Abstract

Atmospheric aerosols have become a major environmental concern because of their adverse effects on human health, air quality, and climate change. Over the last few decades, several mass spectrometry (MS)-based techniques have been devel- oped and applied in the field of atmospheric aerosol research. Particularly, real-time measurement of ambient aerosols using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) has become one of the most powerful tools for aerosol chemistry. This review provides a brief description of AMS and its applications for understanding the physicochemical properties of atmospheric aerosols, as well as its sources and evolution processes.