Background

Aerosols are small particles or droplets suspended in air. They are omnipresent in our atmosphere and although they are tiny they have a large impact on the properties of air and play a major role in our climate system:

Various different kinds of aerosols exist in our atmosphere. The most prominent sources of aerosols are:

The role of aerosols in the climate system is poorly understood. It is the goal of the "Aerosol and Climate" research cluster to better understand how aerosols affect climate change and how climate change affects the distribution of aerosols in our planet's atmosphere. This will improve projections of future climate and will improve the scientific basis for developing sustainable policies for Europe.