7/1/2021 Deposition (aerosol physics) - Wikipedia

Deposition (aerosol physics)

In aerosol physics, deposition is the process by which aerosol particles collect or deposit themselves on
solid surfaces, decreasing the concentration of the particles in the air. It can be divided into two sub-
processes: dry and wet deposition. The rate of deposition, or the deposition velocity, is slowest for
particles of an intermediate size. Mechanisms for deposition are most effective for either very small or
very large particles. Very large particles will settle out quickly through sedimentation (settling) or
impaction processes, while Brownian diffusion has the greatest influence on small particles.[1] This is
because very small particles coagulate in few hours until they achieve a diameter of 0.3 micrometres. At
this size they no longer coagulate. This has a great influence in the amount of PM-2.5 present in the air.

Deposition velocity is defined from F = vc, where F is flux density, v is deposition velocity and c is
concentration. In gravitational deposition, this velocity is the settling velocity due to the gravity-induced
drag.

Often studied is whether or not a certain particle will impact with a certain obstacle. This can be
predicted with the Stokes number Stk = S ∕ d, where S is stopping distance (which depends on particle
size, velocity and drag forces), and d is characteristic size (often the diameter of the obstacle). If the value
of Stk is less than 1, the particle will not collide with that obstacle. However, if the value of Stk is greater
than 1, it will.

Deposition due to Brownian motion obeys both Fick's first and second laws. The resulting deposition
flux is defined as J = n√D ∕ πt, where J is deposition flux, n is the initial number density, D is the
diffusion constant and t is time. This can be integrated to determine the concentration at each moment
of time.

Contents
Dry deposition
Wet deposition
See also
References

Dry deposition
Dry deposition is caused by:

Impaction. This is when small particles interfacing a bigger

obstacle are not able to follow the curved streamlines of the flow
due to their inertia, so they hit or impact the droplet. The larger
the masses of the small particles facing the big one, the greater Figure 1 – Impaction
the displacement from the flow streamline.
Gravitational sedimentation – the settling of particles fall down
due to gravity.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposition_(aerosol_physics) 1/2
7/1/2021 Deposition (aerosol physics) - Wikipedia

Interception. This is when small particles follow the streamlines,

but if they flow too close to an obstacle, they may collide (e.g. a
branch of a tree).
Turbulence. Turbulent eddies in the air transfer particles which
can collide. Again, there is a net flux towards lower
concentrations. Figure 2 – Diffusion
Other processes, such as: thermophoresis, turbophoresis,
diffusiophoresis and electrophoresis.

Wet deposition
In wet deposition, atmospheric hydrometeors (rain drops, snow etc.) scavenge aerosol particles. This
means that wet deposition is gravitational, Brownian and/or turbulent coagulation with water droplets.
Different types of wet deposition include:

Below-cloud scavenging. This happens when falling rain droplets or snow particles collide with
aerosol particles through Brownian diffusion, interception, impaction and turbulent diffusion.
In-cloud scavenging. This is where aerosol particles get into cloud droplets or cloud ice crystals
through working as cloud nuclei, or being captured by them through collision. They can be brought to
the ground surface when rain or snow forms in clouds. Within aerosol computer models aerosols and
cloud droplets are mostly treated separately so that nucleation represents a loss process that has to
be parametrised.

See also
Condensation in aerosol dynamics
Particle collection in wet scrubbers
Van der Waals force

References
1. Seinfeld, John; Spyros Pandis (2006). Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics: From Air Pollution to
Climate Change (Second ed.). Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN 0-471-72018-6.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Deposition_(aerosol_physics)&oldid=958949967"

This page was last edited on 26 May 2020, at 12:46 (UTC).

Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;

additional terms may apply. By using this site,
you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a
non-profit organization.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposition_(aerosol_physics) 2/2