New McNeill review article: ‘Atmospheric Aerosols: Clouds, Chemistry and Climate’

We’re happy to announce the publication of VFM’s new review article, ‘Atmospheric Aerosols: Clouds, Chemistry and Climate,’ as a Review in Advance online in the Annual Review of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The final version of the article should appear online in July 2017.

This article reviews fundamental concepts and recent developments surrounding ambient aerosols, their chemical composition and sources, light-absorbing aerosols, aerosols and cloud formation, and aerosol-based solar radiation management (also known as solar geoengineering). Summary points include:

1. Atmospheric aerosol particles impact Earth’s climate by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and by influencing cloud formation and properties.
2. The chemical composition of ambient aerosols and their chemical transformations in the atmosphere impact their climate-relevant physical properties.
3. Rapid discovery in this area over the past two decades has been enabled by advances in technology for characterizing aerosol chemical composition and physical properties.
4. Future challenges and opportunities lie at the interface of atmospheric chemistry and computer science.

“Atmospheric Aerosols: Clouds, Chemistry and Climate,” V.F. McNeill, Ann. Rev. Chem. Biomol. Eng., 8:19.1–19.18, doi:10.1146/annurev-chembioeng-060816-101538 (2017) link to paper