Abstract:In order to study the vertical distribution of aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra, we combind the aerosol data with CCN data from aircraft and surface observations conducted in Shanxi on 30 July 2014 to analyze the vertical distribution of the parameters C and k of the CCN spectrum (N=C·Sk) and the activation characteristics of aerosols. The results show that the vertical stratification of aerosols in this process is obvious, and the vertical distribution of aerosols in different regions is different. According to the characteristics of potential temperature change, it can be divided into four layers from bottom to top. The vertical distribution characteristics such as aerosol concentration, effective diameter and particle spectrum are closely related to the stratification. The k is affected by the aerosol’s chemical composition and the particle spectrum, and the k of each layer is different. The k value of the first layer increases with height and the maximum value is 1. The k value of the second layer decreases first then goes up. It is the lowest between 1 〖KG-*5〗700 m and 2 〖KG-*5〗000 m, being 0.3. The third layer has little change in k, about 0.8, and the fourth layer stabilizes to 0.6. The aerosol sources are different in each layer by the backward trajectory modeling, and the properties of the aerosol are consistent with the ground aerosol properties of the corresponding source. The air masses at heights of 1 〖KG-*5〗000 m and 2 〖KG-*5〗000 m from the North China Plain in the southeast of Shanxi and the Loess Plateau to the west, respectively. The air mass above 3 〖KG-*5〗000 m is from Mongolia in the northwest. So, differences in vertical aerosol sources are responsible for the apparent stratification of the aerosol distribution and CCN spectrum.