Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics

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31 October 2025

Manuscript submission deadline

31 December 2025

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Topic Information

Dear Colleagues,

Air quality is currently the major issue that affects both human and nature environments. The primary anthropogenic air pollutants are usually sourced from urban and industrial activities and undergo atmospheric processes to form secondary pollutants, such as ozone and fine particulate matter. As air pollutants emitting into atmosphere, photochemical reactions and oxidations occur during the transport and transformation. In addition, the formation of secondary products through atmospheric aging and deposition process enables the cycling of elements (e.g., C, N, S, and O) in the atmosphere. This Topic will focus on the mechanism, observation, and simulation techniques used for studying atmospheric chemistry, aging, and dynamics. To understand the fate of air pollutants, formation, emission, transformation, chemistry, dispersion, long-range transport, deposition, and mixing of air pollutants in the atmosphere need to be investigated and studied.

In this Topic, original research articles and reviews are welcome. The main topics include (but are not limited to):

• Aerosol and gas mixing;
• Air pollutants in the urban environment;
• Atmospheric chemistry in gas and aerosol formation;
• Atmospheric chemistry in emission process;
• Atmospheric oxidation and aging of air pollutants;
• Atmospheric photochemical phenomenon;
• Fate of air pollutants;
• Long-range transport of air pollutants;
• Tropospheric and stratospheric chemistry;
• Secondary air pollutants (gas and aerosol).

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Zechen Yu
Dr. Myoseon Jang
Dr. Zhonghua Zheng
Topic Editors

Keywords

Participating Journals

Journal Name	Impact Factor	CiteScore	Launched Year	First Decision (median)	APC
Atmosphere atmosphere	2.5	4.6	2010	16.1 Days	CHF 2400	Submit
Climate climate	3.0	5.5	2013	19.7 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Environments environments	3.5	5.7	2014	22.8 Days	CHF 1800	Submit
Remote Sensing remotesensing	4.2	8.3	2009	23.9 Days	CHF 2700	Submit
Sustainability sustainability	3.3	6.8	2009	19.7 Days	CHF 2400	Submit

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Published Papers (6 papers)

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All Atmosphere Climate Environments Remote Sensing Sustainability

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16 pages, 3457 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Spatial and Temporal Variations in Rainwater Chemistry in a Rapid Urbanization Area of Shenzhen, China

by Yilong Huang, Jingwei Yang, Chang Liu, Ruiying Jing and Qiaohui Lu

Atmosphere 2024, 15(12), 1536; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15121536 - 21 Dec 2024

Viewed by 850

Abstract

Studying chemical constituents in rainwater can provide insights into the origin, characteristics, concentration, and processes involved in clearing atmospheric pollutants. This study investigated the spatial–temporal variations in rainwater chemistry characteristics in a rapidly urbanizing area of Shenzhen from 2007 to 2022. The mean [...] Read more.

Studying chemical constituents in rainwater can provide insights into the origin, characteristics, concentration, and processes involved in clearing atmospheric pollutants. This study investigated the spatial–temporal variations in rainwater chemistry characteristics in a rapidly urbanizing area of Shenzhen from 2007 to 2022. The mean pH during 2007–2022 was 5.12 ± 0.45, significantly higher than the 4.51 recorded in 2006. The electrical conductivity (EC) of rainfall in Shenzhen was 15.79 ± 2.63 μS/cm and showed a progressive decrease over the years. Human activities influenced the trends of SO₄²⁻, which decreased, while NO₃⁻ and Cl⁻ increased over time. The cations Ca²⁺ and NH₄⁺ decreased, and Mg²⁺, Na⁺, and K⁺ increased. In recent years, Na⁺ and Cl⁻, typical sea-salt ions, became dominant with a continually rising contribution. The study also revealed that Shenzhen has been affected by both sulfuric and nitric acid rain, formally ushering in the nitric acid-type era. Spatial variations in rainfall chemicals were observed, especially for pH and conductivity, attributed to urban growth, distance from the coast, and industrial development. Moreover, the total ion concentration of rainwater demonstrated high values in the spring and low values in the summer due to the significant effect of precipitation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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19 pages, 6287 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Research on Multiscale Atmospheric Chaos Based on Infrared Remote-Sensing and Reanalysis Data

by Zhong Wang, Shengli Sun, Wenjun Xu, Rui Chen, Yijun Ma and Gaorui Liu

Remote Sens. 2024, 16(18), 3376; https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16183376 - 11 Sep 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1103

Abstract

The atmosphere is a complex nonlinear system, with the information of its temperature, water vapor, pressure, and cloud being crucial aspects of remote-sensing data analysis. There exist intricate interactions among these internal components, such as convection, radiation, and humidity exchange. Atmospheric phenomena span [...] Read more.

The atmosphere is a complex nonlinear system, with the information of its temperature, water vapor, pressure, and cloud being crucial aspects of remote-sensing data analysis. There exist intricate interactions among these internal components, such as convection, radiation, and humidity exchange. Atmospheric phenomena span multiple spatial and temporal scales, from small-scale thunderstorms to large-scale events like El Niño. The dynamic interactions across different scales, along with external disturbances to the atmospheric system, such as variations in solar radiation and Earth surface conditions, contribute to the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, making long-term predictions challenging. Grasping the intrinsic chaotic dynamics is essential for advancing atmospheric analysis, which holds profound implications for enhancing meteorological forecasts, mitigating disaster risks, and safeguarding ecological systems. To validate the chaotic nature of the atmosphere, this paper reviewed the definitions and main features of chaotic systems, elucidated the method of phase space reconstruction centered on Takens’ theorem, and categorized the qualitative and quantitative methods for determining the chaotic nature of time series data. Among quantitative methods, the Wolf method is used to calculate the Largest Lyapunov Exponents, while the G–P method is used to calculate the correlation dimensions. A new method named Improved Saturated Correlation Dimension method was proposed to address the subjectivity and noise sensitivity inherent in the traditional G–P method. Subsequently, the Largest Lyapunov Exponents and saturated correlation dimensions were utilized to conduct a quantitative analysis of FY-4A and Himawari-8 remote-sensing infrared observation data, and ERA5 reanalysis data. For both short-term remote-sensing data and long-term reanalysis data, the results showed that more than 99.91% of the regional points have corresponding sequences with positive Largest Lyapunov exponents and all the regional points have correlation dimensions that tended to saturate at values greater than 1 with increasing embedding dimensions, thereby proving that the atmospheric system exhibits chaotic properties on both short and long temporal scales, with extreme sensitivity to initial conditions. This conclusion provided a theoretical foundation for the short-term prediction of atmospheric infrared radiation field variables and the detection of weak, time-sensitive signals in complex atmospheric environments. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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19 pages, 7554 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Integrated Analysis of Methane Cycles and Trends at the WMO/GAW Station of Lamezia Terme (Calabria, Southern Italy)

by Francesco D’Amico, Ivano Ammoscato, Daniel Gullì, Elenio Avolio, Teresa Lo Feudo, Mariafrancesca De Pino, Paolo Cristofanelli, Luana Malacaria, Domenico Parise, Salvatore Sinopoli, Giorgia De Benedetto and Claudia Roberta Calidonna

Atmosphere 2024, 15(8), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15080946 - 7 Aug 2024

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 1343

Abstract

Due to its high short-term global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide, methane (CH₄) is a considerable agent of climate change. This research is aimed at analyzing data on methane gathered at the GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station of Lamezia [...] Read more.

Due to its high short-term global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide, methane (CH₄) is a considerable agent of climate change. This research is aimed at analyzing data on methane gathered at the GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station of Lamezia Terme (Calabria, Southern Italy) spanning seven years of continuous measurements (2016–2022) and integrating the results with key meteorological data. Compared to previous studies on detected methane mole fractions at the same station, daily-to-yearly patterns have become more prominent thanks to the analysis of a much larger dataset. Overall, the yearly increase of methane at the Lamezia Terme station is in general agreement with global measurements by NOAA, though local peaks are present, and an increase linked to COVID-19 is identified. Seasonal changes and trends have proved to be fully cyclic, with the daily cycles being largely driven by local wind circulation patterns and synoptic features. Outbreak events have been statistically evaluated depending on their weekday of occurrence to test possible correlations with anthropogenic activities. A cross analysis between methane peaks and specific wind directions has also proved that local sources may be deemed responsible for the highest mole fractions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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14 pages, 3304 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

A Surprisingly High Enhancing Potential of Nitric Acid in Sulfuric Acid–Methylamine Nucleation

by Fukang Qiao, Rongjie Zhang, Qiaojing Zhao, Fangfang Ma, Jingwen Chen and Hong-Bin Xie

Atmosphere 2024, 15(4), 467; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15040467 - 10 Apr 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1487

Abstract

Nitric acid (NA) has recently been found to enhance sulfuric acid (SA)-driven new particle formation (NPF) at low temperatures (≤240 K). However, studies on the role of NA in atmospheric NPF remain limited. Herein, we explored the enhancement effect of NA on binary [...] Read more.

Nitric acid (NA) has recently been found to enhance sulfuric acid (SA)-driven new particle formation (NPF) at low temperatures (≤240 K). However, studies on the role of NA in atmospheric NPF remain limited. Herein, we explored the enhancement effect of NA on binary SA–methylamine (MA) nucleation by investigating the mechanism and kinetics of (NA)_x(SA)_y(MA)_z (0 ≤ x, 0 ≤ y, x + y ≤ 3, 0 ≤ z ≤ 3) clusters using quantum chemical calculations and cluster dynamics simulations. We found that the mixed ternary NA-SA-MA clusters have lower evaporation rates compared to the corresponding NA-SA–dimethylamine (DMA) and NA-SA–ammonia (A) clusters, indicating the stronger binding ability of NA with respect to SA-MA clusters. At atmospheric conditions (T ≥ 278.15 K), NA can enhance the cluster formation rate of SA-MA by about six orders of magnitude, demonstrating a surprisingly high enhancing potential. Moreover, NA acts as an important participant in the cluster growth pathways of the NA-SA-MA system, as opposed to the “bridging” role of NA in the previously studied NA-SA-A system. This study proposes the first case of NA efficiently enhancing SA–amine nucleation at ambient temperature, suggesting a larger impact of NA in atmospheric NPF than previously expected. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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17 pages, 5859 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Characteristics of Absorbing Aerosols in Mexico City: A Study of Morphology and Columnar Microphysical Properties

by Giovanni Carabali, Faustino Juárez-Sánchez, Rafael N. Liñan-Abanto, Héctor Estévez, Mauro Valdés-Barrón, Roberto Bonifaz-Alfonso, David Riveros-Rosas and Adriana González-Cabrera

Atmosphere 2024, 15(1), 108; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos15010108 - 16 Jan 2024

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1703

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the morphology and columnar microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosols in Mexico City (MC) for the period 2022–2023. The morphological study focused on the structure description of soot particles and tar balls (TB). By transmission electron microscope (TEM) [...] Read more.

This paper presents an analysis of the morphology and columnar microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosols in Mexico City (MC) for the period 2022–2023. The morphological study focused on the structure description of soot particles and tar balls (TB). By transmission electron microscope (TEM) and scanning electrode microscope (SEM), voluminous soot aggregates mixed with TBs were observed. The chemistry shows that both soot and TBs are mostly carbonaceous species with well-defined morphologies. On the other hand, the columnar aerosol microphysical properties recovered from AERONET show that the particles have a bimodal aerosol size distribution (ASD) with two modes: fine and coarse. The ASD remains constant without showing significant seasonal changes, only with some variability for coarse particles. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) value is significantly high, typical of urban areas. The real (n) and imaginary (k) parts of the complex refractive index (CRI) were obtained from the photometric measurements. The CRI values show seasonal variations, with spring being the season with the highest values for n, while the highest values for k were measured in winter. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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13 pages, 3910 KiB  

Open AccessArticle

Chemical Characteristics and Sources Analysis of PM_2.5 in Shaoxing in Winter

by Wenjuan Li, Jian Wu, Yangyi Zhou, Qiongzhen Wang, Fuwei Yu and Rupei Wang

Atmosphere 2023, 14(8), 1256; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14081256 - 7 Aug 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1718

Abstract

By analyzing the mass concentrations and compositions of atmospheric PM_2.5 in Shaoxing from December 2019 to February 2020, the characteristics of carbon-containing components, water-soluble ions and metal elements were obtained. NO₃⁻, OC, SO₄²⁻ and NH₄⁺ [...] Read more.

By analyzing the mass concentrations and compositions of atmospheric PM_2.5 in Shaoxing from December 2019 to February 2020, the characteristics of carbon-containing components, water-soluble ions and metal elements were obtained. NO₃⁻, OC, SO₄²⁻ and NH₄⁺ were the main components of PM_2.5 in winter. The OC/EC ratio was 3.27, which proved the existence of SOC. The proportion of SOC in OC was 47.3%, which showed that secondary sources made a significant contribution. The values of OC/EC and NO₃⁻/SO₄²⁻ indicated that vehicle exhaust emissions also made a significant contribution to PM_2.5. Trace elements of Na, Ca, K and Cd had higher enrichment factor values and were enriched due to human activities. Finally, PM_2.5 sources analysis was performed by the positive matrix factorization model. The results showed that secondary inorganic salts (49.3%), motor vehicles and industrial sources (21.3%) and dust sources (17.0%) were the important sources of PM_2.5 pollution. Full article

(This article belongs to the Topic Atmospheric Chemistry, Aging, and Dynamics)

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