Aerosols in the atmosphere are important in many ways, e.g. as players in climate system, air chemistry and air pollution. Despite of their importance the sources of number or mass of aerosols are not fully understood. The same is true for the chemical fate of aerosols during their lifetime in the atmosphere. By definition aerosols involve gas-phase and particulate phase. This fact contributes to the complexity (and scientific challenge) of aerosols as the formation and the chemical evolution of aerosols in the atmosphere are driven by chemical processes in gas- and particle phase and subsequent exchange of reaction products between both phases. Recent observations for ageing of organic and multi-component aerosols indicate that the coupling of gas- and particulate phase may be more important for microphysical and chemical properties of aerosols than previously thought.
The session Aerosol Chemistry and Microphysics is aiming to present and to discuss the newest findings regarding chemical evolution and microphysical properties of aerosols and their importance for atmospheric chemistry and climate.