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Abstract

[1] The combination of a large aerosol chamber and a recently developed Aerosol Composition Mass Spectrometer (ACMS) was used to investigate sulfuric acid aerosols at low temperatures. Concentrations of condensed phase H2SO4 and H2O were determined with an accuracy of better than 4 wt.%. Simultaneous measurements of temperature, partial pressure of water, total sulfate amount and particle size distribution permit to calculate the particle equilibrium composition. The model description of Carslaw et al. [1995a] for H2SO4/H2O solutions was confirmed in the composition range from 35 to 68 wt.% H2SO4 for temperatures between 188 and 236 K, extending the experimental verification to lower temperatures. Although the sub-micron particles were up to 25 K super-cooled with respect to solid sulfuric acid hydrates such as the tetrahydrate (SAT), they remained liquid for days.