Dr. Jun Zhang (EPFL) participated the PIANO campaign (CleanCloud chamber camPaign for studyIng the cloud-relevAnt properties of Natural aerosol) from July to August 2025 in Patras, Greece.

The campaign studies the impact of acidification of aerosol from sea spray and dust on the ability to form cloud droplets and ice crystals. A secondary focus is on how acidification affects the semi-volatile partitioning of nitrogen-containing species (NH3/NH4, HNO3/NO3, HCl/Cl).

The chemical composition of particles and gases was characterized using the EPFL aerosol mass spectrometer and the Vocus chemical ionization mass spectrometer, with support from Jun. The algorithms used in ReCLEAN to infer acidity of the aerosols were tested in the chamber environment. The PIANO campaign acknowledges ReCLEAN for this valuable collaboration.

More information about CleanCloud and the PIANO campaign can be found here.