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Optical properties of organic aerosol: changes upon reactions and water absorption
 
Because of their profound impacts on climate forcing, research on formation, transformation, and properties of secondary organic aerosols (SOA) represents the most active, frontier area in atmospheric chemistry. Gas-to-particle conversion of oxidation products of biogenic and anthropogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is highly complex and yet poorly understood. In particular, comparatively little is known about the formation and optical properties of light-absorbing (brown) SOA in deferent environments. This talk will explore new laboratory studies on the formation mechanism and UV-visible spectra of brown SOA and will describe new methods for measuring these properties.