Atomic Structure of a Spinel-Like Transition Al2O3(100) Surface

We study a crystalline epitaxial alumina thin film with the characteristics of a spinel-type transition Al2O3(100)surface by using atom-resolved noncontact atomic force microscopy and density functional theory. It is shown that the films are terminated by an Al-O layer rich in Al vacancies, exhibiting a strong preference for surface hydroxyl group formation in two configurations. The transition alumina films are crystalline and perfectly stable in ambient atmospheres, a quality which is expected to open the door to new fundamental studies of the surfaces of transition aluminas.Peer reviewe

Effect of Particle Morphology on the Ripening of Supported Pt Nanoparticles

To improve the understanding of sintering in diesel and lean-burn engine exhaust aftertreatment catalysts, we examined oxygen-induced sintering in a model catalyst consisting of Pt nanoparticles supported on a planar, amorphous Al2O3 substrate. After ageing at increasing temperatures, transmission electron microscopy analysis reveals that highly monodisperse ensembles of nanoparticles transformed into ensembles with bimodal and subsequently Lifshitz-Slyozov-Wagner particle size distributions. Moreover, scanning transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy analysis suggest that the Pt nanoparticles have size-dependent morphologies after sintering in oxidizing environment. The evolution of the particle sizes is described by a simple kinetic model for ripening and the size-dependent particle morphology is proposed as an explanation for the observed bimodal particle size distribution shapes

Overview: Recent advances in the understanding of the northern Eurasian environments and of the urban air quality in China – a Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) programme perspective

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) Science Plan, released in 2015, addressed a need for a holistic system understanding and outlined the most urgent research needs for the rapidly changing Arctic-boreal region. Air quality in China, together with the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, was also indicated as one of the most crucial topics of the research agenda. These two geographical regions, the northern Eurasian Arctic-boreal region and China, especially the megacities in China, were identified as a “PEEX region”. It is also important to recognize that the PEEX geographical region is an area where science-based policy actions would have significant impacts on the global climate. This paper summarizes results obtained during the last 5 years in the northern Eurasian region, together with recent observations of the air quality in the urban environments in China, in the context of the PEEX programme. The main regions of interest are the Russian Arctic, northern Eurasian boreal forests (Siberia) and peatlands, and the megacities in China. We frame our analysis against research themes introduced in the PEEX Science Plan in 2015. We summarize recent progress towards an enhanced holistic understanding of the land–atmosphere–ocean systems feedbacks. We conclude that although the scientific knowledge in these regions has increased, the new results are in many cases insufficient, and there are still gaps in our understanding of large-scale climate–Earth surface interactions and feedbacks. This arises from limitations in research infrastructures, especially the lack of coordinated, continuous and comprehensive in situ observations of the study region as well as integrative data analyses, hindering a comprehensive system analysis. The fast-changing environment and ecosystem changes driven by climate change, socio-economic activities like the China Silk Road Initiative, and the global trends like urbanization further complicate such analyses. We recognize new topics with an increasing importance in the near future, especially “the enhancing biological sequestration capacity of greenhouse gases into forests and soils to mitigate climate change” and the “socio-economic development to tackle air quality issues”

Overview: Recent advances in the understanding of the northern Eurasian environments and of the urban air quality in China – a Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) programme perspective

The Pan-Eurasian Experiment (PEEX) Science Plan, released in 2015, addressed a need for a holistic system understanding and outlined the most urgent research needs for the rapidly changing Arctic-boreal region. Air quality in China, together with the long-range transport of atmospheric pollutants, was also indicated as one of the most crucial topics of the research agenda. These two geographical regions, the northern Eurasian Arctic-boreal region and China, especially the megacities in China, were identified as a "PEEX region". It is also important to recognize that the PEEX geographical region is an area where science-based policy actions would have significant impacts on the global climate. This paper summarizes results obtained during the last 5 years in the northern Eurasian region, together with recent observations of the air quality in the urban environments in China, in the context of the PEEX programme. The main regions of interest are the Russian Arctic, northern Eurasian boreal forests (Siberia) and peatlands, and the megacities in China. We frame our analysis against research themes introduced in the PEEX Science Plan in 2015. We summarize recent progress towards an enhanced holistic understanding of the land-atmosphere-ocean systems feedbacks. We conclude that although the scientific knowledge in these regions has increased, the new results are in many cases insufficient, and there are still gaps in our understanding of large-scale climate-Earth surface interactions and feedbacks. This arises from limitations in research infrastructures, especially the lack of coordinated, continuous and comprehensive in situ observations of the study region as well as integrative data analyses, hindering a comprehensive system analysis. The fast-changing environment and ecosystem changes driven by climate change, socio-economic activities like the China Silk Road Initiative, and the global trends like urbanization further complicate such analyses. We recognize new topics with an increasing importance in the near future, especially "the enhancing biological sequestration capacity of greenhouse gases into forests and soils to mitigate climate change" and the "socio-economic development to tackle air quality issues".Peer reviewe

Interactions between the atmosphere, cryosphere, and ecosystems at northern high latitudes

The Nordic Centre of Excellence CRAICC (Cryosphere–Atmosphere Interactions in a Changing Arctic Climate), funded by NordForsk in the years 2011–2016, is the largest joint Nordic research and innovation initiative to date, aiming to strengthen research and innovation regarding climate change issues in the Nordic region. CRAICC gathered more than 100 scientists from all Nordic countries in a virtual centre with the objectives of identifying and quantifying the major processes controlling Arctic warming and related feedback mechanisms, outlining strategies to mitigate Arctic warming, and developing Nordic Earth system modelling with a focus on short-lived climate forcers (SLCFs), including natural and anthropogenic aerosols. The outcome of CRAICC is reflected in more than 150 peer-reviewed scientific publications, most of which are in the CRAICC special issue of the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics. This paper presents an overview of the main scientific topics investigated in the centre and provides the reader with a state-of-the-art comprehensive summary of what has been achieved in CRAICC with links to the particular publications for further detail. Faced with a vast amount of scientific discovery, we do not claim to completely summarize the results from CRAICC within this paper, but rather concentrate here on the main results which are related to feedback loops in climate change–cryosphere interactions that affect Arctic amplification.</p

THE VIBRATIONAL SPECTRA AND VALENCE FORCE FIELD OF METHYL AMMONIUM CHLORIDE

$^{1}$N. Meinander, C. Bergetrom, S. Force and F. Stenman, J. Raman Spectroac. 8(1979) 265,; N. Meinander, S. Forss and G. Bergatrom, J. Raman Spectroac. 11(1981) 155.; N. Meinander, Thesis, University of Helanki, Report Series in Physics HU-p-D24 (1981) $^{2}$T. Sundius and N. Meinander, J. Mol. Struct, Theochem. 76 (1981) 227. $^{3}$I. A. Oxton, O. Knop, and J.L. Dunean, Srtuct. 38 (1977)25.The Raman and TR spectra of the three crystalline modifications of methyl ammonium chloride, $\alpha-, \beta- and \gamma-MAC$, and the deuterated derivatives have been $recorded.^{1}$ The correlation field and crystal field splitting of the vibrational bands have been investigated with isotopic solid solutions. An effective valence force field for the methyl ammonium ion $(MA^{+})$ has been constructed, which reproduces the observed vibrational frequency of the isotopically isolated $MA^{+}$-ions in $\beta-MAC$, The $NH_{3}$ -hydrogen atoms are shown to be all inequivalent. The observed splitting of the $vibrational^{3}$ bands of $MA^{+}ions$ with a partly deuterated methyl or ammonium group, caused by the dependence of the vibrational energy levels on the orientation of this group in the lattice, is also reproduced by the force field. Differences in the effective force fields for the $MA^{+}$-ion, constructed from the observed vibrational frequencies of $\alpha-MAC^{2}, \beta-MAC$ and $(MA)_{2}PtCl_{6}$ respectively, can be related to the varying strength of the N-H...X hydrogen bonding to the anions in the different lattices