In the constantly-evolving field that is Atmospheric Sciences, new avenues arise that need to be explored. Aerosol research is one of these areas, and it is quite important as it impacts other branches such as chemistry, cloud physics, radiation, and climate change. Simply defined, an aerosol is a suspension of a liquid or a solid in the air. Some examples include microscopic organic droplets, inorganic salts, and soot to name a few. Important pieces of information to know about aerosols are their composition, their number concentration in the atmosphere, their size, and their chemical properties.
Aerosols have a direct effect on the atmosphere's radiation budget.
Particles in the atmosphere can absorb and reflect some of the incoming shortwave radiation from the sun. Aerosols can also indirectly affect our planet's temperature by altering the properties of the clouds. Aerosols can serve as cloud condensation nuclei, leading to increased cloud cover which in turn reflects more radiation. In a nutshell, aerosols play a definitive role in atmospheric radiative forcing, and quantifying these effects will help us to better explain the climate of our planet. The Aerosol Research Group focuses on accurately retrieving the aerosol number concentrations in the atmosphere.