Center for Atmospheric Research

Experiments on aerosols and droplets of atmospheric relevance, especially using synchrotron radiation facilities. Topics of interest include:

• Liquid jet to study droplet surfaces
• Aerosols (clusters, deposited particles)
• Single-particle imaging

Figure from: Atmos. Chem. Phys., 21, 4709–4727, 2021

Investigate aerosol processes relevant to atmosphere on different modeling levels and study their impacts on the environment:

• Process models: Investigation of nano- and micro-scale behaviour of aqueous solutions of atmospheric relevance using thermodynamic properties. Example: The Monolayer model developed by this group ().
• Box models: Translate the detailed knowledge available from experimental team and process models to small-scale box models, like HAMBOX, to investigate potential impacts on climate.
• Climate models: Use ECHAM, EC-Earth and other full-scale global climate models to investigate impacts of aerosol properties, processes and microphysics on global climate.

Figure from Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 2669–2687, 2022

Earth’s climate is changing rapidly these years. This change is overwhelmingly caused by human activities. With fossil fuel combustion, livestock and agriculture, we increase the amount of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere, especially carbon dioxide, leading to global warming.

Our atmosphere also contains numerous tiny (nanometer to micrometer-sized) particles suspended in the air. These aerosol particles have many different sources, both natural, for example, volcanoes, deserts, oceans and forests, and manmade, including traffic, industry, cooking, and many more. Aerosol particles are everywhere in the air that we breathe. There is no air, which is particle-free. Even in the cleanest, most remote areas of the Arctic, there may still be some 100 particles in every cubic centimeter of air. And in polluted megacities, or in the middle of a forest fire, this number may be millions.

These tiny aerosol particles are globally responsible for much of the health effects and mortality related to air pollution.

2024

• Sengupta, G. & Prisle, N. L. (2024). Surface modulated dissociation of organic aerosol acids and bases in different atmospheric environments. Aerosol Science and Technology, 58(4), 440-460.

• Sengupta, G., Zheng, M., & Prisle, N. L. (2024). Impact of acidity and surface-modulated acid dissociation on cloud response to organic aerosol. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 24(2), 1467-1487.

2023

• Prisle, N. L. (2023). Surfaces of Atmospheric Droplet Models Probed with Synchrotron XPS on a Liquid Microjet. Accounts of Chemical Research, 57 (2), 177-187.

• Bain, A., Ghosh, K., Prisle, N. L., & Bzdek, B. R. (2023). Surface-Area-to-Volume Ratio Determines Surface Tensions in Microscopic, Surfactant-Containing Droplets. ACS Central Science, 9(11), 2076-2083.

• Zheng, M., Liu, H., Adolphi, F., Muscheler, R., Lu, Z., Wu, M., & Prisle, N. L. (2023). Simulations of 7Be and 10Be with the GEOS-Chem global model v14. 0.2 using state-of-the-art production rates. Geoscientific Model Development Discussions, 16 (23), 7037–7057.

• Ozon, M., Tumashevich, K., Lin, J. J., & Prisle, N. L. (2023). Inversion model for extracting chemically resolved depth profiles across liquid interfaces of various configurations from XPS data: PROPHESY. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 30, 941-961.

• Ozon, M., Tumashevich, K., & Prisle, N. L. (2023). Quantitative alignment parameter estimation for analyzing X-ray photoelectron spectra. Journal of Synchrotron Radiation, 30, 766-779.

• Vepsäläinen, S., Calderón, S.,M., & Prisle, N. (2023). Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 2: Strong surfactants. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 23(23), 15149-15164.

• Rissler, Jenny; Preger, Callea; Eriksson, Axel C.; Lin, Jack J.; Prisle, Nønne L.; Svenningsson, Birgittae. (2023). Erratum: Missed Evaporation from Atmospherically Relevant Inorganic Mixtures Confounds Experimental Aerosol Studies (Environmental Science and Technology (2023) 57: 7 (2706−2814) DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.2c06545). Environmental Science & Technology 2023 57 (17), 7101-7101.

• Rissler, Jenny; Preger, Callea; Eriksson, Axel C.; Lin, Jack J.; Prisle, Nønne L.; Svenningsson, Birgittae. (2023). Missed Evaporation from Atmospherically Relevant Inorganic Mixtures Confounds Experimental Aerosol Studies. Environmental Science and Technology, 57(7), 2706-2714.

2022

• Hosseini, A., Khoshsima, A., Sabzi, M., & Rostam, A. (2022). Toward Application of Ionic Liquids to Desulfurization of Fuels: A Review. Energy & Fuels, 36(8), 4119–4152.

• Mira Hulkkonen, Antti Lipponen, Tero Mielonen, Harri Kokkola, and Nønne L. Prisle (2022): Changes in urban air pollution after a shift in anthropogenic activity analysed with ensemble learning, competitive learning and unsupervised clustering, Atmospheric Pollution Research, Volume 13, Issue 5, 101393

• Sampo Vepsäläinen, Silvia M. Calderón, Jussi Malila, and Nønne L. Prisle (2022): Comparison of six approaches to predicting droplet activation of surface active aerosol – Part 1: moderately surface active organics, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 22, 2669–2687

• Eetu Pelimanni, Clara-Magdalena Saak, Georgia Michailoudi, Nønne Prisle, Marko Huttula and Minna Patanen (2022): Solvent and cosolute dependence of Mg surface enrichment in submicron aerosol particles, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys., 24, 2934-2943. Selected as PCCP HOT article 2022.

2021

• Nønne L. Prisle (2021): A predictive thermodynamic framework of cloud droplet activation for chemically unresolved aerosol mixtures, including surface tension, non-ideality, and bulk/surface partitioning, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

• Shuzhen Chen, Luca Artiglia, Fabrizio Orlando, Jacinta Edebeli, Xiangrui Kong, Huanyu Yang, Anthony Boucly, Pablo Corral Arroyo, Nønne Prisle, and Markus Ammann (2021): Impact of Tetrabutylammonium on the Oxidation of Bromide by Ozone, ACS Earth and Space Chemistry

• Xiangrui Kong, Josip Lovrić, Sofia M. Johansson, Nønne L. Prisle, and Jan B. C. Pettersson (2021): Dynamics and Sorption Kinetics of Methanol Monomers and Clusters on Nopinone Surfaces, Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 2021, 125(28), pp. 6263–6272

• Noora Hyttinen, Matthieu Wolf, Matti P. Rissanen, Mikael Ehn, Otso Peräkylä, Theo Kurtén, and Nønne L. Prisle (2021): Gas-to-Particle Partitioning of Cyclohexene- and α-Pinene-Derived Highly Oxygenated Dimers Evaluated Using COSMOtherm, J. Phys. Chem. A

• G. Michailoudi, J. J. Lin, H. Yuzawa, M. Nagasaka, M. Huttula, N. Kosugi, T. Kurtén, M. Patanen, and N. L. Prisle (2021): Aqueous-phase behavior of glyoxal and methylglyoxal observed with carbon and oxygen K-edge X-ray absorption spectroscopy, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

• Jack J. Lin, Kamal Raj R, Stella Wang, Esko Kokkonen, Mikko-Heikki Mikkelä, Samuli Urpelainen, and Nønne L. Prisle (2021): Pre-deliquescent water uptake in deposited nanoparticles observed with in situ ambient pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

• Silvia Margarita Calderón and Nønne L. Prisle (2021): Composition dependent density of ternary aqueous solutions of ionic surfactants and salts: Capturing the effect of surfactant micellization in atmospheric droplet model solutions, Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry.

White paper

Centre for Molecular Water Science (CMWS), White Paper, A pan-European Research Initiative. Edited by Gerhard Grübel, Melanie Schnell, Claudia Goy, Felix Lehmkühler and Sadia Bari, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron DESY, Hamburg, Germany. May 2021. Contributor to Science case 2: Water in Climate-, Astro-, and Geo-Sciences and Science Case 5: Water in the Molecular Life Sciences.

2020

• Torsten Berndt, Jing Chen, Kristian H. Møller, Noora Hyttinen, Nønne L. Prisle, Andreas Tilgner, Erik H. Hoffmann, Hartmut Herrmann and Henrik G. Kjaergaard (2020): SO2 formation and peroxy radical isomerization in the atmospheric reaction of OH radicals with dimethyl disulfide, Chemical Communications.

• Noora Hyttinen, Reyhaneh Heshmatnezhad, Jonas Elm, Theo Kurtén, and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): Technical note: Estimating aqueous solubilities and activity coefficients of mono- and α, ω-dicarboxylic acids using COSMO-RS-DARE, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

• Silvia Margarita Calderón, Jussi Malila, and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): Model for estimating activity coefficients in binary and ternary ionic surfactant solutions: The CMC based ionic surfactant activity model (CISA) for atmospheric applications, Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry.

• Teemu Paljakka, Kaisa Rissanen, Anni Vanhatalo, Yann Salmon, Tuula Marketta Jyske, Nønne L Prisle, Riikka Linnakoski, Jack J Lin, Tapio Laakso, Risto Kasanen, Jaana Bäck, Teemu Hölttä (2020): Is Decreased Xylem Sap Surface Tension Associated With Embolism and Loss of Xylem Hydraulic Conductivity in Pathogen-Infected Norway Spruce Saplings?, Frontiers in Plant Science, section Plant Physiology 11, 1090.

• Noora Hyttinen and Nønne L. Prisle (2020), Improving Solubility and Activity Estimates of Multifunctional Atmospheric Organics by Selecting Conformers in COSMOtherm, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A 124, 23, 4801–4812.

• Otto Mankinen, Vladimir V. Zhivonitko, Anne Selent, Sarah Mailhiot, Sanna Komulainen, Nønne L. Prisle, Susanna Ahola & Ville-Veikko Telkki (2020): Ultrafast NMR Quantification of Molecular Exchange Processes, Nature Communications 11, 3251.

• Noora Hyttinen, Jonas Elm, Jussi Malila, Silvia Calderón and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): Thermodynamic properties of isoprene- and monoterpene-derived organosulfates estimated with COSMOtherm, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 20, 5679–5696.

• Bryan R. Bzdek, Jonathan P. Reid, Jussi Malila, and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): The surface tension of surfactant-containing, finite volume droplets, PNAS April 14, 2020 117 (15) 8335-8343.

• Jack J. Lin, Thomas B. Kristensen, Silvia M. Calderón, Jussi Malila and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): Effects of surface tension time-evolution for CCN activation of a complex organic surfactant, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts, Selected as ESPI HOT article 2020.

• Georgia Michailoudi, Noora Hyttinen, Theo Kurtén and Nønne L. Prisle (2020): Solubility and Activity Coefficients of Atmospheric Surfactants in Aqueous Solution Evaluated using COSMOtherm, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A.

2019

• Mira Hulkkonen, Tero Mielonen and Nønne L. Prisle (2019): The atmospheric impacts of initiatives advancing shifts towards low-emission mobility: A scoping review, Science of the Total Environment.

• Jonas Elm, Noora Hyttinen, Jack Lin, Theo Kurtén and Nonne Prisle (2019): Strong Even/Odd Pattern in the Computed Gas-Phase Stability of Dicarboxylic Acid Dimers: Implications for Condensation Thermodynamics, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A.

• Berndt, Torsten; Scholz, Wiebke; Mentler, Bernhard; Fischer, Lukas; Hoffmann, Erik; Tilgner, Andreas; Hyttinen, Noora; Prisle, Nønne L.; Hansel, Armin; Herrmann, Hartmut (2019): Fast Peroxy Radical Isomerization and OH Recycling in the Reaction of OH Radicals with Dimethyl Sulfide, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters.

• Locke Birdsey, Mira Hulkkonen, Saara Pesonen, Pedro Nardelli and Nønne L. Prisle (2019): CASA: A MATSim-Based Platform for Investigating Methods to Reduce Traffic Emissions, peer reviewed conference contribution, ABMUS2019.

• Prisle, N. L., Lin, J. J., Purdue, S. K., Lin, H., Meredith, J. C., and Nenes, A. (2019): Cloud condensation nuclei activity of six pollenkitts and the influence of their surface activity, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

• Boy, M., Thomson, E. S., Acosta Navarro, J.-C., Arnalds, O., Batchvarova, E., Bäck, J., Berninger, F., Bilde, M., Dagsson-Waldhauserova, P., Castarède, D., Dalirian, M., de Leeuw, G., Dragosics, M., Duplissy, E.-M., Duplissy, J., Ekman, A. M. L., Fang, K., Gallet, J.-C., Glasius, M., Gryning, S.-E., Grythe, H., Hansson, H.-C., Hansson, M., Isaksson, E., Iversen, T., Jonsdottir, I., Kasurinen, V., Kirkevåg, A., Korhola, A., Krejci, R., Kristjansson, J. E., Lappalainen, H. K., Lauri, A., Leppäranta, M., Lihavainen, H., Makkonen, R., Massling, A., Meinander, O., Nilsson, E. D., Olafsson, H., Pettersson, J. B. C., Prisle, N. L., Riipinen, I., Roldin, P., Ruppel, M., Salter, M., Sand, M., Seland, Ø., Seppä, H., Skov, H., Soares, J., Stohl, A., Ström, J., Svensson, J., Swietlicki, E., Tabakova, K., Thorsteinsson, T., Virkkula, A., Weyhenmeyer, G. A., Wu, Y., Zieger, P., and Kulmala, M. (2019): Interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere and ecosystems at northern high latitudes, Atmos. Chem. Phys.

2018

• J. Malila and N. L. Prisle (2018): A monolayer partitioning scheme for droplets of surfactant solutions, Journal of Advances in Modeling Earth System.

• Jack J. Lin, J. Malila, and N. L. Prisle (2018): Cloud droplet activation of organic-salt mixtures predicted from two model treatments of the droplet surface, Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts.

• Josephina Werner, Ingmar Persson, Olle Björneholm, Delphine Kawecki, Clara-Magdalena Saak, Marie-Madeleine Walz, Victor Ekholm, Isaak Unger, Corina Valtl, Carl Caleman, Gunnar Öhrwall, and Nønne L. Prisle (2018): Shifted equilibria of organic acids and bases in the aqueous surface region, Phys.Chem.Chem.Phys. 20, 23281

• Kurtén, T., Hyttinen, N., D'Ambro, E. L., Thornton, J., and Prisle, N. L. (2018): Estimating the saturation vapor pressures of isoprene oxidation products C5H12O6 and C5H10O6 using COSMO-RS, Atmos. Chem. Phys. 18, 17589-17600.

• Xiangrui Kong, Martin J. Wolf, Michael Roesch, Erik S. Thomson, Thorsten Bartels-Rausch, Peter A. Alpert, Markus Ammann, Nønne L. Prisle, and Daniel J. Cziczo (2018): A Continuous Flow Diffusion Chamber Study of Sea Salt Particles Acting as Cloud Nuclei: Deliquescence and Ice Nucleation, TellusB.

• Anthony R. Toribio, Nønne L. Prisle, and Anthony S. Wexler (2018): Statistical Mechanics of Multilayer Sorption: Surface Concentration Modeling and XPS Measurement, The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters 9, 1461–1464.

• Nønne L. Prisle and Bjarke Mølgaard (2018): Modeling CCN activity of chemically unresolved model HULIS, including surface tension, non-ideality, and surface partitioning, Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss, doi.org/10.5194/acp-2018-789.

2017

• Lauri Hautala, Kari Jänkälä, Mikko-Heikki Mikkelä, Paavo Turunen, Nønne L. Prisle, Minna Patanen, Maxim Tchaplyguine, Marko Huttula (2017): Probing RbBr solvation in freestanding sub-2 nm water clusters, Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.

• Martta Toivola, Nønne L. Prisle, Jonas Elm, Eleanor M. Waxman, Rainer Volkamer, and Theo Kurtén (2017): Can COSMOtherm Predict a Salting in Effect?, The Journal of Physical Chemistry A, 121 (33), pp 6288–6295.

• Juan Hong, Mikko Äijälä, Silja A. K. Häme, Liqing Hao, Jonathan Duplissy, Liine M. Heikkinen, Wei Nie, Jyri Mikkilä, Markku Kulmala, Nønne L. Prisle, Annele Virtanen, Mikael Ehn, Pauli Paasonen, Douglas R. Worsnop, Ilona Riipinen, Tuukka Petäjä, and Veli-Matti Kerminen (2017): Estimates of the organic aerosol volatility in a boreal forest using two independent methods, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 17, 4387-4399.

• L. Hautala, K. Jänkälä, T. Löytynoja, M.-H. Mikkelä, N. Prisle, M. Tchaplyguine, and M. Huttula (2017): Experimental observation of structural phase transition in CsBr clusters, Phys. Rev. B 95.

• Mira Hulkkonen and Nønne L. Prisle (2021): Managing the footprints in urban air, Handbook of Climate Change Management, edited by Walter Leal Filho, Johannes M. Luetz and Desalegn Yayeh Ayal, Springer Nature India Ltd

2023

• Nordic Aerosol Symposium (NOSA) 2023, Oslo, Norway (March 13th- 15th 2023). Acid dissociation in ECHAM HAMBOX, Gargi Sengupta, contributed talk.

2022

• Max IV User Meeting 2022, Lund, Sweden: Chemical Mapping Individual Atmospheric Nanoparticles, Kamal Raj R, poster contribution.

• AI Day 2022, Helsinki, Finland: Predictive model for the reconstruction of concentration chemical depth profiles obtained by XPS method, Konstantin Tumashevich, Matthew Ozone, Nønne L. Prisle, poster contribution

• HESEB workshop on soft X-rays at Istanbul University, SESAME’s HElmholtz-SEsame Beamline (HESEB), Istanbul, Turkey: Aerosol surfaces to global climate models: the role of soft X rays, Kamal Raj R, on behalf of Nønne Prisle, invited talk.

2020

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC) 2020, Aachen, Germany: Surface active organic aerosol: experiments, models, and atmospheric impact, Nønne L. Prisle, invited plenary talk.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC) 2020, Aachen, Germany: Time-evolution effects of a complex organic surfactant on CCN activation, Lin, Jack Jie; Kristensen, Thomas B.; Calderón, Silvia M.; Malila, Jussi and Prisle, Nønne L.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC) 2020, Aachen, Germany: Surface adsorption of a model atmospheric organosulfate studied directly with synchrotron radiation based XPS on a liquid micro-jet, Raj R, Kamal; J. Lin, Jack; Michailoudi, Georgia; Kokkonen, Esko; Malila, Jussi; M. Calderón, Silvia; Öhrwall, Gunnar; Urpelainen, Samuli; Kivimäki, Antti and Prisle, Nønne L.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC) 2020, Aachen, Germany: An activity coefficient model for ionic surfactants and salts in aqueous mixtures, S.M. Calderón, J. Malila and N. L. Prisle.

• Max IV User Meeting 2020, Lund, Sweden: Surface adsorption of a model atmospheric organosulfate studied directly with synchrotron radiation based XPS on a liquid micro-jet, Kamal; J. Lin, Jack; Michailoudi, Georgia; Kokkonen, Esko; Malila, Jussi; M. Calderón, Silvia; Öhrwall, Gunnar; Urpelainen, Samuli; Kivimäki, Antti and Prisle, Nønne L., Video presentation, receipient of the Student Science Award.

• Physics Days 2020, annual meeting of the Finnish Physical Society Kuopio, Finland, March 17-19, 2020. Surface Tension of Surfactant-Containing, Finite Volume Droplets, Jussi Malila, Bryan Bzdek, Jonathan Reid, and Nønne L. Prisle. Conference canceled due to COVID19.

• Nordic Aerosol Symposium (NOSA) 2020, Sandbjerg Estate, Sønderborg, Denmark (March 18th- 20th 2020). Thermodynamic properties of organosulfates estimated with COSMOtherm, Noora Hyttinen, Jonas Elm, Jussi Malila, Silvia M. Calderón and Nønne L. Prisle, accepted for poster presentation. Conference canceled due to COVID19.

• Nordic Aerosol Symposium (NOSA) 2020, Sandbjerg Estate, Sønderborg, Denmark (March 18th- 20th 2020). Effects of time-evolving surface adsorption for CCN activation, Lin, Jack Jie; Kristensen, Thomas B.; Calderón, Silvia M.; Malila, Jussi and Prisle, Nønne L., accepted for Oral presentation in the session “CCN and Ice Nucleation” on Friday, 20 March 2020. Conference canceled due to COVID19.

• EGU General Assembly 2020, Vienna, Austria: New pathways of the reaction of OH radicals with dimethyl sulfide based on CH3SCH2O2 isomerization, Torsten Berndt, Wiebke Scholz, Bernhard Mentler, Lukas Fischer, Erik Hans Hoffmann, Andreas Tilgner, Noora Hyttinen, Nonne Prisle, Armin Hansel, and Hartmut Herrmann, Session AS3.13 – The role of organic peroxy radicals in the atmosphere, identification number EGU2020-10345.

• EGU General Assembly 2020, Vienna, Austria: Surface Tension of Surfactant-Containing, Finite Volume Droplets, Bryan Bzdek, Rachael Miles, Jussi Malila, Hallie Boyer, Jim Walker, Jonathan Reid, Cari Dutcher, and Nonne Prisle, Session AS3.1 – Aerosol Chemistry and Physics (General Session), identification number EGU2020-106.

2019

• AI DAYS 2019 (AIPSE, ICT2023, Academy of Finland), Espoo, Finland 26.11.2019: AI assisted design of effective incentives for decreasing traffic pollution in urban air, Nønne L. Prisle and Mira Hulkkonen, poster contribution.

• 31st MAX IV User Meeting: Developing MAX IV for the users, with the users (UM19), Lund, Sweden: Aqueous organic surfaces: from synchrotron experiments to climate models, Nønne L. Prisle, invited keynote presentation.

• Beating the Complexity of Matter through the Selectivity of X-rays – Dynamic Pathways in Multidimensional Landscapes (SXR2019), Berlin, Germany (2019): Aqueous Organic Surfaces: Surface Sensitive Synchrotron XPS, Thermodynamic Frameworks, and Atmospheric Relevance, Nønne L. Prisle, invited talk.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC), Gothenburg, Sweden (2019): Aqueous Organic Surfaces: Surface Sensitive Synchrotron Experiments, Thermodynamic Frameworks, and Relevance for CCN Activity, Nønne L. Prisle, talk O10-F1-A08.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC), Gothenburg, Sweden (2019): Monolayer scheme for bulk‒surface partitioning in aqueous droplets, Jussi Malila, Bryan R. Bzdek, Jonathan P. Reid and Nønne L. Prisle, poster P2-148.

• European Aerosol Conference (EAC), Gothenburg, Sweden (2019): CCN activity and surface tension of organic-salt mixtures predicted from two models of the droplet surface, Jack J. Lin, Jussi Malila, and Nønne L. Prisle, poster P2-083, backup talk.

• Nanoplastics in urban air
• Atmospheric footprint of an individual's internet activity
• Exploring water surfaces with synchrotron light
• Thermodynamics of clouds and climate
• Modelling of atmospheric reaction chambers
• Clouds in extraterrestrial atmospheres
• Laboratory studies of atmospheric nanoparticles
• Modelling air pollution 1.5 km underground
• Computation of chemical properties using quantum-based CSM

There are no current open positions.

We are changing the composition of the atmosphere and this has profound consequences for the environment and our wellbeing. Tiny aerosol particles are globally responsible for most health effects and mortality related to air pollution. They also play a key role in regulating Earth’s climate via their critical influence on formation of clouds in the atmosphere. Every single cloud droplet has first formed on the surface of an aerosol particle. Together, aerosol particles and cloud droplets provide the reaction media for condensed phase chemistry in the atmosphere. Large gaps still exist in our understanding of atmospheric aerosols, in particular the chemical mechanisms leading to formation of organic aerosols. Furthermore, aerosol-cloud interactions continue to be the single largest source of uncertainty in global climate models. This prevents accurate predictions of future climate, and in particular the climate effects of human actions. Because of their relative dimensions, surfaces may play a crucial role in the formation, chemistry and climate effects of atmospheric aerosols. Aerosol surfaces are extremely difficult to observe. Currently, we therefore know next to nothing about their chemical compositions and impact on overall aerosol effects in the atmosphere. My previous work has shown that surfaces of cloud droplets can be highly chemically distinct from the droplet bulk, with implications for global climate predictions on the scale of all the CO2 greenhouse gasses. In this project, we will use powerful new spectroscopic techniques based on synchrotron radiation, to study surfaces directly at the molecular level. This is made possible by the recent opening of the world’s brightest synchrotron light source, MAXIV in Sweden, together with instrumentation developed by my research unit in our role as Finnish national coordinator of MAXIV activities. We will provide the first direct molecular level chemical characterization of a suite of atmospheric organic surfaces, using synchrotron based Xray photoelectron spectroscopy. We will use these surface specific compositions in combination with additional thermodynamic measurements to update state-of-the art aerosol thermodynamic models. Finally, we will study aerosol processes in controlled environmental chambers and use the models to identify distinct surface impacts. If successful, this will reshape our understanding of aerosol effects and affect every model used for air quality and climate predictions.

01.09.2017 to 28.02.2023, Academy of Finland Research Fellow

Air pollution from traffic has severe human health effects and therefore, it is targeted by environmental policies. To take into account human behavior in this process, we will develop a human component for an air quality model using agent-based simulations. Society is modeled as a complex system with humans represented as agents interacting to reveal new properties of the system as a whole. Agents learn and decide using artificial intelligence (AI). Specifically, we will adapt an agent-based traffic model for Helsinki city, quantify the effect of traffic-related incentives on air quality with direct feedbacks from human behavior, and use AI optimization to identify the most efficient incentives for air quality improvement. With these tools, we will launch a new era in air quality modeling and provide invaluable information for policy makers and city planners on ways to reduce traffic emissions and their health effects, with vast future potential for redeeming polluted mega-cities.

01.01.2018 to 31.12.2022, Academy of Finland, AIPSE

The increasing energy demand of data centres and related climate emissions can be indirectly attributed to the internet activity of individuals and corporations, the digitalization of society, the use of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT).

Internet use is now a significant source of carbon emissions. With the strong movement towards increased digitization, emissions will rise accordingly if left unchecked. We will highlight the energy demand of data centres and quantify the related emissions that can be attributed to the internet activity of individuals and corporations, digitalization of society, use of AI and the Internet of Things (IoT). The grant will enable a post-doc researcher to build an agent-based simulation tool, which can capture the complex nature of different data users and their digital activities powered by data centres. The tool will be used to establish conditions that lead to higher energy consumption and carbon emissions of data centres and enable a novel approach for testing new regulating incentives and their effectiveness on people’s behaviours. With this information, policies aiming to mitigate climate change may be targeted at different data-user types, or the data centres themselves.

Tiina ja Antti Herlinin säätiö

Airborne nano-sized particles play key roles in Earth’s climate, air pollution, and transmission of communal diseases. With ultra-brilliant X-rays available at synchrotron radiation facilities, we have been able to directly see how atmospheric molecules, such as water, attach to the surfaces of nano-particles and change their properties. This knowledge is necessary to understand the effects of nano-particles in the atmosphere, but the experiments are too rare and costly to make timely progress on urgent societal challenges. We have recently developed new artificial intelligence methods that can predict the structures and resulting experimental signatures of atmospheric molecules, when they attach to a surface. In this project, we will adapt these methods to study atmospheric nano-particles and greatly amplify the utility of each rare synchrotron experiment. This will accelerate the exploration and impact of new scientific discoveries.

01.09.2022 to 31.08.2026, Academy of Finland

• Interview with Nonne Prisle in Femto Magazine, issue on Water, 02/2020 p. 26-27

• Why having your head in the clouds could be a really good thing, Calipso Plus Scientific Highlights 2017-2019, Editors: Dr. Barbara Schramm, Dr. Mandy Grobosch (EU-Project Management), publisher: Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf e.V. (HZDR)

• Tutti Falk Johansen and Nonne Prisle (2019): Why having your head in the clouds could be a really good thing, MAX IV news April 2019

• Josephina Werner, Ingmar Persson, Olle Björneholm, Delphine Kawecki, Clara-Magdalena Saak, Marie-Madeleine Walz, Victor Ekholm, Isaak Unger, Corina Valtl, Carl Caleman, Gunnar Öhrwall and Nønne L. Prisle (2018): Acid-base equilibria: not exactly like you remember in chemistry class, MAX IV news October 2018

• N. L. Prisle (2016): World’s brightest light source puts hidden mysteries of climate change into the spotlight, MAX IV news September 2016

• N. L. Prisle (2016): World’s brightest light source puts hidden mysteries of climate change into the spotlight, Oulu University blog post, August 2016

• AI Day Finland, AI Finland 2020 – scientists tell how AI is used in their projects (video)(30.9.2020)

• Intronauts – Exploring brilliant science, podcast by MAX IV, “Episode 4: Why having your head in the clouds is a good thing” (podcast), Nønne Prisle, (27.3.2020)

• Recording of MAX IV User meeting 2019 invited keynote presentation “Aqueous organic surfaces: from synchrotron experiments to climate models” (video), Nønne Prisle , (25.9.2019)

• Little Things (graphic novel), Nønne Prisle and Amanda Vähämäki for ERC Comics (2019)

• Artificial Intelligence Research (video), University of Oulu, contributor (2019)

• Solving the mysteries of climate (video), Nønne Prisle, (08.02.2017)

• PhD student Mira Hulkkonen interviewed by Finnish national news broadcaster YLE (1.4.2020)

• “Mutuilu harmittaa nuorta tutkija”, Interview with M.Sc. student Veera Juntunen in Oulu regional newspaper Kaleva (3.8.2019)

• Interview in Finnish national life-style magazine Gloria, “Ilmastotutkija Nonne Prislen työ vaikuttaa siihen miten sinä tulevaisuudessa elät”, Nønne Prisle online interview (May 2018)

• Interview in Finnish national life-style magazine Gloria, “Epätasa-arvo on vain motivoinut minua”, Nønne Prisle cover article/April issue 2018.

• Interview in Science Careers, “Celebrating women in science” (contributing), Nønne Prisle (09.02.2018)

• Interview in Oulu regional newspaper Kaleva, “Oulun yliopiston pilvitutkija uuden ilmastomallin jäljillä”, Nønne Prisle (14.05.2017)

• Interview in Science Careers, ”How to get the most out of attending conferences” (contributing) (08.05.2017)

• Interview in Science Careers, “Career success stories of the European Research Council” (contributing) (14.03.2017)

• Interviewed by Finnish national news broadcaster YLE, ”Supermikroskoopilla etsitään pienhiukkasten vaikutusta ilmastonmuutokseen”, Nønne Prisle (28.10.2016)

• Interview in Oulu regional newspaper Kaleva, ”Oulun yliopiston dosentille 1,5 miljoonan euron tutkimusrahoitus”, Nønne Prisle (26.09.2016)

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