Formation and growth of atmospheric particles at a forest site in the southeast US.

Atmospheric particle size distribution measurements (10 ≤ aerodynamic diameter, Dp ≤ 250 nm), which took place above a loblolly pine plantation in the Southeast U.S. from November 2005 to September 2007, were made using Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS). The size distributions were investigated to identify new particle formation and to classify the new particle formation episodes into different event classes based on the behavior of particle size distribution and particle growth pattern. About 69% of the observation days had nucleation. The event frequency was highest in spring and lowest in winter. The particle growth rate was highest in May (5.0 ± 3.6 nm hr-1) and lowest in February (1.2 ± 2.2 nm hr-1) with an annual average particle growth rate of 2.5 ± 0.3 nm hr-1. Nucleation frequency and event types are examined along with associated meteorological and chemical conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]