Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net 1680-7367 1680-7375 7 3 2007 10.5194/acpd-7-6077-2007 http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6077/2007/ http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6077/2007/acpd-7-6077-2007.html http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/7/6077/2007/acpd-7-6077-2007.pdf 6077 6112 2007-05-08 On the contribution of Aitken mode particles to cloud droplet populations at continental background areas – a parametric sensitivity study T. Anttila tatu.anttila@fmi.fi V.-M. Kerminen Finnish Meteorological Institute, Research and Development, P.O. Box 503, 00101 Finland Aitken mode particles are potentially an important source of cloud droplets in continental background areas. In order to find out which physico-chemical properties of Aitken mode particles are most important regarding their cloud-nucleating ability, we applied a global sensitivity method to an adiabatic air parcel model simulating the number of cloud droplets formed on Aitken mode particles, CD2. The technique propagates uncertainties in the parameters describing the properties of Aitken mode to CD2. The results show that if the Aitken mode particles do not contain molecules that are able to reduce the particle surface tension more than 30% and/or decrease the mass accommodation coefficient of water, α, below 10−2, the chemical composition and modal properties may have roughly an equal importance at low updraft velocities characterized by maximum supersaturations <0.1%. For larger updraft velocities, however, the particle size distribution is clearly more important than the chemical composition. 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