Surface- and volume-limited chemical reactions on and in atmospheric aerosol particles cause growth while changing organic composition by 13 to 24% per day. Many of these particles contain carbonaceous components from mineral dust and combustion emissions in Africa, Asia, and North America and reveal reaction rates that are three times slower than those typically used in climate models. These slower rates for converting from volatile or hydrophobic to condensed and hygroscopic organic compounds increase carbonaceous particle burdens in climate models by 70%, producing organic aerosol climate forcings of as much as –0.8 watt per square meter cooling and +0.3 watt per square meter warming.

To date there is no direct evidence of the distribution or characteristics of organic compounds in individual particles because techniques for chemically identifying organic compounds are not sufficiently sensitive to detect molecules or functional groups with masses below 10−15 g [Husar and Shu, 1975]. Here we present detailed maps of organic groups (aromatic, alkyl, ketonic carbonyl and carboxylic carbonyl groups) and inorganic ions (potassium, carbonate, calcium) in individual dry particles with diameters ranging from 0.2 to 10 μm using a new technique for aerosol characterization by soft X‐ray spectromicroscopy at atmospheric pressure. The maps show both the compounds present in individual particles and regions of different compositions within particles. The particle compositions on surfaces are enhanced in shorter chain or more oxygenated groups, providing the first observations of surface active carboxylic acids in organic coatings in atmospheric particles.