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Aerosols

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

  • 210 Accesses

Synonyms

Atmospheric dusts; Atmospheric particles; Haze particles

Definition

Aerosols are small liquid or solid particles in suspension in a gas. Solid smoke particles from the burning of vegetation, dust formed by wind erosion of soil, or liquid droplets produced by the ocean waves are examples of aerosols.

Aerosols are present in many planetary environments, for example, in the atmospheres of Mars, the giant planets, and Titan, and they were probably present in the primitive atmosphere of the Earth, much as they are presently. Atmospheric aerosols can play an important role in climate, producing an antigreenhouse effect, like the haze in Titan’s atmosphere. Atmospheric photochemistry in several extraterrestrial environments, like Titan, produces organic aerosols which are similar to laboratory-synthesized tholins, which can produce a complex set of prebiotic chemicals when reacted with water.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. LISA – UMR CNRS 7583, Faculté des Sciences et Technologie, Université Paris Est Créteil et Paris Diderot, 61 avenue du Général-de-Gaulle, 94010, Cedex, Creteil, France

    François Raulin

Authors
  1. François Raulin
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Correspondence to François Raulin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Raulin, F. (2014). Aerosols. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_38-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_38-4

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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