Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) Formation, Properties and Evolution in the Atmosphere

Dear Colleagues,

Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) is formed– by definition –when low volatility oxidation products of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) deposit onto existing particles or form new particles. SOA accounts for a major fraction of the global atmospheric aerosol burden. Understanding the mechanism of formation and the properties of SOA is therefore important to estimate its effects on climate, air quality, and human health. However, atmospheric SOA is a complex mixture of organic species with a variety of chemical and physical properties, such as chemical composition, functional groups, volatility, hygroscopicity, phase state, and so on. Complexity arising from these diverse SOA characteristics challenges the description of the evolution of SOA particles in the atmosphere and further their contribution to indirect and direct radiative forcing.

Even though recent advances in measurement techniques have enabled more detailed studies on gas phase processes relevant to SOA formation and transformation, our achievements in the scientific understanding of the sources and fate of SOA in the atmosphere are still limited. Therefore, new and insightful studies based on both laboratory and field observations and on modeling are needed to better understand the sources, formation, and atmospheric evolution of anthropogenic and biogenic SOA particles and their contribution to radiative forcing. Manuscripts on all these aspects are welcome for this Special Issue.

Prof. Annele Virtanen
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.