Particle Climatology in Central East China Retrieved from Measurements in Planetary Boundary Layer and in Free Troposphere at a 1500-m-High Mountaintop Site

Particle number size distribution (PNSD) is an important variable for evaluating the effect of aerosols on climate. In this study, the PNSD in the size range of 3 nm–2.5 µm was measured over a 20-month period at Mt. Tai station, located at ~1500 m asl. in central east China (CEC). The mean particle number concentrations in the nucleation (Nnuc, 3–25 nm), Aitken (NAit, 25–100 nm), accumulation modes (Nacc, 100–1000 nm) and in total measured...