Secondary organic aerosol: current understanding of main formation pathways and knowledge gaps

Aerosols pose the number one environmental health risk according to WHO. They can be emitted directly into the atmosphere (primary) or formed through atmospheric chemistry processes (secondary). While there is ample observational evidence that the majority of ambient organic aerosol is secondary, we do not yet sufficiently understand the pathways and precursors leading to secondary organic aerosol. The talk gives an overview of the state of the art knowledge and highlights future research needs.

Speaker: Astrid Kiendler-Scharr, Institute of Energy and Climate Research