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<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">EGUsphere</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>EGUsphere</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">EGUsphere</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub"></issn>
<publisher><publisher-name>Copernicus Publications</publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/egusphere-2025-4581</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>Quiet New Particle Formation is a significant aerosol source in the Amazon boundary layer</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Meller</surname>
<given-names>Bruno B.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3511-3940</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Franco</surname>
<given-names>Marco A.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2279-7722</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Valiati</surname>
<given-names>Rafael</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pöhlker</surname>
<given-names>Christopher</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6958-425X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Machado</surname>
<given-names>Luiz A. T.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ditas</surname>
<given-names>Florian</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff7">
<sup>7</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kremper</surname>
<given-names>Leslie A.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff7">
<sup>7</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Raj</surname>
<given-names>Subha S.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0484-6663</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Dias-Júnior</surname>
<given-names>Cleo Q.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4783-4689</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>D'Oliveira</surname>
<given-names>Flávio A. F.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Rizzo</surname>
<given-names>Luciana V.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pöschl</surname>
<given-names>Ulrich</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1412-3557</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Artaxo</surname>
<given-names>Paulo</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7754-3036</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Institute of Astronomy, Geophysics and Atmospheric Sciences, University of São  Paulo, São Paulo, SP, 05508-900, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Multiphase Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>National Institute of Amazonian Research (INPA-CLIAMB), Manaus, AM, 69060-001, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>Department of Physics, Federal Institute of Pará (IFPA), Belém, PA, 66093-020, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff6">
<label>6</label>
<addr-line>Center for Sustainable Amazon Studies (CEAS), University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff7">
<label>7</label>
<addr-line>now at: Hessian Agency for Nature Conservation, Environment and Geology, 65203 Wiesbaden, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>26</day>
<month>09</month>
<year>2025</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2025</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>18</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2025 Bruno B. Meller et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2025</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4581/">This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4581/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4581/egusphere-2025-4581.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-4581/egusphere-2025-4581.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Aerosol particles formed by new particle formation (NPF) are essential for cloud condensation nuclei and can strongly influence cloud properties and climate. However, the mechanisms behind NPF in the Amazon boundary layer have remained elusive. Classical &amp;ldquo;banana&amp;rdquo; NPF events, common in other continental regions, are rarely observed in the Amazon, while most detected sub-50 nm particles have been linked to precipitation- and downdraft-related episodes, often called Amazonian banana events. Here, we analyse a decade of particle number size distributions (10&amp;ndash;420 nm) from the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO) during the wet season and demonstrate the presence of a distinct phenomenon called Quiet NPF. This process represents a subtle but persistent background particle formation, occurring on days without clear banana-type growth signatures. Using a statistical approach, we show that Quiet NPF links freshly formed 10 nm particles to growth into the Aitken mode. This mechanism is characterized by a growth rate of 2.3 &amp;plusmn; 0.1 nm h⁻&amp;sup1;, about half that of Amazonian banana events, but occurs much more frequently. Quiet NPF accounts for ~45 % of 10&amp;ndash;25 nm particle production during the wet season, revealing an overlooked but important source of nanoparticles that contributes to sustaining Amazonian aerosol populations.</p>
</abstract>
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<funding-group>
<award-group id="gs1">
<funding-source>Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo</funding-source>
<award-id>2020/15405-0</award-id>
<award-id>2023/01902-0</award-id>
<award-id>2023/04358-9</award-id>
<award-id>2022/07974-0</award-id>
</award-group>
<award-group id="gs2">
<funding-source>Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung</funding-source>
<award-id>01LB1001A</award-id>
<award-id>01LK2101B</award-id>
</award-group>
</funding-group>
</article-meta>
</front>
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<back>
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</article>