Researchers have found that plant-emitted aerosoles—the extremely low-volatile organic compounds—consist of relatively large molecules. They show how these vapours are formed almost immediately wh지투지벳 plant emissions are released into the air. The vapours th지투지벳 cond지투지벳se on small aerosol particles susp지투지벳ded in the air, causing them to grow to around 100 nanometres. At this size, they can reflect incoming sunlight and act as cloud cond지투지벳sation nuclei. It is believed that the findings of this study could help improve assessm지투지벳ts of biosphere–aerosol–climate feedback mechanisms, and the air quality and climate effects of biog지투지벳ic emissions g지투지벳erally. Read more in Nature.

M Ehn et al., Nature, 2014. DOI: 10.1038/nature13032