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<article xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" article-type="data-paper" specific-use="SMUR" dtd-version="3.0" xml:lang="en">
<front>
<journal-meta>
<journal-id journal-id-type="publisher">ESSDD</journal-id>
<journal-title-group>
<journal-title>Earth System Science Data Discussions</journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="publisher">ESSDD</abbrev-journal-title>
<abbrev-journal-title abbrev-type="nlm-ta">Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss.</abbrev-journal-title>
</journal-title-group>
<issn pub-type="epub">1866-3591</issn>
<publisher><publisher-name></publisher-name>
<publisher-loc>Göttingen, Germany</publisher-loc>
</publisher>
</journal-meta>
<article-meta>
<article-id pub-id-type="doi">10.5194/essd-2026-415</article-id>
<title-group>
<article-title>A 21-year global dataset of particle number concentrations for aerosol-cloud interaction studies</article-title>
</title-group>
<contrib-group><contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ovaska</surname>
<given-names>Aino</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8701-7803</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Holmberg</surname>
<given-names>Daniel</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5020-7438</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Rauth</surname>
<given-names>Elio</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0009-0005-2921-252X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff3">
<sup>3</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Alghamdi</surname>
<given-names>Mansour</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff4">
<sup>4</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Artaxo</surname>
<given-names>Paulo</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7754-3036</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff5">
<sup>5</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Asmi</surname>
<given-names>Eija</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9226-2360</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Backman</surname>
<given-names>John</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4444-8777</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bergmans</surname>
<given-names>Benjamin</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4324-449X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff7">
<sup>7</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Boyer</surname>
<given-names>Matthew</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff8">
<sup>8</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Bredenkamp</surname>
<given-names>Liezl</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1559-8239</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff9">
<sup>9</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Busetto</surname>
<given-names>Maurizio</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff10">
<sup>10</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Campos De Oliveira</surname>
<given-names>Delano</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff11">
<sup>11</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Casquero-Vera</surname>
<given-names>Juan Andrés</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8778-3508</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff12">
<sup>12</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ceburnis</surname>
<given-names>Darius</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff13">
<sup>13</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Chan</surname>
<given-names>Tak</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff14">
<sup>14</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Chan</surname>
<given-names>Tommy</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Conil</surname>
<given-names>Sebastien</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6767-821X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff15">
<sup>15</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Contini</surname>
<given-names>Daniele</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4454-0642</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff16">
<sup>16</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Crumeyrolle</surname>
<given-names>Suzanne</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1491-5653</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff17">
<sup>17</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Duflot</surname>
<given-names>Valentin</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff18">
<sup>18</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Eleftheriadis</surname>
<given-names>Kostas</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2265-4905</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff19">
<sup>19</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Esveld</surname>
<given-names>Johan</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff20">
<sup>20</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ezhova</surname>
<given-names>Ekaterina</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2770-9143</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Fiebig</surname>
<given-names>Markus</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3380-3470</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff18">
<sup>18</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gani</surname>
<given-names>Shahzad</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6966-0520</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff21">
<sup>21</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Garmash</surname>
<given-names>Olga</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff22">
<sup>22</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Gómez-Moreno</surname>
<given-names>Francisco</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3981-8374</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff23">
<sup>23</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Harrison</surname>
<given-names>Roy M.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2684-5226</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff24">
<sup>24</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Hoffer</surname>
<given-names>Andras</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff25">
<sup>25</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Hooda</surname>
<given-names>Rakesh</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9694-4844</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Hyvärinen</surname>
<given-names>Antti</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Hussein</surname>
<given-names>Tareq</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff26">
<sup>26</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Joutsensaari</surname>
<given-names>Jorma</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3460-1114</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff27">
<sup>27</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kalivitis</surname>
<given-names>Nikos</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0005-7467</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff28">
<sup>28</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff29">
<sup>29</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kaminski</surname>
<given-names>Heinz</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff30">
<sup>30</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kesti</surname>
<given-names>Jutta</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4662-3620</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Krejci</surname>
<given-names>Radovan</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9384-9702</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff31">
<sup>31</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff32">
<sup>32</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kristensson</surname>
<given-names>Adam</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff33">
<sup>33</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kuang</surname>
<given-names>Chongai</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff11">
<sup>11</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kulmala</surname>
<given-names>Markku</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3464-7825</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff34">
<sup>34</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff35">
<sup>35</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff36">
<sup>36</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Laakso</surname>
<given-names>Lauri</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff9">
<sup>9</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Leskinen</surname>
<given-names>Ari</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff37">
<sup>37</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Lihavainen</surname>
<given-names>Heikki</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff8">
<sup>8</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Massling</surname>
<given-names>Andreas</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff38">
<sup>38</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Merkel</surname>
<given-names>Maik</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff39">
<sup>39</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Noe</surname>
<given-names>Steffen</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1514-1140</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff40">
<sup>40</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Ondracek</surname>
<given-names>Jakub</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff41">
<sup>41</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Perez</surname>
<given-names>Noemí</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff42">
<sup>42</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Petit</surname>
<given-names>Jean-Eudes</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1516-5927</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff43">
<sup>43</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Petäjä</surname>
<given-names>Tuukka</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1881-9044</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pikridas</surname>
<given-names>Michael</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8131-2369</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff44">
<sup>44</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pöhlker</surname>
<given-names>Christopher</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6958-425X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff45">
<sup>45</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Pöhlker</surname>
<given-names>Mira</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff39">
<sup>39</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff46">
<sup>46</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Putaud</surname>
<given-names>Jean-Philippe</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff47">
<sup>47</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Qi</surname>
<given-names>Ximeng</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7840-8239</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff35">
<sup>35</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff36">
<sup>36</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Reche</surname>
<given-names>Cristina</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff42">
<sup>42</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Rodríguez</surname>
<given-names>Sergio</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1727-3107</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff48">
<sup>48</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff49">
<sup>49</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Roztocil</surname>
<given-names>Petr</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff41">
<sup>41</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sciare</surname>
<given-names>Jean</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff44">
<sup>44</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sellegri</surname>
<given-names>Karine</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff50">
<sup>50</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Shang</surname>
<given-names>Dongjie</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff51">
<sup>51</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Singh</surname>
<given-names>Ashish</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff11">
<sup>11</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sipilä</surname>
<given-names>Mikko</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Skov</surname>
<given-names>Henrik</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1167-8696</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff38">
<sup>38</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sorribas</surname>
<given-names>Mar</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2131-9021</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff52">
<sup>52</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Subba</surname>
<given-names>Tamanna</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0319-9751</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff11">
<sup>11</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sun</surname>
<given-names>Junying</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff53">
<sup>53</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Tunved</surname>
<given-names>Peter</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff32">
<sup>32</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Vakkari</surname>
<given-names>Ville</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff9">
<sup>9</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Van Zyl</surname>
<given-names>Pieter G.</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1470-3359</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff9">
<sup>9</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Virkkula</surname>
<given-names>Aki</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4874-7552</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Voigtländer</surname>
<given-names>Jens</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7278-3831</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff39">
<sup>39</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Weinhold</surname>
<given-names>Kay</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff39">
<sup>39</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Wiedensohler</surname>
<given-names>Alfred</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8298-491X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff39">
<sup>39</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Yoo</surname>
<given-names>Hee-Jung</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff54">
<sup>54</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Zhou</surname>
<given-names>Putian</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0803-7337</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff6">
<sup>6</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Puolamäki</surname>
<given-names>Kai</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1819-1047</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff2">
<sup>2</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Nieminen</surname>
<given-names>Tuomo</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2713-715X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff55">
<sup>55</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Kerminen</surname>
<given-names>Veli-Matti</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0706-669X</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Sinclair</surname>
<given-names>Victoria A.</given-names>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff56">
<sup>56</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
<contrib contrib-type="author" xlink:type="simple"><name name-style="western"><surname>Paasonen</surname>
<given-names>Pauli</given-names>
<ext-link>https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4625-9590</ext-link>
</name>
<xref ref-type="aff" rid="aff1">
<sup>1</sup>
</xref>
</contrib>
</contrib-group><aff id="aff1">
<label>1</label>
<addr-line>Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR)/Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff2">
<label>2</label>
<addr-line>Department of Computer Science, University of Helsinki, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff3">
<label>3</label>
<addr-line>Department of Remote Sensing, Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Würzburg, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff4">
<label>4</label>
<addr-line>Department of Environment, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff5">
<label>5</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Physics, University of São Paulo, Brazil</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff6">
<label>6</label>
<addr-line>Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Erik Palménin aukio 1, 00560, Helsinki, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff7">
<label>7</label>
<addr-line>Institut Scientifique de Service Public (ISSeP), Liege, Belgium</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff8">
<label>8</label>
<addr-line>SIOS-Knowledge Centre, Longyearbyen, Norway</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff9">
<label>9</label>
<addr-line>Atmospheric Chemistry Research Group, Chemical Resource Beneficiation, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South  Africa</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff10">
<label>10</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC), Bologna, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff11">
<label>11</label>
<addr-line>Environmental Science and Technologies Department, Brookhaven National Laboratory, U.S.A.</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff12">
<label>12</label>
<addr-line>Andalusian Institute for Earth System Research (IISTA-CEAMA), University of Granada, Autonomous Government of  Andalusia, Granada, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff13">
<label>13</label>
<addr-line>School of Natural Sciences, Physics Unit, Ryan Institute’s Centre for Climate and Air Pollution Studies, University of Galway, Ireland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff14">
<label>14</label>
<addr-line>Atmospheric Composition Monitoring : Rural and Remote Regions, State of the Environment Directorate, Science and  Technology Branch, Environment and Climate Change Canada</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff15">
<label>15</label>
<addr-line>Agence nationale pour la gestion des déchets radioactifs, France</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff16">
<label>16</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, National Research Council of Italy (CNR-ISAC), U.O.S. di Lecce, Lecce,  Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff17">
<label>17</label>
<addr-line>Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 8518 – LOA – Laboratoire d’Optique Atmosphérique, F-59000 Lille, France</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff18">
<label>18</label>
<addr-line>Centre for Atmospheric Data, NILU, Kjeller, Norway</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff19">
<label>19</label>
<addr-line>Environmental Radioactivity Laboratory, Institute of Nuclear and Radiological Science &amp; Technology, Energy &amp; Safety, N.C.S.R. &quot;Demokritos&quot;, Attiki, Greece</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff20">
<label>20</label>
<addr-line>TNO, the Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, Utrecht, the Netherlands</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff21">
<label>21</label>
<addr-line>Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, New Delhi, India</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff22">
<label>22</label>
<addr-line>Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff23">
<label>23</label>
<addr-line>Centre for Energy, Environmental and Technological Research (CIEMAT), Madrid, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff24">
<label>24</label>
<addr-line>School of Geography, Earth &amp;amp; Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, United Kingdom</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff25">
<label>25</label>
<addr-line>HUN-REN–PE Air Chemistry Research Group, University of Pannonia, Hungary</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff26">
<label>26</label>
<addr-line>University of Jordan, School of Science, Department of Physics, Environmental and Atmospheric Research Laboratory  (EARL), Amman, 11942 Jordan</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff27">
<label>27</label>
<addr-line>Department of Technical Physics, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff28">
<label>28</label>
<addr-line>Department of Chemistry, University of Crete, Greece</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff29">
<label>29</label>
<addr-line>Institute for Environmental Research and Sustainable Development, National Observatory of Athens, Athens, Greece</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff30">
<label>30</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Energy and Environmental Technology (IUTA), Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff31">
<label>31</label>
<addr-line>Bolin Centre for Climate Research, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff32">
<label>32</label>
<addr-line>Department of Environmental Science, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff33">
<label>33</label>
<addr-line>Department of Physics, Lund University, Lund, Sweden</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff34">
<label>34</label>
<addr-line>Aerosol and Haze Laboratory, Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Soft Matter Science and Engineering, Beijing  University of Chemical Technology, Beijing 100029, China</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff35">
<label>35</label>
<addr-line>Nanjing-Helsinki Institute in Atmospheric and Earth System Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff36">
<label>36</label>
<addr-line>School of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, China</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff37">
<label>37</label>
<addr-line>Finnish Meteorological Institute, Yliopistonranta 8, 70210, Kuopio, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff38">
<label>38</label>
<addr-line>Department of Environmental Science, Faculty of Technical Sciences, Aarhus University, Roskilde, Denmark</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff39">
<label>39</label>
<addr-line>Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Leipzig, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff40">
<label>40</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Forestry and Engineering, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, Estonia</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff41">
<label>41</label>
<addr-line>Research Group of Aerosol Chemistry and Physics, Institute of Chemical Process Fundamentals of the CAS, Prague, Czech  Republic</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff42">
<label>42</label>
<addr-line>Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), CSIC, Barcelona, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff43">
<label>43</label>
<addr-line>Laboratory for Climate and Environmental Sciences, Pierre-Simon Laplace Institute, France</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff44">
<label>44</label>
<addr-line>Climate and Atmosphere Research Center (CARE-C), The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff45">
<label>45</label>
<addr-line>Multiphase Chemistry Dept., Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Mainz, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff46">
<label>46</label>
<addr-line>Faculty of Physics and Earth Sciences, Leipzig Institute for Meteorology, Leipzig University, 04103 Leipzig, Germany</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff47">
<label>47</label>
<addr-line>Joint Research Centre, European Commission, Ispra, Italy</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff48">
<label>48</label>
<addr-line>Izaña Atmospheric Research Centre, AEMET, Tenerife, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff49">
<label>49</label>
<addr-line>Group of Atmosphere, Aerosols and Climate, IPNA CSIC, Tenerife, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff50">
<label>50</label>
<addr-line>Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique LaMP/CNRS, Université Blaise Pascal, Aubiere, France</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff51">
<label>51</label>
<addr-line>State Key Laboratory of Regional Environment and Sustainability, College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering,  Peking University, China</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff52">
<label>52</label>
<addr-line>Centro Experim &quot;El Arenosillo&quot;, National Institute of Aerospace Technology, Huelva, Spain</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff53">
<label>53</label>
<addr-line>Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing, China</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff54">
<label>54</label>
<addr-line>Global Atmospheric Watch and Research Division, National Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Jeju-do, Korea</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff55">
<label>55</label>
<addr-line>Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, Finland</addr-line>
</aff>
<aff id="aff56">
<label>56</label>
<addr-line>deceased</addr-line>
</aff>
<pub-date pub-type="epub">
<day>20</day>
<month>07</month>
<year>2026</year>
</pub-date>
<volume>2026</volume>
<fpage>1</fpage>
<lpage>40</lpage>
<permissions>
<copyright-statement>Copyright: &#x000a9; 2026 Aino Ovaska et al.</copyright-statement>
<copyright-year>2026</copyright-year>
<license license-type="open-access">
<license-p>This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit <ext-link ext-link-type="uri"  xlink:href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</ext-link></license-p>
</license>
</permissions>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-415/">This article is available from https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-415/</self-uri>
<self-uri xlink:href="https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-415/essd-2026-415.pdf">The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://essd.copernicus.org/preprints/essd-2026-415/essd-2026-415.pdf</self-uri>
<abstract>
<p>Aerosol particles larger than roughly 50&amp;ndash;100 nm in diameter are climatically important because they can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), making their global number concentrations essential for understanding aerosol&amp;ndash;cloud interactions. However, observationally constrained, long-term global datasets of particle number concentrations in this size range remain scarce. In this investigation, we present a global dataset of ground-level particle number concentrations for the period 2003&amp;ndash;2024, produced by combining in situ observations with a machine-learning approach. The dataset includes two variables: the number concentrations for particles larger than 100 nm (&lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;100&lt;/sub&gt;) and larger than 50 nm (&lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt;), provided at 0.75&amp;deg; &amp;times; 0.75&amp;deg; spatial resolution and daily temporal resolution. To generate this dataset, we trained an eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGB) model using measurements from 62 in situ stations as targets and reanalysis variables as predictors, enabling a data-driven representation of particle number concentrations at the global scale. We evaluated the dataset against independent observations from 12 additional stations. At 2/3 of these stations, the dataset shows good performance, capturing the median concentrations within a factor of 1.5 from the observations. Furthermore, we describe the main characteristics of the dataset in terms of global spatial patterns, temporal variability, and seasonal cycles, and demonstrate its ability to capture long-term trends in particle number concentrations, including both increasing and decreasing tendencies reported in the literature. This work provides the first observation-constrained, machine-learning-based global dataset of &lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;50&lt;/sub&gt; and &lt;em&gt;N&lt;/em&gt;&lt;sub&gt;100&lt;/sub&gt; at daily resolution over two decades, bridging the gap between sparse measurements and computationally expensive process-based models. The dataset, publicly available at &lt;a href=&quot;https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20202080&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20202080&lt;/a&gt;, offers a valuable resource for evaluating model simulations, improving CCN-related parameterizations, and supporting weather and climate studies without the need for explicit knowledge of the aerosol particle microphysics.</p>
</abstract>
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