Investigating the contribution of grown new particles to cloud condensation nuclei with largely varying preexisting particles – Part 2: Modeling chemical drivers and 3-D new particle formation occurrence

Abstract

Abstract. In this study, we utilized a 20-bin WRF-Chem (Weather Research and Forecasting coupled with Chemistry) regional model to investigate the contributions of chemical drivers to the growth of new particles, as well as to simulate the three-dimensional dynamics of new particle formation (NPF) events over the North China Plain during a summer campaign in 2019. The model replicated the occurrence of NPF and the growth pattern of newly formed particles, as well as the performance to meet the benchmarks, i.e., absolute mean fractional bias ≤ 50 % and mean fractional error ≤ 75 %, in replicating number concentrations of particles in the 10–40 nm range in five events between 29 June and 6 July 2019. Therefore, we further analyzed three NPF events with distinct particle growth characteristics. In these instances, the model overpredicted daytime condensation of H2SO4 vapor and nighttime formation of NH4NO3. These resulted in overestimation of the hygroscopicity parameter of nanometer particles. Nevertheless, the model performance met the benchmarks for reproducing cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at a supersaturation (SS) of 0.4 % on NPF days. This was because the overestimation of inorganics was offset by the model underestimation of CCN originating from submicron particles. Additionally, three-dimensional simulations of NPF events demonstrated some key findings. First, NPF consistently begins in the upper parts of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) before expanding. Second, during daytime organics dominate growth of new particles in the PBL, whereas in the free troposphere the primary chemical drivers are inorganic species. However, to confirm these findings, vertical observations are required.