page_title: Aerosol mass spectrometry
hierarchical_section_title: Aerosol mass spectrometry
caption_attribution_description: English: "NOAA's "PALMS" instrument aboard the NASA WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft. The Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry instrument characterized the chemical composition of seeds in individual cirrus crystals sampled during several research flights over North America and Central America."
context_page_description: Aerosol mass spectrometry is the application of mass spectrometry to aerosol particles. Aerosol particles are defined as solid and liquid particles suspended in a gas, with size range of 3 nm to 100 μm in diameter. Aerosol particles are produced from natural and anthropogenic sources, through a variety of different processes that include; wind-blown suspension, and combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Analysis of aerosol particles is important because of their major impacts on the global climate change, visibility, regional air pollution and human health. Aerosol particles are very complex in structure and can contain thousands of different chemical compounds within a single particle. Due to this complexity the instrumentation used to analysis these particles must have the ability to separate based on size and in real-time provide information on their chemical composition. To meet these requirements for analysis, mass spectrometry instrumentation is used and they provide high sensitivity and the ability to detect a wide molecular mass range. Aerosol mass spectrometry can be divided into two categorizes; off-line and on-line.
context_section_description: Aerosol mass spectrometry is the application of mass spectrometry to aerosol particles. Aerosol particles are defined as solid and liquid particles suspended in a gas (air), with size range of 3 nm to 100 μm in diameter. Aerosol particles are produced from natural and anthropogenic sources, through a variety of different processes that include; wind-blown suspension, and combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Analysis of aerosol particles is important because of their major impacts on the global climate change, visibility, regional air pollution and human health.  Aerosol particles are very complex in structure and can contain thousands of different chemical compounds within a single particle.  Due to this complexity the instrumentation used to analysis these particles must have the ability to separate based on size and in real-time provide information on their chemical composition. To meet these requirements for analysis, mass spectrometry instrumentation is used and they provide high sensitivity and the ability to detect a wide molecular mass range. Aerosol mass spectrometry can be divided into two categorizes; off-line and on-line. Off-line mass spectrometry is performed on collected particles. On-line mass spectrometry is performed on particles introduced in real time.
caption: NOAA's Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry instrument aboard the NASA WB-57 high-altitude research aircraft.
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