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Aerosol Chemical Characterization and Seasonal Variability at the Helmos Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change Mountain Station.

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Title: Aerosol Chemical Characterization and Seasonal Variability at the Helmos Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change Mountain Station.
Authors: Zografou, Olga1 (AUTHOR) o.zografou@ipta.demokritos.gr, Gini, Maria I.1 (AUTHOR), Manousakas, Manousos Ioannis1 (AUTHOR), Foskinis, Romanos2,3,4 (AUTHOR), Granakis, Konstantinos1,5 (AUTHOR), Fetfatzis, Prodromos1 (AUTHOR), Diapouli, Evangelia1 (AUTHOR), Papayannis, Alexandros3,6 (AUTHOR), Nenes, Athanasios2,3,4 (AUTHOR), Eleftheriadis, Konstantinos1 (AUTHOR) elefther@ipta.demokritos.gr
Source: Journal of Geophysical Research. Atmospheres. 12/28/2025, Vol. 130 Issue 24, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Aerosols, *Particulate matter, *Air quality, *Climate change, *Atmospheric aerosols, Analytical chemistry, Seasonal physiological variations, Atmospheric boundary layer
Geographic Terms: Greece
Abstract: Observations of PM1 nonrefractory species (NRS) were performed for a 12 month period at the high‐altitude Helmos Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change ((HAC)2) station at 2,314 m a.s.l. using real‐time online mass spectrometry. Aerosol‐cloud interactions were studied as well as influence from the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and air mass origin. Source apportionment was performed on the combined data set of organic species and inorganic ions to track the sources of PM1. Five factors were identified in all seasons; three factors composed mainly of organic aerosol (OA) (one primary‐related and two secondary OA) and two mainly of inorganic species (ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate). A 10‐fold increase in mass concentration levels was found during the summer compared to winter time, whereas PBL‐influenced aerosol mass concentration was up to 6 times higher than free tropospheric (FT). In‐cloud aerosol was found to vary between autumn and winter due to different cloud formation pathways between the two seasons. In autumn, in‐cloud scavenging resulted in much lower concentration levels compared to clear sky conditions, whereas in winter in‐cloud periods resulted in similar or even increased mass concentration for some species. Differentiation of interstitial aerosol from dried cloud droplets, possible by exploiting their variable penetration through the external PM10 inlet during cloud events (in‐cloud regimes), showed that during winter time the fraction of the interstitials to dried droplets was much higher compared to autumn time. Plain Language Summary: In this study, we measured airborne particles or particulate matter (PM) and their chemical composition for 1 year at a remote mountain‐top station in Greece. PM can come from natural or anthropogenic sources and has effects on both air quality and climate. During this year, we observed great differences between PM loadings in summer and winter months. Ηigher pollution from PM was observed in summer. Ιn winter, lower concentrations were observed, since the station was mostly found in the free troposphere (FT) where only regional air is found. We also studied how aerosols interact with clouds. In autumn, cloud formation was found to reduce the aerosol concentration levels, either because particles formed cloud droplets, or because particles were partly scavenged by large cloud droplets. In winter, on the other hand, we observed that some cloud events were related with increased aerosol concentrations. Our study helps increase knowledge on how PM behave at remote regions, where the impact from local sources is rather insignificant and how they interact with different atmospheric layers and clouds. Key Points: Large differerences were observed in PM levels at the (HAC)2 station between seasons and different planetary boundary layer (PBL) heightsThe segregation between free tropospheric (FT) and PBL aerosol was conducted based on remote sensing and in situ measurementsIn‐cloud aerosol composition and concentration levels varied between autumn and winter linked to different cloud formation pathways [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: GreenFILE
Description
Abstract:Observations of PM1 nonrefractory species (NRS) were performed for a 12 month period at the high‐altitude Helmos Hellenic Atmospheric Aerosol and Climate Change ((HAC)2) station at 2,314 m a.s.l. using real‐time online mass spectrometry. Aerosol‐cloud interactions were studied as well as influence from the planetary boundary layer (PBL) and air mass origin. Source apportionment was performed on the combined data set of organic species and inorganic ions to track the sources of PM1. Five factors were identified in all seasons; three factors composed mainly of organic aerosol (OA) (one primary‐related and two secondary OA) and two mainly of inorganic species (ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate). A 10‐fold increase in mass concentration levels was found during the summer compared to winter time, whereas PBL‐influenced aerosol mass concentration was up to 6 times higher than free tropospheric (FT). In‐cloud aerosol was found to vary between autumn and winter due to different cloud formation pathways between the two seasons. In autumn, in‐cloud scavenging resulted in much lower concentration levels compared to clear sky conditions, whereas in winter in‐cloud periods resulted in similar or even increased mass concentration for some species. Differentiation of interstitial aerosol from dried cloud droplets, possible by exploiting their variable penetration through the external PM10 inlet during cloud events (in‐cloud regimes), showed that during winter time the fraction of the interstitials to dried droplets was much higher compared to autumn time. Plain Language Summary: In this study, we measured airborne particles or particulate matter (PM) and their chemical composition for 1 year at a remote mountain‐top station in Greece. PM can come from natural or anthropogenic sources and has effects on both air quality and climate. During this year, we observed great differences between PM loadings in summer and winter months. Ηigher pollution from PM was observed in summer. Ιn winter, lower concentrations were observed, since the station was mostly found in the free troposphere (FT) where only regional air is found. We also studied how aerosols interact with clouds. In autumn, cloud formation was found to reduce the aerosol concentration levels, either because particles formed cloud droplets, or because particles were partly scavenged by large cloud droplets. In winter, on the other hand, we observed that some cloud events were related with increased aerosol concentrations. Our study helps increase knowledge on how PM behave at remote regions, where the impact from local sources is rather insignificant and how they interact with different atmospheric layers and clouds. Key Points: Large differerences were observed in PM levels at the (HAC)2 station between seasons and different planetary boundary layer (PBL) heightsThe segregation between free tropospheric (FT) and PBL aerosol was conducted based on remote sensing and in situ measurementsIn‐cloud aerosol composition and concentration levels varied between autumn and winter linked to different cloud formation pathways [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:2169897X
DOI:10.1029/2025JD044330