Atmospheric new
particle formation events were analyzed based on particle size distributions
measured with a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS) and an Air Ion
Spectrometer (AIS) during the BIOSOL (Formation mechanisms, marker compounds,
and source apportionment for biogenic atmospheric aerosols) campaign on 22
May–29 June 2006 at the K-puszta measurement site in Hungary. The particle size
distribution data were classified into different new particle event classes and
growth and formation rates of the particles were calculated. New particle
formation was observed on almost all days and the median diameter growth rates
of nucleation mode particles increased with increasing particle size. The
observed formation rate of 10 nm particles was typically somewhat larger than 1
cm^–3 s^–3 (median 1.2), and the growth rate for sub 3 nm
particles was 1.7 nm h^–1 and for nucleation mode 6 nm h^–1.
The ambient concentrations of gases or meteorological data were not able to
explain the differences in the growth and formation rates or in the particle
formation between the days. However, 0.3–1.8 nm cluster ion concentrations
correlated negatively with wind speed.