Peer-reviewedCC BYNature
Role of methanesulfonic acid in atmospheric particle nucleation and growth
29 affiliations
- 1Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus
- 2Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research/Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- 3Helsinki Institute of Physics, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
- 4Institute for Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- 5Atmospheric Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany
- 6Center for Atmospheric Particle Studies, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- 7Department of Chemistry, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- 8Department of the Geophysical Sciences, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
- 9Institute for Ion Physics and Applied Physics, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria
- 10Center for Energy and Environmental Sciences, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland
- 11Faculty of Physics, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
- 12Institute of Materials Chemistry, TU Wien, Vienna, Austria
- 13CERN, European Organization for Nuclear Research, Geneva, Switzerland
- 14IONICON Analytik GmbH, Innsbruck, Austria
- 15Faculty of Sciences, University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal
- 16TOFWERK, Thun, Switzerland
- 17Department of Chemistry and Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
- 18Lebedev Physical Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russian Federation
- 19Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (National Research University), Moscow, Russian Federation
- 20Department of Physics, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- 21National Institute of Nuclear Physics, INFN-Genoa, Genoa, Italy
- 22Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA
- 23Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki, Finland
- 24Division of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
- 25School of Marine Sciences, State Key Laboratory of Environmental Adaptability for Industrial Products, Sun Yat-sen University, Zhuhai, China
- 26Beijing Weather Modification Center, Beijing, China
- 27Instituto Dom Luiz (IDL), University of Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal
- 28Aerosol Physics Laboratory, Physics Unit, Faculty of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Tampere, Tampere, Finland
- 29Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment and Pollution Control, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
Abstract
Dimethyl sulfide (DMS; CH 3 SCH 3 ) from marine phytoplankton is a notable source of atmospheric sulfur 1 . Its oxidation products include sulfuric acid (SA; H 2 SO 4 ) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA; CH 3 SO 3 H), which has a higher yield than SA below 10 °C (ref. 2 ). Although SA is known to drive the formation of new particles 3 , which may subsequently grow and act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), the role of MSA remains unclear 4 . Here, in experiments performed under atmospheric conditions at the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber, we show that MSA nucleates together with ammonia (NH 3 ) below −10 °C, at rates comparable with SA-NH 3 . Moreover, MSA and SA nucleate synergistically below −10 °C, forming multi-acid molecular clusters with NH 3 . Even at ultralow NH 3 levels, MSA drives particle growth at or near the kinetic limit below 9 °C and above 40% relative humidity (RH). Because MSA and SA generally coexist at similar concentrations in cool marine regions, our findings indicate that nucleation rates may be accelerated up to tenfold and growth rates up to twofold compared with SA-NH3 alone. Our global model simulations indicate that MSA can enhance CCN concentrations, especially in polar regions. We propose that MSA might be an important driver of biogenic particles in cool, pristine marine regions of both the present-day and pre-industrial atmospheres and yet is unaccounted for in global climate models 5 .
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BibTeX
@article{baalbaki2026role,
title = {{Role of methanesulfonic acid in atmospheric particle nucleation and growth}},
author = {Rima Baalbaki and Jiali Shen and Mario Simon and Hannah Klebach and Samuel Ruhl and Jenna DeVivo and Mingyi Wang and Wiebke Scholz and Lubna Dada and Birte Rörup and Dominik Stolzenburg and Hanna E. Manninen and Eva Sommer and Lucía Caudillo-Plath and Guillaume Marie and Martin Friedrich and Wenjuan Yu and Markus Sebastian Leiminger and Dina Alfaouri and A. Amorim and Tatjana Müller and H. Beckmann and Moritz Berntheusel and Steffen Bräkling and Zoé Brasseur and Randall Chiu and Jonathan Duplissy and Henning Finkenzeller and Martin Heinritzi and Felix Kunkler and Houssni Lamkaddam and Brandon Lopez and Naser Mahfouz and В. С. Махмутов and Mònica Martínez and Ruby Marten and Dario Massabò and Roy L. Mauldin and Bernhard Mentler and Markus Müller and Maxim Philippov and Ana A. Piedehierro and Pedro Rato and Tobias Reinecke and Sarah Richter and Douglas M. Russell and Benjamin C. Schulze and Mihnea Surdu and Roseline C. Thakur and Yee Jun Tham and Ping Tian and António R. Tomé and Yandong Tong and Jens Top and Andrea C. Wagner and D Y Wang and Yonghong Wang and Ryan X. Ward and S Weber and André Welti},
journal = {Nature},
year = {2026},
month = jun,
doi = {10.1038/s41586-026-10810-2},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10810-2},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Role of methanesulfonic acid in atmospheric particle nucleation and growth
AU - Rima Baalbaki
AU - Jiali Shen
AU - Mario Simon
AU - Hannah Klebach
AU - Samuel Ruhl
AU - Jenna DeVivo
AU - Mingyi Wang
AU - Wiebke Scholz
AU - Lubna Dada
AU - Birte Rörup
AU - Dominik Stolzenburg
AU - Hanna E. Manninen
AU - Eva Sommer
AU - Lucía Caudillo-Plath
AU - Guillaume Marie
AU - Martin Friedrich
AU - Wenjuan Yu
AU - Markus Sebastian Leiminger
AU - Dina Alfaouri
AU - A. Amorim
AU - Tatjana Müller
AU - H. Beckmann
AU - Moritz Berntheusel
AU - Steffen Bräkling
AU - Zoé Brasseur
AU - Randall Chiu
AU - Jonathan Duplissy
AU - Henning Finkenzeller
AU - Martin Heinritzi
AU - Felix Kunkler
AU - Houssni Lamkaddam
AU - Brandon Lopez
AU - Naser Mahfouz
AU - В. С. Махмутов
AU - Mònica Martínez
AU - Ruby Marten
AU - Dario Massabò
AU - Roy L. Mauldin
AU - Bernhard Mentler
AU - Markus Müller
AU - Maxim Philippov
AU - Ana A. Piedehierro
AU - Pedro Rato
AU - Tobias Reinecke
AU - Sarah Richter
AU - Douglas M. Russell
AU - Benjamin C. Schulze
AU - Mihnea Surdu
AU - Roseline C. Thakur
AU - Yee Jun Tham
AU - Ping Tian
AU - António R. Tomé
AU - Yandong Tong
AU - Jens Top
AU - Andrea C. Wagner
AU - D Y Wang
AU - Yonghong Wang
AU - Ryan X. Ward
AU - S Weber
AU - André Welti
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/06/24
JO - Nature
DO - 10.1038/s41586-026-10810-2
UR - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10810-2
AB - Dimethyl sulfide (DMS; CH 3 SCH 3 ) from marine phytoplankton is a notable source of atmospheric sulfur 1 . Its oxidation products include sulfuric acid (SA; H 2 SO 4 ) and methanesulfonic acid (MSA; CH 3 SO 3 H), which has a higher yield than SA below 10 °C (ref. 2 ). Although SA is known to drive the formation of new particles 3 , which may subsequently grow and act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), the role of MSA remains unclear 4 . Here, in experiments performed under atmospheric conditions at the CERN CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving OUtdoor Droplets) chamber, we show that MSA nucleates together with ammonia (NH 3 ) below −10 °C, at rates comparable with SA-NH 3 . Moreover, MSA and SA nucleate synergistically below −10 °C, forming multi-acid molecular clusters with NH 3 . Even at ultralow NH 3 levels, MSA drives particle growth at or near the kinetic limit below 9 °C and above 40% relative humidity (RH). Because MSA and SA generally coexist at similar concentrations in cool marine regions, our findings indicate that nucleation rates may be accelerated up to tenfold and growth rates up to twofold compared with SA-NH3 alone. Our global model simulations indicate that MSA can enhance CCN concentrations, especially in polar regions. We propose that MSA might be an important driver of biogenic particles in cool, pristine marine regions of both the present-day and pre-industrial atmospheres and yet is unaccounted for in global climate models 5 .
SN - 0028-0836
SN - 1476-4687
ER -