
Aerosol Physics and Optics Group
The vision of the Aerosol Physics and Optics Group is to reduce uncertainties of predictions of future climate and to improve health through better air quality by advancing the scientific understanding of environmental impacts of atmospheric aerosols. We focus on aerosol physical and optical properties that remain poorly quantified or hinder identification of effective mitigation pathways.
Our mission is to perform long-term observations of atmospheric aerosol at the high-altitude research station Jungfraujoch and at the Payerne observatory in order to quantify spatio-temporal variability of aerosol burden and properties driven by sources, transport and transformation, as well as removal processes. Our observations are embedded in the Global Atmosphere Watch program of the World Meteorological Organization and in the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS). We also aim at quantifying aerosol-cloud and aerosol-radiation interactions in laboratory and field experiments. One of the main topics is the relationship between physico-chemical and optical properties of aerosols, on the one hand to predict radiative impacts from aerosol properties, and on the other hand to retrieve aerosol properties from optical measurements using aerosol polarimetry.
People
Postdoc Fellow
PhD student
Postdoc Fellow
Group Head Aerosol Physics and Optics
PhD student
Projects
Project | Description | Duration | Contact |
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ACTRIS | Observation network of the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS). Source: www.actris.eu |
ongoing since 2011 | Dr. Martin Gysel Beer |
GAW Aerosol Monitoring at JFJ | GAW Longterm Aerosol Monitoring at the High-Altitude Research Station Jungfraujoch |
ongoing since 1995 | Dr. Martin Gysel Beer |
BISAR | Polarimetry to Bridge the Gap between In-Situ and Remote Sensing Observations of Atmospheric Aerosols |
2022-2025 | Dr. Martin Gysel Beer |
APPROPRIATE | Aviation Plume PROPeRtIes AT point of Exposure |
2021-2024 | Dr. Benjamin Tobias Brem |
Sino-Swiss Joint Research Project on aerosol health effects | Which aerosol components and processes control the toxicity of ambient particulate pollution? Targeted studies of aerosol oxidative potential |
2020-2024 | Dr. Robin Lewis Modini |
Recent publications
A complete publication list from 2006 onwards including reprints or postprints as copyright allows is available through the institutional repository (DORA PSI).
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Ahlberg E, Ausmeel S, Nilsson L, Spanne M, Pauraite J, Nøjgaard JK, et al.
Measurement report: black carbon properties and concentrations in southern Sweden urban and rural air - the importance of long-range transport
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2023; 23(5): 3051-3064. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-3051-2023
DORA PSI -
Alfarra R, Baltensperger U, Bell DM, Danelli SG, Di Biagio C, Doussin J-F, et al.
Preparation of the experiment: addition of particles
In: Doussin J-F, Fuchs H, Kiendler-Scharr A, Seakins P, Wenger J, eds. A practical guide to atmospheric simulation chambers. Cham: Springer; 2023:163-206. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-22277-1_5
DORA PSI -
Corbin JC, Modini RL, Gysel-Beer M
Mechanisms of soot-aggregate restructuring and compaction
Aerosol Science and Technology. 2023; 57(2): 89-111. https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2022.2137385
DORA PSI -
Durand E, Durdina L, Smallwood G, Johnson M, Spirig C, Edebeli J, et al.
Correction for particle loss in a regulatory aviation nvPM emissions system using measured particle size
Journal of Aerosol Science. 2023; 169: 106140 (14 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2023.106140
DORA PSI -
Holanda BA, Franco MA, Walter D, Artaxo P, Carbone S, Cheng Y, et al.
African biomass burning affects aerosol cycling over the Amazon
Communications Earth & Environment. 2023; 4(1): 154 (15 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-023-00795-5
DORA PSI -
Moallemi A, Modini RL, Brem BT, Bertozzi B, Giaccari P, Gysel-Beer M
Concept, absolute calibration, and validation of a new benchtop laser imaging polar nephelometer
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2023; 16(15): 3653-3678. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-16-3653-2023
DORA PSI -
Mügge C, Nowak N, Strack M, Metzler-Nolte N, Weigand W
Synthetic approaches towards peptide-conjugates of Pt(II) compounds with an (O,S) chelating moiety
European Journal of Inorganic Chemistry. 2023: e202300519 (14 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1002/ejic.202300519
DORA PSI -
Spitieri C, Gini M, Gysel-Beer M, Eleftheriadis K
Annual cycle of hygroscopic properties and mixing state of the suburban aerosol in Athens, Greece
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2023; 23(1): 235-249. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-235-2023
DORA PSI -
Warneke C, Schwarz JP, Dibb J, Kalashnikova O, Frost G, Al-Saad J, et al.
Fire influence on regional to global environments and air quality (FIREX-AQ)
Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres. 2023; 128(2): e2022JD037758 (62 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1029/2022JD037758
DORA PSI -
Zieger P, Heslin-Rees D, Karlsson L, Koike M, Modini R, Krejci R
Black carbon scavenging by low-level Arctic clouds
Nature Communications. 2023; 14(1): 5488 (8 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-41221-w
DORA PSI -
Amaladhasan DA, Heyn C, Hoyle CR, El Haddad I, Elser M, Pieber SM, et al.
Modelling the gas-particle partitioning and water uptake of isoprene-derived secondary organic aerosol at high and low relative humidity
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2022; 22(1): 215-244. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-215-2022
DORA PSI -
Beck I, Angot H, Baccarini A, Dada L, Quéléver L, Jokinen T, et al.
Automated identification of local contamination in remote atmospheric composition time series
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2022; 15(14): 4195-4224. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-4195-2022
DORA PSI -
Bianchi F, Sinclair VA, Aliaga D, Zha Q, Scholz W, Wu C, et al.
The SALTENA experiment. Comprehensive observations of aerosol sources, formation, and processes in the South American Andes
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 2022; 103(2): E212-E229. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-20-0187.1
DORA PSI -
Boiger R, Modini RL, Moallemi A, Degen D, Adelmann A, Gysel-Beer M
Retrieval of aerosol properties from in situ, multi-angle light scattering measurements using invertible neural networks
Journal of Aerosol Science. 2022; 163: 105977 (20 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2022.105977
DORA PSI -
Brunner C, Brem BT, Collaud Coen M, Conen F, Steinbacher M, Gysel-Beer M, et al.
The diurnal and seasonal variability of ice-nucleating particles at the high altitude station Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l.), Switzerland
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2022; 22(11): 7557-7573. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-7557-2022
DORA PSI -
Delaval MN, Jonsdottir HR, Leni Z, Keller A, Brem BT, Siegerist F, et al.
Responses of reconstituted human bronchial epithelia from normal and health-compromised donors to non-volatile particulate matter emissions from an aircraft turbofan engine
Environmental Pollution. 2022; 307: 119521 (10 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119521
DORA PSI -
Eirund GK, Drossaart van Dusseldorp S, Brem BT, Dedekind Z, Karrer Y, Stoll M, et al.
Aerosol-cloud-precipitation interactions during a Saharan dust event - a summertime case‐study from the Alps
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. 2022; 148(743): 943-961. https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4240
DORA PSI -
Fredrickson CD, Palm BB, Lee BH, Zhang X, Orlando JJ, Tyndall GS, et al.
Formation and evolution of catechol-derived SOA mass, composition, volatility, and light absorption
ACS Earth and Space Chemistry. 2022; 6(4): 1067-1079. https://doi.org/10.1021/acsearthspacechem.2c00007
DORA PSI -
Moallemi A, Modini RL, Lapyonok T, Lopatin A, Fuertes D, Dubovik O, et al.
Information content and aerosol property retrieval potential for different types of in situ polar nephelometer data
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2022; 15(19): 5619-5642. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-15-5619-2022
DORA PSI -
Pasquier JT, David RO, Freitas G, Gierens R, Gramlich Y, Haslett S, et al.
The Ny-Ålesund aerosol cloud experiment (NASCENT): overview and first results
Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. 2022; 103(11): E2533-E2558. https://doi.org/10.1175/BAMS-D-21-0034.1
DORA PSI -
Qi L, Bozzetti C, Corbin JC, Daellenbach KR, El Haddad I, Zhang Q, et al.
Source identification and characterization of organic nitrogen in atmospheric aerosols at a suburban site in China
Science of the Total Environment. 2022; 818: 151800 (11 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151800
DORA PSI -
Tatzelt C, Henning S, Welti A, Baccarini A, Hartmann M, Gysel-Beer M, et al.
Circum-Antarctic abundance and properties of CCN and INPs
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2022; 22(14): 9721-9745. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9721-2022
DORA PSI -
Affolter S, Schibig M, Berhanu T, Bukowiecki N, Steinbacher M, Nyfeler P, et al.
Assessing local CO2 contamination revealed by two near-by high altitude records at Jungfraujoch, Switzerland
Environmental Research Letters. 2021; 16(4): 044037 (12 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/abe74a
DORA PSI -
Baccarini A, Dommen J, Lehtipalo K, Henning S, Modini RL, Gysel‐Beer M, et al.
Low‐volatility vapors and new particle formation over the Southern Ocean during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition
Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres. 2021; 126(22): e2021JD035126 (25 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD035126
DORA PSI -
Bertò M, Cappelletti D, Barbaro E, Varin C, Gallet J-C, Markowicz K, et al.
Variability in black carbon mass concentration in surface snow at Svalbard
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(16): 12479-12493. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12479-2021
DORA PSI -
Bressi M, Cavalli F, Putaud JP, Fröhlich R, Petit J-E, Aas W, et al.
A European aerosol phenomenology - 7: high-time resolution chemical characteristics of submicron particulate matter across Europe
Atmospheric Environment: X. 2021; 10: 100108 (16 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aeaoa.2021.100108
DORA PSI -
Brunner C, Brem BT, Collaud Coen M, Conen F, Hervo M, Henne S, et al.
The contribution of Saharan dust to the ice-nucleating particle concentrations at the High Altitude Station Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l.), Switzerland
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(23): 18029-18053. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-18029-2021
DORA PSI -
Bukowiecki N, Brem BT, Wehrle G, Močnik G, Affolter S, Leuenberger M, et al.
Elucidating local pollution and site representativeness at the Jungfraujoch, Switzerland through parallel aerosol measurements at an adjacent mountain ridge
Environmental Research Communications. 2021; 3(2): 021001 (12 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/abe987
DORA PSI -
Durdina L, Brem BT, Elser M, Schönenberger D, Siegerist F, Anet JG
Reduction of nonvolatile particulate matter emissions of a commercial turbofan engine at the ground level from the use of a sustainable aviation fuel blend
Environmental Science and Technology. 2021; 55(21): 14576-14585. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c04744
DORA PSI -
Düsing S, Ansmann A, Baars H, Corbin JC, Denjean C, Gysel-Beer M, et al.
Measurement report: comparison of airborne, in situ measured, lidar-based, and modeled aerosol optical properties in the central European background - identifying sources of deviations
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(22): 16745-16773. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16745-2021
DORA PSI -
Ess MN, Bertò M, Keller A, Gysel-Beer M, Vasilatou K
Coated soot particles with tunable, well-controlled properties generated in the laboratory with a miniCAST BC and a micro smog chamber
Journal of Aerosol Science. 2021; 157: 105820 (15 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaerosci.2021.105820
DORA PSI -
Ess MN, Bertò M, Irwin M, Modini RL, Gysel-Beer M, Vasilatou K
Optical and morphological properties of soot particles generated by the miniCAST 5201 BC generator
Aerosol Science and Technology. 2021; 55(7): 828-847. https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2021.1901847
DORA PSI -
Evangeliou N, Platt SM, Eckhardt S, Lund Myhre C, Laj P, Alados-Arboledas L, et al.
Changes in black carbon emissions over Europe due to COVID-19 lockdowns
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(4): 2675-2692. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-2675-2021
DORA PSI -
Lacher L, Clemen H-C, Shen X, Mertes S, Gysel-Beer M, Moallemi A, et al.
Sources and nature of ice-nucleating particles in the free troposphere at Jungfraujoch in winter 2017
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(22): 16925-16953. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-16925-2021
DORA PSI -
Landwehr S, Volpi M, Haumann FA, Robinson CM, Thurnherr I, Ferracci V, et al.
Exploring the coupled ocean and atmosphere system with a data science approach applied to observations from the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition
Earth System Dynamics. 2021; 12(4): 1295-1369. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-1295-2021
DORA PSI -
Lieberherr G, Auderset K, Calpini B, Clot B, Crouzy B, Gysel-Beer M, et al.
Assessment of real-time bioaerosol particle counters using reference chamber experiments
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021; 14(12): 7693-7706. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-7693-2021
DORA PSI -
Moallemi A, Landwehr S, Robinson C, Simó R, Zamanillo M, Chen G, et al.
Sources, occurrence and characteristics of fluorescent biological aerosol particles measured over the pristine Southern Ocean
Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres. 2021; 126(11): e2021JD034811 (24 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1029/2021JD034811
DORA PSI -
Modini RL, Corbin JC, Brem BT, Irwin M, Bertò M, Pileci RE, et al.
Detailed characterization of the CAPS single-scattering albedo monitor (CAPS PMssa) as a field-deployable instrument for measuring aerosol light absorption with the extinction-minus-scattering method
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021; 14(2): 819-851. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-819-2021
DORA PSI -
Moschos V, Gysel-Beer M, Modini RL, Corbin JC, Massabò D, Costa C, et al.
Source-specific light absorption by carbonaceous components in the complex aerosol matrix from yearly filter-based measurements
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(17): 12809-12833. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-12809-2021
DORA PSI -
Nguyen D-L, Czech H, Pieber SM, Schnelle-Kreis J, Steinbacher M, Orasche J, et al.
Carbonaceous aerosol composition in air masses influenced by large-scale biomass burning: a case study in northwestern Vietnam
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(10): 8293-8312. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-8293-2021
DORA PSI -
Ni H, Huang R-J, Pieber SM, Corbin JC, Stefenelli G, Pospisilova V, et al.
Brown carbon in primary and aged coal combustion emission
Environmental Science and Technology. 2021; 55(9): 5701-5710. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.0c08084
DORA PSI -
Pileci RE, Modini RL, Bertò M, Yuan J, Corbin JC, Marinoni A, et al.
Comparison of co-located refractory black carbon (rBC) and elemental carbon (EC) mass concentration measurements during field campaigns at several European sites
Atmospheric Measurement Techniques. 2021; 14(2): 1379-1403. https://doi.org/10.5194/amt-14-1379-2021
DORA PSI -
Rose C, Collaud Coen M, Andrews E, Lin Y, Bossert I, Lund Myhre C, et al.
Seasonality of the particle number concentration and size distribution: a global analysis retrieved from the network of Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) near-surface observatories
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(22): 17185-17223. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-17185-2021
DORA PSI -
Sun J, Hermann M, Yuan Y, Birmili W, Collaud Coen M, Weinhold K, et al.
Long-term trends of black carbon and particle number concentration in the lower free troposphere in Central Europe
Environmental Sciences Europe. 2021; 33(1): 47 (16 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12302-021-00488-w
DORA PSI -
Titos G, Burgos MA, Zieger P, Alados-Arboledas L, Baltensperger U, Jefferson A, et al.
A global study of hygroscopicity-driven light-scattering enhancement in the context of other in situ aerosol optical properties
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(17): 13031-13050. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-13031-2021
DORA PSI -
Tummon F, Adamov S, Clot B, Crouzy B, Gysel-Beer M, Kawashima S, et al.
A first evaluation of multiple automatic pollen monitors run in parallel
Aerobiologia. 2021: (16 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10453-021-09729-0
DORA PSI -
Wang H, He C, Modini RL, Wang W, Lu H, Morawska L
Mixing state of printer generated ultrafine particles: implications for the complexity of indoor aerosols
Atmospheric Environment. 2021; 259: 118550 (9 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2021.118550
DORA PSI -
Yan C, Yin R, Lu Y, Dada L, Yang D, Fu Y, et al.
The synergistic role of sulfuric acid, bases, and oxidized organics governing new-particle formation in Beijing
Geophysical Research Letters. 2021; 48(7): e2020GL091944 (12 pp.). https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL091944
DORA PSI -
Yuan J, Modini RL, Zanatta M, Herber AB, Müller T, Wehner B, et al.
Variability in the mass absorption cross section of black carbon (BC) aerosols is driven by BC internal mixing state at a central European background site (Melpitz, Germany) in winter
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. 2021; 21(2): 635-655. https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-21-635-2021
DORA PSI