Chemical Change of Aerosol Particles During the Formation of Acidic Fog Droplets

Abstract

Chemical tests of individual aerosol particles and residues of fog droplets wer e performed on top of Mt. Norikura in order to examine chemical change of aerosol particles during the formation of acidic fog droplets. In this experiment, aerosol particles and residues of fog droplets were collected on electron microscope grids with a two-stage impactor after passing through the diffusion dryer. The presence of SO₄^2-, NO₃^- and NH₄⁺ in these particles was examined with an electron microscope using thin film chemical methods. It was found that chemical change of aerosol particles during the formation of acidic fog varied from fine particles to coarse particles. NO₃^- was detected only in aqueous liguid particlles and fog droplets near and in fog.