The Deepwater Horizon spill gushed crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico from April 20 to July 15 last year. It was a devastating disaster that had an overwhelmingly negative effect on the environment. However, in a bittersweet way, the oil spill also provided scientists with a good opportunity. It let them study the profile and chemical origin of atmospheric aerosols, which affect climate, air quality, cloud formation, and ozone.
Atmospheric aerosols (particles with radii of 1µm or less) can reflect sunlight and provide a surface area for chemical reactions to occur (e.g., they enhance chlorine’s ability to destroy ozone), and water condenses on their surface to modify cloud particles. An understanding of aerosol composition and formation is absolutely essential for predicting the impact of pollution and formulating sound environmental regulations. Unfortunately, there are still gaps in our knowledge regarding atmospheric aerosols. In particular, we don't have a thorough understanding of what are called secondary organic aerosols.
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