Kaiser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3162-2502)
- Philip Holzbeck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3912-8235)
- Philipp Joppe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0166-1146)
- Hartwig Harder (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6868-714X)
- Anywhere Tsokankunku (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0023-7687)
- Mira L. Pöhlker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6852-0756)
- Horst Fischer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0990-5028)
- Jonathan Williams (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9421-1703)
- Jos Lelieveld (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6307-3846)
- Dirk Dienhart (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0419-9112)
- Lianet Hernández Pardo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5653-9705)
- Joachim Curtius (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3153-4630)
- Thibaut Dauhut (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5468-3818)
- Paulo Eduardo Artaxo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7754-3036)
- Martin Heinritzi (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9171-8127)
- Luiz A. T. Machado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8243-1706)
- Anna Possner (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6996-8624)
- Mónica Martínez
- Christian Mallaun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-6501-6457)
- Simone T. Andersen (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6657-4862)
- Jean‐Pierre Chaboureau (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4365-8940)
- Andreas Zahn (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3153-3451)
- Roman Bardakov
- Andreas Kürten (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8955-4450)
- Ulrich Pöschl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1412-3557)
- Carolina Monteiro (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5131-2440)
- Ovid O. Krüger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3321-6655)
- Johannes Schneider (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7169-3973)
- Nijing Wang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3197-8151)
- Timo Keber
- Clara M. Nussbaumer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5662-8476)
- Daniel Marno (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9417-587X)
- Meinrat O. Andreae (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1968-7925)
- Sarah Richter (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4906-0499)
- Akima Ringsdorf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1764-6516)
- Carolina Nelson (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4082-9330)
- Raphael Dörich
- Bianca Krumm (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1472-7465)
- John N. Crowley (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8669-0230)
- Dirceu Luís Herdies (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2872-8453)
- Andrea Pozzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2440-6104)
- Mario Simon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4900-7460)
- Lisa Beck (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3700-5895)
- Gabriela R. Unfer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8727-2831)
- Arndt Hartmann
- Fábio Lopes Rocha
- Andreas Giez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8595-8343)
- Christopher Pöhlker (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6958-425X)
- Hannah Klebach (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-7233-6295)
- Isabella D. Valenti
Institutions
- Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (DE)
- Goethe University Frankfurt (DE)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Cyprus Institute (CY)
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (US)
- Stockholm University (SE)
- Forschungszentrum Jülich (DE)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia (BR)
- Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (DE)
- King Saud University (SA)
- Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e. V. (DLR) (DE)
- University of Cyprus (CY)
- University of California San Diego (US)
- Laboratoire d'Aérologie (FR)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemistry (DE)
- Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (DE)
- Bolin Centre for Climate Research (SE)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (BR)
- Leipzig University (DE)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature
- Published
- 2024-12-04
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-024-08192-4
- Citations
- 51
- Primary Topic
- Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 19.19