← Back to papers

The acidity of atmospheric particles and clouds

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

Paper Summary

Paperzilla title
Atmospheric particles and clouds: a pH overview

The article reviews the current state of knowledge on the acidity of particles and cloud droplets in the atmosphere. Observationally constrained pH estimates indicate that fine particles are ubiquitous but spatially and temporally limited, while clouds and fogs are also generally acidic.

Explain Like I'm Five

Scientists found that tiny bits floating in the air and the water in clouds are usually acidic, like sour candy. But the sourness of the tiny bits changes a lot depending on where you are and when.

Possible Conflicts of Interest

None identified

Identified Limitations

different definitions of pH are used
pH has many different approximations, but is only directly measurable for dilute solutions, meaning that the pH values shown in the literature may not be equivalent to the exact or even the approximate measures, which will affect the accuracy of the results.

Rating Explanation

This review synthesized the current literature on the acidity of atmospheric condensed phases. Aerosol acidity is an important field in atmospheric sciences because it affects health, ecosystems, climate, and environmental management. While this field has seen rapid growth in the literature, few observationally constrained datasets exist for model evaluation, a challenge that is addressed in this work.

Good to know

This is the Starter analysis. Paperzilla Pro fact-checks every citation, researches author backgrounds and funding sources, and uses advanced AI reasoning for more thorough insights.

Explore Pro →

Topic Hierarchy

File Information

Original Title: The acidity of atmospheric particles and clouds
Uploaded: July 14, 2025 at 06:46 AM
Privacy: Public