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ACP - recent papers

Combined list of the recent articles of the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics and the recent discussion forum Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
  • Conflict-induced ship traffic disruptions constrain cloud sensitivity to stricter marine pollution regulations
    Conflict-induced ship traffic disruptions constrain cloud sensitivity to stricter marine pollution regulations Michael S. Diamond and Lili F. Boss Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16401–16409, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16401-2025, 2025 Militia attacks on ships in the Red Sea disrupted container ship traffic in 2024. We use these traffic changes to quantify how the cloud-altering properties of ship pollution decreased following sulfur regulations in 2020 with measurements of two types of ship pollution, one of which is sensitive to fuel composition and another which is not. Near Africa, cloud changes in 2024 were nearly as large as before the regulations, but only one-third as strong after accounting for increased traffic.

  • The ice supersaturation biases limiting contrail modelling are structured around extratropical depressions
    The ice supersaturation biases limiting contrail modelling are structured around extratropical depressions Oliver G. A. Driver, Marc E. J. Stettler, and Edward Gryspeerdt Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16411–16433, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16411-2025, 2025 Contrails are ice clouds caused by planes. They have a warming effect, so are important to model. In humid (ice supersaturated) regions, ice crystals are stable so can persist. However, weather model data doesn't represent ice supersaturated regions well enough. We demonstrate that ice supersaturation modelling is structured by North Atlantic storm systems. Averaging many systems, we link the bias to underling processes being modelled, and gain insight into how the existing data could be used.

  • Key Role of Nitrogen-containing Oxygenated Organic Molecules (OOMs) in SOA Formation Evidenced by OH/NO3-induced Terpinolene Oxidation
    Key Role of Nitrogen-containing Oxygenated Organic Molecules (OOMs) in SOA Formation Evidenced by OH/NO3-induced Terpinolene Oxidation Hongjin Wu, Juan Dang, Xiaomeng Zhang, Weichen Yang, Shuai Tian, Shibo Zhang, Qingzhu Zhang, and Wenxing Wang Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16435–16450, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16435-2025, 2025 Terpinolene is an isomeride of limonene, with a high secondary organic aerosol (SOA) yield. The comparative analysis of OH-initiated (daytime) and NO3-driven (nocturnal) terpinolene oxidation mechanism, highlighted the formation of nitrogen-containing oxygenated organic molecules (OOMs), would be conducive to molecular structures identification of OOMs in atmospheric monitoring and atmospheric chemical model refinement.

  • Underestimation of atmospheric oxidized mercury at a mountaintop site by the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model
    Underestimation of atmospheric oxidized mercury at a mountaintop site by the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model Tyler R. Elgiar, Loknath Dhar, Lynne Gratz, A. Gannet Hallar, Rainer Volkamer, and Seth N. Lyman Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16387–16399, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16387-2025, 2025 We compare verified atmospheric mercury measurements against output from the GEOS-Chem photochemical transport model. We show the model is unable to reproduce measured atmospheric oxidized mercury concentrations, even in several cases where oxidation rates in the model are enhanced.

  • The frosty frontier: redefining the mid-latitude tropopause using the relative humidity over ice
    The frosty frontier: redefining the mid-latitude tropopause using the relative humidity over ice Philipp Reutter and Peter Spichtinger Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 16303–16314, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-16303-2025, 2025 We present a new technique to determine the tropopause based on the gradient of relative humidity over ice. This approach captures the character of the tropopause remarkably well, both in individual vertical profiles and in long-term averages, providing a consistent and physically meaningful representation of the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere.