Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India

Aishwarya Singh; Subha S. Raj; Upasana Panda; Snehitha M. Kommula; Christi Jose; Tianjia Liu; Shan Huang; Basudev Swain; Mira L. Pöhlker; Ernesto Reyes-Villegas; Narendra Ojha; Aditya Vaishya; Alessandro Bigi; R. Ravikrishna; Qiao Zhu; Liuhua Shi; James Allen; Scot T. Martin; Gordon McFiggans; Meinrat O. Andreae; Ulrich Pöschl; Hugh Coe; F. Bianchi; Hang Su; Vijay P. Kanawade; Pengfei Liu; Sachin S. Gunthe

doi:10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2

Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India

Aishwarya Singh, Subha S. Raj, Upasana Panda, Snehitha M. Kommula, Christi Jose, Tianjia Liu, Shan Huang, Basudev Swain, Mira L. Pöhlker, Ernesto Reyes-Villegas, Narendra Ojha, Aditya Vaishya, Alessandro Bigi, R. Ravikrishna, Qiao Zhu, Liuhua Shi, James Allen, Scot T. Martin, Gordon McFiggans, Meinrat O. AndreaeUlrich Pöschl, Hugh Coe, F. Bianchi, Hang Su, Vijay P. Kanawade, Pengfei Liu, Sachin S. Gunthe

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Abstract

The COVID lockdown presented an interesting opportunity to study the anthropogenic emissions from different sectors under relatively cleaner conditions in India. The complex interplays of power production, industry, and transport could be dissected due to the significantly reduced influence of the latter two emission sources. Here, based on measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols during the lockdown, we report an episodic event resulting from distinct meteorological conditions. This event was marked by rapid growth and high hygroscopicity of new aerosol particles formed in the SO₂ plume from a large coal-fired power plant in Southern India. These sulfate-rich particles had high CCN activity and number concentration, indicating high cloud-forming potential. Examining the sensitivity of CCN properties under relatively clean conditions provides important new clues to delineate the contributions of different anthropogenic emission sectors and further to understand their perturbations of past and future climate forcing.

Original language	English
Article number	109
Journal	npj Climate and Atmospheric Science
Volume	6
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2
State	Published - Dec 2023
Externally published	Yes

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Singh, A., Raj, S. S., Panda, U., Kommula, S. M., Jose, C., Liu, T., Huang, S., Swain, B., Pöhlker, M. L., Reyes-Villegas, E., Ojha, N., Vaishya, A., Bigi, A., Ravikrishna, R., Zhu, Q., Shi, L., Allen, J., Martin, S. T., McFiggans, G., ... Gunthe, S. S. (2023). Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India. npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, 6(1), Article 109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2

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title = "Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India",

abstract = "The COVID lockdown presented an interesting opportunity to study the anthropogenic emissions from different sectors under relatively cleaner conditions in India. The complex interplays of power production, industry, and transport could be dissected due to the significantly reduced influence of the latter two emission sources. Here, based on measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols during the lockdown, we report an episodic event resulting from distinct meteorological conditions. This event was marked by rapid growth and high hygroscopicity of new aerosol particles formed in the SO2 plume from a large coal-fired power plant in Southern India. These sulfate-rich particles had high CCN activity and number concentration, indicating high cloud-forming potential. Examining the sensitivity of CCN properties under relatively clean conditions provides important new clues to delineate the contributions of different anthropogenic emission sectors and further to understand their perturbations of past and future climate forcing.",

author = "Aishwarya Singh and Raj, \{Subha S.\} and Upasana Panda and Kommula, \{Snehitha M.\} and Christi Jose and Tianjia Liu and Shan Huang and Basudev Swain and P{\"o}hlker, \{Mira L.\} and Ernesto Reyes-Villegas and Narendra Ojha and Aditya Vaishya and Alessandro Bigi and R. Ravikrishna and Qiao Zhu and Liuhua Shi and James Allen and Martin, \{Scot T.\} and Gordon McFiggans and Andreae, \{Meinrat O.\} and Ulrich P{\"o}schl and Hugh Coe and F. Bianchi and Hang Su and Kanawade, \{Vijay P.\} and Pengfei Liu and Gunthe, \{Sachin S.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023, Springer Nature Limited.",

year = "2023",

month = dec,

doi = "10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2",

language = "English",

volume = "6",

journal = "npj Climate and Atmospheric Science",

issn = "2397-3722",

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Singh, A, Raj, SS, Panda, U, Kommula, SM, Jose, C, Liu, T, Huang, S, Swain, B, Pöhlker, ML, Reyes-Villegas, E, Ojha, N, Vaishya, A, Bigi, A, Ravikrishna, R, Zhu, Q, Shi, L, Allen, J, Martin, ST, McFiggans, G, Andreae, MO, Pöschl, U, Coe, H, Bianchi, F, Su, H, Kanawade, VP, Liu, P & Gunthe, SS 2023, 'Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India', npj Climate and Atmospheric Science, vol. 6, no. 1, 109. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2

TY - JOUR

T1 - Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India

AU - Singh, Aishwarya

AU - Raj, Subha S.

AU - Panda, Upasana

AU - Kommula, Snehitha M.

AU - Jose, Christi

AU - Liu, Tianjia

AU - Huang, Shan

AU - Swain, Basudev

AU - Pöhlker, Mira L.

AU - Reyes-Villegas, Ernesto

AU - Ojha, Narendra

AU - Vaishya, Aditya

AU - Bigi, Alessandro

AU - Ravikrishna, R.

AU - Zhu, Qiao

AU - Shi, Liuhua

AU - Allen, James

AU - Martin, Scot T.

AU - McFiggans, Gordon

AU - Andreae, Meinrat O.

AU - Pöschl, Ulrich

AU - Coe, Hugh

AU - Bianchi, F.

AU - Su, Hang

AU - Kanawade, Vijay P.

AU - Liu, Pengfei

AU - Gunthe, Sachin S.

PY - 2023/12

Y1 - 2023/12

N2 - The COVID lockdown presented an interesting opportunity to study the anthropogenic emissions from different sectors under relatively cleaner conditions in India. The complex interplays of power production, industry, and transport could be dissected due to the significantly reduced influence of the latter two emission sources. Here, based on measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols during the lockdown, we report an episodic event resulting from distinct meteorological conditions. This event was marked by rapid growth and high hygroscopicity of new aerosol particles formed in the SO2 plume from a large coal-fired power plant in Southern India. These sulfate-rich particles had high CCN activity and number concentration, indicating high cloud-forming potential. Examining the sensitivity of CCN properties under relatively clean conditions provides important new clues to delineate the contributions of different anthropogenic emission sectors and further to understand their perturbations of past and future climate forcing.

AB - The COVID lockdown presented an interesting opportunity to study the anthropogenic emissions from different sectors under relatively cleaner conditions in India. The complex interplays of power production, industry, and transport could be dissected due to the significantly reduced influence of the latter two emission sources. Here, based on measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity and chemical composition of atmospheric aerosols during the lockdown, we report an episodic event resulting from distinct meteorological conditions. This event was marked by rapid growth and high hygroscopicity of new aerosol particles formed in the SO2 plume from a large coal-fired power plant in Southern India. These sulfate-rich particles had high CCN activity and number concentration, indicating high cloud-forming potential. Examining the sensitivity of CCN properties under relatively clean conditions provides important new clues to delineate the contributions of different anthropogenic emission sectors and further to understand their perturbations of past and future climate forcing.

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85167423056

U2 - 10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2

DO - 10.1038/s41612-023-00430-2

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85167423056

SN - 2397-3722

VL - 6

JO - npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

JF - npj Climate and Atmospheric Science

IS - 1

M1 - 109

ER -

Rapid growth and high cloud-forming potential of anthropogenic sulfate aerosol in a thermal power plant plume during COVID lockdown in India

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