WorldWideScience

Sample records for period finally aerosol

  1. Multiscale periodicities in aerosol optical depth over India

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramachandran, S; Ghosh, Sayantan; Verma, Amit; Panigrahi, P K

    2013-01-01

    Aerosols exhibit periodic or cyclic variations depending on natural and anthropogenic sources over a region, which can become modulated by synoptic meteorological parameters such as winds, rainfall and relative humidity, and long-range transport. Information on periodicity and phase in aerosol properties assumes significance in prediction as well as examining the radiative and climate effects of aerosols including their association with changes in cloud properties and rainfall. Periodicity in aerosol optical depth, which is a columnar measure of aerosol distribution, is determined using continuous wavelet transform over 35 locations (capitals of states and union territories) in India. Continuous wavelet transform is used in the study because continuous wavelet transform is better suited to the extraction of the periodic and local modulations present in various frequency ranges when compared to Fourier transform. Monthly mean aerosol optical depths (AODs) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board the Terra satellite at 1° × 1° resolution from January 2001 to December 2012 are used. Annual and quasi-biennial oscillations (QBOs) in AOD are evident in addition to the weak semi-annual (5–6 months) and quasi-triennial oscillations (∼40 months). The semi-annual and annual oscillations are consistent with the seasonal and yearly cycle of variations in AODs. The QBO type periodicity in AOD is found to be non-stationary while the annual period is stationary. The 40 month periodicity indicates the presence of long term correlations in AOD. The observed periodicities in MODIS Terra AODs are also evident in the ground-based AOD measurements made over Kanpur in the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The phase of the periodicity in AOD is stable in the mid-frequency range, while local disturbances in the high-frequency range and long term changes in the atmospheric composition give rise to unstable phases in the low-frequency range. The presence of phase

  2. Studies on aerosol properties during ICARB–2006 campaign period ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Synchronous measurements of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Black Carbon (BC) aerosol mass concentration and aerosol particle size distribution were carried out during the campaign period at tropical urban regions of Hyderabad, India. Daily satellite datasets of DMSP-OLS were processed for night-time forest fires over ...

  3. Elevated Aerosol Layers and Their Radiative Impact over Kanpur During Monsoon Onset Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarangi, Chandan; Tripathi, S. N.; Mishra, A. K.; Welton, E. J.

    2016-01-01

    Accurate information about aerosol vertical distribution is needed to reduce uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing and its effect on atmospheric dynamics. The present study deals with synergistic analyses of aerosol vertical distribution and aerosol optical depth (AOD) with meteorological variables using multisatellite and ground-based remote sensors over Kanpur in central Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). Micro-Pulse Lidar Network-derived aerosol vertical extinction (sigma) profiles are analyzed to quantify the interannual and daytime variations during monsoon onset period (May-June) for 2009-2011. The mean aerosol profile is broadly categorized into two layers viz., a surface layer (SL) extending up to 1.5 km (where sigma decreased exponentially with height) and an elevated aerosol layer (EAL) extending between 1.5 and 5.5 km. The increase in total columnar aerosol loading is associated with relatively higher increase in contribution from EAL loading than that from SL. The mean contributions of EALs are about 60%, 51%, and 50% to total columnar AOD during 2009, 2010, and 2011, respectively. We observe distinct parabolic EALs during early morning and late evening but uniformly mixed EALs during midday. The interannual and daytime variations of EALs are mainly influenced by long-range transport and convective capacity of the local emissions, respectively. Radiative flux analysis shows that clear-sky incoming solar radiation at surface is reduced with increase in AOD, which indicates significant cooling at surface. Collocated analysis of atmospheric temperature and aerosol loading reveals that increase in AOD not only resulted in surface dimming but also reduced the temperature (approximately 2-3 C) of lower troposphere (below 3 km altitude). Radiative transfer simulations indicate that the reduction of incoming solar radiation at surface is mainly due to increased absorption by EALs (with increase in total AOD). The observed cooling in lower troposphere in high

  4. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, the Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mensah, A.A.; Holzinger, R.; Otjes, R.; Trimborn, A.; Mentel, T.F.; Brink, H. ten; Henzing, B.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.

    2012-01-01

    Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and is compared to observations from aerosol

  5. Inhalation toxicology of diesel fuel obscurant aerosol in Sprague-Dawley rats. Final report, Phase 3, subchronic exposures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lock, S.; Dalbey, W.; Schmoyer, R.; Griesemer, R.

    1984-12-01

    Inhalation exposures were performed twice per week, for 13 weeks, to determine whether there was any potential toxicity to rats of comparatively low concentrations of a condensation aerosol from diesel fuel. Changes in breathing frequency and the response of animals to a loud sharp sound (startle response) were measured in selected animals prior to the start of the exposures, at various time points during the thirteen week exposure period, and at monthly intervals during the recovery period. Assays were performed on selected animals at the end of the exposure period, and again after the two month recovery period. Endpoints included pulmonary function tests, numbers of alveolar free cells, clinical chemistry, hematology, organ weights and histopathology. No mortalities were recorded during the exposure or recovery periods. Slight toxicity occurred at these low aerosol concentrations with the loss in body weight of all treated animals during the exposure period. During the exposure period there were also some slight changes in startle reflex, however, these were apparently acute effects, and there appeared to be no permanent CNS involvement as measured by this endpoint. Immediately post-exposure, the numbers of lavaged alveolar macrophages were slightly elevated in all aerosol exposed animals. Pulmonary function tests, pulmonary gas exchange and dynamic lung tests were all apparently unaffected by these low diesel fuel aerosol exposures. Changes in tissue weights in aerosol exposed animals were minor and the few histopathological lesions were randomly scattered amongst all groups included in this study and were more attributable to the age of the animals than any specific treatment group. No significant cumulative toxicity may be attributed to these diesel fuel aerosol exposures. 14 references, 1 figure, 42 tables.

  6. The formation of aerosol particles during combustion of biomass and waste. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hjerrild Zeuthen, J

    2007-05-15

    This thesis describes the formation of aerosol particles during combustion of biomass and waste. The formation of aerosol particles is investigated by studying condensation of alkali salts from synthetic flue gasses in a laboratory tubular furnace. In this so-called laminar flow aerosol condenser-furnace gaseous alkali chlorides are mixed with sulphur dioxide, water vapour and oxygen. At high temperatures the alkali chloride reacts with sulphur dioxide to form alkali sulphate. During subsequent cooling of the synthetic flue gas the chlorides and sulphates condense either as deposits on walls or on other particles or directly from the gas phase by homogenous nucleation. A previously developed computer code for simulation of one-component nucleation of particles in a cylindrical laminar flow is extended to include a homogeneous gas phase reaction to produce gaseous alkali sulphate. The formation of aerosol particles during full-scale combustion of wheat straw is investigated in a 100 MW grate-fired boiler. Finally, aerosols from incineration of waste are investigated during full-scale combustion of municipal waste in a 22 MW grate-fired unit. (BA)

  7. "Radiative Closure Studies for Clear Skies During the ARM 2003 Aerosol Intensive Observation Period"

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    J. J. Michalsky, G. P. Anderson, J. Barnard, J. Delamere, C. Gueymard, S. Kato, P. Kiedron, A. McComiskey, and P. Ricchiazzi

    2006-04-01

    The Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program sponsored a large intensive observation period (IOP) to study aerosol during the month of May 2003 around the Southern Great Plains (SGP) Climate Research Facility (CRF) in north central Oklahoma. Redundant measurements of aerosol optical properties were made using different techniques at the surface as well as in vertical profile with sensors aboard two aircraft. One of the principal motivations for this experiment was to resolve the disagreement between models and measurements of diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance at the surface, especially for modest aerosol loading. This paper focuses on using the redundant aerosol and radiation measurements during this IOP to compare direct beam and diffuse horizontal broadband shortwave irradiance measurements and models at the surface for a wide range of aerosol cases that occurred during 30 clear-sky periods on 13 days of May 2003. Models and measurements are compared over a large range of solar-zenith angles. Six different models are used to assess the relative agreement among them and the measurements. Better agreement than previously achieved appears to be the result of better specification of input parameters and better measurements of irradiances than in prior studies. Biases between modeled and measured direct irradiances are less than 1%, and biases between modeled and measured diffuse irradiances are less than 2%.

  8. Changes in aerosol properties during spring-summer period in the Arctic troposphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A.-C. Engvall

    2008-02-01

    Full Text Available The change in aerosol properties during the transition from the more polluted spring to the clean summer in the Arctic troposphere was studied. A six-year data set of observations from Ny-Ålesund on Svalbard, covering the months April through June, serve as the basis for the characterisation of this time period. In addition four-day-back trajectories were used to describe air mass histories. The observed transition in aerosol properties from an accumulation-mode dominated distribution to an Aitken-mode dominated distribution is discussed with respect to long-range transport and influences from natural and anthropogenic sources of aerosols and pertinent trace gases. Our study shows that the air-mass transport is an important factor modulating the physical and chemical properties observed. However, the air-mass transport cannot alone explain the annually repeated systematic and rather rapid change in aerosol properties, occurring within a limited time window of approximately 10 days. With a simplified phenomenological model, which delivers the nucleation potential for new-particle formation, we suggest that the rapid shift in aerosol microphysical properties between the Arctic spring and summer is mainly driven by the incoming solar radiation in concert with transport of precursor gases and changes in condensational sink.

  9. The background aerosol in the lower stratosphere and the tropospheric aerosol in the Alps. Final report; Das Hintergrundaerosol der unteren Stratosphaere und das troposphaerische Aerosol der Alpen. Abschlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jaeger, H.; Trickl, T.

    2001-06-04

    As a contribution to the German Aerosol-Lidar Network lidar backscatter measurements have been carried out at Garmisch-Partenkirchen in a wide range of the atmosphere from next to the ground to altitudes beyond 30 km. The investigations, on one hand, were devoted to establishing a climatology of the aerosol extinction coefficient for the northern Alps and to prolonging the long-term measurement series of the stratospheric aerosol. On the other hand, aerosol was used as a tracer of polluted air masses in atmospheric transport studies (orographically induced vertical transport, advection of Saharan dust, as well as aerosol advection from the North american boundary layer and from large-scale wild fire in the United States and Canada). These transport processes given the seasonal cycle of the aerosol throughout the troposphere. In the free troposphere a pronounced spring-time aerosol maximum was found. The stratospheric aerosol concentration had decayed to a background-type level during the reporting period. As a consequence, the influence of smaller aerosol contributions could be distinguished such as the eruption of the volcano Shishaldin (Alaska) and aircraft emissions. (orig.) [German] Im Rahmen des deutschen Aerosollidarnetzes wurden in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Lidar-Rueckstreumessungen in einem weiten Bereich der Atmosphaere von Bodennaehe bis in ueber 30 km Hoehe durchgefuehrt. Die Arbeiten dienten zum einen der Erstellung einer Klimatologie des Aerosol-Extinktionskoeffizienten fuer die Nordalpen sowie der Verlaengerung der seit 1976 erstellten Langzeitmessreihe des stratosphaerischen Aerosols. Zum anderen fanden atmosphaerische Transportstudien statt, bei denen das Aerosol als 'Tracer' fuer Luftverschmutzung verwendet wurde (orographisch induzierter Vertikaltransport, Advektion von Saharastaub und Aerosoladvektion aus der nordamerikanischen Genzschicht und von grossflaechigen Waldbraenden in den U.S.A. und Kanada). Diese Transportprozesse bestimmen den

  10. Using the OMI aerosol index and absorption aerosol optical depth to evaluate the NASA MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchard, V.; da Silva, A. M.; Colarco, P. R.; Darmenov, A.; Randles, C. A.; Govindaraju, R.; Torres, O.; Campbell, J.; Spurr, R.

    2015-05-01

    . Finally, during a period where the Asian region was mainly dominated by anthropogenic aerosols, we have performed a qualitative analysis in which the specification of anthropogenic emissions in GEOS-5 is adjusted to provide insight into discrepancies observed in AI comparisons.

  11. Cavity Ring-Down Measurement of Aerosol Optical Properties During the Asian Dust Above Monterey Experiment and DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ricci, K.; Strawa, A. W.; Provencal, R.; Castaneda, R.; Bucholtz, A.; Schmid, B.

    2004-01-01

    Large uncertainties in the effects of aerosols on climate require improved in-situ measurements of extinction coefficient and single-scattering albedo. This paper describes preliminary results from Cadenza, a new continuous wave cavity ring-down (CW-CRD) instrument designed to address these uncertainties. Cadenza measures the aerosol extinction coefficient for 675 nm and 1550 nm light, and simultaneously measures the scattering coefficient at 675 nm. In the past year Cadenza was deployed in the Asian Dust Above Monterey (ADAM) and DOE Aerosol Intensive Operating Period (IOP) field projects. During these flights Cadenza produced measurements of aerosol extinction in the range from 0.2 to 300/Mm with an estimated precision of 0.1/Mm for 1550 nm light and 0.2/Mm for 675 nm light. Cadenza data from the ADAM and Aerosol IOP missions compared favorably with data from the other instruments aboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft and participating in those projects. We present comparisons between the Cadenza measurements and those from a TSI nephelometer, Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP), and the AATS 14 sun-photometer. Measurements of the optical properties of smoke and dust plumes sampled during these campaigns are presented and estimates of heating rates due to these plumes are made.

  12. Cloud-Driven Changes in Aerosol Optical Properties - Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogren, John A.; Sheridan, Patrick S.; Andrews, Elisabeth

    2007-09-30

    The optical properties of aerosol particles are the controlling factors in determining direct aerosol radiative forcing. These optical properties depend on the chemical composition and size distribution of the aerosol particles, which can change due to various processes during the particles’ lifetime in the atmosphere. Over the course of this project we have studied how cloud processing of atmospheric aerosol changes the aerosol optical properties. A counterflow virtual impactor was used to separate cloud drops from interstitial aerosol and parallel aerosol systems were used to measure the optical properties of the interstitial and cloud-scavenged aerosol. Specifically, aerosol light scattering, back-scattering and absorption were measured and used to derive radiatively significant parameters such as aerosol single scattering albedo and backscatter fraction for cloud-scavenged and interstitial aerosol. This data allows us to demonstrate that the radiative properties of cloud-processed aerosol can be quite different than pre-cloud aerosol. These differences can be used to improve the parameterization of aerosol forcing in climate models.

  13. Multi-Model Simulations of Aerosol and Ozone Radiative Forcing Due to Anthropogenic Emission Changes During the Period 1990-2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myhre, Gunnar; Aas, Wenche; Ribu, Cherian; Collins, William; Faluvegi, Gregory S.; Flanner, Mark; Forster, Piers; Hodnebrog, Oivind; Klimont, Zbigniew; Lund, Marianne T.

    2017-01-01

    Over the past few decades, the geographical distribution of emissions of substances that alter the atmospheric energy balance has changed due to economic growth and air pollution regulations. Here, we show the resulting changes to aerosol and ozone abundances and their radiative forcing using recently updated emission data for the period 1990-2015, as simulated by seven global atmospheric composition models. The models broadly reproduce large-scale changes in surface aerosol and ozone based on observations (e.g. 1 to 3 percent per year in aerosols over the USA and Europe). The global mean radiative forcing due to ozone and aerosol changes over the 1990-2015 period increased by 0.17 plus or minus 0.08 watts per square meter, with approximately one-third due to ozone. This increase is more strongly positive than that reported in IPCC AR5 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report). The main reasons for the increased positive radiative forcing of aerosols over this period are the substantial reduction of global mean SO2 emissions, which is stronger in the new emission inventory compared to that used in the IPCC analysis, and higher black carbon emissions.

  14. Studies on aerosol properties during ICARB–2006 campaign period ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Continuous and campaign-based aerosol field measurements are essential in understanding funda- ... aerosol mass concentration and aerosol particle size distribution were carried out during the cam- .... the details provided by the supplier, the calibration ..... solar flux at the surface, derived from principal-plane sky.

  15. Spent fuel sabotage test program, characterization of aerosol dispersal : interim final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gregson, Michael Warren; Brockmann, John E.; Loiseau, Olivier; Klennert, Lindsay A.; Nolte, Oliver; Molecke, Martin Alan; Autrusson, Bruno A.; Koch, Wolfgang; Pretzsch, Gunter Guido; Brucher, Wenzel; Steyskal, Michele D.

    2008-01-01

    This multinational, multi-phase spent fuel sabotage test program is quantifying the aerosol particles produced when the products of a high energy density device (HEDD) interact with and explosively particulate test rodlets that contain pellets of either surrogate materials or actual spent fuel. This program provides source-term data that are relevant to plausible sabotage scenarios in relation to spent fuel transport and storage casks and associated risk assessments. We present details and significant results obtained from this program from 2001 through 2007. Measured aerosol results include: respirable fractions produced; amounts, nuclide content, and produced particle size distributions and morphology; measurements of volatile fission product species enhanced sorption--enrichment factors onto respirable particles; and, status on determination of the spent fuel ratio, SFR, needed for scaling studies. Emphasis is provided on recent Phase 3 tests using depleted uranium oxide pellets plus non-radioactive fission product dopants in surrogate spent fuel test rodlets, plus the latest surrogate cerium oxide results and aerosol laboratory supporting calibration work. The DUO 2 , CeO 2 , plus fission product dopant aerosol particle results are compared with available historical data. We also provide a status review on continuing preparations for the final Phase 4 in this program, tests using individual short rodlets containing actual spent fuel from U.S. PWR reactors, with both high- and lower-burnup fuel. The source-term data, aerosol results, and program design have been tailored to support and guide follow-on computer modeling of aerosol dispersal hazards and radiological consequence assessments. This spent fuel sabotage, aerosol test program was performed primarily at Sandia National Laboratories, with support provided by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This program has significant input from, and is cooperatively supported and

  16. Spent fuel sabotage test program, characterization of aerosol dispersal : interim final report.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gregson, Michael Warren; Brockmann, John E.; Loiseau, Olivier (Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, France); Klennert, Lindsay A.; Nolte, Oliver (Fraunhofer Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Germany); Molecke, Martin Alan; Autrusson, Bruno A. (Institut de Radioprotection et de Surete Nucleaire, France); Koch, Wolfgang (Fraunhofer Institut fur Toxikologie und Experimentelle Medizin, Germany); Pretzsch, Gunter Guido (Gesellschaft fur Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit, Germany); Brucher, Wenzel (Gesellschaft fur Anlagen- und Reaktorsicherheit, Germany); Steyskal, Michele D.

    2008-03-01

    This multinational, multi-phase spent fuel sabotage test program is quantifying the aerosol particles produced when the products of a high energy density device (HEDD) interact with and explosively particulate test rodlets that contain pellets of either surrogate materials or actual spent fuel. This program provides source-term data that are relevant to plausible sabotage scenarios in relation to spent fuel transport and storage casks and associated risk assessments. We present details and significant results obtained from this program from 2001 through 2007. Measured aerosol results include: respirable fractions produced; amounts, nuclide content, and produced particle size distributions and morphology; measurements of volatile fission product species enhanced sorption--enrichment factors onto respirable particles; and, status on determination of the spent fuel ratio, SFR, needed for scaling studies. Emphasis is provided on recent Phase 3 tests using depleted uranium oxide pellets plus non-radioactive fission product dopants in surrogate spent fuel test rodlets, plus the latest surrogate cerium oxide results and aerosol laboratory supporting calibration work. The DUO{sub 2}, CeO{sub 2}, plus fission product dopant aerosol particle results are compared with available historical data. We also provide a status review on continuing preparations for the final Phase 4 in this program, tests using individual short rodlets containing actual spent fuel from U.S. PWR reactors, with both high- and lower-burnup fuel. The source-term data, aerosol results, and program design have been tailored to support and guide follow-on computer modeling of aerosol dispersal hazards and radiological consequence assessments. This spent fuel sabotage, aerosol test program was performed primarily at Sandia National Laboratories, with support provided by both the U.S. Department of Energy and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. This program has significant input from, and is cooperatively

  17. Changes in background aerosol composition in Finland during polluted and clean periods studied by TEM/EDX individual particle analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Niemi , J. V.; Saarikoski , S.; Tervahattu , H.; Mäkelä , T.; Hillamo , R.; Vehkamäki , H.; Sogacheva , L.; Kulmala , M.

    2006-01-01

    Aerosol samples were collected at a rural background site in southern Finland in May 2004 during pollution episode (PM1~16 µg m−3, backward air mass trajectories from south-east), intermediate period (PM1~5 µg m−3, backtrajectories from north-east) and clean period (PM1~2 µg m−3, backtrajectories from north-west/north). The elemental composition, morphology and mixing state of individual aerosol particles in three size fractions were st...

  18. Temporal Variability and Characterization of Aerosols across the Pakistan Region during the Winter Fog Periods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Muhammad Fahim Khokhar

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Fog is a meteorological/environmental phenomenon which happens across the Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP and leads to significant social and economic problems, especially posing significant threats to public health and causing disruptions in air and road traffic. Meteorological stations in Pakistan provide limited information regarding fog episodes as these provide only point observations. Continuous monitoring, as well as a spatially coherent picture of fog distribution, is possible through the use of satellite observations. This study focuses on the 2012–2015 winter fog episodes over the Pakistan region using the Moderate Resolution Image Spectrometer (MODIS, the Ozone Monitoring Instrument and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO products. The main objective of the study was to map the spatial distribution of aerosols, their types, and to identify the aerosol origins during special weather conditions like fog in Pakistan. The study also included ground monitoring of particulate matter (PM concentrations, which were conducted during the 2014–2015 winter period only. Overall, this study is part of a multi-country project supported by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD, started in 2014–2015 winter period, whereby scientists from Bangladesh, India and Nepal have also conducted measurements at their respective sites. A significant correlation between MODIS (AOD and AERONET Station (AOD data from Lahore was identified. Mass concentration of PM10 at all sampling sites within Lahore city exceeded the National Environmental Quality Standards (NEQS levels on most of the occasions. Smoke and absorbing aerosol were found to be major constituents of winter fog in Pakistan. Furthermore, an extended span of winter fog was also observed in Lahore city during the winter of 2014–2015. The Vertical Feature Mask (VFM provided by CALIPSO satellite confirmed the low-lying aerosol

  19. Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX) Final Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotamarthi, VR [Argonne National Laboratory

    2013-12-01

    In general, the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) as well as the and the tropical monsoon climate is influenced by a wide range of factors. Under various climate change scenarios, temperatures over land and into the mid troposphere are expected to increase, intensifying the summer pressure gradient differential between land and ocean and thus strengthening the ISM. However, increasing aerosol concentration, air pollution, and deforestation result in changes to surface albedo and insolation, potentially leading to low monsoon rainfall. Clear evidence points to increasing aerosol concentrations over the Indian subcontinent with time, and several hypotheses regarding the effect on monsoons have been offered. The Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment (GVAX) field study aimed to provide critical data to address these hypotheses and contribute to developing better parameterizations for tropical clouds, convection, and aerosol-cloud interactions. The primary science questions for the mission were as follows:

  20. Characterizing and Understanding Aerosol Optical Properties: CARES - Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cappa, Christopher D [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Atkinson, Dean B [Portland State Univ., Portland, OR (United States)

    2017-12-17

    The scientific focus of this study was to use ambient measurements to develop new insights into the understanding of the direct radiative forcing by atmospheric aerosol particles. The study used data collected by the PI’s and others as part of both the 2010 U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES), which took place in and around Sacramento, CA, and the 2012 Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) study. We focus on measurements that were made of aerosol particle optical properties, namely the wavelength-dependent light absorption, scattering and extinction. Interpretation of these optical property measurements is facilitated through consideration of complementary measurements of the aerosol particle chemical composition and size distributions. With these measurements, we addressed the following general scientific questions: 1. How does light scattering and extinction by atmospheric aerosol particles depend on particle composition, water uptake, and size? 2. To what extent is light absorption by aerosol particles enhanced through the mixing of black carbon with other particulate components? 3. What relationships exist between intensive aerosol particle optical properties, and how do these depend on particle source and photochemical aging? 4. How well do spectral deconvolution methods, which are commonly used in remote sensing, retrieve information about particle size distributions?

  1. Atmospheric aerosol in an urban area: Comparison of measurement instruments and methodologies and pulmonary deposition assessment; Aerosol atmosferico in area urbanae di misura e valutazione di deposizione polmonare

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berico, M; Luciani, A; Formignani, M [ENEA, Centro Ricerche Bologna (Italy). Dip. Ambiente

    1996-07-01

    In March 1995 a measurement campaign of atmospheric aerosol in the Bologna urban area (Italy) was carried out. A transportable laboratory, set up by ENEA (Italian national Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment) Environmental Department (Bologna), was utilized with instruments for measurement of atmospheric aerosol and meteorological parameters. The aim of this campaign was of dual purpose: to characterize aerosol in urban area and to compare different instruments and methodologies of measurements. Mass concentrations measurements, evaluated on a 23-hour period with total filter, PM10 dichotomous sampler and low pressure impactor (LPI Berner), have provided information respectively about total suspended particles, respirable fraction and granulometric parameters of aerosol. Eight meteorologic parameters, number concentration of submicromic fraction of aerosol and mass concentration of micromic fraction have been continually measured. Then, in a daytime period, several number granulometries of atmospheric aerosol have also been estimated by means of diffusion battery system. Results related to different measurement methodologies and granulometric characteristics of aerosol are presented here. Pulmonary deposition of atmospheric aerosol is finally calculated, using granulometries provided by LPI Brener and ICRP 66 human respiratory tract model.

  2. Toward a combined SAGE II-HALOE aerosol climatology: an evaluation of HALOE version 19 stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient observations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. W. Thomason

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Herein, the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE aerosol extinction coefficient data is evaluated in the low aerosol loading period after 1996 as the first necessary step in a process that will eventually allow the production of a combined HALOE/SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment aerosol climatology of derived aerosol products including surface area density. Based on these analyses, it is demonstrated that HALOE's 3.46 μm is of good quality above 19 km and suitable for scientific applications above that altitude. However, it is increasingly suspect at lower altitudes and should not be used below 17 km under any circumstances after 1996. The 3.40 μm is biased by about 10% throughout the lower stratosphere due to the failure to clear NO2 but otherwise appears to be a high quality product down to 15 km. The 2.45 and 5.26 μm aerosol extinction coefficient measurements are clearly biased and should not be used for scientific applications after the most intense parts of the Pinatubo period. Many of the issues in the aerosol data appear to be related to either the failure to clear some interfering gas species or doing so poorly. For instance, it is clear that the 3.40 μm aerosol extinction coefficient measurements can be improved through the inclusion of an NO2 correction and could, in fact, end up as the highest quality overall HALOE aerosol extinction coefficient measurement. It also appears that the 2.45 and 5.26 μm channels may be improved by updating the Upper Atmosphere Pilot Database which is used as a resource for the removal of gas species otherwise not available from direct HALOE measurements. Finally, a simple model to demonstrate the promise of mixed visible/infrared aerosol extinction coefficient ensembles for the retrieval of bulk aerosol properties demonstrates that a combined HALOE/SAGE II aerosol climatology is feasible and may represent a substantial improvement over independently derived

  3. Toward a Combined SAGE II-HALOE Aerosol Climatology: An Evaluation of HALOE Version 19 Stratospheric Aerosol Extinction Coefficient Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomason, L. W.

    2012-01-01

    Herein, the Halogen Occultation Experiment (HALOE) aerosol extinction coefficient data is evaluated in the low aerosol loading period after 1996 as the first necessary step in a process that will eventually allow the production of a combined HALOE/SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) aerosol climatology of derived aerosol products including surface area density. Based on these analyses, it is demonstrated that HALOE's 3.46 microns is of good quality above 19 km and suitable for scientific applications above that altitude. However, it is increasingly suspect at lower altitudes and should not be used below 17 km under any circumstances after 1996. The 3.40 microns is biased by about 10% throughout the lower stratosphere due to the failure to clear NO2 but otherwise appears to be a high quality product down to 15 km. The 2.45 and 5.26 micron aerosol extinction coefficient measurements are clearly biased and should not be used for scientific applications after the most intense parts of the Pinatubo period. Many of the issues in the aerosol data appear to be related to either the failure to clear some interfering gas species or doing so poorly. For instance, it is clear that the 3.40micronaerosol extinction coefficient measurements can be improved through the inclusion of an NO2 correction and could, in fact, end up as the highest quality overall HALOE aerosol extinction coefficient measurement. It also appears that the 2.45 and 5.26 micron channels may be improved by updating the Upper Atmosphere Pilot Database which is used as a resource for the removal of gas species otherwise not available from direct HALOE measurements. Finally, a simple model to demonstrate the promise of mixed visible/infrared aerosol extinction coefficient ensembles for the retrieval of bulk aerosol properties demonstrates that a combined HALOE/SAGE II aerosol climatology is feasible and may represent a substantial improvement over independently derived data sets.

  4. Clouds, Aerosol, and Precipitation in the Marine Boundary Layer (CAP-MBL) Final Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wood, R. [Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA (United States)

    2016-01-01

    The extensive coverage of low clouds over the subtropical eastern oceans greatly impacts the current climate. In addition, the response of low clouds to changes in atmospheric greenhouse gases and aerosols is a major source of uncertainty, which thwarts accurate prediction of future climate change. Low clouds are poorly simulated in climate models, partly due to inadequate long-term simultaneous observations of their macrophysical and microphysical structure, radiative effects, and associated aerosol distribution in regions where their impact is greatest. The thickness and extent of subtropical low clouds is dependent on tight couplings between surface fluxes of heat and moisture, radiative cooling, boundary layer turbulence, and precipitation (much of which evaporates before reaching the ocean surface and is closely connected to the abundance of cloud condensation nuclei). These couplings have been documented as a result of past field programs and model studies. However, extensive research is still required to achieve a quantitative understanding sufficient for developing parameterizations, which adequately predict aerosol indirect effects and low cloud response to climate perturbations. This is especially true of the interactions between clouds, aerosol, and precipitation. These processes take place in an ever-changing synoptic environment that can confound interpretation of short time period observations.

  5. Cloud Scavenging Effects on Aerosol Radiative and Cloud-nucleating Properties - Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ogren, John A.; Sheridan, Patrick S.; Andrews, Elisabeth

    2009-03-05

    The optical properties of aerosol particles are the controlling factors in determining direct aerosol radiative forcing. These optical properties depend on the chemical composition and size distribution of the aerosol particles, which can change due to various processes during the particles’ lifetime in the atmosphere. Over the course of this project we have studied how cloud processing of atmospheric aerosol changes the aerosol optical properties. A counterflow virtual impactor was used to separate cloud drops from interstitial aerosol and parallel aerosol systems were used to measure the optical properties of the interstitial and cloud-scavenged aerosol. Specifically, aerosol light scattering, back-scattering and absorption were measured and used to derive radiatively significant parameters such as aerosol single scattering albedo and backscatter fraction for cloud-scavenged and interstitial aerosol. This data allows us to demonstrate that the radiative properties of cloud-processed aerosol can be quite different than pre-cloud aerosol. These differences can be used to improve the parameterization of aerosol forcing in climate models.

  6. Quasi-periodic oscillations of aerosol backscatter profiles and surface meteorological parameters during winter nights over a tropical station

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. G. Manoj

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric gravity waves, which are a manifestation of the fluctuations in buoyancy of the air parcels, are well known for their direct influence on concentration of atmospheric trace gases and aerosols, and also on oscillations of meteorological variables such as temperature, wind speed, visibility and so on. The present paper reports quasi-periodic oscillations in the lidar backscatter signal strength due to aerosol fluctuations in the nocturnal boundary layer, studied with a high space-time resolution polarimetric micro pulse lidar and concurrent meteorological parameters over a tropical station in India. The results of the spectral analysis of the data, archived on some typical clear-sky conditions during winter months of 2008 and 2009, exhibit a prominent periodicity of 20–40 min in lidar-observed aerosol variability and show close association with those observed in the near-surface temperature and wind at 5% statistical significance. Moreover, the lidar aerosol backscatter signal strength variations at different altitudes, which have been generated from the height-time series of the one-minute interval profiles at 2.4 m vertical resolution, indicate vertical propagation of these waves, exchanging energy between lower and higher height levels. Such oscillations are favoured by the stable atmospheric background condition and peculiar topography of the experimental site. Accurate representation of these buoyancy waves is essential in predicting the sporadic fluctuations of weather in the tropics.

  7. Lidar observations and transfer of stratospheric aerosol over Tomsk in summer period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Novikov, P. V.; Cheremisin, A. A.; Marichev, V. N.; Barashkov, T. O.

    2015-11-01

    The analysis of the stratospheric aerosol origin was carried out by the method of Lagrangian particle trajectories. Stratospheric aerosol was registered by lidar sounding of atmosphere above Tomsk in 2008-2013 in summer time. The analysis of the results had shown that the aerosol content at altitudes of 13-125 km with maximum at 16-18 km can be associated with aerosol transfer from tropical stratospheric reservoir.

  8. Atmospheric aerosol in an urban area: Comparison of measurement instruments and methodologies and pulmonary deposition assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berico, M.; Luciani, A.; Formignani, M.

    1996-07-01

    In March 1995 a measurement campaign of atmospheric aerosol in the Bologna urban area (Italy) was carried out. A transportable laboratory, set up by ENEA (Italian national Agency for New Technologies, Energy and the Environment) Environmental Department (Bologna), was utilized with instruments for measurement of atmospheric aerosol and meteorological parameters. The aim of this campaign was of dual purpose: to characterize aerosol in urban area and to compare different instruments and methodologies of measurements. Mass concentrations measurements, evaluated on a 23-hour period with total filter, PM10 dichotomous sampler and low pressure impactor (LPI Berner), have provided information respectively about total suspended particles, respirable fraction and granulometric parameters of aerosol. Eight meteorologic parameters, number concentration of submicromic fraction of aerosol and mass concentration of micromic fraction have been continually measured. Then, in a daytime period, several number granulometries of atmospheric aerosol have also been estimated by means of diffusion battery system. Results related to different measurement methodologies and granulometric characteristics of aerosol are presented here. Pulmonary deposition of atmospheric aerosol is finally calculated, using granulometries provided by LPI Brener and ICRP 66 human respiratory tract model

  9. Aerosol climatology over the Mexico City basin: Characterization of optical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carabali, Giovanni; Estévez, Héctor Raúl; Valdés-Barrón, Mauro; Bonifaz-Alfonzo, Roberto; Riveros-Rosas, David; Velasco-Herrera, Víctor Manuel; Vázquez-Gálvez, Felipe Adrián

    2017-09-01

    Climatology of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), and aerosol particle-size distribution were analyzed using a 15-year (1999-2014) dataset from AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) observations over the Mexico City (MC) basin. The atmosphere over this site is dominated by two main aerosol types, represented by urban/industrial pollution and biomass-burning particles. Due to the specific meteorological conditions within the basin, seasons are usually classified into three as follows: Dry Winter (DW) (November-February); Dry Spring (DS) (March-April), and the RAiny season (RA) (May-October), which are mentioned throughout this article. Using a CIMEL sun photometer, we conducted continuous observations over the MC urban area from January 1999 to December 2014. Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Ångström exponent (α440-870), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), and aerosol particle-size distribution were derived from the observational data. The overall mean AOD500 during the 1999-2014 period was 0.34 ± 0.07. The monthly mean AOD reached a maximal value of 0.49 in May and a minimal value of 0.27 in February and March. The average α440-870 value for the period studied was 1.50 ± 0.16. The monthly average of α440-870 reached a minimal value of 1.32 in August and a maximal value of 1.61 in May. Average SSA at 440 nm was 0.89 throughout the observation period, indicating that aerosols over Mexico City are composed mainly of absorptive particles. Concentrations of fine- and coarse-mode aerosols over MC were highest in DS season compared with other seasons, especially for particles with radii measuring between 0.1 and 0.2 μm. Results from the Spectral De-convolution Algorithm (SDA) show that fine-mode aerosols dominated AOD variability in MC. In the final part of this article, we present a classification of aerosols in MC by using the graphical method proposed by Gobbi et al. (2007), which is based on the combined analysis of α and its spectral curvature

  10. International Standard Problem 40 - Aerosol Deposition and Resuspension. Final Comparison Report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Los Reyes, Alfredo Castelo; Areia Capitao, Joaquim; De Santi, Giovanni

    1999-02-01

    -October 1997 and the deadline for submission of the results of this second phase was the end of January 1998. A first draft of this comparison report was produced in March 1998, followed by a workshop in Ispra in mid-March. Two errors in the supplied data had been detected and were communicated to the participants in this workshop, one concerning the steam flow rate in the deposition phase of the exercise and the other the size distribution of the resuspended aerosols in the resuspension phase. The decision whether or not to re-do their calculations was left to the each ISP participant and the deadline for the submission of new results, with these or other modifications relative to the previous ones, was the end of May 1998. These new calculations, having been performed in open conditions, are presented separately in this report. The final draft of the comparison report was distribute in June 1998, followed by a final workshop in Ispra the same month. This report is divided into six main sections, one concerning the experimental set-up and results, two each for the deposition and resuspension phases of the International Standard Problem (blind and open calculations), and one on general conclusions and recommendations. According to the opinion of the ISP participants, the results in the two sections on the deposition and resuspension exercises are listed by computer code and, for each code, by organisation. The calculations submitted by the Joint Research Centre are included together with the others. Although the JRC staff who performed the calculations did not have access to the experimental results before submitting their results, their knowledge of the facility puts their calculations in a separate class

  11. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, The Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mensah, A. A.; Holzinger, R.; Otjes, R.; Trimborn, A.; Mentel, Th. F.; ten Brink, H.; Henzing, B.; Kiendler-Scharr, A.

    2012-05-01

    Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and is compared to observations from aerosol size distribution measurements as well as composition measurements with a Monitor for AeRosol and GAses (MARGA) based instrument and a Thermal-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass-Spectrometer (TD-PTR-MS). An overview of the data is presented and the data quality is discussed. In May 2008 enhanced pollution was observed with organics contributing 40% to the PM1 mass. In contrast the observed average mass loading was lower in March 2009 and a dominance of ammonium nitrate (42%) was observed. The semi-volatile nature of ammonium nitrate is evident in the diurnal cycles with maximum concentrations observed in the morning hours in May 2008 and little diurnal variation observed in March 2009. Size dependent composition data from AMS measurements are presented and show a dominance of organics in the size range below 200 nm. A higher O:C ratio of the organics is observed for May 2008 than for March 2009. Together with the time series of individual tracer ions this shows the dominance of OOA over HOA in May 2008.

  12. A Mesoscale Analysis of Column-Integrated Aerosol Properties in Northern India During the TIGERZ 2008 Pre-Monsoon Period and a Comparison to MODIS Retrievals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giles, D. M.; Holben, B. N.; Tripathi, S. N.; Eck, T. F.; Newcomb, W. W.; Slutsker, I.; Dickerson, R. R.; Thompson, A. M.; Wang, S.-H.; Singh, R. P.; hide

    2010-01-01

    The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of the northern Indian subcontinent produces anthropogenic pollution from urban, industrial and rural combustion sources nearly continuously and is affected by convection-induced winds driving desert and alluvial dust into the atmosphere during the premonsoon period. Within the IGP, the NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) project initiated the TIGERZ measurement campaign in May 2008 with an intensive operational period from May 1 to June 23, 2008. Mesoscale spatial variability of aerosol optical depth (AOD, tau) measurements at 500mn was assessed at sites around Kanpur, India, with averages ranging from 0.31 to 0.89 for spatial variability study (SVS) deployments. Sites located downwind from the city of Kanpur indicated slightly higher average aerosol optical depth (delta Tau(sub 500)=0.03-0.09). In addition, SVS AOD area-averages were compared to the long-tenn Kanpur AERONET site data: Four SVS area-averages were within +/- 1 cr of the climatological mean of the Kanpur site, while one SVS was within 2sigma below climatology. For a SVS case using AERONET inversions, the 440-870mn Angstrom exponent of approximately 0.38, the 440-870mn absorption Angstrom exponent (AAE) of 1.15-1.53, and the sphericity parameter near zero suggested the occurrence of large, strongly absorbing, non-spherical aerosols over Kanpur (e.g., mixed black carbon and dust) as well as stronger absorption downwind of Kanpur. Furthermore, the 3km and lOkm Terra and Aqua MODIS C005 aerosol retrieval algorithms at tau(sub 550) were compared to the TIGERZ data set. Although MODIS retrievals at higher quality levels were comparable to the MODIS retrieval uncertainty, the total number of MODIS matchups (N) were reduced with subsequent quality levels (N=25, QA>=0; N=9,QA>=l; N=6, QA>=2; N=1, QA=3) over Kanpur during the premonsoon primarily due to the semi-bright surface, complex aerosol mixture and cloud-contaminated pixels. The TIGERZ 2008 data set provided a unique

  13. The Pasadena Aerosol Characterization Observatory (PACO: chemical and physical analysis of the Western Los Angeles basin aerosol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. P. Hersey

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The Pasadena Aerosol Characterization Observatory (PACO represents the first major aerosol characterization experiment centered in the Western/Central Los Angeles Basin. The sampling site, located on the campus of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, was positioned to sample a continuous afternoon influx of transported urban aerosol with a photochemical age of 1–2 h and generally free from major local contributions. Sampling spanned 5 months during the summer of 2009, which were broken into 3 regimes on the basis of distinct meteorological conditions. Regime I was characterized by a series of low pressure systems, resulting in high humidity and rainy periods with clean conditions. Regime II typified early summer meteorology, with significant morning marine layers and warm, sunny afternoons. Regime III was characterized by hot, dry conditions with little marine layer influence. Regardless of regime, organic aerosol (OA is the most significant constituent of nonrefractory submicron Los Angeles aerosol (42, 43, and 55 % of total submicron mass in regimes I, II, and III, respectively. The overall oxidation state remains relatively constant on timescales of days to weeks (O:C = 0.44 ± 0.08, 0.55 ± 0.05, and 0.48 ± 0.08 during regimes I, II, and III, respectively, with no difference in O:C between morning and afternoon periods. Periods characterized by significant morning marine layer influence followed by photochemically favorable afternoons displayed significantly higher aerosol mass and O:C ratio, suggesting that aqueous processes may be important in the generation of secondary aerosol and oxidized organic aerosol (OOA in Los Angeles. Online analysis of water soluble organic carbon (WSOC indicates that water soluble organic mass (WSOM reaches maxima near 14:00–15:00 local time (LT, but the percentage of AMS organic mass contributed by WSOM remains relatively constant throughout the day. Sulfate and nitrate reside predominantly

  14. Sulphate and chloride aerosols during Holocene and last glacial periods preserved in the Talos Dome Ice Core, a peripheral region of Antarctica

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yoshinori Iizuka

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Antarctic ice cores preserve the record of past aerosols, an important proxy of past atmospheric chemistry. Here we present the aerosol compositions of sulphate and chloride particles in the Talos Dome (TD ice core from the Holocene and Last Glacial Period. We find that the main salt types of both periods are NaCl, Na2SO4 and CaSO4, indicating that TD ice contains relatively abundant sea salt (NaCl from marine primary particles. By evaluating the molar ratio of NaCl to Na2SO4, we show that about half of the sea salt does not undergo sulphatisation during late Holocene. Compared to in inland Antarctica, the lower sulphatisation rate at TD is probably due to relatively little contact between sea salt and sulphuric acid. This low contact rate can be related to a reduced time of reaction for marine-sourced aerosol before reaching TD and/or to a reduced post-depositional effect from the higher accumulation rate at TD. Many sulphate and chloride salts are adhered to silicate minerals. The ratio of sulphate-adhered mineral to particle mass and the corresponding ratio of chloride-adhered mineral both increase with increasing dust concentration. Also, the TD ice appears to contain Ca(NO32 or CaCO3 particles, thus differing from aerosol compositions in inland Antarctica, and indicating the proximity of peripheral regions to marine aerosols.

  15. Measurements of Aerosol Characteristics in Skocjan Caves

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jovanovic, P.

    2013-01-01

    Measurements of radon concentration and radon progeny concentration (attached and unattached) have been performed in Skocjan caves. In the same time also aerosol concentration (PM 10 ), aerosol size distribution with ten stage Hauke impactor and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer - SMPS have been performed. The idea was to find impact of outer air and visitors to the aerosol characteristics of cave air. Measurements with impactor have been implemented in summer and winter period, with SMPS only in summer period. Radon concentrations ranged in winter period in region from 500 to 1000 Bq/m 3 , equilibrium factor was about 55 %. In summer period radon concentration increased up to 10 kBq/m 3 , equilibrium factor was about 45 %, and unattached fraction went up to 20 %. Measurements of aerosol size distribution show lower aerosol sizes in winter season (around 1 μm) and bigger aerosol sizes in summer season (around 3 - 6 μm). We could not find good correlation between unattached fraction and aerosol size distribution. Also we could not find clear impact of visitors to the air characteristics in cave. Probably our measuring location was too close to the entrance and the impact of outer air was too high. We will repeat measurements deeper in cave to find better results.(author)

  16. Aerosol optical properties and radiative effects: Assessment of urban aerosols in central China using 10-year observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Ming; Ma, Yingying; Gong, Wei; Liu, Boming; Shi, Yifan; Chen, ZhongYong

    2018-06-01

    Poor air quality episodes are common in central China. Here, based on 10 years of ground-based sun-photometric observations, aerosol optical and radiative forcing characteristics were analyzed in Wuhan, the biggest metropolis in central China. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the last decade declined significantly, while the Ångström exponent (AE) showed slight growth. Single scattering albedo (SSA) at 440 nm reached the lowest value (0.87) in winter and highest value (0.93) in summer. Aerosol parameters derived from sun-photometric observations were used as input in a radiative transfer model to calculate aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) on the surface in ultraviolet (UV), visible (VIS), near-infrared (NIR), and shortwave (SW) spectra. ARFSW sustained decreases (the absolute values) over the last 10 years. In terms of seasonal variability, due to the increases in multiple scattering effects and attenuation of the transmitted radiation as AOD increased, ARF in summer displayed the largest value (-73.94 W/m2). After eliminating the influence of aerosol loading, the maximum aerosol radiative forcing efficiency in SW range (ARFESW) achieved a value of -64.5 W/m2/AOD in April. The ARFE change in each sub-interval spectrum was related to the change in SSA and effective radius of fine mode particles (Refff), that is, ARFE increased with the decreases in SSA and Refff. The smallest contribution of ARFENIR to ARFESW was 34.11% under strong absorbing and fine particle conditions, and opposite results were found for the VIS range, whose values were always over 51.82%. Finally, due to the serious air pollution and frequency of haze day, aerosol characteristics in haze and clear days were analyzed. The percentage of ARFENIR increased from 35.71% on clear-air days to 37.63% during haze periods, while both the percentage of ARFEUV and ARFENIR in ARFESW kept decreasing. The results of this paper should help us to better understand the effect of aerosols on solar spectral radiation

  17. Inter-annual variability of aerosol optical depth over the tropical Atlantic Ocean based on MODIS-Aqua observations over the period 2002-2012

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gkikas, Antonis; Hatzianastassiou, Nikolaos

    2013-04-01

    The tropical Atlantic Ocean is affected by dust and biomass burning aerosol loads transported from the western parts of the Saharan desert and the sub-Sahel regions, respectively. The spatial and temporal patterns of this transport are determined by the aerosol emission rates, their deposition (wet and dry), by the latitudinal shift of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) and the prevailing wind fields. More specifically, in summer, Saharan dust aerosols are transported towards the Atlantic Ocean, even reaching the Gulf of Mexico, while in winter the Atlantic Ocean transport takes place in more southern latitudes, near the equator, sometimes reaching the northern parts of South America. In the later case, dust is mixed with biomass burning aerosols originating from agricultural activities in the sub-Sahel, associated with prevailing north-easterly airflow (Harmattan winds). Satellite observations are the appropriate tool for describing this African aerosol export, which is important to atmospheric, oceanic and climate processes, offering the advantage of complete spatial coverage. In the present study, we use satellite measurements of aerosol optical depth at 550nm (AOD550nm), on a daily and monthly basis, derived from MODIS-Aqua platform, at 1ox1o spatial resolution (Level 3), for the period 2002-2012. The primary objective is to determine the pixel-level and regional mean anomalies of AOD550nm over the entire study period. The regime of the anomalies of African export is interpreted in relation to the aerosol source areas, precipitation, wind patterns and temporal variability of the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI). In order to ensure availability of AOD over the Sahara desert, MODIS-Aqua Deep Blue products are also used. As for precipitation, Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) data at 2.5ox2.5o are used. The wind fields are taken from the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP). Apart from the regime of African aerosol export

  18. Aerosol chemical composition at Cabauw, The Netherlands as observed in two intensive periods in May 2008 and March 2009

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Mensah

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Observations of aerosol chemical composition in Cabauw, the Netherlands, are presented for two intensive measurement periods in May 2008 and March 2009. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS and is compared to observations from aerosol size distribution measurements as well as composition measurements with a Monitor for AeRosol and GAses (MARGA based instrument and a Thermal-Desorption Proton-Transfer-Reaction Mass-Spectrometer (TD-PTR-MS. An overview of the data is presented and the data quality is discussed. In May 2008 enhanced pollution was observed with organics contributing 40% to the PM1 mass. In contrast the observed average mass loading was lower in March 2009 and a dominance of ammonium nitrate (42% was observed. The semi-volatile nature of ammonium nitrate is evident in the diurnal cycles with maximum concentrations observed in the morning hours in May 2008 and little diurnal variation observed in March 2009. Size dependent composition data from AMS measurements are presented and show a dominance of organics in the size range below 200 nm. A higher O:C ratio of the organics is observed for May 2008 than for March 2009. Together with the time series of individual tracer ions this shows the dominance of OOA over HOA in May 2008.

  19. Natural Radionuclides and Isotopic Signatures for Determining Carbonaceous Aerosol Sources, Aerosol Lifetimes, and Washout Processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaffney, Jeffrey

    2012-01-01

    This is the final technical report. The project description is as follows: to determine the role of aerosol radiative forcing on climate, the processes that control their atmospheric concentrations must be understood, and aerosol sources need to be determined for mitigation. Measurements of naturally occurring radionuclides and stable isotopic signatures allow the sources, removal and transport processes, as well as atmospheric lifetimes of fine carbonaceous aerosols, to be evaluated.

  20. Natural Radionuclides and Isotopic Signatures for Determining Carbonaceous Aerosol Sources, Aerosol Lifetimes, and Washout Processes

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gaffney, Jeffrey [Univ. of Arkansas, Little Rock, AR (United States)

    2012-12-12

    This is the final technical report. The project description is as follows: to determine the role of aerosol radiative forcing on climate, the processes that control their atmospheric concentrations must be understood, and aerosol sources need to be determined for mitigation. Measurements of naturally occurring radionuclides and stable isotopic signatures allow the sources, removal and transport processes, as well as atmospheric lifetimes of fine carbonaceous aerosols, to be evaluated.

  1. Stratospheric aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rosen, J.; Ivanov, V.A.

    1993-01-01

    Stratospheric aerosol measurements can provide both spatial and temporal data of sufficient resolution to be of use in climate models. Relatively recent results from a wide range of instrument techniques for measuring stratospheric aerosol parameters are described. Such techniques include impactor sampling, lidar system sensing, filter sampling, photoelectric particle counting, satellite extinction-sensing using the sun as a source, and optical depth probing, at sites mainly removed from tropospheric aerosol sources. Some of these techniques have also had correlative and intercomparison studies. The main methods for determining the vertical profiles of stratospheric aerosols are outlined: lidar extinction measurements from satellites; impactor measurements from balloons and aircraft; and photoelectric particle counter measurements from balloons, aircraft, and rockets. The conversion of the lidar backscatter to stratospheric aerosol mass loading is referred to. Absolute measurements of total solar extinction from satellite orbits can be used to extract the aerosol extinction, and several examples of vertical profiles of extinction obtained with the SAGE satellite are given. Stratospheric mass loading can be inferred from extinction using approximate linear relationships but under restrictive conditions. Impactor sampling is essentially the only method in which the physical nature of the stratospheric aerosol is observed visually. Vertical profiles of stratospheric aerosol number concentration using impactor data are presented. Typical profiles using a dual-size-range photoelectric dustsonde particle counter are given for volcanically disturbed and inactive periods. Some measurements of the global distribution of stratospheric aerosols are also presented. Volatility measurements are described, indicating that stratospheric aerosols are composed primarily of about 75% sulfuric acid and 25% water

  2. Sources of atmospheric aerosol from long-term measurements (5 years) of chemical composition in Athens, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevopoulou, D; Liakakou, E; Gerasopoulos, E; Mihalopoulos, N

    2015-09-15

    To identify the sources of aerosols in Greater Athens Area (GAA), a total of 1510 daily samples of fine (PM 2.5) and coarse (PM 10-2,5) aerosols were collected at a suburban site (Penteli), during a five year period (May 2008-April 2013) corresponding to the period before and during the financial crisis. In addition, aerosol sampling was also conducted in parallel at an urban site (Thissio), during specific, short-term campaigns during all seasons. In all these samples mass and chemical composition measurements were performed, the latest only at the fine fraction. Particulate organic matter (POM) and ionic masses (IM) are the main contributors of aerosol mass, equally contributing by accounting for about 24% of the fine aerosol mass. In the IM, nss-SO4(-2) is the prevailing specie followed by NO3(-) and NH4(+) and shows a decreasing trend during the 2008-2013 period similar to that observed for PM masses. The contribution of water in fine aerosol is equally significant (21 ± 2%), while during dust transport, the contribution of dust increases from 7 ± 2% to 31 ± 9%. Source apportionment (PCA and PMF) and mass closure exercises identified the presence of six sources of fine aerosols: secondary photochemistry, primary combustion, soil, biomass burning, sea salt and traffic. Finally, from winter 2012 to winter 2013 the contribution of POM to the urban aerosol mass is increased by almost 30%, reflecting the impact of wood combustion (dominant fuel for domestic heating) to air quality in Athens, which massively started in winter 2013. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Aerosol studies during the ESCOMPTE experiment: an overview

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cachier, Hélène; Aulagnier, Fabien; Sarda, Roland; Gautier, François; Masclet, Pierre; Besombes, Jean-Luc; Marchand, Nicolas; Despiau, Serge; Croci, Delphine; Mallet, Marc; Laj, Paolo; Marinoni, Angela; Deveau, Pierre-Alexandre; Roger, Jean-Claude; Putaud, Jean-Philippe; Van Dingenen, Rita; Dell'Acqua, Alessandro; Viidanoja, Jyrkki; Martins-Dos Santos, Sebastiao; Liousse, Cathy; Cousin, Frédéric; Rosset, Robert; Gardrat, Eric; Galy-Lacaux, Corinne

    2005-03-01

    The "Expérience sur Site pour COntraindre les Modèles de Pollution atmosphérique et de Transport d'Emissions" (ESCOMPTE) experiment took place in the Southern part of France in the Marseilles/Fos-Berre region during 6 weeks in June and July 2001. One task was to document the regional sources of atmospheric particles and to gain some insight into the aerosol transformations in the atmosphere. For this purpose, seven sites were chosen and equipped with the same basic instrumentation to obtain the chemical closure of the bulk aerosol phase and size-segregated samples. Some specific additional experiments were conducted for the speciation of the organic matter and the aerosol size distribution in number. Finally, four multiwavelength sun-photometers were also deployed during the experiment. Interestingly, in this region, three intense aerosol sources (urban, industrial and biogenic) are very active, and data show consistent results, enlightening an important background of particles over the whole ESCOMPTE domain. Notable is the overwhelming importance of the carbonaceous fraction (comprising primary and secondary particles), which is always more abundant than sulphates. Particle size studies show that, on average, more than 90% of the mean regional aerosol number is found on a size range smaller than 300 nm in diameter. The most original result is the evidence of the rapid formation of secondary aerosols occurring in the whole ESCOMPTE domain. This formation is much more important than that usually observed at these latitudes since two thirds of the particulate mass collected off source zones is estimated to be generated during atmospheric transport. On the other hand, the marine source has poor influence in the region, especially during the overlapping pollution events of Intensive Observation Periods (IOP). Preliminary results from the 0D and 3D versions of the MesoNH-aerosol model show that, with optimised gas and particle sources, the model accounts

  4. Lidar Observations of Aerosol Disturbances of the Stratosphere over Tomsk (56.5∘N; 85.0∘E in Volcanic Activity Period 2006–2011

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oleg E. Bazhenov

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The lidar measurements (Tomsk: 56.5∘N; 85.0∘E of the optical characteristics of the stratospheric aerosol layer (SAL in the volcanic activity period 2006–2011 are summarized and analyzed. The background SAL state with minimum aerosol content, observed since 1997 under the conditions of long-term volcanically quiet period, was interrupted in October 2006 by series of explosive eruptions of volcanoes of Pacific Ring of Fire: Rabaul (October 2006, New Guinea; Okmok and Kasatochi (July-August 2008, Aleutian Islands; Redoubt (March-April 2009, Alaska; Sarychev Peak (June 2009, Kuril Islands; Grimsvötn (May 2011, Iceland. A short-term and minor disturbance of the lower stratosphere was also observed in April 2010 after eruption of the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull. The developed regional empirical model of the vertical distribution of background SAL optical characteristics was used to identify the periods of elevated stratospheric aerosol content after each of the volcanic eruptions. Trends of variations in the total ozone content are also considered.

  5. Characterization of urban aerosol in Cork city (Ireland) using aerosol mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dall'Osto, M.; Ovadnevaite, J.; Ceburnis, D.; Martin, D.; Healy, R. M.; O'Connor, I. P.; Kourtchev, I.; Sodeau, J. R.; Wenger, J. C.; O'Dowd, C.

    2013-05-01

    Ambient wintertime background urban aerosol in Cork city, Ireland, was characterized using aerosol mass spectrometry. During the three-week measurement study in 2009, 93% of the ca. 1 350 000 single particles characterized by an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TSI ATOFMS) were classified into five organic-rich particle types, internally mixed to different proportions with elemental carbon (EC), sulphate and nitrate, while the remaining 7% was predominantly inorganic in nature. Non-refractory PM1 aerosol was characterized using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS) and was also found to comprise organic aerosol as the most abundant species (62%), followed by nitrate (15%), sulphate (9%) and ammonium (9%), and chloride (5%). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) was applied to the HR-ToF-AMS organic matrix, and a five-factor solution was found to describe the variance in the data well. Specifically, "hydrocarbon-like" organic aerosol (HOA) comprised 20% of the mass, "low-volatility" oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) comprised 18%, "biomass burning" organic aerosol (BBOA) comprised 23%, non-wood solid-fuel combustion "peat and coal" organic aerosol (PCOA) comprised 21%, and finally a species type characterized by primary {m/z} peaks at 41 and 55, similar to previously reported "cooking" organic aerosol (COA), but possessing different diurnal variations to what would be expected for cooking activities, contributed 18%. Correlations between the different particle types obtained by the two aerosol mass spectrometers are also discussed. Despite wood, coal and peat being minor fuel types used for domestic space heating in urban areas, their relatively low combustion efficiencies result in a significant contribution to PM1 aerosol mass (44% and 28% of the total organic aerosol mass and non-refractory total PM1, respectively).

  6. Characterization of urban aerosol in Cork city (Ireland using aerosol mass spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Dall'Osto

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Ambient wintertime background urban aerosol in Cork city, Ireland, was characterized using aerosol mass spectrometry. During the three-week measurement study in 2009, 93% of the ca. 1 350 000 single particles characterized by an Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (TSI ATOFMS were classified into five organic-rich particle types, internally mixed to different proportions with elemental carbon (EC, sulphate and nitrate, while the remaining 7% was predominantly inorganic in nature. Non-refractory PM1 aerosol was characterized using a High Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS and was also found to comprise organic aerosol as the most abundant species (62%, followed by nitrate (15%, sulphate (9% and ammonium (9%, and chloride (5%. Positive matrix factorization (PMF was applied to the HR-ToF-AMS organic matrix, and a five-factor solution was found to describe the variance in the data well. Specifically, "hydrocarbon-like" organic aerosol (HOA comprised 20% of the mass, "low-volatility" oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA comprised 18%, "biomass burning" organic aerosol (BBOA comprised 23%, non-wood solid-fuel combustion "peat and coal" organic aerosol (PCOA comprised 21%, and finally a species type characterized by primary extit{m/z}~peaks at 41 and 55, similar to previously reported "cooking" organic aerosol (COA, but possessing different diurnal variations to what would be expected for cooking activities, contributed 18%. Correlations between the different particle types obtained by the two aerosol mass spectrometers are also discussed. Despite wood, coal and peat being minor fuel types used for domestic space heating in urban areas, their relatively low combustion efficiencies result in a significant contribution to PM1 aerosol mass (44% and 28% of the total organic aerosol mass and non-refractory total PM1, respectively.

  7. Influence of cosmic radiation on aerosol and cloud formation over short time periods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bondo, Torsten

    in the atmosphere affect aerosol and cloud creation and whether it is realistic to observe Forbush decrease events in climate data. The thesis involves a theoretical examination of the ionization caused by Forbush decreases based on studies of hourly neutron monitor data and muon telescope data as proxies...... distribution of stable nucleated clusters, the model takes condensation and coagulation into account and includes various loss mechanisms. This model is used to investigate the growth of aerosols into cloud condensation nuclei size particles and to study the influence of nucleation rates and background vapour...... resolution satellite data and aerosol ground based measurements are presented. Here it is observed that significant decreases in the angstrom exponent from AERONET aerosols and cloud liquid water from satellites take place after the largest Forbush decreases. The timescales of this indicate...

  8. [Size distributions of aerosol during the Spring Festival in Nanjing].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hong-Lei; Zhu, Bin; Shen, Li-Juan; Liu, Xiao-Hui; Zhang, Ze-Feng; Yang, Yang

    2014-02-01

    In order to investigate the firework burning impacts on spectrum distribution of atmospheric aerosol during the Spring Festival in Nanjing, number concentration and mass concentration of aerosol as well as mass concentration of gas pollutants were measured during January 19-31, 2012. The results indicated that the concentration of aerosol between 10-20 nm decreased, aerosol concentration in the range of 50-100 nm, 100-200 nm and 200-500 nm increased during the firework burning period comparing to those during the non-burning period. However, there was no obvious variation for aerosol between 20-50 nm and 0.5-10 microm. The spectrum distribution of number concentration was bimodal during the non-burning period and unimodal during the burning period, with the peak value shifting to large diameter section. The mass concentration presented a bimodal distribution, the value of PM2.5/PM10 and PM10/PM10 increased by 10% during the burning period. The firework burning events had big influence on the density of aerosol between 1.0-2.1 microm.

  9. Infrared remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols; Apports du sondage infrarouge a l'etude des aerosols atmospheriques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pierangelo, C

    2005-09-15

    The 2001 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized the very low level of understanding of atmospheric aerosol effects on climate. These particles originate either from natural sources (dust, volcanic aerosols...) or from anthropogenic sources (sulfates, soot...). They are one of the main sources of uncertainty on climate change, partly because they show a very high spatio-temporal variability. Observation from space, being global and quasi-continuous, is therefore a first importance tool for aerosol studies. Remote sensing in the visible domain has been widely used to obtain a better characterization of these particles and their effect on solar radiation. On the opposite, remote sensing of aerosols in the infrared domain still remains marginal. Yet, not only the knowledge of the effect of aerosols on terrestrial radiation is needed for the evaluation of their total radiative forcing, but also infrared remote sensing provides a way to retrieve other aerosol characteristics (observations are possible at night and day, over land and sea). In this PhD dissertation, we show that aerosol optical depth, altitude and size can be retrieved from infrared sounder observations. We first study the sensitivity of aerosol optical properties to their micro-physical properties, we then develop a radiative transfer code for scattering medium adapted to the very high spectral resolution of the new generation sounder NASA-Aqua/AIRS, and we finally focus on the inverse problem. The applications shown here deal with Pinatubo stratospheric volcanic aerosol, observed with NOAA/HIRS, and with the building of an 8 year climatology of dust over sea and land from this sounder. Finally, from AIRS observations, we retrieve the optical depth at 10 {mu}m, the average altitude and the coarse mode effective radius of mineral dust over sea. (author)

  10. EMSP Final Report: Electrically Driven Technologies for Radioactive Aerosol Abatement

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DePaoli, D.W.

    2003-01-22

    The purpose of this research project was to develop an improved understanding of how electrically driven processes, including electrocoalescence, acoustic agglomeration, and electric filtration, may be employed to efficiently treat problems caused by the formation of aerosols during DOE waste treatment operations. The production of aerosols during treatment and retrieval operations in radioactive waste tanks and during thermal treatment operations such as calcination presents a significant problem of cost, worker exposure, potential for release, and increased waste volume. There was anecdotal evidence in the literature that acoustic agglomeration and electrical coalescence could be used together to change the size distribution of aerosol particles in such a way as to promote easier filtration and less frequent maintenance of filtration systems. As such, those electrically driven technologies could potentially be used as remote technologies for improved treatment; however, existing theoretical models are not suitable for prediction and design. To investigate the physics of such systems, and also to prototype a system for such processes, a collaborative project was undertaken between Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and the University of Texas at Austin (UT). ORNL was responsible for the larger-scale prototyping portion of the project, while UT was primarily responsible for the detailed physics in smaller scale unit reactors. It was found that both electrical coalescence and acoustic agglomeration do in fact increase the rate of aggregation of aerosols. Electrical coalescence requires significantly less input power than acoustic agglomeration, but it is much less effective in its ability to aggregate/coalesce aerosols. The larger-scale prototype showed qualitatively similar results as the unit reactor tests, but presented more difficulty in interpretation of the results because of the complex multi-physics coupling that necessarily occur in all larger

  11. Sodium aerosol recovering device

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fujimori, Koji; Ueda, Mitsuo; Tanaka, Kazuhisa.

    1997-01-01

    A main body of a recovering device is disposed in a sodium cooled reactor or a sodium cooled test device. Air containing sodium aerosol is sucked into the main body of the recovering device by a recycling fan and introduced to a multi-staged metal mesh filter portion. The air about against each of the metal mesh filters, and the sodium aerosol in the air is collected. The air having a reduced sodium aerosol concentration circulates passing through a recycling fan and pipelines to form a circulation air streams. Sodium aerosol deposited on each of the metal mesh filters is scraped off periodically by a scraper driving device to prevent clogging of each of the metal filters. (I.N.)

  12. Evaluation of simulated aerosol properties with the aerosol-climate model ECHAM5-HAM using observations from the IMPACT field campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G.-J. Roelofs

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available In May 2008, the measurement campaign IMPACT for observation of atmospheric aerosol and cloud properties was conducted in Cabauw, The Netherlands. With a nudged version of the coupled aerosol-climate model ECHAM5-HAM we simulate the size distribution and chemical composition of the aerosol and the associated aerosol optical thickness (AOT for the campaign period. Synoptic scale meteorology is represented realistically through nudging of the vorticity, the divergence, the temperature and the surface pressure. Simulated concentrations of aerosol sulfate and organics at the surface are generally within a factor of two from observed values. The monthly averaged AOT from the model is 0.33, about 20% larger than observed. For selected periods of the month with relatively dry and moist conditions discrepancies are approximately −30% and +15%, respectively. Discrepancies during the dry period are partly caused by inaccurate representation of boundary layer (BL dynamics by the model affecting the simulated AOT. The model simulates too strong exchange between the BL and the free troposphere, resulting in weaker concentration gradients at the BL top than observed for aerosol and humidity, while upward mixing from the surface layers into the BL appears to be underestimated. The results indicate that beside aerosol sulfate and organics also aerosol ammonium and nitrate significantly contribute to aerosol water uptake. The simulated day-to-day variability of AOT follows synoptic scale advection of humidity rather than particle concentration. Even for relatively dry conditions AOT appears to be strongly influenced by the diurnal cycle of RH in the lower boundary layer, further enhanced by uptake and release of nitric acid and ammonia by aerosol water.

  13. Infrared remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols; Apports du sondage infrarouge a l'etude des aerosols atmospheriques

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pierangelo, C.

    2005-09-15

    The 2001 report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change emphasized the very low level of understanding of atmospheric aerosol effects on climate. These particles originate either from natural sources (dust, volcanic aerosols...) or from anthropogenic sources (sulfates, soot...). They are one of the main sources of uncertainty on climate change, partly because they show a very high spatio-temporal variability. Observation from space, being global and quasi-continuous, is therefore a first importance tool for aerosol studies. Remote sensing in the visible domain has been widely used to obtain a better characterization of these particles and their effect on solar radiation. On the opposite, remote sensing of aerosols in the infrared domain still remains marginal. Yet, not only the knowledge of the effect of aerosols on terrestrial radiation is needed for the evaluation of their total radiative forcing, but also infrared remote sensing provides a way to retrieve other aerosol characteristics (observations are possible at night and day, over land and sea). In this PhD dissertation, we show that aerosol optical depth, altitude and size can be retrieved from infrared sounder observations. We first study the sensitivity of aerosol optical properties to their micro-physical properties, we then develop a radiative transfer code for scattering medium adapted to the very high spectral resolution of the new generation sounder NASA-Aqua/AIRS, and we finally focus on the inverse problem. The applications shown here deal with Pinatubo stratospheric volcanic aerosol, observed with NOAA/HIRS, and with the building of an 8 year climatology of dust over sea and land from this sounder. Finally, from AIRS observations, we retrieve the optical depth at 10 {mu}m, the average altitude and the coarse mode effective radius of mineral dust over sea. (author)

  14. A Novel Fireball Analysis for an Explosive Aerosolization Study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharon, A.; Halevy, I.; Sattinger, D.; Banaim, P.; Yaar, I.; Krantz, L.; Pinhas, M.

    2014-01-01

    The final consequent risk following an explosion of radiological dispersal device (RDD) is highly depends on final radioactive particles’ size distribution creates by detonation shock wave. Respirable, aerosols contribute to risk in a different way when compare it to non respirable aerosols or to ballistic, inertial, particles or even larger fragments. While aerosols (both, respirable and non respirable) are moving downwind with the cloud, heavier, inertial particles escape the initial fireball and deposited on the ground at a short distances from the ground zero (GZ) point. Respirable aerosols are risky when inhaled into the body (internal radiation) while non respirable have risk as an external exposure on the skin and from a distance. Hence, knowing the size distribution of the radioactive particles will, thus, enable more realistic risk assessment predictions. We show here that detonation fireball fast multispectral radiometrycan be a novel tool that can be indicative to the final particles size distribution

  15. Long-term measurements of aerosol optical parameters in Athens, Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevopoulou, Despoina; Liakakou, Eleni; Gerasopoulos, Evangelos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2015-04-01

    Aerosol chemical composition was studied in conjunction with its optical properties in the area of Athens Greece. For this purpose, sampling of fine aerosol fraction (PM2,5) took place on a daily basis from August 2010 to April 2013 at an urban background location. The samples are subsequently analyzed for their content in organic (OC) and elemental carbon (EC), major ions and trace metals, resulting in the exercise of chemical mass closure. In parallel, the optical properties of aerosols are recorded using a nephelometer and a particle soot absorption photometer (PSAP), leading to the calculation of scattering (σscat) and absorption (σabs) coefficients, respectively; while single scattering albedo (SSA) and mass scattering and absorption efficiencies are thereinafter calculated. Daily σscat values provide an average of 30.1±3.9 Μm-1 while, the average of σabs is 5.2±1.4 Μm-1. The seasonal cycle of σscat presents maximum during summer and in November, due to long-range transport of aerosol from continental Europe and dust transfer from Africa, respectively. The estimated mass absorption efficiency of EC is estimated to be 8.3±0.2 m2 g-1 for the whole studied period, while the corresponding estimated mass scattering efficiency of PM2.5 is 1.7±0.1 m2 g-1 and does not affected by the presence of dust. The average SSA equals to 0.87±0.11 for the three-year period. On a seasonal basis, SSA presents maximum values during summer that is consistent with the reduction of EC - the main absorbing specie. Finally, the reconstruction of scattering coefficients was performed taking into consideration the measured chemistry of fine aerosol.

  16. Characterization of biomass burning aerosols from forest fire in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujii, Y.; Iriana, W.; Okumura, M.; Lestari, P.; Tohno, S.; Akira, M.; Okuda, T.

    2012-12-01

    Biomass burning (forest fire, wild fire) is a major source of pollutants, generating an estimate of 104 Tg per year of aerosol particles worldwide. These particles have adverse human health effects and can affect the radiation budget and climate directly and indirectly. Eighty percent of biomass burning aerosols are generated in the tropics and about thirty percent of them originate in the tropical regions of Asia (Andreae, 1991). Several recent studies have reported on the organic compositions of biomass burning aerosols in the tropical regions of South America and Africa, however, there is little data about forest fire aerosols in the tropical regions of Asia. It is important to characterize biomass burning aerosols in the tropical regions of Asia because the aerosol properties vary between fires depending on type and moisture of wood, combustion phase, wind conditions, and several other variables (Reid et al., 2005). We have characterized PM2.5 fractions of biomass burning aerosols emitted from forest fire in Indonesia. During the dry season in 2012, PM2.5 aerosols from several forest fires occurring in Riau, Sumatra, Indonesia were collected on quartz and teflon filters with two mini-volume samplers. Background aerosols in forest were sampled during transition period of rainy season to dry season (baseline period). Samples were analyzed with several analytical instruments. The carbonaceous content (organic and elemental carbon, OC and EC) of the aerosols was analyzed by a thermal optical reflectance technique using IMPROVE protocol. The metal, inorganic ion and organic components of the aerosols were analyzed by X-ray Fluorescence (XRF), ion chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, respectively. There was a great difference of chemical composition between forest fire and non-forest fire samples. Smoke aerosols for forest fires events were composed of ~ 45 % OC and ~ 2.5 % EC. On the other hand, background aerosols for baseline periods were

  17. The Two-Column Aerosol Project: Phase I - Overview and Impact of Elevated Aerosol Layers on Aerosol Optical Depth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Larry K.; Fast, Jerome D.; Barnard, James C.; Burton, Sharon P.; Cairns, Brian; Chand, Duli; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Dunagan, Stephen; Ferrare, Richard A.; Flynn, Connor J.; hide

    2015-01-01

    The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP), conducted from June 2012 through June 2013, was a unique study designed to provide a comprehensive data set that can be used to investigate a number of important climate science questions, including those related to aerosol mixing state and aerosol radiative forcing. The study was designed to sample the atmosphere be tween and within two atmospheric columns; one fixed near the coast of North America (over Cape Cod, MA) and a second moveable column over the Atlantic Ocean several hundred kilometers from the coast. The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) was deployed at the base of the Cape Cod column, and the ARM Aerial Facility was utilized for the summer and winter intensive observation periods. One important finding from TCAP is that four of six nearly cloud-free flight days had aerosol layers aloft in both the Cape Cod and maritime columns that were detected using the nadir pointing second-generation NASA high-spectral resolution lidar (HSRL-2).These layer s contributed up to 60 of the total observed aerosol optical depth (AOD). Many of these layers were also intercepted by the aircraft configured for in situ sampling, and the aerosol in the layers was found to have increased amounts of biomass burning material and nitrate compared to aerosol found near the surface. In addition, while there was a great deal of spatial and day-to-day variability in the aerosol chemical composition and optical properties, no systematic differences between the two columns were observed.

  18. The Two-Column Aerosol Project: Phase I - Overview and Impact of Elevated Aerosol Layers on Aerosol Optical Depth

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Larry K.; Fast, Jerome D.; Barnard, James C.; Burton, Sharon; Cairns, Brian; Chand, Duli; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Dunagan, Stephen; Ferrare, Richard A.; Flynn, Connor J.; Hair, John; Hostetler, Chris A.; Hubbe, John M.; Jefferson, Anne; Johnson, Roy; Kassianov, Evgueni I.; Kluzek, Celine D.; Kollias, Pavlos; Lamer, Katia; Lantz, K.; Mei, Fan; Miller, Mark A.; Michalsky, Joseph; Ortega, Ivan; Pekour, Mikhail S.; Rogers, Ray; Russell, P.; Redemann, Jens; Sedlacek, Art; Segal Rozenhaimer, Michal; Schmid, Beat; Shilling, John E.; Shinozuka, Yohei; Springston, Stephen R.; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Tyrrell, Megan; Wilson, Jacqueline; Volkamer, Rainer M.; Zelenyuk, Alla; Berkowitz, Carl M.

    2016-01-08

    The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP), which was conducted from June 2012 through June 2013, was a unique field study that was designed to provide a comprehensive data set that can be used to investigate a number of important climate science questions, including those related to aerosol mixing state and aerosol radiative forcing. The study was designed to sample the atmosphere at a number of altitudes, from near the surface to as high as 8 km, within two atmospheric columns; one located near the coast of North America (over Cape Cod, MA) and a second over the Atlantic Ocean several hundred kilometers from the coast. TCAP included the yearlong deployment of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) that was located at the base of the Cape Cod column, as well as summer and winter aircraft intensive observation periods of the ARM Aerial Facility. One important finding from TCAP is the relatively common occurrence (on four of six nearly cloud-free flights) of elevated aerosol layers in both the Cape Cod and maritime columns that were detected using the nadir pointing second-generation NASA high-spectral resolution lidar (HSRL-2). These layers contributed up to 60% of the total aerosol optical depth (AOD) observed in the column. Many of these layers were also intercepted by the aircraft configured for in situ sampling, and the aerosol in the layers was found to have increased amounts of biomass burning aerosol and nitrate compared to the aerosol found near the surface.

  19. The Two-Column Aerosol Project: Phase I—Overview and impact of elevated aerosol layers on aerosol optical depth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berg, Larry K.; Fast, Jerome D.; Barnard, James C.; Burton, Sharon P.; Cairns, Brian; Chand, Duli; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Dunagan, Stephen; Ferrare, Richard A.; Flynn, Connor J.; Hair, Johnathan W.; Hostetler, Chris A.; Hubbe, John; Jefferson, Anne; Johnson, Roy; Kassianov, Evgueni I.; Kluzek, Celine D.; Kollias, Pavlos; Lamer, Katia; Lantz, Kathleen; Mei, Fan; Miller, Mark A.; Michalsky, Joseph; Ortega, Ivan; Pekour, Mikhail; Rogers, Ray R.; Russell, Philip B.; Redemann, Jens; Sedlacek, Arthur J.; Segal-Rosenheimer, Michal; Schmid, Beat; Shilling, John E.; Shinozuka, Yohei; Springston, Stephen R.; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Tyrrell, Megan; Wilson, Jacqueline M.; Volkamer, Rainer; Zelenyuk, Alla; Berkowitz, Carl M.

    2016-01-01

    The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP), conducted from June 2012 through June 2013, was a unique study designed to provide a comprehensive data set that can be used to investigate a number of important climate science questions, including those related to aerosol mixing state and aerosol radiative forcing. The study was designed to sample the atmosphere between and within two atmospheric columns; one fixed near the coast of North America (over Cape Cod, MA) and a second moveable column over the Atlantic Ocean several hundred kilometers from the coast. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF) was deployed at the base of the Cape Cod column, and the ARM Aerial Facility was utilized for the summer and winter intensive observation periods. One important finding from TCAP is that four of six nearly cloud-free flight days had aerosol layers aloft in both the Cape Cod and maritime columns that were detected using the nadir pointing second-generation NASA high-spectral resolution lidar (HSRL-2). These layers contributed up to 60% of the total observed aerosol optical depth (AOD). Many of these layers were also intercepted by the aircraft configured for in situ sampling, and the aerosol in the layers was found to have increased amounts of biomass burning material and nitrate compared to aerosol found near the surface. In addition, while there was a great deal of spatial and day-to-day variability in the aerosol chemical composition and optical properties, no systematic differences between the two columns were observed.

  20. Wave like signatures in aerosol optical depth and associated radiative impacts over the central Himalayan region

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shukla, K. K.; Phanikumar, D. V.; Kumar, K.  Niranjan; Reddy, Kishore; Kotamarthi, V. R.; Newsom, Rob K.; Ouarda, Taha B. M. J.

    2015-10-01

    In this study, we present a case study on 16 October 2011 to show the first observational evidence of the influence of short period gravity waves in aerosol transport during daytime over the central Himalayan region. The Doppler lidar data has been utilized to address the daytime boundary layer evolution and related aerosol dynamics over the site. Mixing layer height is estimated by wavelet covariance transform method and found to be ~ 0.7 km, AGL. Aerosol optical depth observations during daytime revealed an asymmetry showing clear enhancement during afternoon hours as compared to forenoon. Interestingly, Fourier and wavelet analysis of vertical velocity and attenuated backscatter showed similar 50-90 min short period gravity wave signatures during afternoon hours. Moreover, our observations showed that gravity waves are dominant within the boundary layer implying that the daytime boundary layer dynamics is playing a vital role in transporting the aerosols from surface to the top of the boundary layer. Similar modulations are also evident in surface parameters like temperature, relative humidity and wind speed indicating these waves are associated with the dynamical aspects over Himalayan region. Finally, time evolution of range-23 height indicator snapshots during daytime showed strong upward velocities especially during afternoon hours implying that convective processes through short period gravity waves plays a significant role in transporting aerosols from the nearby valley region to boundary layer top over the site. These observations also establish the importance of wave induced daytime convective boundary layer dynamics in the lower Himalayan region.

  1. Aerosol composition and sources during the Chinese Spring Festival: fireworks, secondary aerosol, and holiday effects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Q.; Sun, Y. L.; Wang, Z.; Yin, Y.

    2015-06-01

    Aerosol particles were characterized by an Aerodyne aerosol chemical speciation monitor along with various collocated instruments in Beijing, China, to investigate the role of fireworks (FW) and secondary aerosol in particulate pollution during the Chinese Spring Festival of 2013. Three FW events, exerting significant and short-term impacts on fine particles (PM2.5), were observed on the days of Lunar New Year, Lunar Fifth Day, and Lantern Festival. The FW were shown to have a large impact on non-refractory potassium, chloride, sulfate, and organics in submicron aerosol (PM1), of which FW organics appeared to be emitted mainly in secondary, with its mass spectrum resembling that of secondary organic aerosol (SOA). Pollution events (PEs) and clean periods (CPs) alternated routinely throughout the study. Secondary particulate matter (SPM = SOA + sulfate + nitrate + ammonium) dominated the total PM1 mass on average, accounting for 63-82% during nine PEs in this study. The elevated contributions of secondary species during PEs resulted in a higher mass extinction efficiency of PM1 (6.4 m2 g-1) than during CPs (4.4 m2 g-1). The Chinese Spring Festival also provides a unique opportunity to study the impact of reduced anthropogenic emissions on aerosol chemistry in the city. Primary species showed ubiquitous reductions during the holiday period with the largest reduction being in cooking organic aerosol (OA; 69%), in nitrogen monoxide (54%), and in coal combustion OA (28%). Secondary sulfate, however, remained only slightly changed, and the SOA and the total PM2.5 even slightly increased. Our results have significant implications for controlling local primary source emissions during PEs, e.g., cooking and traffic activities. Controlling these factors might have a limited effect on improving air quality in the megacity of Beijing, due to the dominance of SPM from regional transport in aerosol particle composition.

  2. Climatology of Aerosol Optical Properties in Southern Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Queface, Antonio J.; Piketh, Stuart J.; Eck, Thomas F.; Tsay, Si-Chee

    2011-01-01

    A thorough regionally dependent understanding of optical properties of aerosols and their spatial and temporal distribution is required before we can accurately evaluate aerosol effects in the climate system. Long term measurements of aerosol optical depth, Angstrom exponent and retrieved single scattering albedo and size distribution, were analyzed and compiled into an aerosol optical properties climatology for southern Africa. Monitoring of aerosol parameters have been made by the AERONET program since the middle of the last decade in southern Africa. This valuable information provided an opportunity for understanding how aerosols of different types influence the regional radiation budget. Two long term sites, Mongu in Zambia and Skukuza in South Africa formed the core sources of data in this study. Results show that seasonal variation of aerosol optical thicknesses at 500 nm in southern Africa are characterized by low seasonal multi-month mean values (0.11 to 0.17) from December to May, medium values (0.20 to 0.27) between June and August, and high to very high values (0.30 to 0.46) during September to November. The spatial distribution of aerosol loadings shows that the north has high magnitudes than the south in the biomass burning season and the opposite in none biomass burning season. From the present aerosol data, no long term discernable trends are observable in aerosol concentrations in this region. This study also reveals that biomass burning aerosols contribute the bulk of the aerosol loading in August-October. Therefore if biomass burning could be controlled, southern Africa will experience a significant reduction in total atmospheric aerosol loading. In addition to that, aerosol volume size distribution is characterized by low concentrations in the non biomass burning period and well balanced particle size contributions of both coarse and fine modes. In contrast high concentrations are characteristic of biomass burning period, combined with

  3. Code Development on Fission Product Behavior under Severe Accident-Validation of Aerosol Sedimentation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Sung Il; Jang, Jin Sung; Kim, Dong Ha

    2016-01-01

    The gas and aerosol phases of the radioactive materials move through the reactor coolant systems and containments as loaded on the carrier gas or liquid, such as steam or water. Most radioactive materials might escape in the form of aerosols from a nuclear power plant during a severe reactor accident, and it is very important to predict the behavior of these radioactive aerosols in the reactor cooling system and in the containment building under severe accident conditions. Aerosols are designated as very small solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gas phase. The suspended solid or liquid particles typically have a range of sizes of 0.01 m to 20 m. Aerosol concentrations in reactor accident analyses are typically less than 100 g/m3 and usually less than 1 g/m3. When there are continuing sources of aerosol to the gas phase or when there are complicated processes involving engineered safety features, much more complicated size distributions develop. It is not uncommon for aerosols in reactor containments to have bimodal size distributions for at least some significant periods of time early during an accident. Salient features of aerosol physics under reactor accident conditions that will affect the nature of the aerosols are (1) the formation of aerosol particles, (2) growth of aerosol particles, (3) shape of aerosol particles. At KAERI, a fission product module has been developed to predict the behaviors of the radioactive materials in the reactor coolant system under severe accident conditions. The fission product module consists of an estimation of the initial inventories, species release from the core, aerosol generation, gas transport, and aerosol transport. The final outcomes of the fission product module designate the radioactive gas and aerosol distribution in the reactor coolant system. The aerosol sedimentation models in the fission product module were validated using ABCOVE and LACE experiments. There were some discrepancies on the predicted

  4. Code Development on Fission Product Behavior under Severe Accident-Validation of Aerosol Sedimentation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ha, Kwang Soon; Kim, Sung Il; Jang, Jin Sung; Kim, Dong Ha [KAERI, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    The gas and aerosol phases of the radioactive materials move through the reactor coolant systems and containments as loaded on the carrier gas or liquid, such as steam or water. Most radioactive materials might escape in the form of aerosols from a nuclear power plant during a severe reactor accident, and it is very important to predict the behavior of these radioactive aerosols in the reactor cooling system and in the containment building under severe accident conditions. Aerosols are designated as very small solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in a gas phase. The suspended solid or liquid particles typically have a range of sizes of 0.01 m to 20 m. Aerosol concentrations in reactor accident analyses are typically less than 100 g/m3 and usually less than 1 g/m3. When there are continuing sources of aerosol to the gas phase or when there are complicated processes involving engineered safety features, much more complicated size distributions develop. It is not uncommon for aerosols in reactor containments to have bimodal size distributions for at least some significant periods of time early during an accident. Salient features of aerosol physics under reactor accident conditions that will affect the nature of the aerosols are (1) the formation of aerosol particles, (2) growth of aerosol particles, (3) shape of aerosol particles. At KAERI, a fission product module has been developed to predict the behaviors of the radioactive materials in the reactor coolant system under severe accident conditions. The fission product module consists of an estimation of the initial inventories, species release from the core, aerosol generation, gas transport, and aerosol transport. The final outcomes of the fission product module designate the radioactive gas and aerosol distribution in the reactor coolant system. The aerosol sedimentation models in the fission product module were validated using ABCOVE and LACE experiments. There were some discrepancies on the predicted

  5. Aerosol retrieval algorithm for the characterization of local aerosol using MODIS L1B data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wahab, A M; Sarker, M L R

    2014-01-01

    Atmospheric aerosol plays an important role in radiation budget, climate change, hydrology and visibility. However, it has immense effect on the air quality, especially in densely populated areas where high concentration of aerosol is associated with premature death and the decrease of life expectancy. Therefore, an accurate estimation of aerosol with spatial distribution is essential, and satellite data has increasingly been used to estimate aerosol optical depth (AOD). Aerosol product (AOD) from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data is available at global scale but problems arise due to low spatial resolution, time-lag availability of AOD product as well as the use of generalized aerosol models in retrieval algorithm instead of local aerosol models. This study focuses on the aerosol retrieval algorithm for the characterization of local aerosol in Hong Kong for a long period of time (2006-2011) using high spatial resolution MODIS level 1B data (500 m resolution) and taking into account the local aerosol models. Two methods (dark dense vegetation and MODIS land surface reflectance product) were used for the estimation of the surface reflectance over land and Santa Barbara DISORT Radiative Transfer (SBDART) code was used to construct LUTs for calculating the aerosol reflectance as a function of AOD. Results indicate that AOD can be estimated at the local scale from high resolution MODIS data, and the obtained accuracy (ca. 87%) is very much comparable with the accuracy obtained from other studies (80%-95%) for AOD estimation

  6. Origin of the Arctic aerosol: a statistical approach

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heidam, N Z

    1981-01-01

    Aerosol samples have been collected through two winter periods in Greenland. The particulates have been analysed for elemental composition, and the data subjected to factor analysis. It is found that 70-85% of the total variance can be explained in terms of three factors, which split the aerosol composition into three corresponding types: crustal, marine and anthropogenic. The temporal variation of the factors is calculated and related to the large-scale air movements of the period. It is shown that anthropogenic pollution in North Greenland in the winter may be caused by long-range aerosol transport over the North Pole.

  7. Aerosol measurements at 60 m during April 1994 remote cloud study intensive operating period (RCS/IOP)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leifer, R.; Albert, B.; Lee, N.; Knuth, R.H. [Department of Energy, New York, NY (United States)] [and others

    1996-04-01

    Aerosol measurements were made at the Southern Great Plains Site of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) program. Many types of air masses pass over this area, and on the data acquisition day, extremly low aerosol scattering coefficients were seen. A major effort was placed on providing some characterization of the aerosol size distribution. Data is currently available from the experimental center.

  8. An Overview of the GEOS-5 Aerosol Reanalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Arlindo; Colarco, Peter Richard; Damenov, Anton Spasov; Buchard-Marchant, Virginie; Randles, Cynthia A.; Gupta, Pawan

    2011-01-01

    GEOS-5 is the latest version of the NASA Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) earth system model. GEOS-5 contains components for atmospheric circulation and composition (including data assimilation), ocean circulation and biogeochemistry, and land surface processes. In addition to traditional meteorological parameters, GEOS-5 includes modules representing the atmospheric composition, most notably aerosols and tropospheric/stratospheric chemical constituents, taking explicit account of the impact of these constituents on the radiative processes of the atmosphere. MERRA is a NASA meteorological reanalysis for the satellite era (1979-present) using GEOS-5. This project focuses on historical analyses of the hydrological cycle on a broad range of weather and climate time scales. As a first step towards an integrated Earth System Analysis (IESA), the GMAO is extending MERRA with reanalyses for other components of the earth system: land, ocean, bio-geochemistry and atmospheric constituents. In this talk we will present results from the MERRA-driven aerosol reanalysis covering the Aqua period (2003-present). The assimilation of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) in GEOS-5 involves very careful cloud screening and homogenization of the observing system by means of a Neural Net scheme that translates MODIS radiances into AERONET calibrated AOD. These measurements are further quality controlled using an adaptive buddy check scheme, and assimilated using the Local Displacement Ensemble (LDE) methodology. For this reanalysis, GEOS-5 runs at a nominal 50km horizontal resolution with 72 vertical layers (top at approx. 8Skm). GEOS-5 is driven by daily biomass burning emissions derived from MODIS fire radiative power retrievals. We will present a summary of our efforts to validate such dataset. The GEOS-5 assimilated aerosol fields are first validated by comparison to independent in-situ measurements (AERONET and PM2.5 surface concentrations). In order to asses aerosol

  9. A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979-2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomason, Larry W.; Ernest, Nicholas; Millán, Luis; Rieger, Landon; Bourassa, Adam; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Manney, Gloria; Luo, Beiping; Arfeuille, Florian; Peter, Thomas

    2018-03-01

    We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979-2014) and we have extended it through 2016 following an identical process. GloSSAC focuses on the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) series of instruments through mid-2005, and on the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS) and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO) data thereafter. We also use data from other space instruments and from ground-based, air, and balloon borne instruments to fill in key gaps in the data set. The end result is a global and gap-free data set focused on aerosol extinction coefficient at 525 and 1020 nm and other parameters on an "as available" basis. For the primary data sets, we developed a new method for filling the post-Pinatubo eruption data gap for 1991-1993 based on data from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer. In addition, we developed a new method for populating wintertime high latitudes during the SAGE period employing a latitude-equivalent latitude conversion process that greatly improves the depiction of aerosol at high latitudes compared to earlier similar efforts. We report data in the troposphere only when and where it is available. This is primarily during the SAGE II period except for the most enhanced part of the Pinatubo period. It is likely that the upper troposphere during Pinatubo was greatly enhanced over non-volcanic periods and that domain remains substantially under-characterized. We note that aerosol levels during the OSIRIS/CALIPSO period in the lower stratosphere at mid- and high latitudes is routinely higher than what we observed during the SAGE II period. While this period had nearly continuous low-level volcanic activity, it

  10. Improved SAGE II cloud/aerosol categorization and observations of the Asian tropopause aerosol layer: 1989–2005

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. W. Thomason

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available We describe the challenges associated with the interpretation of extinction coefficient measurements by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II in the presence of clouds. In particular, we have found that tropospheric aerosol analyses are highly dependent on a robust method for identifying when clouds affect the measured extinction coefficient. Herein, we describe an improved cloud identification method that appears to capture cloud/aerosol events more effectively than early methods. In addition, we summarize additional challenges to observing the Asian Tropopause Aerosol Layer (ATAL using SAGE II observations. Using this new approach, we perform analyses of the upper troposphere, focusing on periods in which the UTLS (upper troposphere/lower stratosphere is relatively free of volcanic material (1989–1990 and after 1996. Of particular interest is the Asian monsoon anticyclone where CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar Pathfinder Satellite Observations has observed an aerosol enhancement. This enhancement, called the ATAL, has a similar morphology to observed enhancements in long-lived trace gas species like CO. Since the CALIPSO record begins in 2006, the question of how long this aerosol feature has been present requires a new look at the long-lived SAGE II data sets despite significant hurdles to its use in the subtropical upper troposphere. We find that there is no evidence of ATAL in the SAGE II data prior to 1998. After 1998, it is clear that aerosol in the upper troposphere in the ATAL region is substantially enhanced relative to the period before that time. In addition, the data generally supports the presence of the ATAL beginning in 1999 and continuing through the end of the mission, though some years (e.g., 2003 are complicated by the presence of episodic enhancements most likely of volcanic origin.

  11. Sodium aerosol formation in an argon flow over hot sodium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, C.F.; Dolias, M.J.; UKAEA Atomic Energy Research Establishment, Harwell. Thermal Hydraulics Div.)

    1987-01-01

    Vapour evaporation, which partly forms aerosol, occurs when a cold gas flows over a hot liquid. A previous well-mixed model is extended to predict the final vapour plus aerosol content of such a flow in terms of its initial and final temperatures. The predictions are compared to results of the Copacabana II experiment in which argon passed over a sodium pool. Agreement is obtained for the final sodium density at moderate flow rates, and physical reasons are given as to why deviations occur at low and high flow rates. (author)

  12. Long term atmospheric aerosol characterization in the Amazon Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Artaxo, Paulo; Gerab, Fábio; Yamasoe, Marcia A.

    This chapter presents a characterization of atmospheric aerosols collected in different places in the Amazon Basin. Both the biogenic aerosol emission from the forest and the particulate material which is emitted to the atmosphere due to the large scale man-made burns during the dry season were studied. The samples were collected during a three year period at three different locations in the Amazon (Cuiabá, Alta Floresta and Serra do Navio), using stacked filter units. Aerosol samples were also collected directly over fires of cerrado vegetation and tropical primary forest burns The samples were analyzed using several techniques for a number of elements. Gravimetric analyses were used to determine the total atmospheric aerosol concentration. Multivariate statistical analysis was used in order to identify and characterize the sources of the atmospheric aerosol present in the sampled regions. Cerrado burning emissions were enriched compared to forest ones, specially for Cl, K and Zn. High atmospheric aerosol concentrations were observed in large amazonian areas due to emissions from man-made burns in the period from June to September. The emissions from burns dominate the fine fraction of the atmospheric aerosol with characteristic high contents of black carbon, S and K. Aerosols emitted in biomass burning process are correlated to the increase in the aerosol optical thickness of the atmosphere during the Amazonian dry season. The Serra do Navio aerosol is characterized by biogenic emissions with strong marine influence. The presence of trace elements characteristic of soil particulate associated with this marine contribution indicates the existence of aerosol transport from Africa to South America. Similar composition characteristics were observed in the biogenic emission aerosols from Serra do Navio and Alta Floresta.

  13. Tropospheric Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buseck, P. R.; Schwartz, S. E.

    2003-12-01

    It is widely believed that "On a clear day you can see forever," as proclaimed in the 1965 Broadway musical of the same name. While an admittedly beautiful thought, we all know that this concept is only figurative. Aside from Earth's curvature and Rayleigh scattering by air molecules, aerosols - colloidal suspensions of solid or liquid particles in a gas - limit our vision. Even on the clearest day, there are billions of aerosol particles per cubic meter of air.Atmospheric aerosols are commonly referred to as smoke, dust, haze, and smog, terms that are loosely reflective of their origin and composition. Aerosol particles have arisen naturally for eons from sea spray, volcanic emissions, wind entrainment of mineral dust, wildfires, and gas-to-particle conversion of hydrocarbons from plants and dimethylsulfide from the oceans. However, over the industrial period, the natural background aerosol has been greatly augmented by anthropogenic contributions, i.e., those produced by human activities. One manifestation of this impact is reduced visibility (Figure 1). Thus, perhaps more than in other realms of geochemistry, when considering the composition of the troposphere one must consider the effects of these activities. The atmosphere has become a reservoir for vast quantities of anthropogenic emissions that exert important perturbations on it and on the planetary ecosystem in general. Consequently, much recent research focuses on the effects of human activities on the atmosphere and, through them, on the environment and Earth's climate. For these reasons consideration of the geochemistry of the atmosphere, and of atmospheric aerosols in particular, must include the effects of human activities. (201K)Figure 1. Impairment of visibility by aerosols. Photographs at Yosemite National Park, California, USA. (a) Low aerosol concentration (particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 μm, PM2.5=0.3 μg m-3; particulate matter of aerodynamic diameter less than 10

  14. Recent increase in aerosol loading over the Australian arid zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mitchell, R. M.; Campbell, S. K.; Qin, Y.

    2009-10-01

    Collocated sun photometer and nephelometer measurements at Tinga Tingana in the Australian Outback over the decade 1997-2007 show a significant increase in aerosol loading following the onset of severe drought conditions in 2002. The mean mid-visible scattering coefficient obtained from nephelometer measurements over the period 2003-2007 is approximately double that recorded over the preceding 5 yr, with consistent trends in the column aerosol optical depth derived from the sun photometer. This increase is confined to the season of dust activity, particularly September to March. In contrast, background aerosol levels during May, June and July remained stable. The enhanced aerosol loadings during the latter 5 yr of the study period can be understood as a combination of dune destabilisation through loss of ephemeral vegetation and surface crust, and the changing supply of fluvial sediments to ephemeral lakes and floodplains within the Lake Eyre Basin. Major dust outbreaks are generally highly localised, although significant dust activity was observed at Tinga Tingana on 50% of days when a major event occurred elsewhere in the Lake Eyre Basin, suggesting frequent basin-wide dust mobilisation. Combined analysis of aerosol optical depth and scattering coefficient shows weak correlation between the surface and column aerosol (R2=0.24). The aerosol scale height is broadly distributed with a mode typically between 2-3 km, with clearly defined seasonal variation. Climatological analysis reveals bimodal structure in the annual cycle of aerosol optical depth, with a summer peak related to maximal dust activity, and a spring peak related to lofted fine-mode aerosol. There is evidence for an increase in near-surface aerosol during the period 2003-2007 relative to 1997-2002, consistent with an increase in dust activity. This accords with an independent finding of increasing aerosol loading over the Australian region as a whole, suggesting that rising dust activity over the Lake

  15. Studying Diurnal Variations of Aerosols with NASA MERRA-2 Reanalysis Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Suhung; Ostrenga, Dana M.; Zeng, Jian; Vollmer, Bruce E.

    2018-01-01

    Aerosols play an important role in atmospheric dynamics, climate variations, and Earth's energy cycle by altering the radiation balance in the atmosphere through interaction with clouds, providing fertilizer for forests and canopy, and as a supply of iron to the ocean over long time periods. Studies suggest that much of the feedback between dust aerosols and dynamics is associated with diurnal and synoptic scale variability. However, the lack of sub-daily resolution of aerosols from satellite observations makes it difficult to study the diurnal characteristics, especially over tropical and subtropical regions. Investigation of this topic utilizes over 37 years of simulated global aerosol products from NASA atmospheric reanalysis, in the second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) data set, available from NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). MERRA-2 covers the period 1980-present, and is continuing as an ongoing climate analysis. Aerosol assimilation is included throughout the period, using data from MODIS, MISR, AERONET, and AVHRR (in the pre-EOS period). The aerosols are assimilated using the MERRA-2 aerosol model, which interacts directly with radiation parameterization, and is radiatively coupled with atmospheric model dynamics in the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5). Hourly, monthly, and monthly diurnal data are available at spatial resolution of 0.5o x 0.625o (latitude x longitude). By using MERRA-2 hourly and monthly diurnal products, different aerosol diurnal variabilities are observed over North America, Africa, Asia, and Australia, that may be due to different meteorological conditions and aerosol sources. The presentation will also provide an overview of MERRA-2 data services at GES DISC, such as how to find and download data, and how to quickly visualize and analyze data online with Giovanni.

  16. Study of uranium mine aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barzic, J.-Y.

    1976-05-01

    With a view to radiation protection of uranium-miners a study was made of the behaviour of radioactive and non-radioactive aerosols in the atmosphere of an experimental mine where temperature, pressure, relative himidity and ventilation are kept constant and in the air of a working area where the nature of the aerosol is dependent on the stage of work. Measurements of radon and daughter products carried out in various points of working areas showed that the gas was quickly diluted, equilibrium between radon and its daughter products (RaA, RaB, RaC) was never reached and the radon-aerosol contact was of short duration (a few minutes). Using a seven-stage Andersen impactor particle size distribution of the mine aerosol (particle diameter >0.3μm) was studied. The characteristic diameters were determined for each stage of the Andersen impactor and statistical analysis verified that aerosol distributions on the lower stages of the impactor were log-normal in most cases. Finally, determination of size distribution of α-radioactivity showed it was retained on fine particles. The percentage of free α-activity was evaluated using a diffusion battery [fr

  17. Density and shape factor of sodium aerosol. Final report, October 1, 1975--January 31, 1977

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinds, W.; Mallove, E.; First, M.W.

    1977-04-01

    Measurements were made of effective density, size distribution and dynamic shape factor for sodium fire aerosol particles using centrifugal separation and scanning electron microscopy. The aerosols were formed by burning one pound of sodium in a 90 m 3 air filled chamber at initial relative humidities from 16% to 53%. The aerosol particles were primarily sodium carbonate with water of hydration or adsorbed water. Twenty-nine samples of aerosols aged from 34-376 minutes gave an average value of effective density of 0.61 gm/cm 3 with relative standard deviation of 22%. This corresponds to a Stokes' correction factor, α, as used in the HAA-3 Code of 0.27. For the conditions of this study no clear trends were observed for effective density with relative humidity, age, or aerodynamic diameter

  18. Aerosols on the surface of needles in the vicinity of Winterthur

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wyttenbach, A.; Tobler, L.; Bajo, S.

    1991-01-01

    The composition and the mass of aerosols residing on the surface of one-year-old needles of Norway spruce are described. The composition of aerosols on spruce needles is compared with that of aerosols collected by air filters and the composition of the local soil. A comparison of the years 1982 and 1985 shows virtually identical conditions. Finally, possible connections between aerosol mass and inherent needle content are discussed. (author) 5 figs., 2 tabs., 13 refs

  19. Aerosol effects in radiation transfer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Binenko, V.I.; Harshvardhan, H.

    1993-01-01

    The radiative properties and effects of aerosols are assessed for the following aerosol sources: relatively clean background aerosol, dust storms and dust outbreaks, anthropogenic pollution, and polluted cloud layers. Studies show it is the submicron aerosol fraction that plays a dominant radiative role in the atmosphere. The radiative effect of the aerosol depends not only on its loading but also on the underlying surface albedo and on solar zenith angle. It is only with highly reflecting surfaces such as Arctic ice that aerosols have a warming effect. Radiometric, microphysical, mineral composition, and refractive index measurements are presented for dust and in particular for the Saharan aerosol layer (SAL). Short-wave radiative heating of the atmosphere is caused by the SAL and is due mainly to absorption. However, the SAL does not contribute significantly to the long-wave thermal radiation budget. Field program studies of the radiative effects of aerosols are described. Anthropogenic aerosols deplete the incoming solar radiation. A case field study for a regional Ukrainian center is discussed. The urban aerosol causes a cooling of metropolitan centers, compared with outlying areas, during the day, which is followed by a warming trend at night. In another study, an increase in turbidity by a factor of 3 due to increased industrialization for Mexico City is noted, together with a drop in atmospheric transmission by 10% over a 50-year period. Numerous studies are cited that demonstrate that anthropogenic aerosols affect both the microphysical and radiative properties of clouds, which in turn affect regional climate. Particles acting as cloud nuclei are considered to have the greatest indirect effect on cloud absorptivity of short-wave radiation. Satellite observations show that low-level stratus clouds contaminated by ship exhaust at sea lead to an increase in cloud albedo

  20. A global space-based stratospheric aerosol climatology: 1979–2016

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. W. Thomason

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available We describe the construction of a continuous 38-year record of stratospheric aerosol optical properties. The Global Space-based Stratospheric Aerosol Climatology, or GloSSAC, provided the input data to the construction of the Climate Model Intercomparison Project stratospheric aerosol forcing data set (1979–2014 and we have extended it through 2016 following an identical process. GloSSAC focuses on the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE series of instruments through mid-2005, and on the Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imager System (OSIRIS and the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO data thereafter. We also use data from other space instruments and from ground-based, air, and balloon borne instruments to fill in key gaps in the data set. The end result is a global and gap-free data set focused on aerosol extinction coefficient at 525 and 1020 nm and other parameters on an "as available" basis. For the primary data sets, we developed a new method for filling the post-Pinatubo eruption data gap for 1991–1993 based on data from the Cryogenic Limb Array Etalon Spectrometer. In addition, we developed a new method for populating wintertime high latitudes during the SAGE period employing a latitude-equivalent latitude conversion process that greatly improves the depiction of aerosol at high latitudes compared to earlier similar efforts. We report data in the troposphere only when and where it is available. This is primarily during the SAGE II period except for the most enhanced part of the Pinatubo period. It is likely that the upper troposphere during Pinatubo was greatly enhanced over non-volcanic periods and that domain remains substantially under-characterized. We note that aerosol levels during the OSIRIS/CALIPSO period in the lower stratosphere at mid- and high latitudes is routinely higher than what we observed during the SAGE II period. While this period had nearly continuous low

  1. Monitoring spatial-temporal variability of aerosol over Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study sought to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of aerosols over Kenya based on Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite sensor Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) data for the period between 2001 and 2012. A Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) ...

  2. Changes in background aerosol composition in Finland during polluted and clean periods studied by TEM/EDX individual particle analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. V. Niemi

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol samples were collected at a rural background site in southern Finland in May 2004 during pollution episode (PM1~16 µg m−3, backward air mass trajectories from south-east, intermediate period (PM1~5 µg m−3, backtrajectories from north-east and clean period (PM1~2 µg m−3, backtrajectories from north-west/north. The elemental composition, morphology and mixing state of individual aerosol particles in three size fractions were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM coupled with energy dispersive X-ray (EDX microanalyses. The TEM/EDX results were complemented with the size-segregated bulk chemical measurements of selected ions and organic and elemental carbon. Many of the particles in PM0.2–1 and PM1–3.3 size fractions were strongly internally mixed with S, C and/or N. The major particle types in PM0.2–1 samples were 1 soot and 2 (ammoniumsulphates and their mixtures with variable amounts of C, K, soot and/or other inclusions. Number proportions of those two particle groups in PM0.2–1 samples were 0–12% and 83–97%, respectively. During the pollution episode, the proportion of Ca-rich particles was very high (26–48% in the PM1–3.3 and PM3.3–11 samples, while the PM0.2–1 and PM1–3.3 samples contained elevated proportions of silicates (22–33%, metal oxides/hydroxides (1–9% and tar balls (1–4%. These aerosols originated mainly from polluted areas of Eastern Europe, and some open biomass burning smoke was also brought by long-range transport. During the clean period, when air masses arrived from the Arctic Ocean, PM1–3.3 samples contained mainly sea salt particles (67–89% with a variable rate of Cl substitution (mainly by NO3−. During the intermediate period, the PM1–3.3 sample contained porous (sponge-like Na-rich particles (35% with abundant S, K and O. They might originate from the burning of wood pulp wastes of paper industry. The proportion of biological particles and C-rich fragments

  3. Sodium fire aerosol loading capacity of several sand and gravel filters

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barreca, J.R.; McCormack, J.D.

    1980-04-01

    Improved specific loading capacity for sodium fire aerosols was the objective of a sand and gravel test series. The aerosol capacity and related differential pressure of eight aggregate filters is presented. A maximum specific aerosol capacity, for dry aerosol, of 2.4 kg (Na) m -2 was obtained. This filter was loaded to a final differential pressure of 2.6 kPa. The average superficial face velocity was 0.5 cm/s and the average efficiency was 99.8%. The test results indicate that filter capacity increases with aerosol moisture content and with decreasing superficial velocity

  4. Aerosol vertical distribution characteristics over the Tibetan Plateau

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deng, Z Q; Han, Y X; Zhao, Q; Li, J

    2014-01-01

    The Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment II (SAGE II) aerosol products are widely used in climatic characteristic studies and stratospheric aerosol pattern research. Some SAGE II products, e.g., temperature, aerosol surface area density, 1020 nm aerosol extinction coefficient and dust storm frequency, from ground-based observations were analysed from 1984 to 2005. This analysis explored the time and spatial variations of tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols on the Tibet Plateau. The stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient increased more than two orders of magnitude because of a large volcanic eruption. However, the tropospheric aerosol extinction coefficient decreased over the same period. Removing the volcanic eruption effect, the correlation coefficient for stratospheric AOD (Aerosol Optical Depth) and tropospheric AOD was 0.197. Moreover, the correlation coefficient for stratospheric AOD and dust storm frequency was 0.315. The maximum stratospheric AOD was attained in January, the same month as the tropospheric AOD, when the Qaidam Basin was the centre of low tropospheric AOD and the large mountains coincided with high stratospheric AOD. The vertical structure generated by westerly jet adjustment and the high altitude of the underlying surface of the Tibetan Plateau were important factors affecting winter stratospheric aerosols

  5. Optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols transported to a coastal site in the western Mediterranean: a focus on primary marine aerosols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Claeys

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available As part of the ChArMEx-ADRIMED campaign (summer 2013, ground-based in situ observations were conducted at the Ersa site (northern tip of Corsica; 533 m a.s.l. to characterise the optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols. During the observation period, a major influence of primary marine aerosols was detected (22–26 June, with a mass concentration reaching up to 6.5 µg m−3 and representing more than 40 % of the total PM10 mass concentration. Its relatively low ratio of chloride to sodium (average of 0.57 indicates a fairly aged sea salt aerosol at Ersa. In this work, an original data set, obtained from online real-time instruments (ATOFMS, PILS-IC has been used to characterise the ageing of primary marine aerosols (PMAs. During this PMA period, the mixing of fresh and aged PMAs was found to originate from both local and regional (Gulf of Lion emissions, according to local wind measurements and FLEXPART back trajectories. Two different aerosol regimes have been identified: a dust outbreak (dust originating from Algeria/Tunisia, and a pollution period with aerosols originating from eastern Europe, which includes anthropogenic and biomass burning sources (BBP. The optical, physical and chemical properties of the observed aerosols, as well as their local shortwave (SW direct radiative effect (DRE in clear-sky conditions, are compared for these three periods in order to assess the importance of the direct radiative impact of PMAs compared to other sources above the western Mediterranean Basin. As expected, AERONET retrievals indicate a relatively low local SW DRF during the PMA period with mean values of −11 ± 4 at the surface and −8 ± 3 W m−2 at the top of the atmosphere (TOA. In comparison, our results indicate that the dust outbreak observed at our site during the campaign, although of moderate intensity (AOD of 0.3–0.4 at 440 nm and column-integrated SSA of 0.90–0.95, induced a local

  6. Fast Multispectral Fireball Analyses and the Relation to Particles’ Aerosolization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sharon, A.; Halevy, I.; Sattinger, D.; Berenstein, Z.; Neuman, R.; Banaim, P.; Pinhas, M.; Yaar, I.

    2014-01-01

    One of the key questions in analyzing the consequent risk following an explosion of radiological dispersal device (RDD) is the final radioactive particles’ size distribution caused by the detonation. Fine, respirable, aerosols behave different when compare it to large, non respirable, aerosols or to inertial particles. While aerosols (both, respirable and non respirable) are trapped inside the detonation cloud moving downwind with the cloud, heavier, inertial particles escape the initial fireball and settled on the ground at a short distances due to hydrodynamic drug. Respirable aerosols are mostly risky when inhaled into the body (internal radiation) while non respirable are risky as an external exposure agents (both on the skin and from a distance). Knowing the size distribution of the radioactive particles will, thus, enable more realistic risk assessment predictions of such events. Fast multispectral radiometry of detonation fireballs can be used as novel tool for the estimation of the RA material final size distribution

  7. AIP1OGREN: Aerosol Observing Station Intensive Properties Value-Added Product

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koontz, Annette [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Flynn, Connor [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2017-09-15

    The aip1ogren value-added product (VAP) computes several aerosol intensive properties. It requires as input calibrated, corrected, aerosol extensive properties (scattering and absorption coefficients, primarily) from the Aerosol Observing Station (AOS). Aerosol extensive properties depend on both the nature of the aerosol and the amount of the aerosol. We compute several properties as relationships between the various extensive properties. These intensive properties are independent of aerosol amount and instead relate to intrinsic properties of the aerosol itself. Along with the original extensive properties we report aerosol single-scattering albedo, hemispheric backscatter fraction, asymmetry parameter, and Ångström exponent for scattering and absorption with one-minute averaging. An hourly averaged file is produced from the 1-minute files that includes all extensive and intensive properties as well as submicron scattering and submicron absorption fractions. Finally, in both the minutely and hourly files the aerosol radiative forcing efficiency is provided.

  8. Ganges Valley Aerosol Experiment: Science and Operations Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kotamarthi, VR

    2010-06-21

    The Ganges Valley region is one of the largest and most rapidly developing sections of the Indian subcontinent. The Ganges River, which provides the region with water needed for sustaining life, is fed primarily by snow and rainfall associated with Indian summer monsoons. Impacts of changes in precipitation patterns, temperature, and the flow of the snow-fed rivers can be immense. Recent satellite-based measurements have indicated that the upper Ganges Valley has some of the highest persistently observed aerosol optical depth values. The aerosol layer covers a vast region, extending across the Indo-Gangetic Plain to the Bay of Bengal during the winter and early spring of each year. The persistent winter fog in the region is already a cause of much concern, and several studies have been proposed to understand the economic, scientific, and societal dimensions of this problem. During the INDian Ocean EXperiment (INDOEX) field studies, aerosols from this region were shown to affect cloud formation and monsoon activity over the Indian Ocean. This is one of the few regions showing a trend toward increasing surface dimming and enhanced mid-tropospheric warming. Increasing air pollution over this region could modify the radiative balance through direct, indirect, and semi-indirect effects associated with aerosols. The consequences of aerosols and associated pollution for surface insolation over the Ganges Valley and monsoons, in particular, are not well understood. The proposed field study is designed for use of (1) the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) to measure relevant radiative, cloud, convection, and aerosol optical characteristics over mainland India during an extended period of 9–12 months and (2) the G-1 aircraft and surface sites to measure relevant aerosol chemical, physical, and optical characteristics in the Ganges Valley during a period of 6–12 weeks. The aerosols in this region have complex sources, including burning of coal, biomass, and biofuels; automobile

  9. Direct radiative forcing due to aerosols in Asia during March 2002.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Soon-Ung; Jeong, Jaein I

    2008-12-15

    The Asian dust aerosol model (ADAM) and the aerosol dynamic model including the gas-aerosol interaction processes together with the Column Radiation Model (CRM) of Community Climate Model 3 and the output of the fifth generation of meso-scale model (MM5) in a grid 60 x 60 km2 in the Asian domain (70-150E, Equator-50N) have been employed to estimate direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust and the anthropogenic aerosols including the BC, OC, secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), mixed type aerosol (dust+BC+OC+SIA) and sea salt aerosols at the surface, the top of atmosphere (TOA) and in the atmosphere for the period of 1-31 March 2002 during which a severe Asian dust event has been occurred in the model domain. The results indicate that the ADAM model and the aerosol dynamic model simulate quite well the spatial and temporal distributions of the mass concentration of aerosols with the R2 value of more than 0.7. The estimated mean total column aerosol mass in the analysis domain for the whole period is found to be about 78 mg m(-2), of which 66% and 34% are, respectively, contributed by the Asian dust aerosol and all the other anthropogenic aerosols. However, the direct radiative forcing contributed by the Asian dust aerosol is about 22% of the mean radiative forcing at the surface (-6.8 W m(-2)), about 31% at the top of atmosphere (-2.9 W m(-2)) and about 13% in the atmosphere (3.8 W m(-2)), suggesting relatively inefficient contribution of the Asian dust aerosol on the direct radiative forcing compared to the anthropogenic aerosols. The aerosol direct radiative forcing at the surface is mainly contributed by the mixed type aerosol (30%) and the SIA aerosol (25%) while at the top of atmosphere it is mainly contributed by the SIA aerosol (43%) and the Asian dust aerosol (31%) with positively (warming) contributed by BC and mixed type aerosols. The atmosphere is warmed mainly by the mixed type aerosol (55%) and the BC aerosol (26%). However, the largest radiative

  10. Direct radiative forcing due to aerosols in Asia during March 2002

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Soon-Ung; Jeong, Jaein I.

    2008-01-01

    The Asian dust aerosol model (ADAM) and the aerosol dynamic model including the gas-aerosol interaction processes together with the Column Radiation Model (CRM) of Community Climate Model 3 and the output of the fifth generation of meso-scale model (MM5) in a grid 60 x 60 km 2 in the Asian domain (70-150E, Equator-50N) have been employed to estimate direct radiative forcing of the Asian dust and the anthropogenic aerosols including the BC, OC, secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), mixed type aerosol (dust + BC + OC + SIA) and sea salt aerosols at the surface, the top of atmosphere (TOA) and in the atmosphere for the period of 1-31 March 2002 during which a severe Asian dust event has been occurred in the model domain. The results indicate that the ADAM model and the aerosol dynamic model simulate quite well the spatial and temporal distributions of the mass concentration of aerosols with the R 2 value of more than 0.7. The estimated mean total column aerosol mass in the analysis domain for the whole period is found to be about 78 mg m -2 , of which 66% and 34% are, respectively, contributed by the Asian dust aerosol and all the other anthropogenic aerosols. However, the direct radiative forcing contributed by the Asian dust aerosol is about 22% of the mean radiative forcing at the surface (- 6.8 W m -2 ), about 31% at the top of atmosphere (- 2.9 W m -2 ) and about 13% in the atmosphere (3.8 W m -2 ), suggesting relatively inefficient contribution of the Asian dust aerosol on the direct radiative forcing compared to the anthropogenic aerosols. The aerosol direct radiative forcing at the surface is mainly contributed by the mixed type aerosol (30%) and the SIA aerosol (25%) while at the top of atmosphere it is mainly contributed by the SIA aerosol (43%) and the Asian dust aerosol (31%) with positively (warming) contributed by BC and mixed type aerosols. The atmosphere is warmed mainly by the mixed type aerosol (55%) and the BC aerosol (26%). However, the largest

  11. The European aerosol budget in 2006

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. M. J. Aan de Brugh

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the aerosol budget over Europe in 2006 calculated with the global transport model TM5 coupled to the size-resolved aerosol module M7. Comparison with ground observations indicates that the model reproduces the observed concentrations quite well with an expected slight underestimation of PM10 due to missing emissions (e.g. resuspension. We model that a little less than half of the anthropogenic aerosols emitted in Europe are exported and the rest is removed by deposition. The anthropogenic aerosols are removed mostly by rain (95% and only 5% is removed by dry deposition. For the larger natural aerosols, especially sea salt, a larger fraction is removed by dry processes (sea salt: 70%, mineral dust: 35%. We model transport of aerosols in the jet stream in the higher atmosphere and an import of Sahara dust from the south at high altitudes. Comparison with optical measurements shows that the model reproduces the Ångström parameter very well, which indicates a correct simulation of the aerosol size distribution. However, we underestimate the aerosol optical depth. Because the surface concentrations are close to the observations, the shortage of aerosol in the model is probably at higher altitudes. We show that the discrepancies are mainly caused by an overestimation of wet-removal rates. To match the observations, the wet-removal rates have to be scaled down by a factor of about 5. In that case the modelled ground-level concentrations of sulphate and sea salt increase by 50% (which deteriorates the match, while other components stay roughly the same. Finally, it is shown that in particular events, improved fire emission estimates may significantly improve the ability of the model to simulate the aerosol optical depth. We stress that discrepancies in aerosol models can be adequately analysed if all models would provide (regional aerosol budgets, as presented in the current study.

  12. Aerosol therapy in tuberculosis : Is it useful and is it feasible

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Frijlink, H.W.; Hoppentocht, M.; De Boer, A.H.

    2011-01-01

    Aims: To present new developments in antibiotic aerosol therapy in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). The purpose and potential advantages of aerosol treatment will be discussed. Finally, technical developments will be discussed in the light of the clinical objective and requirements from the

  13. Aerosol typing - key information from aerosol studies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mona, Lucia; Kahn, Ralph; Papagiannopoulos, Nikolaos; Holzer-Popp, Thomas; Pappalardo, Gelsomina

    2016-04-01

    Aerosol typing is a key source of aerosol information from ground-based and satellite-borne instruments. Depending on the specific measurement technique, aerosol typing can be used as input for retrievals or represents an output for other applications. Typically aerosol retrievals require some a priori or external aerosol type information. The accuracy of the derived aerosol products strongly depends on the reliability of these assumptions. Different sensors can make use of different aerosol type inputs. A critical review and harmonization of these procedures could significantly reduce related uncertainties. On the other hand, satellite measurements in recent years are providing valuable information about the global distribution of aerosol types, showing for example the main source regions and typical transport paths. Climatological studies of aerosol load at global and regional scales often rely on inferred aerosol type. There is still a high degree of inhomogeneity among satellite aerosol typing schemes, which makes the use different sensor datasets in a consistent way difficult. Knowledge of the 4d aerosol type distribution at these scales is essential for understanding the impact of different aerosol sources on climate, precipitation and air quality. All this information is needed for planning upcoming aerosol emissions policies. The exchange of expertise and the communication among satellite and ground-based measurement communities is fundamental for improving long-term dataset consistency, and for reducing aerosol type distribution uncertainties. Aerosol typing has been recognized as one of its high-priority activities of the AEROSAT (International Satellite Aerosol Science Network, http://aero-sat.org/) initiative. In the AEROSAT framework, a first critical review of aerosol typing procedures has been carried out. The review underlines the high heterogeneity in many aspects: approach, nomenclature, assumed number of components and parameters used for the

  14. Global two-channel AVHRR aerosol climatology: effects of stratospheric aerosols and preliminary comparisons with MODIS and MISR retrievals

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Geogdzhayev, Igor V.; Mishchenko, Michael I.; Liu Li; Remer, Lorraine

    2004-01-01

    We present an update on the status of the global climatology of the aerosol column optical thickness and Angstrom exponent derived from channel-1 and -2 radiances of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) in the framework of the Global Aerosol Climatology Project (GACP). The latest version of the climatology covers the period from July 1983 to September 2001 and is based on an adjusted value of the diffuse component of the ocean reflectance as derived from extensive comparisons with ship sun-photometer data. We use the updated GACP climatology and Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) data to analyze how stratospheric aerosols from major volcanic eruptions can affect the GACP aerosol product. One possible retrieval strategy based on the AVHRR channel-1 and -2 data alone is to infer both the stratospheric and the tropospheric aerosol optical thickness while assuming fixed microphysical models for both aerosol components. The second approach is to use the SAGE stratospheric aerosol data in order to constrain the AVHRR retrieval algorithm. We demonstrate that the second approach yields a consistent long-term record of the tropospheric aerosol optical thickness and Angstrom exponent. Preliminary comparisons of the GACP aerosol product with MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MODIS) and Multiangle Imaging Spectro-Radiometer aerosol retrievals show reasonable agreement, the GACP global monthly optical thickness being lower than the MODIS one by approximately 0.03. Larger differences are observed on a regional scale. Comparisons of the GACP and MODIS Angstrom exponent records are less conclusive and require further analysis

  15. Final Report, The Influence of Organic-Aerosol Emissions and Aging on Regional and Global Aerosol Size Distributions and the CCN Number Budget

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Donahue, Neil M. [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    2015-12-23

    We conducted laboratory experiments and analyzed data on aging of organic aerosol and analysis of field data on volatility and CCN activity. With supplemental ASR funding we participated in the FLAME-IV campaign in Missoula MT in the Fall of 2012, deploying a two-chamber photochemical aging system to enable experimental exploration of photochemical aging of biomass burning emissions. Results from that campaign will lead to numerous publications, including demonstration of photochemical production of Brown Carbon (BrC) from secondary organic aerosol associated with biomass burning emissions as well as extensive characterization of the effect of photochemical aging on the overall concentrations of biomass burning organic aerosol. Excluding publications arising from the FLAME-IV campaign, project research resulted in 8 papers: [11, 5, 3, 10, 12, 4, 8, 7], including on in Nature Geoscience addressing the role of organic compounds in nanoparticle growth [11

  16. Measurement of the ambient organic aerosol volatility distribution: application during the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment (FAME-2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. H. Lee

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available A variable residence time thermodenuder (TD was combined with an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS to measure the volatility distribution of aged organic aerosol in the Eastern Mediterranean during the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment in May of 2008 (FAME-2008. A new method for the quantification of the organic aerosol volatility distribution was developed combining measurements of all three instruments together with an aerosol dynamics model.

    Challenges in the interpretation of ambient thermodenuder-AMS measurements include the potential resistances to mass transfer during particle evaporation, the effects of particle size on the evaporated mass fraction, the changes in the AMS collection efficiency and particle density as the particles evaporate partially in the TD, and finally potential losses inside the TD. Our proposed measurement and data analysis method accounts for all of these problems combining the AMS and SMPS measurements.

    The AMS collection efficiency of the aerosol that passed through the TD was found to be approximately 10% lower than the collection efficiency of the aerosol that passed through the bypass. The organic aerosol measured at Finokalia is approximately 2 or more orders of magnitude less volatile than fresh laboratory-generated monoterpene (α-pinene, β-pinene and limonene under low NOx conditions secondary organic aerosol. This low volatility is consistent with its highly oxygenated AMS mass spectrum. The results are found to be highly sensitive to the mass accommodation coefficient of the evaporating species. This analysis is based on the assumption that there were no significant reactions taking place inside the thermodenuder.

  17. Study of Mechanisms of Aerosol Indirect Effects on Glaciated Clouds: Progress during the Project Final Technical Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Phillips, Vaughan T. J.

    2013-10-18

    This 3-year project has studied how aerosol pollution influences glaciated clouds. The tool applied has been an 'aerosol-cloud model'. It is a type of Cloud-System Resolving Model (CSRM) modified to include 2-moment bulk microphysics and 7 aerosol species, as described by Phillips et al. (2009, 2013). The study has been done by, first, improving the model and then performing sensitivity studies with validated simulations of a couple of observed cases from ARM. These are namely the Tropical Warm Pool International Cloud Experiment (TWP-ICE) over the tropical west Pacific and the Cloud and Land Surface Interaction Campaign (CLASIC) over Oklahoma. During the project, sensitivity tests with the model showed that in continental clouds, extra liquid aerosols (soluble aerosol material) from pollution inhibited warm rain processes for precipitation production. This promoted homogeneous freezing of cloud droplets and aerosols. Mass and number concentrations of cloud-ice particles were boosted. The mean sizes of cloud-ice particles were reduced by the pollution. Hence, the lifetime of glaciated clouds, especially ice-only clouds, was augmented due to inhibition of sedimentation and ice-ice aggregation. Latent heat released from extra homogeneous freezing invigorated convective updrafts, and raised their maximum cloud-tops, when aerosol pollution was included. In the particular cases simulated in the project, the aerosol indirect effect of glaciated clouds was twice than of (warm) water clouds. This was because glaciated clouds are higher in the troposphere than water clouds and have the first interaction with incoming solar radiation. Ice-only clouds caused solar cooling by becoming more extensive as a result of aerosol pollution. This 'lifetime indirect effect' of ice-only clouds was due to higher numbers of homogeneously nucleated ice crystals causing a reduction in their mean size, slowing the ice-crystal process of snow production and slowing

  18. The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) Science Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berkowitz, CM; Berg, LK; Cziczo, DJ; Flynn, CJ; Kassianov, EI; Fast, JD; Rasch, PJ; Shilling, JE; Zaveri, RA; Zelenyuk, A; Ferrare, RA; Hostetler, CA; Cairns, B; Russell, PB; Ervens, B

    2011-07-27

    The Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) field campaign will provide a detailed set of observations with which to (1) perform radiative and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) closure studies, (2) evaluate a new retrieval algorithm for aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the presence of clouds using passive remote sensing, (3) extend a previously developed technique to investigate aerosol indirect effects, and (4) evaluate the performance of a detailed regional-scale model and a more parameterized global-scale model in simulating particle activation and AOD associated with the aging of anthropogenic aerosols. To meet these science objectives, the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility will deploy the ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) and the Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, for a 12-month period starting in the summer of 2012 in order to quantify aerosol properties, radiation, and cloud characteristics at a location subject to both clear and cloudy conditions, and clean and polluted conditions. These observations will be supplemented by two aircraft intensive observation periods (IOPs), one in the summer and a second in the winter. Each IOP will deploy one, and possibly two, aircraft depending on available resources. The first aircraft will be equipped with a suite of in situ instrumentation to provide measurements of aerosol optical properties, particle composition and direct-beam irradiance. The second aircraft will fly directly over the first and use a multi-wavelength high spectral resolution lidar (HSRL) and scanning polarimeter to provide continuous optical and cloud properties in the column below.

  19. Determination of the columnar aerosol size distribution by inversion of spectral aerosol optical depth measurements at different areas in Egypt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    EI-Metwally, M.; Madkour, M.A.

    2006-01-01

    Aerosols have a great effects on nuclear safety calculations and atmospheric environment. The aerosol optical depth measurements are carried out at four areas in Egypt: Cairo and Helwan as urban/industrial areas, Aswan as an arid area and Mansoura as an agricultural area covering the period from Jun 1992 to May 1993. These measurements were recorded by ground-based pyrheliometers with large band-pass filters. Monthly average values of aerosol optical depth (AOD) showed a pronounced temporal trend, with a maximum AOD during summer and the transition seasons (spring and autumn) at all sites. Levels of AODs are higher at both urban and industrial areas than at other areas. Variation of Angstrom exponent a with the AOD was clear at most sites and the a value depends on the spectral range used in its determination. The mean contribution of anthropogenic sources to AOD over Cairo was at the range of 25.1-54.3%, whereas those values in Helwan were at the range of 34.5-59.8%. Finally, columnar aerosol size distributions have been inferred by inverting particularly AOD measurements as a function of wavelength. The Junge (type I) and bimodal (type III) distributions are dominant at urban and arid areas (Cairo and Aswan), whereas mono dispersion distribution (type II) are dominant in industrial and agricultural areas (Helwan and Mansoura). In Cairo and Aswan, the peak of columnar size distribution for the fine mode at radius r is around 0.1 and 0.2 μm respectively, while it is around 1.0 and 2.0 μm for the coarse mode. .Also, the peak of size distribution for the mono dispersion mode was marked at radius around 0.2 μm at both Helwan and Mansoura. A comprehensive comparison of our results with literature size distributions is very sparse, nevertheless, our size distributions in general agree with them

  20. Observations of black carbon aerosols characteristics over an urban environment: Radiative forcing and related implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bibi, Samina; Alam, Khan; Chishtie, Farrukh; Bibi, Humera; Rahman, Said

    2017-12-15

    With observations of black carbon (BC) aerosol concentrations, optical and radiative properties were obtained over the urban city of Karachi during the period of March 2006-December 2008. BC concentrations were continuously measured using an Aethalometer, while optical and radiative properties were estimated through the Optical Properties of Aerosols and Clouds (OPAC) and Santa Barbra DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) models, respectively. For the study period, the measured BC concentrations were higher during January, February and November, while lower during May, June, July and August. A maximum peak value was observed during January 2007 while the minimum value was observed during June 2006. The Short Wave (SW) BC Aerosol Radiative Forcing (ARF) both at Top of the Atmosphere (ToA) and within ATMOSphere (ATMOS) were positive during all the months, whereas negative SW BC ARF was found at the SurFaCe (SFC). Overall, SW BC ARF was higher during January, February and November, while relatively lower ARF was found during May, June, July and August. Conversely, the Long Wave (LW) BC ARF at ToA and SFC remained positive, whereas within ATMOS it shifted towards positive values (heating effect) during June-August. Finally, the net (SW+LW) BC ARF were found to be positive at ToA and in ATMOS, while negative at SFC. Moreover, a systematic increase in Atmospheric Heating Rate (AHR) was found during October to January. Additionally, we found highest correlation between Absorption Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD abs ) and SW BC ARF within ATMOS followed by SFC and ToA. Overall, the contribution of BC to the total ARF was found to greater than 84% for the whole observational period while contributing up to 93% during January 2007. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  1. Aerosol behaviour in an acoustic field

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Malherbe, C.

    1985-01-01

    The average size of an aerosol submitted to acoustic waves is increased. This results from coagulation of the finest particles on the largest ones. The mechanisms responsible for acoustic agglomeration are mentioned. An experimental apparatus was developed in order to control the evolution of aerosol distribution in an acoustic field. Important deposition on the walls of the agglomeration chamber was observed as a consequence of the acoustically induced turbulent flow. Finally, a dimensionless relationship was established between deposition rates and particle diameters as a function of experimental parameters (aeraulic and acoustic conditions, etc...) [fr

  2. Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol collected from Atlanta, Georgia, during 2014-2015 using the aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rattanavaraha, Weruka; Canagaratna, Manjula R.; Budisulistiorini, Sri Hapsari; Croteau, Philip L.; Baumann, Karsten; Canonaco, Francesco; Prevot, Andre S. H.; Edgerton, Eric S.; Zhang, Zhenfa; Jayne, John T.; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Gold, Avram; Shaw, Stephanie L.; Surratt, Jason D.

    2017-10-01

    The Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) was redeployed at the Jefferson Street (JST) site in downtown Atlanta, Georgia (GA) for 1 year (March 20, 2014-February 08, 2015) to chemically characterize non-refractory submicron particulate matter (NR-PM1) in near real-time and to assess whether organic aerosol (OA) types and amounts change from year-to-year. Submicron organic aerosol (OA) mass spectra were analyzed by season using multilinear engine (ME-2) to apportion OA subtypes to potential sources and chemical processes. A suite of real-time collocated measurements from the Southeastern Aerosol Research and Characterization (SEARCH) network was compared with ME-2 factor solutions to aid in the interpretation of OA subtypes during each season. OA tracers measured from high-volume filter samples using gas chromatography interfaced with electron ionization-mass spectrometry (GC/EI-MS) also aided in identifying OA sources. The initial application of ME-2 to the yearlong ACSM dataset revealed that OA source apportionment by season was required to better resolve sporadic OA types. Spring and fall OA mass spectral datasets were separated into finer periods to capture potential OA sources resulting from non-homogeneous emissions during transitioning periods. NR-PM1 was highest in summer (16.7 ± 8.4 μg m-3) and lowest in winter (8.0 ± 5.7 μg m-3), consistent with prior studies. OA dominated NR-PM1 mass (56-74% on average) in all seasons. Hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) from primary emissions was observed in all seasons, averaging 5-22% of total OA mass. Strong correlations of HOA with carbon monoxide (CO) (R = 0.71-0.88) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) (R = 0.55-0.79) indicated that vehicular traffic was the likely source. Biomass burning OA (BBOA) was observed in all seasons, with lower contributions (2%) in summer and higher in colder seasons (averaging 8-20% of total OA mass). BBOA correlated strongly with levoglucosan (R = 0.78-0.95) during colder seasons

  3. Aerosols radioactivity in the Bratislava atmosphere

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sykora, I.; Chudy, M.; Durana, L.; Holy, K.; Meresova, J.

    2001-01-01

    In our laboratory we measured temporal variation of 7 Be concentration in the atmosphere in period 1977 -1994 years. The aerosols were collected through every month at Hydrometeorological Institute in Bratislava-Koliba, latitude 48 grad 10' and altitude 286 m above sea level. Since end of year 2000 we have started to continue monitoring radioactivity of atmosphere aerosols in new locality in Bratislava-Mlynska dolina. Beside 7 Be we measured also 210 Pb radionuclide aerosols concentration. For measured values 7 Be concentrations are considered corrections for decay radionuclide during the time of filters collection, time between end of collection and measurement and decay during the time of measurement. Obtained results for 7 Be concentrations in aerosols shows seasonal summer maximum, but for 210 Pb concentration in aerosols the seasonal variations are not evident. The temporal variations of this radionuclide which is originated in ground-level atmosphere are more sensitive on meteorological factors and can be also influenced by the industrial activity. For better understanding is needed long term monitoring. (authors)

  4. Chemical characteristics of submicron particles at the central Tibetan Plateau: insights from aerosol mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jianzhong; Zhang, Qi; Shi, Jinsen; Ge, Xinlei; Xie, Conghui; Wang, Junfeng; Kang, Shichang; Zhang, Ruixiong; Wang, Yuhang

    2018-01-01

    Recent studies have revealed a significant influx of anthropogenic aerosol from South Asia to the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (TP) during pre-monsoon period. In order to characterize the chemical composition, sources, and transport processes of aerosol in this area, we carried out a field study during June 2015 by deploying a suite of online instruments including an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS) and a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP) at Nam Co station (90°57' E, 30°46' N; 4730 m a.s.l.) at the central of the TP. The measurements were made at a period when the transition from pre-monsoon to monsoon occurred. The average ambient mass concentration of submicron particulate matter (PM1) over the whole campaign was ˜ 2.0 µg m-3, with organics accounting for 68 %, followed by sulfate (15 %), black carbon (8 %), ammonium (7 %), and nitrate (2 %). Relatively higher aerosol mass concentration episodes were observed during the pre-monsoon period, whereas persistently low aerosol concentrations were observed during the monsoon period. However, the chemical composition of aerosol during the higher aerosol concentration episodes in the pre-monsoon season was on a case-by-case basis, depending on the prevailing meteorological conditions and air mass transport routes. Most of the chemical species exhibited significant diurnal variations with higher values occurring during afternoon and lower values during early morning, whereas nitrate peaked during early morning in association with higher relative humidity and lower air temperature. Organic aerosol (OA), with an oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O / C) of 0.94, was more oxidized during the pre-monsoon period than during monsoon (average O / C ratio of 0.72), and an average O / C was 0.88 over the entire campaign period, suggesting overall highly oxygenated aerosol in the central TP. Positive matrix factorization of the high-resolution mass spectra of OA identified two oxygenated

  5. Pollutants identification of ambient aerosols by two types of aerosol mass spectrometers over southeast coastal area, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Jinpei; Chen, Liqi; Lin, Qi; Zhao, Shuhui; Li, Lei

    2018-02-01

    Two different aerosol mass spectrometers, Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and Single Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SPAMS) were deployed to identify the aerosol pollutants over Xiamen, representing the coastal urban area. Five obvious processes were classified during the whole observation period. Organics and sulfate were the dominant components in ambient aerosols over Xiamen. Most of the particles were in the size range of 0.2-1.0μm, accounting for over 97% of the total particles measured by both instruments. Organics, as well as sulfate, measured by AMS were in good correlation with measured by SPAMS. However, high concentration of NH 4 + was obtained by AMS, while extremely low value of NH 4 + was detected by SPAMS. Contrarily, high particle number counts of NO 3 - and Cl - were given by SPAMS while low concentrations of NO 3 - and Cl - were measured by AMS. The variations of POA and SOA obtained from SPAMS during event 1 and event 2 were in accordance with the analysis of HOA and OOA given by AMS, suggesting that both of AMS and SPAMS can well identify the organic clusters of aerosol particles. Overestimate or underestimate of the aerosol sources and acidity would be present in some circumstances when the measurement results were used to analyze the aerosol properties, because of the detection loss of some species for both instruments. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  6. Field and Laboratory Studies of Atmospheric Organic Aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coggon, Matthew Mitchell

    This thesis is the culmination of field and laboratory studies aimed at assessing processes that affect the composition and distribution of atmospheric organic aerosol. An emphasis is placed on measurements conducted using compact and high-resolution Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS). The first three chapters summarize results from aircraft campaigns designed to evaluate anthropogenic and biogenic impacts on marine aerosol and clouds off the coast of California. Subsequent chapters describe laboratory studies intended to evaluate gas and particle-phase mechanisms of organic aerosol oxidation. The 2013 Nucleation in California Experiment (NiCE) was a campaign designed to study environments impacted by nucleated and/or freshly formed aerosol particles. Terrestrial biogenic aerosol with > 85% organic mass was observed to reside in the free troposphere above marine stratocumulus. This biogenic organic aerosol (BOA) originated from the Northwestern United States and was transported to the marine atmosphere during periodic cloud-clearing events. Spectra recorded by a cloud condensation nuclei counter demonstrated that BOA is CCN active. BOA enhancements at latitudes north of San Francisco, CA coincided with enhanced cloud water concentrations of organic species such as acetate and formate. Airborne measurements conducted during the 2011 Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment (E-PEACE) were aimed at evaluating the contribution of ship emissions to the properties of marine aerosol and clouds off the coast of central California. In one study, analysis of organic aerosol mass spectra during periods of enhanced shipping activity yielded unique tracers indicative of cloud-processed ship emissions (m/z 42 and 99). The variation of their organic fraction (f42 and f 99) was found to coincide with periods of heavy (f 42 > 0.15; f99 > 0.04), moderate (0.05 controlled organic plume emitted from the R/V Point Sur. Under sunny conditions, nucleated particles composed

  7. High capacity Venturi scrubber to separate aerosol-borne radioactivity from an air-gas-steam mixture. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mayinger, F.; Glueckert, U.

    1993-01-01

    All German LWR are equipped with devices which in the case of a hypothetic accident permit a filtered depressurization of the containment precluding failure of the latter and minimizing the release of radioactive materials into the environment. To filter the aerosol charged air-steam mixture from the containment also a venturi scrubber is used. It has the great advantage that it can remove safely and over a certain period of time, even without active cooling systems, the after-heat released from the separated radioactive materials. Those separated radioactive materials are trapped in a scrubbing liquid which, in the event of a temporary failure of all active cooling systems, may partly evaporate and thus remove the heat in a completely passive way. The venturi scrubbers conceived earlier by the reactor manufacturer are of a very simple design and not optimized to achieve highest separation degrees. Therefore development work was started to optimize the separation behaviour of the venturi scrubber precisely with regard to submicron aerosols which are to be expected after a core meltdown accident. To achieve this, a special concept of scrubbing liquid addition developed by the contractor, the so-called multistage concept, was applied adapting it to the specific requirements. (orig./HP) [de

  8. Impact of aerosols from the Asian Continent on the adjoining ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    J. Earth Syst. Sci. ... aerosol impact on weather and climate, which is ... factor in climate models. The impact of aerosols from the Asian Continent .... as cloudy. Such data grids generated for each month in different years for the period of study.

  9. Estimation of surface-level PM2.5 concentration using aerosol optical thickness through aerosol type analysis method

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Qi-Xiang; Yuan, Yuan; Huang, Xing; Jiang, Yan-Qiu; Tan, He-Ping

    2017-06-01

    Surface-level particulate matter is closely related to column aerosol optical thickness (AOT). Previous researches have successfully used column AOT and different meteorological parameters to estimate surface-level PM concentration. In this study, the performance of a selected linear model that estimates surface-level PM2.5 concentration was evaluated following the aerosol type analysis method (ATAM) for the first time. We utilized 443 daily average data for Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, collected using Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) during the period October 2013 to April 2016. Several parameters including atmospheric boundary layer height (BLH), relative humidity (RH), and effective radius of the aerosol size distribution (Ref) were used to assess the relationship between the column AOT and PM2.5 concentration. By including the BLH, ambient RH, and effective radius, the correlation (R2) increased from 0.084 to 0.250 at Xuzhou, and with the use of ATAM, the correlation increased further to 0.335. To compare the results, 450 daily average data for Beijing, pertaining to the same period, were utilized. The study found that model correlations improved by varying degrees in different seasons and at different sites following ATAM. The average urban industry (UI) aerosol ratios at Xuzhou and Beijing were 0.792 and 0.451, respectively, demonstrating poorer air conditions at Xuzhou. PM2.5 estimation at Xuzhou showed lower correlation (R2 = 0.335) compared to Beijing (R2 = 0.407), and the increase of R2 at Xuzhou and Beijing site following use of ATAM were 33.8% and 12.4%, respectively.

  10. Large contribution of natural aerosols to uncertainty in indirect forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carslaw, K. S.; Lee, L. A.; Reddington, C. L.; Pringle, K. J.; Rap, A.; Forster, P. M.; Mann, G. W.; Spracklen, D. V.; Woodhouse, M. T.; Regayre, L. A.; Pierce, J. R.

    2013-11-01

    The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud droplet concentrations and radiative properties is the source of one of the largest uncertainties in the radiative forcing of climate over the industrial period. This uncertainty affects our ability to estimate how sensitive the climate is to greenhouse gas emissions. Here we perform a sensitivity analysis on a global model to quantify the uncertainty in cloud radiative forcing over the industrial period caused by uncertainties in aerosol emissions and processes. Our results show that 45 per cent of the variance of aerosol forcing since about 1750 arises from uncertainties in natural emissions of volcanic sulphur dioxide, marine dimethylsulphide, biogenic volatile organic carbon, biomass burning and sea spray. Only 34 per cent of the variance is associated with anthropogenic emissions. The results point to the importance of understanding pristine pre-industrial-like environments, with natural aerosols only, and suggest that improved measurements and evaluation of simulated aerosols in polluted present-day conditions will not necessarily result in commensurate reductions in the uncertainty of forcing estimates.

  11. Large contribution of natural aerosols to uncertainty in indirect forcing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carslaw, K S; Lee, L A; Reddington, C L; Pringle, K J; Rap, A; Forster, P M; Mann, G W; Spracklen, D V; Woodhouse, M T; Regayre, L A; Pierce, J R

    2013-11-07

    The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on cloud droplet concentrations and radiative properties is the source of one of the largest uncertainties in the radiative forcing of climate over the industrial period. This uncertainty affects our ability to estimate how sensitive the climate is to greenhouse gas emissions. Here we perform a sensitivity analysis on a global model to quantify the uncertainty in cloud radiative forcing over the industrial period caused by uncertainties in aerosol emissions and processes. Our results show that 45 per cent of the variance of aerosol forcing since about 1750 arises from uncertainties in natural emissions of volcanic sulphur dioxide, marine dimethylsulphide, biogenic volatile organic carbon, biomass burning and sea spray. Only 34 per cent of the variance is associated with anthropogenic emissions. The results point to the importance of understanding pristine pre-industrial-like environments, with natural aerosols only, and suggest that improved measurements and evaluation of simulated aerosols in polluted present-day conditions will not necessarily result in commensurate reductions in the uncertainty of forcing estimates.

  12. Surface aerosol measurements at Barrow during AGASP

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bodhaine, B.A.; Dutton, E.G.; DeLuisi, J.J.

    1984-01-01

    Surface aerosol measurements were made at the Barrow GMCC Observatory during the AGASP flight series in March 1983. The condensation nucleus, scattering extinction coefficient, size distribution, and total aerosol optical depth measurements all clearly show conditions of background Arctic haze for March 9-11, a series of haze episodes during March 12-16, and a return to background haze for March 17-18. Angstrom exponents calculated from scattering coefficient data were low during March 9-11, relatively higher during March 12-14, and highest during March 15-18. Surface aerosol data and aerosol optical depth data are in good qualitative agreement for the 10-day period studied. Background haze was present when trajectories circled the Arctic basin, and haze episodes occurred when trajectories originated in western Asia and Europe

  13. Physics of aerosols - Second part: nucleation-condensation-ions-electrification-optical properties

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bricard, Jean

    1977-01-01

    This report is made of two volumes. Volume 1 includes the general properties of aerosols, the fundamentals of the theory of gases and mechanics are related to particle suspensions, ant the theories of diffusion and coagulation with their applications to atmospheric aerosols. Volume 2 begins with a chapter on nucleation (gas-particle conversion) in the case of one vapor, then two vapors, followed by the theory of aerosol evaporation. The following two chapters are devoted to the study of ions and their attachment to aerosol particles. Finally their optical properties are stated in the last chapter

  14. MODIS Observation of Aerosols over Southern Africa During SAFARI 2000: Data, Validation, and Estimation of Aerosol Radiative Forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ichoku, Charles; Kaufman, Yoram; Remer, Lorraine; Chu, D. Allen; Mattoo, Shana; Tanre, Didier; Levy, Robert; Li, Rong-Rong; Kleidman, Richard; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

    2001-01-01

    Aerosol properties, including optical thickness and size parameters, are retrieved operationally from the MODIS sensor onboard the Terra satellite launched on 18 December 1999. The predominant aerosol type over the Southern African region is smoke, which is generated from biomass burning on land and transported over the southern Atlantic Ocean. The SAFARI-2000 period experienced smoke aerosol emissions from the regular biomass burning activities as well as from the prescribed burns administered on the auspices of the experiment. The MODIS Aerosol Science Team (MAST) formulates and implements strategies for the retrieval of aerosol products from MODIS, as well as for validating and analyzing them in order to estimate aerosol effects in the radiative forcing of climate as accurately as possible. These activities are carried out not only from a global perspective, but also with a focus on specific regions identified as having interesting characteristics, such as the biomass burning phenomenon in southern Africa and the associated smoke aerosol, particulate, and trace gas emissions. Indeed, the SAFARI-2000 aerosol measurements from the ground and from aircraft, along with MODIS, provide excellent data sources for a more intensive validation and a closer study of the aerosol characteristics over Southern Africa. The SAFARI-2000 ground-based measurements of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from both the automatic Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) and handheld Sun photometers have been used to validate MODIS retrievals, based on a sophisticated spatio-temporal technique. The average global monthly distribution of aerosol from MODIS has been combined with other data to calculate the southern African aerosol daily averaged (24 hr) radiative forcing over the ocean for September 2000. It is estimated that on the average, for cloud free conditions over an area of 9 million square kin, this predominantly smoke aerosol exerts a forcing of -30 W/square m C lose to the terrestrial

  15. Aerosol physical and optical properties in the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, Crete, from Aerosol Robotic Network data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Fotiadi

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available In this study, we investigate the aerosol optical properties, namely aerosol extinction optical thickness (AOT, Angström parameter and size distribution over the Eastern Mediterranean Basin, using spectral measurements from the recently established FORTH (Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas AERONET station in Crete, for the two-year period 2003–2004. The location of the FORTH-AERONET station offers a unique opportunity to monitor aerosols from different sources. Maximum values of AOT are found primarily in spring, which together with small values of the Angström parameter indicate dust transported from African deserts, whereas the minimum values of AOT occur in winter. In autumn, large AOT values observed at near-infrared wavelengths arise also from dust transport. In summer, large AOT values at ultraviolet (340 nm and visible wavelengths (500 nm, together with large values of the Angström parameter, are associated with transport of fine aerosols of urban/industrial and biomass burning origin. The Angström parameter values vary on a daily basis within the range 0.05–2.20, and on a monthly basis within the range 0.68–1.9. This behaviour, together with broad frequency distributions and back-trajectory analyses, indicates a great variety of aerosol types over the study region including dust, urban-industrial and biomass-burning pollution, and maritime, as well as mixed aerosol types. Large temporal variability is observed in AOT, Angström parameter, aerosol content and size. The fine and coarse aerosol modes persist throughout the year, with the coarse mode dominant except in summer. The highest values of AOT are related primarily to southeasterly winds, associated with coarse aerosols, and to a less extent to northwesterly winds associated with fine aerosols. The results of this study show that the FORTH AERONET station in Crete is well suited for studying the transport and mixing of different types of aerosols from a variety

  16. Aerosol light absorption in the North Atlantic: trends and seasonal characteristics during the period 1989 to 2003

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Junker

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol light attenuation on quartz fibre filters has been measured since February 1989 at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research station near Carna, Co. Galway, Ireland, using an Aethalometer. The frequency of occurrence of the hourly averaged aerosol absorption data is found to be bimodally distributed. The two modes result from clean marine air and anthropogenically polluted continental air both being advected to the station dependent on the prevailing wind direction. The hourly averages of the marine portion of the aerosol light absorption are found to follow closely a lognormal distribution with a geometric mean of 0.310 Mm-1. The hourly averages of continental sector aerosol absorption are neither normally nor lognormally distributed and have an arithmetic mean of 6.36 Mm-1, indicating the presence of anthropogenic sources for BC east of the Mace Head station. The time series of the monthly averaged attenuation coefficient σatt of both marine and continental sector aerosol shows an increase from 1989 to 1997 and a levelling off thereafter. The monthly maximum of marine sector σatt is found in May. Trend and seasonal characteristics of the clean marine aerosol attenuation coefficients observed at Mace Head appear to be driven by meteorological factors, as indicated by rainfall data and by trends in the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO indices. The observed increasing trends of the continental sector σatt from 1989 up to 1997 are possibly related to changes in BC emissions over Ireland, calculated from UNSTAT (2002 fuel consumption data.

  17. Chemical composition and optical properties of aerosols in the lower mixed layer and the free troposphere. Final report of the AFS project; Chemische Zusammensetzung und optische Eigenschaften des Aerosols in der freien Troposphaere. Abschlussbericht zum AFS-Projekt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Asseng, H. [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Weltraumwissenschaften]|[Max-Planck-Institut fuer Chemie, Mainz (Germany). Abt. Biogeochemie; Fischer, J. [Freie Univ. Berlin (Germany). Inst. fuer Weltraumwissenschaften; Helas, G. [Max-Planck-Institut fuer Chemie, Mainz (Germany). Abt. Biogeochemie; Weller, M. [Deutscher Wetterdienst, Potsdam (Germany). Meteorologisches Observatorium

    2001-08-02

    Aerosol radiative forcing is the largest unknown in current climate models and, as a result, in predicting future climate. Accurate vertically-resolved measurements of aerosol optical properties are an important element of improved climate prediction (IPCC). The present project has contributed to this objective. Jets of directly and remotely determined radiation data have been provided suitable to cut down the uncertainty of column- or layer related optical aerosol parameters. In the present case mean values and profiles of spectral scattering - and absorption coefficients have been retrieved from ground based and airborne sky-radiance/solar irradiance measurements. Available analyses of size and chemical composition of sampled particles (adjoined projects) have been also taken into consideration. The retrieved parameters have served as an input for modelling the radiative transfer exactly for the real time of measurements. Closure procedures yielded finally realistic spectral scattering - and absorption coefficients typically for the lower troposphere in a mostly rural Central European region. (orig.) [German] Die ungenuegende Kenntnis strahlungswirksamer, optischer Aerosolparameter ist laut IPCC die groesste Unbekannte bei der Modellierung des Klimas und seiner Veraenderung. Wissenschaft und Technik bemuehen sich in sog. Schliessungsexperimenten aus der Ueberbestimmung direkt und indirekt gemessener Aerosolparameter genaue(re) Kenntnis (Mittelwert/Variation) ueber deren Klimawirksamkeit zu erlangen. Im vorliegenden Projekt wurden aus verschiedenen passiven, spektralen Messungen von Streulicht und Transmission der Atmosphaere in verschiedenen Hoehen sowie aus der Beruecksichtigung von Partikelanalysen Dritter, Streu- und Absorptionskoeffizienten des Aerosols der gesamten Luftsaeule und in vertikaler Aufloesung abgeleitet. Strahlungstransportmodellierungen mit den gewonnenen Aerosolparametern als input engten ueber den Vergleich mit den Messungen deren Grad an

  18. Aerosol dynamics within and above forest in relation to turbulent transport and dry deposition

    OpenAIRE

    Rannik, Üllar; Zhou, Luxi; Zhou, Putian; Gierens, Rosa; Mammarella, Ivan; Sogachev, Andrey; Boy, Michael

    2016-01-01

    A 1-D atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) model coupled with a detailed atmospheric chemistry and aerosol dynamical model, the model SOSAA, was used to predict the ABL and detailed aerosol population (characterized by the number size distribution) time evolution. The model was applied over a period of 10 days in May 2013 to a pine forest site in southern Finland. The period was characterized by frequent new particle formation events and simultaneous intensive aerosol transforma...

  19. INDOOR-OUTDOOR AEROSOL CONCENTRATIONS IN TWO PORTUGUESE CITIES AND THE GLOBAL WARMING SCENARIO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Antonio F. Miguel; A. Heitor Reis [Department of Physics, University of Evora (Portugal); Marta Melgao [Geophysics Centre of Evora (Portugal)

    2008-09-30

    Aerosols play a major role both in climate change and in air quality. They affect climate through interfering with radiative transfer and hence the atmospheric temperature, and also the air quality. Many epidemiological studies have confirmed that a relation exists between elevated aerosol particle concentration and adverse human health effects. Aerosol particle number and size distributions were measured both indoors and outdoors in the urban areas of Evora and Lisbon. We investigated the indoor-to-outdoor relationship of aerosol particles and the aerosol size distributions. The impact of the occurrence of a residential fire in the aerosol size distribution is also analyzed. Finally, we speculate of how global increase in temperature can affect concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere, via increased boundary layer convection.

  20. Ubiquitous influence of wildfire emissions and secondary organic aerosol on summertime atmospheric aerosol in the forested Great Lakes region

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gunsch, Matthew J.; May, Nathaniel W.; Wen, Miao; Bottenus, Courtney L. H.; Gardner, Daniel J.; VanReken, Timothy M.; Bertman, Steven B.; Hopke, Philip K.; Ault, Andrew P.; Pratt, Kerri A.

    2018-03-01

    Long-range aerosol transport affects locations hundreds of kilometers from the point of emission, leading to distant particle sources influencing rural environments that have few major local sources. Source apportionment was conducted using real-time aerosol chemistry measurements made in July 2014 at the forested University of Michigan Biological Station near Pellston, Michigan, a site representative of the remote forested Great Lakes region. Size-resolved chemical composition of individual 0.5-2.0 µm particles was measured using an aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), and non-refractory aerosol mass less than 1 µm (PM1) was measured with a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS). The field site was influenced by air masses transporting Canadian wildfire emissions and urban pollution from Milwaukee and Chicago. During wildfire-influenced periods, 0.5-2.0 µm particles were primarily aged biomass burning particles (88 % by number). These particles were heavily coated with secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed during transport, with organics (average O/C ratio of 0.8) contributing 89 % of the PM1 mass. During urban-influenced periods, organic carbon, elemental carbon-organic carbon, and aged biomass burning particles were identified, with inorganic secondary species (ammonium, sulfate, and nitrate) contributing 41 % of the PM1 mass, indicative of atmospheric processing. With current models underpredicting organic carbon in this region and biomass burning being the largest combustion contributor to SOA by mass, these results highlight the importance for regional chemical transport models to accurately predict the impact of long-range transported particles on air quality in the upper Midwest, United States, particularly considering increasing intensity and frequency of Canadian wildfires.

  1. Ventilation and filtration techniques for handling aerosols produced by thermal cutting operations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bishop, A.

    1989-01-01

    This report describes the work done to characterize aerosols from thermal cutting operations and to develop suitable ventilation and filtration techniques. The work has been carried out under a research contract between the Windscale Laboratory and the Commission of the European Communities. The contract started in October 1984 and was completed in June 1988. The total cost of the work was UKL 132 000 of which 50% was funded by the Commission. This report has been compiled from the several progress reports submitted during the work period and details the main findings from the work programme. By working with colleagues from Commissariat a l'energie atomique, Saclay, France, additional useful data were collected. The bimodal size distribution of aerosols from oxypropane cutting was confirmed. Trials on various prefilters showed that the electrostatic precipitator (ESP) and the cartridge filter had excellent collection properties. From these trials the ESP was selected as the prefilter for the windscale advanced gas-cooled reactor (WAGR) decommissioning project. This work is presented in Appendix 1 to this report. Details are given of the proposals to modify the ESP to enable the safe removal of radioactive dust and contamined collector plates. Tests are described on aerosols generated by laser cutting and also trials on the ESP and high gradient magnetic separation prefilters. Finally, the measurement of filter burdens, aerosol concentrations and dust deposition rates from thermal cutting in a full-size ventilation rig are reported

  2. A multi-model evaluation of aerosols over South Asia: common problems and possible causes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pan, X.; Chin, M.; Gautam, R.; Bian, H.; Kim, D.; Colarco, P. R.; Diehl, T. L.; Takemura, T.; Pozzoli, L.; Tsigaridis, K.; Bauer, S.; Bellouin, N.

    2015-05-01

    Atmospheric pollution over South Asia attracts special attention due to its effects on regional climate, water cycle and human health. These effects are potentially growing owing to rising trends of anthropogenic aerosol emissions. In this study, the spatio-temporal aerosol distributions over South Asia from seven global aerosol models are evaluated against aerosol retrievals from NASA satellite sensors and ground-based measurements for the period of 2000-2007. Overall, substantial underestimations of aerosol loading over South Asia are found systematically in most model simulations. Averaged over the entire South Asia, the annual mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) is underestimated by a range 15 to 44% across models compared to MISR (Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer), which is the lowest bound among various satellite AOD retrievals (from MISR, SeaWiFS (Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor), MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Aqua and Terra). In particular during the post-monsoon and wintertime periods (i.e., October-January), when agricultural waste burning and anthropogenic emissions dominate, models fail to capture AOD and aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) compared to ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sunphotometer measurements. The underestimations of aerosol loading in models generally occur in the lower troposphere (below 2 km) based on the comparisons of aerosol extinction profiles calculated by the models with those from Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) data. Furthermore, surface concentrations of all aerosol components (sulfate, nitrate, organic aerosol (OA) and black carbon (BC)) from the models are found much lower than in situ measurements in winter. Several possible causes for these common problems of underestimating aerosols in models during the post-monsoon and wintertime periods are identified: the aerosol hygroscopic growth and formation of

  3. Influence of anthropogenic aerosol on solar radiation in Europe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ten Brink, H M

    1993-12-01

    Backscatter of solar radiation by aerosol and the cooling thus induced, is the single largest uncertainty factor in assessing the climate effect of the greenhouse gases. The dominant reason for the uncertainty in the aerosol effect is its local nature. Therefore it is only via localized efforts that estimates can be improved. It is the aim of the present study to better assess the amount of solar radiation intercepted by aerosol, especially that of aerosol of anthropogenic origin in Europe. The assessment is realized along three interconnected approaches. First, empirical factors stemming from measurements in the US and used in the present estimates of the reflection of solar radiation by anthropogenic aerosol are checked for their validity in the European domain. Secondly, historical data on solar flux in Europe are related to the historic trend in aerosol loading. Finally, a sophisticated aerosol and cloud (radiation) module is developed for incorporation in a climate model. The radiation module uses aerosol characteristics as measured in the field and is validated via solar radiation measurements. The concerted investigation started in January 1993. The data obtained in the first phase of the study formed the basis for the definite detailed approach and will therefore be reported in this text. 1 fig., 9 refs.

  4. Retrieving global aerosol sources from satellites using inverse modeling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Dubovik

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Understanding aerosol effects on global climate requires knowing the global distribution of tropospheric aerosols. By accounting for aerosol sources, transports, and removal processes, chemical transport models simulate the global aerosol distribution using archived meteorological fields. We develop an algorithm for retrieving global aerosol sources from satellite observations of aerosol distribution by inverting the GOCART aerosol transport model.

    The inversion is based on a generalized, multi-term least-squares-type fitting, allowing flexible selection and refinement of a priori algorithm constraints. For example, limitations can be placed on retrieved quantity partial derivatives, to constrain global aerosol emission space and time variability in the results. Similarities and differences between commonly used inverse modeling and remote sensing techniques are analyzed. To retain the high space and time resolution of long-period, global observational records, the algorithm is expressed using adjoint operators.

    Successful global aerosol emission retrievals at 2°×2.5 resolution were obtained by inverting GOCART aerosol transport model output, assuming constant emissions over the diurnal cycle, and neglecting aerosol compositional differences. In addition, fine and coarse mode aerosol emission sources were inverted separately from MODIS fine and coarse mode aerosol optical thickness data, respectively. These assumptions are justified, based on observational coverage and accuracy limitations, producing valuable aerosol source locations and emission strengths. From two weeks of daily MODIS observations during August 2000, the global placement of fine mode aerosol sources agreed with available independent knowledge, even though the inverse method did not use any a priori information about aerosol sources, and was initialized with a "zero aerosol emission" assumption. Retrieving coarse mode aerosol emissions was less successful

  5. Impact of fog processing on water soluble organic aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tripathi, S. N.; Chakraborty, A.; Gupta, T.

    2017-12-01

    Fog is a natural meteorological phenomenon that occurs all around the world, and contains a substantial quantity of liquid water. Fog is generally seen as a natural cleansing agent but can also form secondary organic aerosols (SOA) via aqueous processing of ambient organics. Few field studies have reported elevated O/C ratio and SOA mass during or after fog events. However, mechanism behind aqueous SOA formation and its contribution to total organic aerosols (OA) still remains unclear. In this study we have tried to explore the impact of fog/aqueous processing on the characteristics of water soluble organic aerosols (WSOC), which to our knowledge has not been studied before. To assess this, both online (using HR-ToF-AMS) and offline (using a medium volume PM2.5 sampler and quartz filter) aerosol sampling were carried out at Kanpur, India from 15 December 2014 - 10 February 2015. Further, offline analysis of the aqueous extracts of the collected filters were carried out by AMS to characterize the water soluble OA (WSOA). Several (17) fog events occurred during the campaign and high concentrations of OA (151 ± 68 µg/m3) and WSOA (47 ± 19 µg/m3) were observed. WSOA/OA ratios were similar during fog (0.36 ± 0.14) and nofog (0.34 ± 0.15) periods. WSOA concentrations were also similar (slightly higher) during foggy (49 ± 18 µg/m3) and non-foggy periods (46 ± 20 µg/m3), in spite of fog scavenging. However, WSOA was more oxidized during foggy period (average O/C = 0.81) than non foggy periods (average O/C = 0.70). Like WSOA, OA was also more oxidized during foggy periods (average O/C = 0.64) than non foggy periods (average O/C = 0.53). During fog, WSOA to WIOA (water insoluble OA) ratios were higher (0.65 ± 0.16) compared to non foggy periods (0.56 ± 0.15). These observations clearly showed that WSOA become more dominant and processed during fog events, possibly due to the presence of fog droplets. This study highlights that fog processing of soluble organics

  6. Intercomparison and closure calculations using measurements of aerosol species and optical properties during the Yosemite Aerosol Characterization Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malm, William C.; Day, Derek E.; Carrico, Christian; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Collett, Jeffrey L.; McMeeking, Gavin; Lee, Taehyoung; Carrillo, Jacqueline; Schichtel, Bret

    2005-07-01

    Physical and optical properties of inorganic aerosols have been extensively studied, but less is known about carbonaceous aerosols, especially as they relate to the non-urban settings such as our nation's national parks and wilderness areas. Therefore an aerosol characterization study was conceived and implemented at one national park that is highly impacted by carbonaceous aerosols, Yosemite. The primary objective of the study was to characterize the physical, chemical, and optical properties of a carbon-dominated aerosol, including the ratio of total organic matter weight to organic carbon, organic mass scattering efficiencies, and the hygroscopic characteristics of a carbon-laden ambient aerosol, while a secondary objective was to evaluate a variety of semi-continuous monitoring systems. Inorganic ions were characterized using 24-hour samples that were collected using the URG and Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) monitoring systems, the micro-orifice uniform deposit impactor (MOUDI) cascade impactor, as well as the semi-continuous particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) technology. Likewise, carbonaceous material was collected over 24-hour periods using IMPROVE technology along with the thermal optical reflectance (TOR) analysis, while semi-continuous total carbon concentrations were measured using the Rupprecht and Patashnick (R&P) instrument. Dry aerosol number size distributions were measured using a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) and optical particle counter, scattering coefficients at near-ambient conditions were measured with nephelometers fitted with PM10 and PM2.5 inlets, and "dry" PM2.5 scattering was measured after passing ambient air through Perma Pure Nafion® dryers. In general, the 24-hour "bulk" measurements of various aerosol species compared more favorably with each other than with the semi-continuous data. Semi-continuous sulfate measurements correlated well with the 24-hour measurements, but were biased low by

  7. Secondary Aerosol Formation over the ESCOMPTE Area: Results from airborne Aerosol and Trace Gas Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Dingenen, R.; Martins-Dos Santos, S.; Putaud, J. P.; Allet, C.; Bretton, E.; Perros, P.

    2003-04-01

    From June 10th to July 14th 2001, the ESCOMPTE campaign took place in the Marseille-Berre area in Southern France. The goal of the campaign was to produce a high quality 3-D data base from emissions, transport and air composition measurements during urban photochemical pollution episodes at the meso-scale. The CAATER AEROPLUM project was embedded within this international field campaign. AEROPLUM aimed at mapping size distributions of aerosols and photo-oxidants in the mixed layer over the ESCOMPTE domain, using the ARAT Fokker 27 as measurement platform. Aircraft sub-micrometer aerosol measurements are validated during overpasses against ground-based measurements, carried out with similar instrumentation. We will present and discuss data during periods of seabreeze, transporting coastal industrial and urban pollution land-inwards. This leads to intense photochemical activity, evidenced by elevated O_3 concentrations and aerosol levels.

  8. Prospects of real-time single-particle biological aerosol analysis: A comparison between laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beddows, D.C.S.; Telle, H.H.

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we discuss the prospects of real-time, in situ laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy applied for the identification and classification of bio-aerosols (including species of potential bio-hazard) within common urban aerosol mixtures. In particular, we address the issues associated with the picking out of bio-aerosols against common background aerosol particles, comparing laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy measurements with data from a mobile single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (ATOFMS). The data from the latter provide statistical data over an extended period of time, highlighting the variation of the background composition. While single-particle bio-aerosols are detectable in principle, potential problems with small (∼ 1 μm size) bio-aerosols have been identified; constituents of the air mass other than background aerosols, e.g. gaseous CO 2 in conjunction with common background aerosols, may prevent unique recognition of the bio-particles. We discuss whether it is likely that laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy on its own can provide reliable, real-time identification of bio-aerosol in an urban environment, and it is suggested that more than one technique should be or would have to be used. A case for using a combination of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy and Raman (and/or) laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy is made

  9. Influence of aerosol on regional precipitation in North China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    DUAN Jing; MAO JieTai

    2009-01-01

    The possible anthropogenic aerosol effect on regional precipitation is analyzed based on the historical data of precipitation and visibility of North China. At first, the precipitation amounts from 1960 to 1979 are considered as natural background values in our study for relatively less intensive industrial activi-ties and light air pollution during that period of time, then the region is divided into different subregions by applying the clustering method including the significance test of station rainfall correlations to the time series of 10-day mean rainfall amounts in this period. Based on the rule that the precipitation characteristics are similar in the same clustering region, the correlation of precipitation amounts among all stations in each region is thus established. Secondly, for the period from 1990 to 2005, during which, the economy had experienced a rapid development in this region, the variations of visibility at each station are analyzed. The stations with the absolute change in visibility less than 0.1 km/a are used as the reference stations, at which it is assumed that precipitation has not been seriously influ-enced by anthropogenic aerosols. Then the rainfall amounts of reference stations are used to estimate the natural precipitation values of the other stations in each clustering region. The difference between estimated precipitation and measured precipitation amount is thought to result from changes in an-thropogenic aerosols. These changes in precipitation amounts caused by anthropogenic aerosols at each station are calculated using the 10-day mean rainfall values from 1990 to 2005. The analysis re-suits obtained with this method are remarkable if it passes the significance test, and therefore, the suppression of regional precipitation over the region by anthropogenic aerosol is proved. It is found that this effect is most remarkable in summer. The influence of anthropogenic aerosols on convective precipitation possibly plays an important

  10. Aerosol optical properties in the southeastern United States in summer – Part 2: Sensitivity of aerosol optical depth to relative humidity and aerosol parameters

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. A. Brock

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Aircraft observations of meteorological, trace gas, and aerosol properties were made between May and September 2013 in the southeastern United States (US. Regionally representative aggregate vertical profiles of median and interdecile ranges of the measured parameters were constructed from 37 individual aircraft profiles made in the afternoon when a well-mixed boundary layer with typical fair-weather cumulus was present (Wagner et al., 2015. We use these 0–4 km aggregate profiles and a simple model to calculate the sensitivity of aerosol optical depth (AOD to changes in dry aerosol mass, relative humidity, mixed-layer height, the central diameter and width of the particle size distribution, hygroscopicity, and dry and wet refractive index, while holding the other parameters constant. The calculated sensitivity is a result of both the intrinsic sensitivity and the observed range of variation in these parameters. These observationally based sensitivity studies indicate that the relationship between AOD and dry aerosol mass in these conditions in the southeastern US can be highly variable and is especially sensitive to relative humidity (RH. For example, calculated AOD ranged from 0.137 to 0.305 as the RH was varied between the 10th and 90th percentile profiles with dry aerosol mass held constant. Calculated AOD was somewhat less sensitive to aerosol hygroscopicity, mean size, and geometric standard deviation, σg. However, some chemistry–climate models prescribe values of σg substantially larger than we or others observe, leading to potential high biases in model-calculated AOD of  ∼  25 %. Finally, AOD was least sensitive to observed variations in dry and wet aerosol refractive index and to changes in the height of the well-mixed surface layer. We expect these findings to be applicable to other moderately polluted and background continental air masses in which an accumulation mode between 0.1–0.5 µm diameter dominates

  11. Chemical characteristics of submicron particles at the central Tibetan Plateau: insights from aerosol mass spectrometry

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Xu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Recent studies have revealed a significant influx of anthropogenic aerosol from South Asia to the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (TP during pre-monsoon period. In order to characterize the chemical composition, sources, and transport processes of aerosol in this area, we carried out a field study during June 2015 by deploying a suite of online instruments including an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS and a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP at Nam Co station (90°57′ E, 30°46′ N; 4730 m a.s.l. at the central of the TP. The measurements were made at a period when the transition from pre-monsoon to monsoon occurred. The average ambient mass concentration of submicron particulate matter (PM1 over the whole campaign was  ∼  2.0 µg m−3, with organics accounting for 68 %, followed by sulfate (15 %, black carbon (8 %, ammonium (7 %, and nitrate (2 %. Relatively higher aerosol mass concentration episodes were observed during the pre-monsoon period, whereas persistently low aerosol concentrations were observed during the monsoon period. However, the chemical composition of aerosol during the higher aerosol concentration episodes in the pre-monsoon season was on a case-by-case basis, depending on the prevailing meteorological conditions and air mass transport routes. Most of the chemical species exhibited significant diurnal variations with higher values occurring during afternoon and lower values during early morning, whereas nitrate peaked during early morning in association with higher relative humidity and lower air temperature. Organic aerosol (OA, with an oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O ∕ C of 0.94, was more oxidized during the pre-monsoon period than during monsoon (average O ∕ C ratio of 0.72, and an average O ∕ C was 0.88 over the entire campaign period, suggesting overall highly oxygenated aerosol in the central TP. Positive matrix factorization of the

  12. Aerosols behavior inside a PWR during an accident

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hervouet, C.

    1983-01-01

    During very hypothetical accidents occurring in a pressurized water ractor, radioactive aerosols can be released, during core-melt, inside the reactor containment building. A good knowledge of their behavior in the humid containment atmosphere (mass concentration and size distribution) is essential in order to evaluate their harmfulness in case of environment contamination and to design possible filtration devices. Accordingly the Safety Analysis Department of the Atomic Energy Commission uses several computer models, describing the particle formation (BOIL/MARCH), then behavior in the primary circuits (TRAP-MELT), and in the reactor containment building (AEROSOLS-PARFDISEKO-III B). On the one hand, these models have been improved, in particular the one related to the aerosol formation (nature and mass of released particles) using recent experimental results. On the other hand, sensitivity analyses have been performed with the AEROSOLS code which emphasize the particle coagulation parameters: agglomerate shape factors and collision efficiency. Finally, the different computer models have been applied to the study of aerosol behavior during a 900 MWe PWR accident: loss-of-coolant-accident (small break with failure of all safety systems) [fr

  13. Program GICC, final report (March 2005), inventory of carbonaceous aerosol particles from 1860 to 2100 or which carbonaceous aerosol for a significant climatic regional/global impact?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cachier, H.; Guinot, B.; Criqui, P.; Mima, S.; Brignon, J.M.; Penner, J.; Carmichael, G.; Gadi, R.; Denier Van der Gon, H.; Gregoire, J.M.; Liousse, C.; Michel, C.; Guillaume, B.; Junker, C.

    2007-01-01

    The aim of our program is to determine past, present and future emission inventories of carbonaceous particles from 1860 to 2100 for fossil fuel and biofuel sources. Emission inventories for savannah and forest fires have been developed by using burnt area products given by satellite for Asia and Africa. The strong collaboration with the different groups attending this GICC program has allowed to develop the following results. 1- With the improvement of algorithms and new choices for emission factors, emission inventories for black carbon (BC), primary organic carbon (OCp) and total organic carbon (OCtot) have been constructed for the period 1950 to 1997 for fossil fuel and biofuel sources. With these new development, biofuel sources have been seen to be significant, especially in the developing countries. 2- Past inventories have been developed for fossil fuel and biofuel sources from 1860 to 1997 by taking into account the evolution of fuel consumption, fuel use and emission factors. 3- Savannah and forest fire inventories have been constructed based on burnt area products, for Africa (1981-1991, 2000) and Asia (2000-2001). These results show the importance of using real time data instead of statistics. 4-Future emission inventory of black carbon by fossil fuel sources has been constructed for 2100 following the IPCC scenario A2 (catastrophic case) and B1 (perfect world). 5-Characterization of biofuel emissions has been realized by organizing an experiment in a combustion chamber where indian and chinese biofuels (fuelwood, agricultural wastes, dung-cake etc..). were burnt, reproducing the burning methods used in these countries. 6-Finally, the differences between the existing inventories of carbonaceous aerosols has been explained. (A.L.B.)

  14. Submicron aerosol distributions and CCN activity measured in and around the Korean Peninsula during KORUS-AQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, M.; Kim, N.; Yum, S. S.; Thornhill, K. L., II; Anderson, B. E.; Kim, D. S.; Kim, H. J.; Jeon, H. E.; Park, Y. S.; Lee, S. B.

    2017-12-01

    KORUS-AQ is a field campaign aimed at investigating formation of ozone and aerosol and interactions between chemistry, transport and various sources in the Korean Peninsula which is the region affected both by long-range transport and local emission. Aerosol number concentration and size distribution, and CCN number concentration were measured on board the NASA DC-8 research aircraft and at a ground site at Olympic Park in Seoul, capital city of Korea during the KORUS-AQ campaign (May 2nd to June 10th, 2017). There were 20 flights during the KORUS-AQ campaign and total flight time was about 150 hours. CCN counter (CCNC) on the airborne platform was operated at the fixed internal supersaturation of 0.6% and CCNC at the ground site was operated at five different supersaturations (0.2%, 0.4%, 0.6%, 0.8%, and 1.0%). Aerosol hygroscopic parameter κ was also estimated from CCN number concentration and aerosol size distribution. Airborne measurements showed a large spatio-temporal variation of aerosol number concentration and CCN activity in and around the Korean peninsula, and the ground measurements also showed a large temporal variation. The campaign period can be classified into long-range transport dominant cases, local emission dominant cases due to stagnant air mass, and others. Aerosol number concentration in the Korean Peninsula measured in stagnant air mass period was higher than those in long-range transport period, but CCN number concentration showed an opposite tendency. Both aerosol and CCN number concentrations over the Yellow Sea in local emission period were slightly higher than those in long-range transport period. Since CCN activity is different depending on time and space, our focus is on understanding how CCN activity and aerosol hygroscopicity vary with the source of aerosol. Comprehensive analysis results will be shown at the conference.

  15. Aerosol optical properties and radiative effects over Manora Peak in the Himalayan foothills: seasonal variability and role of transported aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Srivastava, A.K. [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Branch), Prof Ramnath Vij Marg, New Delhi (India); Ram, K. [Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi (India); Singh, Sachchidanand, E-mail: ssingh@nplindia.org [Radio and Atmospheric Sciences Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi (India); Kumar, Sanjeev [Radio and Atmospheric Sciences Division, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi (India); Tiwari, S. [Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (Branch), Prof Ramnath Vij Marg, New Delhi (India)

    2015-01-01

    The higher altitude regions of Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau are influenced by the dust and black carbon (BC) aerosols from the emissions and long-range transport from the adjoining areas. In this study, we present impacts of advection of polluted air masses of natural and anthropogenic emissions, on aerosol optical and radiative properties at Manora Peak (∼ 2000 m amsl) in central Himalaya over a period of more than two years (February 2006–May 2008). We used the most updated and comprehensive data of chemical and optical properties available in one of the most climatically sensitive region, the Himalaya, to estimate atmospheric radiative forcing and heating rate. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) was found to vary from 0.04 to 0.45 with significantly higher values in summer mainly due to an increase in mineral dust and biomass burning aerosols due to transport. In contrast, single scattering albedo (SSA) varied from 0.74 to 0.88 with relatively lower values during summer, suggesting an increase in absorbing BC and mineral dust aerosols. As a result, a large positive atmospheric radiative forcing (about 28 ± 5 Wm{sup −2}) and high values of corresponding heating rate (0.80 ± 0.14 Kday{sup −1}) has been found during summer. During the entire observation period, radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere varied from − 2 to + 14 Wm{sup −2} and from − 3 to − 50 Wm{sup −2} at the surface whereas atmospheric forcing was in the range of 3 to 65 Wm{sup −2} resulting in a heating rate of 0.1–1.8 Kday{sup −1}. - Highlights: • Aerosol chemical and optical properties at Manora Peak, in central Himalaya, were significantly affected by dust and black carbon (BC) aerosols from the emissions and long-range transport from the adjoining areas. • Elevated AOD and lower SSA values were observed at Manora Peak during summer. • Enhancement in absorbing aerosols was observed during summer. • Large aerosol radiative forcing and heating rate was observed

  16. Aerosol optical properties and radiative effects over Manora Peak in the Himalayan foothills: seasonal variability and role of transported aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Srivastava, A.K.; Ram, K.; Singh, Sachchidanand; Kumar, Sanjeev; Tiwari, S.

    2015-01-01

    The higher altitude regions of Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau are influenced by the dust and black carbon (BC) aerosols from the emissions and long-range transport from the adjoining areas. In this study, we present impacts of advection of polluted air masses of natural and anthropogenic emissions, on aerosol optical and radiative properties at Manora Peak (∼ 2000 m amsl) in central Himalaya over a period of more than two years (February 2006–May 2008). We used the most updated and comprehensive data of chemical and optical properties available in one of the most climatically sensitive region, the Himalaya, to estimate atmospheric radiative forcing and heating rate. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) was found to vary from 0.04 to 0.45 with significantly higher values in summer mainly due to an increase in mineral dust and biomass burning aerosols due to transport. In contrast, single scattering albedo (SSA) varied from 0.74 to 0.88 with relatively lower values during summer, suggesting an increase in absorbing BC and mineral dust aerosols. As a result, a large positive atmospheric radiative forcing (about 28 ± 5 Wm −2 ) and high values of corresponding heating rate (0.80 ± 0.14 Kday −1 ) has been found during summer. During the entire observation period, radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere varied from − 2 to + 14 Wm −2 and from − 3 to − 50 Wm −2 at the surface whereas atmospheric forcing was in the range of 3 to 65 Wm −2 resulting in a heating rate of 0.1–1.8 Kday −1 . - Highlights: • Aerosol chemical and optical properties at Manora Peak, in central Himalaya, were significantly affected by dust and black carbon (BC) aerosols from the emissions and long-range transport from the adjoining areas. • Elevated AOD and lower SSA values were observed at Manora Peak during summer. • Enhancement in absorbing aerosols was observed during summer. • Large aerosol radiative forcing and heating rate was observed over the station in the

  17. Sources of carbonaceous aerosol in the Amazon basin

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Gilardoni

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available The quantification of sources of carbonaceous aerosol is important to understand their atmospheric concentrations and regulating processes and to study possible effects on climate and air quality, in addition to develop mitigation strategies.

    In the framework of the European Integrated Project on Aerosol Cloud Climate Interactions (EUCAARI fine (Dp < 2.5 μm and coarse (2.5 μm < Dp <10 μm aerosol particles were sampled from February to June (wet season and from August to September (dry season 2008 in the central Amazon basin. The mass of fine particles averaged 2.4 μg m−3 during the wet season and 4.2 μg m−3 during the dry season. The average coarse aerosol mass concentration during wet and dry periods was 7.9 and 7.6 μg m−3, respectively. The overall chemical composition of fine and coarse mass did not show any seasonality with the largest fraction of fine and coarse aerosol mass explained by organic carbon (OC; the average OC to mass ratio was 0.4 and 0.6 in fine and coarse aerosol modes, respectively. The mass absorbing cross section of soot was determined by comparison of elemental carbon and light absorption coefficient measurements and it was equal to 4.7 m2 g−1 at 637 nm. Carbon aerosol sources were identified by Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF analysis of thermograms: 44% of fine total carbon mass was assigned to biomass burning, 43% to secondary organic aerosol (SOA, and 13% to volatile species that are difficult to apportion. In the coarse mode, primary biogenic aerosol particles (PBAP dominated the carbonaceous aerosol mass. The results confirmed the importance of PBAP in forested areas.

    The source apportionment results were employed to evaluate the ability of global chemistry transport models to simulate carbonaceous aerosol sources in a regional tropical background site. The comparison showed an overestimation

  18. Aerosol quantification with the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer: detection limits and ionizer background effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Borrmann

    2009-02-01

    Full Text Available Systematic laboratory experiments were performed to investigate quantification of various species with two versions of the Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer, a Quadrupole Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (Q-AMS and a compact Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (c-ToF-AMS. Here we present a new method to continuously determine the detection limits of the AMS analyzers during regular measurements, yielding detection limit (DL information under various measurement conditions. Minimum detection limits range from 0.03 μg m−3 (nitrate, sulfate, and chloride up to 0.5 μg m−3 (organics for the Q-AMS. Those of the c-ToF-AMS are found between 0.003 μg m−3 (nitrate, sulfate and 0.03 μg m−3 (ammonium, organics. The DL values found for the c-ToF-AMS were ~10 times lower than those of the Q-AMS, mainly due to differences in ion duty cycle. Effects causing an increase of the detection limits include long-term instrument contamination, measurement of high aerosol mass concentrations and short-term instrument history. The self-cleaning processes which reduce the instrument background after measurement of large aerosol concentrations as well as the influences of increased instrument background on mass concentration measurements are discussed. Finally, improvement of detection limits by extension of averaging time intervals, selected or reduced ion monitoring, and variation of particle-to-background measurement ratio are investigated.

  19. The statistical distribution of aerosol properties in sourthern West Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haslett, Sophie; Taylor, Jonathan; Flynn, Michael; Bower, Keith; Dorsey, James; Crawford, Ian; Brito, Joel; Denjean, Cyrielle; Bourrianne, Thierry; Burnet, Frederic; Batenburg, Anneke; Schulz, Christiane; Schneider, Johannes; Borrmann, Stephan; Sauer, Daniel; Duplissy, Jonathan; Lee, James; Vaughan, Adam; Coe, Hugh

    2017-04-01

    The population and economy in southern West Africa have been growing at an exceptional rate in recent years and this trend is expected to continue, with the population projected to more than double to 800 million by 2050. This will result in a dramatic increase in anthropogenic pollutants, already estimated to have tripled between 1950 and 2000 (Lamarque et al., 2010). It is known that aerosols can modify the radiative properties of clouds. As such, the entrainment of anthropogenic aerosol into the large banks of clouds forming during the onset of the West African Monsoon could have a substantial impact on the region's response to climate change. Such projections, however, are greatly limited by the scarcity of observations in this part of the world. As part of the Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project, three research aircraft were deployed, each carrying equipment capable of measuring aerosol properties in-situ. Instrumentation included Aerosol Mass Spectrometers (AMS), Single Particle Soot Photometers (SP2), Condensation Particle Counters (CPC) and Scanning Mobility Particle Sizers (SMPS). Throughout the intensive aircraft campaign, 155 hours of scientific flights covered an area including large parts of Benin, Togo, Ghana and parts of Côte D'Ivoire. Approximately 70 hours were dedicated to the measurement of cloud-aerosol interactions, with many other flights producing data contributing towards this objective. Using datasets collected during this campaign period, it is possible to build a robust statistical understanding of aerosol properties in this region for the first time, including size distributions and optical and chemical properties. Here, we describe preliminary results from aerosol measurements on board the three aircraft. These have been used to describe aerosol properties throughout the region and time period encompassed by the DACCIWA aircraft campaign. Such statistics will be invaluable for improving future

  20. Characterizing Organic Aerosol Processes and Climatically Relevant Properties via Advanced and Integrated Analyses of Aerosol Mass Spectrometry Datasets from DOE Campaigns and ACRF Measurements. Final report for DE-SC0007178

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Qi [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States)

    2017-05-21

    Organic aerosols (OA) are an important but poorly characterized component of the earth’s climate system. Enormous complexities commonly associated with OA composition and life cycle processes have significantly complicated the simulation and quantification of aerosol effects. To unravel these complexities and improve understanding of the properties, sources, formation, evolution processes, and radiative properties of atmospheric OA, we propose to perform advanced and integrated analyses of multiple DOE aerosol mass spectrometry datasets, including two high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-AMS) datasets from intensive field campaigns on the aerosol life cycle and the Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) datasets from long-term routine measurement programs at ACRF sites. In this project, we will focus on 1) characterizing the chemical (i.e., composition, organic elemental ratios), physical (i.e., size distribution and volatility), and radiative (i.e., sub- and super-saturated growth) properties of organic aerosols, 2) examining the correlations of these properties with different source and process regimes (e.g., primary, secondary, urban, biogenic, biomass burning, marine, or mixtures), 3) quantifying the evolutions of these properties as a function of photochemical processing, 4) identifying and characterizing special cases for important processes such as SOA formation and new particle formation and growth, and 5) correlating size-resolved aerosol chemistry with measurements of radiative properties of aerosols to determine the climatically relevant properties of OA and characterize the relationship between these properties and processes of atmospheric aerosol organics. Our primary goal is to improve a process-level understanding of the life cycle of organic aerosols in the Earth’s atmosphere. We will also aim at bridging between observations and models via synthesizing and translating the results and insights generated from this

  1. Aerosol single-scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter from MFRSR observations during the ARM Aerosol IOP 2003

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. I. Kassianov

    2007-06-01

    Full Text Available Multi-filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSRs provide routine measurements of the aerosol optical depth (τ at six wavelengths (0.415, 0.5, 0.615, 0.673, 0.870 and 0.94 μm. The single-scattering albedo (π0 is typically estimated from the MFRSR measurements by assuming the asymmetry parameter (g. In most instances, however, it is not easy to set an appropriate value of g due to its strong temporal and spatial variability. Here, we introduce and validate an updated version of our retrieval technique that allows one to estimate simultaneously π0 and g for different types of aerosol. We use the aerosol and radiative properties obtained during the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM Program's Aerosol Intensive Operational Period (IOP to validate our retrieval in two ways. First, the MFRSR-retrieved optical properties are compared with those obtained from independent surface, Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET, and aircraft measurements. The MFRSR-retrieved optical properties are in reasonable agreement with these independent measurements. Second, we perform radiative closure experiments using the MFRSR-retrieved optical properties. The calculated broadband values of the direct and diffuse fluxes are comparable (~5 W/m2 to those obtained from measurements.

  2. Aerosol microphysical and radiative effects on continental cloud ensembles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yuan; Vogel, Jonathan M.; Lin, Yun; Pan, Bowen; Hu, Jiaxi; Liu, Yangang; Dong, Xiquan; Jiang, Jonathan H.; Yung, Yuk L.; Zhang, Renyi

    2018-02-01

    Aerosol-cloud-radiation interactions represent one of the largest uncertainties in the current climate assessment. Much of the complexity arises from the non-monotonic responses of clouds, precipitation and radiative fluxes to aerosol perturbations under various meteorological conditions. In this study, an aerosol-aware WRF model is used to investigate the microphysical and radiative effects of aerosols in three weather systems during the March 2000 Cloud Intensive Observational Period campaign at the US Southern Great Plains. Three simulated cloud ensembles include a low-pressure deep convective cloud system, a collection of less-precipitating stratus and shallow cumulus, and a cold frontal passage. The WRF simulations are evaluated by several ground-based measurements. The microphysical properties of cloud hydrometeors, such as their mass and number concentrations, generally show monotonic trends as a function of cloud condensation nuclei concentrations. Aerosol radiative effects do not influence the trends of cloud microphysics, except for the stratus and shallow cumulus cases where aerosol semi-direct effects are identified. The precipitation changes by aerosols vary with the cloud types and their evolving stages, with a prominent aerosol invigoration effect and associated enhanced precipitation from the convective sources. The simulated aerosol direct effect suppresses precipitation in all three cases but does not overturn the aerosol indirect effect. Cloud fraction exhibits much smaller sensitivity (typically less than 2%) to aerosol perturbations, and the responses vary with aerosol concentrations and cloud regimes. The surface shortwave radiation shows a monotonic decrease by increasing aerosols, while the magnitude of the decrease depends on the cloud type.

  3. Characterization of a large biogenic secondary organic aerosol event from eastern Canadian forests

    Science.gov (United States)

    Slowik, J. G.; Stroud, C.; Bottenheim, J. W.; Brickell, P. C.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Liggio, J.; Makar, P. A.; Martin, R. V.; Moran, M. D.; Shantz, N. C.; Sjostedt, S. J.; van Donkelaar, A.; Vlasenko, A.; Wiebe, H. A.; Xia, A. G.; Zhang, J.; Leaitch, W. R.; Abbatt, J. P. D.

    2010-03-01

    Measurements of aerosol composition, volatile organic compounds, and CO are used to determine biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) concentrations at a rural site 70 km north of Toronto. These biogenic SOA levels are many times higher than past observations and occur during a period of increasing temperatures and outflow from Northern Ontario and Quebec forests in early summer. A regional chemical transport model approximately predicts the event timing and accurately predicts the aerosol loading, identifying the precursors as monoterpene emissions from the coniferous forest. The agreement between the measured and modeled biogenic aerosol concentrations contrasts with model underpredictions for polluted regions. Correlations of the oxygenated organic aerosol mass with tracers such as CO support a secondary aerosol source and distinguish biogenic, pollution, and biomass burning periods during the field campaign. Using the Master Chemical Mechanism, it is shown that the levels of CO observed during the biogenic event are consistent with a photochemical source arising from monoterpene oxidation. The biogenic aerosol mass correlates with satellite measurements of regional aerosol optical depth, indicating that the event extends across the eastern Canadian forest. This regional event correlates with increased temperatures, indicating that temperature-dependent forest emissions can significantly affect climate through enhanced direct optical scattering and higher cloud condensation nuclei numbers.

  4. Secondary organic aerosol formation from in-use motor vehicle emissions using a potential aerosol mass reactor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tkacik, Daniel S; Lambe, Andrew T; Jathar, Shantanu; Li, Xiang; Presto, Albert A; Zhao, Yunliang; Blake, Donald; Meinardi, Simone; Jayne, John T; Croteau, Philip L; Robinson, Allen L

    2014-10-07

    Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation from in-use vehicle emissions was investigated using a potential aerosol mass (PAM) flow reactor deployed in a highway tunnel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Experiments consisted of passing exhaust-dominated tunnel air through a PAM reactor over integrated hydroxyl radical (OH) exposures ranging from ∼ 0.3 to 9.3 days of equivalent atmospheric oxidation. Experiments were performed during heavy traffic periods when the fleet was at least 80% light-duty gasoline vehicles on a fuel-consumption basis. The peak SOA production occurred after 2-3 days of equivalent atmospheric oxidation. Additional OH exposure decreased the SOA production presumably due to a shift from functionalization to fragmentation dominated reaction mechanisms. Photo-oxidation also produced substantial ammonium nitrate, often exceeding the mass of SOA. Analysis with an SOA model highlight that unspeciated organics (i.e., unresolved complex mixture) are a very important class of precursors and that multigenerational processing of both gases and particles is important at longer time scales. The chemical evolution of the organic aerosol inside the PAM reactor appears to be similar to that observed in the atmosphere. The mass spectrum of the unoxidized primary organic aerosol closely resembles ambient hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA). After aging the exhaust equivalent to a few hours of atmospheric oxidation, the organic aerosol most closely resembles semivolatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA) and then low-volatility organic aerosol (LV-OOA) at higher OH exposures. Scaling the data suggests that mobile sources contribute ∼ 2.9 ± 1.6 Tg SOA yr(-1) in the United States, which is a factor of 6 greater than all mobile source particulate matter emissions reported by the National Emissions Inventory. This highlights the important contribution of SOA formation from vehicle exhaust to ambient particulate matter concentrations in urban areas.

  5. Secondary sulfate is internally mixed with sea spray aerosol and organic aerosol in the winter Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kirpes, Rachel M.; Bondy, Amy L.; Bonanno, Daniel; Moffet, Ryan C.; Wang, Bingbing; Laskin, Alexander; Ault, Andrew P.; Pratt, Kerri A.

    2018-03-01

    Few measurements of aerosol chemical composition have been made during the winter-spring transition (following polar sunrise) to constrain Arctic aerosol-cloud-climate feedbacks. Herein, we report the first measurements of individual particle chemical composition near Utqiaġvik (Barrow), Alaska, in winter (seven sample days in January and February 2014). Individual particles were analyzed by computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (CCSEM-EDX, 24 847 particles), Raman microspectroscopy (300 particles), and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy with near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy (STXM-NEXAFS, 290 particles). Sea spray aerosol (SSA) was observed in all samples, with fresh and aged SSA comprising 99 %, by number, of 2.5-7.5 µm diameter particles, 65-95 % from 0.5-2.5 µm, and 50-60 % from 0.1-0.5 µm, indicating SSA is the dominant contributor to accumulation and coarse-mode aerosol during the winter. The aged SSA particles were characterized by reduced chlorine content with 94 %, by number, internally mixed with secondary sulfate (39 %, by number, internally mixed with both nitrate and sulfate), indicative of multiphase aging reactions during transport. There was a large number fraction (40 % of 1.0-4.0 µm diameter particles) of aged SSA during periods when particles were transported from near Prudhoe Bay, consistent with pollutant emissions from the oil fields participating in atmospheric processing of aerosol particles. Organic carbon and sulfate particles were observed in all samples and comprised 40-50 %, by number, of 0.1-0.4 µm diameter particles, indicative of Arctic haze influence. Soot was internally mixed with organic and sulfate components. All sulfate was mixed with organic carbon or SSA particles. Therefore, aerosol sources in the Alaskan Arctic and resulting aerosol chemical mixing states need to be considered when predicting aerosol climate effects, particularly cloud

  6. Acoustic and turbulent agglomeration of sodium aerosols. Final report, October 1, 1975--July 31, 1978

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinds, W.; Price, J.; First, M.W.

    1978-11-01

    A suitability of 6 packing materials for removal of sodium fire aerosols in a wet cell scrubber was evaluated experimentally by measuring the efficiency and flow resistance of two 10.2 cm deep cells in series at air face velocities of 185 and 289 cm/sec, water flow rates of 0.210 ad 0.387 cm 3 /sec/cm 2 , with and without aerosol prehumidification. The most satisfactory material was found to be 50 μm diameter stainless steel fibers at a packing density of 30 kg/m 3 (porosity = 0.99). Two 10.2 cm deep cells in series gave a removal efficiency of 85% for typical sodium fire aerosols at a face velocity of 289 cm/sec. Measurement of efficency as a function of particle size indicated a reduction in efficiency in the 0.4 to 1.1 μm size range for all packing materials

  7. Fission-fragment attachment to aerosols and their transport through capillary tubes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Novick, V.J.; Alvarez, J.L.; Greenwood, R.C.

    1981-01-01

    The transport of radioactive aerosols was studied using equipment, collectively called the Helium jet, that has been constructed to provide basic nuclear physics data on fission product nuclides. The transport of the fission products in the system depends on their attachment to aerosol particles. The system consists of 1) a tube furnace which generates aerosols by the sublimation or evaporation of source material, 2) a helium stream used to transport the aerosols, 3) a 25 m settling tube to eliminate the larger aerosols and smaller aerosols that would deposit in the capillary, 4) a Californium-252 self-fissioning source of fission product nuclides, and 5) a small capillary to carry the radioactive aerosols from the hot cell to the laboratory. Different source materials were aerosolized but NaCl is generally used because it yielded the highest transport efficiencies through the capillary. Particle size measurments were made with NaCl aerosols by using a cascade impactor, an optical light scattering device, and the capillary itself as a diffusion battery by performing radiation measurements and/or electrical conductivity measurements. Both radioactive and nonradioactive aerosols were measured in order to investigate the possibility of a preferential size range for fission product attachment. The measured size distributions were then used to calculate attachment coefficients and finally an attachment time

  8. Organic aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Penner, J.E.

    1994-01-01

    Organic aerosols scatter solar radiation. They may also either enhance or decrease concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei. This paper summarizes observed concentrations of aerosols in remote continental and marine locations and provides estimates for the sources of organic aerosol matter. The anthropogenic sources of organic aerosols may be as large as the anthropogenic sources of sulfate aerosols, implying a similar magnitude of direct forcing of climate. The source estimates are highly uncertain and subject to revision in the future. A slow secondary source of organic aerosols of unknown origin may contribute to the observed oceanic concentrations. The role of organic aerosols acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is described and it is concluded that they may either enhance or decrease the ability of anthropogenic sulfate aerosols to act as CCN

  9. El Chichon and 'mystery cloud' aerosols between 30 and 55 km Global observations from the SME visible spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clancy, R. T.

    1986-01-01

    Visible limb radiances measured by the Solar Mesosphere Explorer (SME) are used to obtain volume scattering ratios for aerosol loading in the 30-55 km altitude range of the stratosphere. Global maps of these ratios are presented for the period January 1982 to August 1984. Significant aerosol scattering from the 'mystery cloud' and El Chichon aerosol layers are found above 30 km. A timescale of approximately 2 months between the appearance of the aerosol at 30.5 km and at 37.5 km is consistent with vertical transport of aerosol or vapor by eddy diffusion above 30 km. An anticorrelation exists between aerosol scattering and stratospheric temperatures. Periods of lower stratospheric temperatures may account for the formation of aerosol between 40 and 55 km altitude.

  10. Research on aerosol formation, aerosol behaviour, aerosol filtration, aerosol measurement techniques and sodium fires at the Laboratory for Aerosol Physics and Filter Technology at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jordan, S; Schikarski, W; Schoeck, W [Gesellschaft fuer Kernforschung mbH, Karlsruhe (Germany)

    1977-01-01

    The behaviour of aerosols in LMFBR plant systems is of great importance for a number of problems, both normal operational and accident kind. This paper covers the following: aerosol modelling for LMFBR containment systems; aerosol size spectrometry by laser light scattering; experimental facilities and experimental results concerned with aerosol release under accident conditions; filtration of sodium oxide aerosols by multilayer sand bed filters.

  11. Research on aerosol formation, aerosol behaviour, aerosol filtration, aerosol measurement techniques and sodium fires at the Laboratory for Aerosol Physics and Filter Technology at the Nuclear Research Center Karlsruhe

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jordan, S.; Schikarski, W.; Schoeck, W.

    1977-01-01

    The behaviour of aerosols in LMFBR plant systems is of great importance for a number of problems, both normal operational and accident kind. This paper covers the following: aerosol modelling for LMFBR containment systems; aerosol size spectrometry by laser light scattering; experimental facilities and experimental results concerned with aerosol release under accident conditions; filtration of sodium oxide aerosols by multilayer sand bed filters

  12. Impacts of Anthropogenic Aerosols on Regional Climate: Extreme Events, Stagnation, and the United States Warming Hole

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascioli, Nora R.

    temperature response pattern in AER and GHG is characterized by strong responses over the western U.S. and weak or opposite signed responses over the southeast U.S., raising the question of whether the observed U.S. "warming hole" could have a forced component. To address this question, I systematically examine observed seasonal temperature trends over all time periods of at least 10 years during 1901-2015. In the northeast and southern U.S., significant summertime cooling occurs from the early 1950s to the mid 1970s, which I partially attribute to increasing anthropogenic aerosol emissions (median fraction of the observed temperature trends explained is 0.69 and 0.17, respectively). In winter, the northeast and southern U.S. cool significantly from the early 1950s to the early 1990s, which I attribute to long-term phase changes in the North Atlantic Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. Rather than being a single phenomenon stemming from a single cause, both the warming hole and its dominant drivers vary by season, region, and time period. Finally, I examine historical and projected future changes in atmospheric stagnation. Stagnation, which is characterized by weak winds and an absence of precipitation, is a meteorological contributor to heat waves, extreme pollution, and drought. Using CM3, I show that regional stagnation trends over the historical period (1860-2005) are driven by changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, rather than rising greenhouse gases. In the northeastern and central United States, aerosol-induced changes in surface and upper level winds produce significant decreases in the number of stagnant summer days, while decreasing precipitation in the southeast US increases the number of stagnant summer days. Outside of the U.S., significant drying over eastern China in response to rising aerosol emissions contributed to increased stagnation during 1860-2005. Additionally, this region was found to be particularly sensitive to changes in local

  13. A case study of the highly time-resolved evolution of aerosol chemical and optical properties in urban Shanghai, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Y. Huang

    2013-04-01

    Full Text Available Characteristics of the chemical and optical properties of aerosols in urban Shanghai and their relationship were studied over a three-day period in October 2011. A suite of real-time instruments, including an Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS, a Monitor for AeRosols and GAses (MARGA, a Cavity Ring Down Spectrometer (CRDS, a nephelometer and a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS, was employed to follow the quick changes of the aerosol properties within the 72 h sampling period. The origin of the air mass arriving in Shanghai during this period shifted from the East China Sea to the northwest area of China, offering a unique opportunity to observe the evolution of aerosols influenced by regional transport from the most polluted areas in China. According to the meteorological conditions and temporal characterizations of the chemical and optical properties, the sampling period was divided into three periods. During Period 1 (00:00–23:00 LT, 13 October, the aerosols in urban Shanghai were mainly fresh and the single scattering albedo varied negatively with the emission of elemental carbon, indicating that local sources dominated. Period 2 (23:00 LT on 13 October to 10:00 LT on 15 October was impacted by regionally transported pollutants and had the highest particulate matter (PM mass loading and the lowest particle acidity, characterized by large fractions of aged particles and high secondary ion (nitrate, sulfate and ammonium mass concentrations. Comparison between ATOFMS particle acidity and quantitative particle acidity by MARGA indicated the significance of semi-quantitative calculation in ATOFMS. Two sub-periods were identified in Period 2 based on the scattering efficiency of PM1 mass. Period 3 (from 10:00 LT on 15 October to 00:00 LT on 16 October had a low PM1/PM10 ratio and a new particle formation event. The comparison of these sub-periods highlights the influence of particle mixing state on aerosol optical properties

  14. Aerosol meteorology of Maritime Continent for the 2012 7SEAS southwest monsoon intensive study - Part 2: Philippine receptor observations of fine-scale aerosol behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Jeffrey S.; Lagrosas, Nofel D.; Jonsson, Haflidi H.; Reid, Elizabeth A.; Atwood, Samuel A.; Boyd, Thomas J.; Ghate, Virendra P.; Xian, Peng; Posselt, Derek J.; Simpas, James B.; Uy, Sherdon N.; Zaiger, Kimo; Blake, Donald R.; Bucholtz, Anthony; Campbell, James R.; Chew, Boon Ning; Cliff, Steven S.; Holben, Brent N.; Holz, Robert E.; Hyer, Edward J.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Kuciauskas, Arunas P.; Lolli, Simone; Oo, Min; Perry, Kevin D.; Salinas, Santo V.; Sessions, Walter R.; Smirnov, Alexander; Walker, Annette L.; Wang, Qing; Yu, Liya; Zhang, Jianglong; Zhao, Yongjing

    2016-11-01

    The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC) occurred in the August-September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the M/Y Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM) monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC), and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS) and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 3-12 h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite and very difficult to model

  15. Aerosol Meteorology of Maritime Continent for the 2012 7SEAS Southwest Monsoon Intensive Study - Part 2: Philippine Receptor Observations of Fine-Scale Aerosol Behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reid, Jeffrey S.; Lagrosas, Nofel D.; Jonsson, Haflidi H.; Reid, Elizabeth A.; Atwood, Samuel A.; Boyd, Thomas J.; Ghate, Virendra P.; Xian, Peng; Posselt, Derek J.; Simpas, James B.; hide

    2016-01-01

    The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC) occurred in the August-September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the MY Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM) monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC), and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS) and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 312h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite and very difficult to model

  16. Aerosol chemistry and the effect of aerosol water content on visibility impairment and radiative forcing in Guangzhou during the 2006 Pearl River Delta campaign.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Jinsang; Lee, Hanlim; Kim, Young J; Liu, Xingang; Zhang, Yuanhang; Gu, Jianwei; Fan, Shaojia

    2009-08-01

    Optical and chemical aerosol measurements were obtained from 2 to 31 July 2006 at an urban site in the metropolitan area of Guangzhou (China) as part of the Program of Regional Integrated Experiment of Air Quality over Pearl River Delta (PRIDE-PRD2006) to investigate aerosol chemistry and the effect of aerosol water content on visibility impairment and radiative forcing. During the PRIDE-PRD2006 campaign, the average contributions of ammonium sulfate, organic mass by carbon (OMC), elemental carbon (EC), and sea salt (SS) to total PM(2.5) mass were measured to be 36.5%, 5.7%, 27.1%, 7.8%, and 3.7%, respectively. Compared with the clean marine period, (NH(4))(2)SO(4), NH(4)NO(3), and OMC were all greatly enhanced (by up to 430%) during local haze periods via the accumulation of a secondary aerosol component. The OMC dominance increased when high levels of biomass burning influenced the measurement site while (NH(4))(2)SO(4) and OMC did when both biomass burning and industrial emissions influenced it. The effect of aerosol water content on the total light-extinction coefficient was estimated to be 34.2%, of which 25.8% was due to aerosol water in (NH(4))(2)SO(4), 5.1% that in NH(4)NO(3), and 3.3% that in SS. The average mass-scattering efficiency (MSE) of PM(10) particles was determined to be 2.2+/-0.6 and 4.6+/-1.7m(2)g(-1) under dry (RHwater content, but MSE and SSA are also highly sensitive. It can be concluded that sulfate and carbonaceous aerosol, as well as aerosol water content, play important roles in the processes that determine visibility impairment and radiative forcing in the ambient atmosphere of the Guangzhou urban area.

  17. Size Resolved Measurements of Springtime Aerosol Particles over the Northern South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atwood, Samuel A.; Reid, Jeffrey S.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Cliff, Stephen S.; Zhao, Yongjing; Lin, Neng-Huei; Tsay, Si-Chee; Chu, Yu-Chi; Westphal, Douglas L.

    2012-01-01

    Large sources of aerosol particles and their precursors are ubiquitous in East Asia. Such sources are known to impact the South China Sea (henceforth SCS), a sometimes heavily polluted region that has been suggested as particularly vulnerable to climate change. To help elucidate springtime aerosol transport into the SCS, an intensive study was performed on the remote Dongsha (aka Pratas) Islands Atoll in spring 2010. As part of this deployment, a Davis Rotating-drum Uniform size-cut Monitor (DRUM) cascade impactor was deployed to collect size-resolved aerosol samples at the surface that were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence for concentrations of selected elements. HYSPLIT backtrajectories indicated that the transport of aerosol observed at the surface at Dongsha was occurring primarily from regions generally to the north and east. This observation was consistent with the apparent persistence of pollution and dust aerosol, along with sea salt, in the ground-based dataset. In contrast to the sea-level observations, modeled aerosol transport suggested that the westerly flow aloft (w700 hPa) transported smoke-laden air toward the site from regions from the south and west. Measured aerosol optical depth at the site was highest during time periods of modeled heavy smoke loadings aloft. These periods did not coincide with elevated aerosol concentrations at the surface, although the model suggested sporadic mixing of this free-tropospheric aerosol to the surface over the SCS. A biomass burning signature was not clearly identified in the surface aerosol composition data, consistent with this aerosol type remaining primarily aloft and not mixing strongly to the surface during the study. Significant vertical wind shear in the region also supports the idea that different source regions lead to varying aerosol impacts in different vertical layers, and suggests the potential for considerable vertical inhomogeneity in the SCS aerosol environment.

  18. Calibration of aerosol radiometers. Special aerosol sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belkina, S.K.; Zalmanzon, Yu.E.; Kuznetsov, Yu.V.; Fertman, D.E.

    1988-01-01

    Problems of calibration of artificial aerosol radiometry and information-measurement systems of radiometer radiation control, in particular, are considered. Special aerosol source is suggested, which permits to perform certification and testing of aerosol channels of the systems in situ without the dismantling

  19. Code Development of Radioactive Aerosol Scrubbing in Pool-Injection Zone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jo, Hyun Joung; Ha, Kwang Soon [Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Dong Soon [Chungnam National University, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-10-15

    The pool scrubbing models were reviewed and an aerosol scrubbing code has been prepared to calculate decontamination factor through the injection zone. The developed code has been verified using the experimental results and evaluated parametrically on the input variables. In injection zone, the initial steam condensation was most effective mechanism for the aerosol removal, and the steam fraction and pool temperature were highly affected on the decontamination factor by initial steam condensation. The aerosol scrubbing code will be updated to evaluate the decontamination factor at rise zone and finally whole pool scrubber phenomena. If a severe accident occurs in a nuclear power plant (NPP), the aerosol and gaseous fission products might be produced in the reactor vessel, and then released to the environment after the containment failure. FCVS (Filtered Containment Venting System) is one of the severe accident mitigation systems for retaining the containment integrity by discharging the high-temperature and high-pressure fission products to the environment after passing through the filtration system. In general, the FCVS is categorized into two types, wet and dry types. The scrubbing pool could play an important role in the wet type FCVS because a large amount of aerosol is captured in the water pool. The pool scrubbing phenomena have been modelled and embedded in several computer codes, such as SPARC (Suppression Pool Aerosol Removal Code), BUSCA (BUbble Scrubbing Algorithm) and SUPRA (Suppression Pool Retention Analysis). These codes aim at simulating the pool scrubbing process and estimating the decontamination factors (DFs) of the radioactive aerosol and iodine gas in the water pool, which is defined as the ratio of initial mass of the specific radioactive material to final massy after passing through the water pool. The pool scrubbing models were reviewed and an aerosol scrubbing code has been prepared to calculate decontamination factor through the injection

  20. Characterization of Sodium Spray Aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nelson, C. T.; Koontz, R. L.; Silberberg, M. [Atomics International, North American Rockwell Corporation, Canoga Park, CA (United States)

    1968-12-15

    The consequences of pool and spray fires require evaluation in the safety analysis of liquid metal-cooled fast breeder reactors. Sodium spray fires are characterized by high temperature and pressure, produced during the rapid combustion of sodium in air. Following the initial energy release, some fraction of the reaction products are available as aerosols which follow the normal laws of agglomeration, growth, settling, and plating. An experimental study is underway at Atomics International to study the characteristics of high concentration sprays of liquid sodium in reduced oxygen atmospheres and in air. The experiments are conducted in a 31.5 ft{sup 3} (2 ft diam. by 10 ft high) vessel, certified for a pressure of 100 lb/in{sup 2} (gauge). The spray injection apparatus consists of a heated sodium supply pot and a spray nozzle through which liquid sodium is driven by nitrogen pressure. Spray rate and droplet size can be varied by the injection velocity (nozzle size, nitrogen pressure, and sodium temperature). Aerosols produced in 0, 4, and 10 vol. % oxygen environments have been studied. The concentration and particle size distribution of the material remaining in the air after the spray injection and reaction period are measured. Fallout rates are found to be proportional to the concentration of aerosol which remains airborne following the spray period. (author)

  1. Model representations of aerosol layers transported from North America over the Atlantic Ocean during the Two-Column Aerosol Project

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fast, Jerome D.; Berg, Larry K.; Zhang, Kai; Easter, Richard C.; Ferrare, Richard A.; Hair, John; Hostetler, Chris A.; Liu, Ying; Ortega, Ivan; Sedlacek, Art; Shilling, John E.; Shrivastava, ManishKumar B.; Springston, Stephen R.; Tomlinson, Jason M.; Volkamer, Rainer M.; Wilson, Jacqueline M.; Zaveri, Rahul A.; Zelenyuk-Imre, Alla

    2016-08-22

    The ability of the Weather Research and Forecasting model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) version 3.7 and the Community Atmosphere Model version 5.3 (CAM5) in simulating profiles of aerosol properties is quantified using extensive in situ and remote sensing measurements from the Two Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) conducted during July of 2012. TCAP was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program and was designed to obtain observations within two atmospheric columns; one fixed over Cape Cod, Massachusetts and the other several hundred kilometers over the ocean. The performance is quantified using most of the available aircraft and surface measurements during July, and two days are examined in more detail to identify the processes responsible for the observed aerosol layers. The higher resolution WRF-Chem model produced more aerosol mass in the free troposphere than the coarser resolution CAM5 model so that the fraction of aerosol optical thickness above the residual layer from WRF-Chem was more consistent with lidar measurements. We found that the free troposphere layers are likely due to mean vertical motions associated with synoptic-scale convergence that lifts aerosols from the boundary layer. The vertical displacement and the time period associated with upward transport in the troposphere depend on the strength of the synoptic system and whether relatively high boundary layer aerosol concentrations are present where convergence occurs. While a parameterization of subgrid scale convective clouds applied in WRF-Chem modulated the concentrations of aerosols aloft, it did not significantly change the overall altitude and depth of the layers.

  2. Investigations on the chemical composition of the organic fraction of tropospheric aerosols. Final report; Untersuchungen zur chemischen Zusammensetzung der organischen Komponente des troposphaerischen Aerosols. AFS-Abschlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hoffmann, T.; Warscheid, B.

    2000-07-01

    Although the knowledge about the significance of airborne particulate matter for the radiation balance of the atmosphere has increased during the last few years, several important aerosol formation mechanisms are still poorly understood. This is especially true for aerosols which are formed from volatile organic precursors from natural or anthropogenic sources (secondary organic aerosols). Therefore, the research project aimed on the development of a mass spectrometric real-time technique for the qualitative and quantitative investigations of the chemical composition of secondary organic aerosols, especially from the ozonolysis of monoterpenes (e.g. {alpha}-pinene, {beta}-pinene, sabinene, {delta}{sup 3}-carene, limonene). Using a modified atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation source (APCI), the formation of gas and particle phase products could be observed with a time resolution of about 1 second. The detection limit of the developed technique is about 100 ppt(v/v) in the positive ion mode. Based on the development of standard addition techniques, selected products were quantified in the gas and particle phase. Using isotopically labelled water also certain underlying reaction mechanisms were investigated. Another part of the project focused on the identification of low volatile reaction products by MS/MS-studies. These studies showed that the particle phase is mainly composed of several multifunctional carboxylic acids (dicarboxylic acids, oxo-carboxylic acids, hydroxy-carboxylic acids etc.). Finally, the APCI-studies gave robust evidences on the presence of strong intermolecular interactions between the different products. Since the experiments also showed a correlation between the intensity of product interactions (adduct formation) by hydrogen-bonding and new particle formation potential, the results of the project can be considered to provide an important contribution for an better understanding of nucleation events above forested areas. (orig.) [German

  3. Airborne Atmospheric Aerosol Measurement System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahn, K.; Park, Y.; Eun, H.; Lee, H.

    2015-12-01

    It is important to understand the atmospheric aerosols compositions and size distributions since they greatly affect the environment and human health. Particles in the convection layer have been a great concern in global climate changes. To understand these characteristics satellite, aircraft, and radio sonde measurement methods have usually been used. An aircraft aerosol sampling using a filter and/or impactor was the method commonly used (Jay, 2003). However, the flight speed particle sampling had some technical limitations (Hermann, 2001). Moreover, the flight legal limit, altitude, prohibited airspace, flight time, and cost was another demerit. To overcome some of these restrictions, Tethered Balloon Package System (T.B.P.S.) and Recoverable Sonde System(R.S.S.) were developed with a very light optical particle counter (OPC), impactor, and condensation particle counter (CPC). Not only does it collect and measure atmospheric aerosols depending on altitudes, but it also monitors the atmospheric conditions, temperature, humidity, wind velocity, pressure, GPS data, during the measurement (Eun, 2013). In this research, atmospheric aerosol measurement using T.B.P.S. in Ansan area is performed and the measurement results will be presented. The system can also be mounted to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and create an aerial particle concentration map. Finally, we will present measurement data using Tethered Balloon Package System (T.B.P.S.) and R.S.S (Recoverable Sonde System).

  4. Nuclear analytical techniques applied to characterization of atmospheric aerosols in Amazon Region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gerab, Fabio; Artaxo, Paulo

    1996-01-01

    This work presents the atmospheric aerosols characterization that exist in different regions of Amazon basin. The biogenic aerosol emission by forest, as well as the atmospheric emissions of particulate materials due to biomass burning, were analyzed. Samples of aerosol particles were collected during three years in two different locations of Amazon region using Stacked Unit Filters. In order to study these samples some analytical nuclear techniques were used. The high concentrations of aerosols as a result of biomass burning process were observed in the period of june-september

  5. Aerosol meteorology of Maritime Continent for the 2012 7SEAS southwest monsoon intensive study – Part 2: Philippine receptor observations of fine-scale aerosol behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. S. Reid

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC occurred in the August–September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the M/Y Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC, and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 3–12 h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite and

  6. Aerosol meteorology of Maritime Continent for the 2012 7SEAS southwest monsoon intensive study – Part 2: Philippine receptor observations of fine-scale aerosol behavior

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reid, Jeffrey S.; Lagrosas, Nofel D.; Jonsson, Haflidi H.; Reid, Elizabeth A.; Atwood, Samuel A.; Boyd, Thomas J.; Ghate, Virendra P.; Xian, Peng; Posselt, Derek J.; Simpas, James B.; Uy, Sherdon N.; Zaiger, Kimo; Blake, Donald R.; Bucholtz, Anthony; Campbell, James R.; Chew, Boon Ning; Cliff, Steven S.; Holben, Brent N.; Holz, Robert E.; Hyer, Edward J.; Kreidenweis, Sonia M.; Kuciauskas, Arunas P.; Lolli, Simone; Oo, Min; Perry, Kevin D.; Salinas, Santo V.; Sessions, Walter R.; Smirnov, Alexander; Walker, Annette L.; Wang, Qing; Yu, Liya; Zhang, Jianglong; Zhao, Yongjing

    2016-01-01

    The largest 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7SEAS) operations period within the Maritime Continent (MC) occurred in the August–September 2012 biomass burning season. Data included were observations aboard the M/Y Vasco, dispatched to the Palawan Archipelago and Sulu Sea of the Philippines for September 2012. At these locations, the Vasco observed MC smoke and pollution entering the southwest monsoon (SWM) monsoonal trough. Here we describe the research cruise findings and the finer-scale aerosol meteorology of this convectively active region. This 2012 cruise complemented a 2-week cruise in 2011 and was generally consistent with previous findings in terms of how smoke emission and transport related to monsoonal flows, tropical cyclones (TC), and the covariance between smoke transport events and the atmosphere's thermodynamic structure. Biomass burning plumes were usually mixed with significant amounts of anthropogenic pollution. Also key to aerosol behavior were squall lines and cold pools propagating across the South China Sea (SCS) and scavenging aerosol particles in their path. However, the 2012 cruise showed much higher modulation in aerosol frequency than its 2011 counterpart. Whereas in 2011 large synoptic-scale aerosol events transported high concentrations of smoke into the Philippines over days, in 2012 measured aerosol events exhibited a much shorter-term variation, sometimes only 3$-$12 h. Strong monsoonal flow reversals were also experienced in 2012. Nucleation events in cleaner and polluted conditions, as well as in urban plumes, were observed. Perhaps most interestingly, several cases of squall lines preceding major aerosol events were observed, as opposed to 2011 observations where these lines largely scavenged aerosol particles from the marine boundary layer. Combined, these observations indicate pockets of high and low particle counts that are not uncommon in the region. These perturbations are difficult to observe by satellite

  7. Carbonaceous Aerosol Characterization during 2016 KOR-US 2016

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, B.; Santos, G. M.; Sanchez, D.; Jeong, D.; Czimczik, C. I.; Kim, S.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric carbonaceous aerosols are a major component of fine particulate matter and assume important roles in Earth's climate and human health. Because atmospheric carbonaceous aerosols exist as a continuum ranging from small, light-scattering organic carbon (OC), to highly-condensed, light-absorbing elemental carbon (EC) they have contrasting effects on interaction with incoming and outgoing radiation, cloud formation, and snow/ice albedo. By strengthening our understanding of the relative contribution and sources of OC and EC we will be able to further describe aerosol formation and mixing at the regional level. To understand the relative anthropogenic and biogenic contributions to carbonaceous aerosol, 12 PM10 aerosols samples were collected on quartz fiber filters at the Mt. Taewha Research Forest in South Korea during the KORUS-AQ 2016 campaign over periods of 24-48 hours with a high-volume air sampler. Analysis of bulk C and N concentrations and absorption properties of filter extracts interspersed with HYSPLIT model results indicated that continental outflow across the Yellow Sea in enriched in bulk nitrogen loading and enhanced bulk absorptive properties of the aerosols. Bulk radiocarbon analysis also indicated enriched values in all samples indicating contamination from a nuclear power plant or the combustion of biomedical waste nearby. Here, we aim to investigate further the chemical characterization of VOCs adsorbed unto the aerosol through TD-GC-TOFMS. With this dataset we aim to determine the relative contribution of anthropogenic and biogenic aerosols by utilizing specific chemical tracers for source apportionment.

  8. Climatic Effects of 1950-2050 Changes in US Anthropogenic Aerosols. Part 1; Aerosol Trends and Radiative Forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leibensperger, E. M.; Mickley, L. J.; Jacob, D. J.; Chen, W.-T.; Seinfeld, J. H.; Nenes, A.; Adams, P. J.; Streets, D. G.; Kumar, N.; Rind, D.

    2012-01-01

    We calculate decadal aerosol direct and indirect (warm cloud) radiative forcings from US anthropogenic sources over the 1950-2050 period. Past and future aerosol distributions are constructed using GEOS-Chem and historical emission inventories and future projections from the IPCC A1B scenario. Aerosol simulations are evaluated with observed spatial distributions and 1980-2010 trends of aerosol concentrations and wet deposition in the contiguous US. Direct and indirect radiative forcing is calculated using the GISS general circulation model and monthly mean aerosol distributions from GEOS-Chem. The radiative forcing from US anthropogenic aerosols is strongly localized over the eastern US. We find that its magnitude peaked in 1970-1990, with values over the eastern US (east of 100 deg W) of -2.0Wm(exp-2 for direct forcing including contributions from sulfate (-2.0Wm-2), nitrate (-0.2Wm(exp-2), organic carbon (-0.2Wm(exp-2), and black carbon (+0.4Wm(exp-2). The uncertainties in radiative forcing due to aerosol radiative properties are estimated to be about 50 %. The aerosol indirect effect is estimated to be of comparable magnitude to the direct forcing. We find that the magnitude of the forcing declined sharply from 1990 to 2010 (by 0.8Wm(exp-2) direct and 1.0Wm(exp-2 indirect), mainly reflecting decreases in SO2 emissions, and project that it will continue declining post-2010 but at a much slower rate since US SO2 emissions have already declined by almost 60% from their peak. This suggests that much of the warming effect of reducing US anthropogenic aerosol sources has already been realized. The small positive radiative forcing from US BC emissions (+0.3Wm(exp-2 over the eastern US in 2010; 5% of the global forcing from anthropogenic BC emissions worldwide) suggests that a US emission control strategy focused on BC would have only limited climate benefit.

  9. Final Report: Safety of Plasma Components and Aerosol Transport During Hard Disruptions and Accidental Energy Release in Fusion Reactor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bourham, Mohamed A.; Gilligan, John G.

    1999-08-14

    Safety considerations in large future fusion reactors like ITER are important before licensing the reactor. Several scenarios are considered hazardous, which include safety of plasma-facing components during hard disruptions, high heat fluxes and thermal stresses during normal operation, accidental energy release, and aerosol formation and transport. Disruption events, in large tokamaks like ITER, are expected to produce local heat fluxes on plasma-facing components, which may exceed 100 GW/m{sup 2} over a period of about 0.1 ms. As a result, the surface temperature dramatically increases, which results in surface melting and vaporization, and produces thermal stresses and surface erosion. Plasma-facing components safety issues extends to cover a wide range of possible scenarios, including disruption severity and the impact of plasma-facing components on disruption parameters, accidental energy release and short/long term LOCA's, and formation of airborne particles by convective current transport during a LOVA (water/air ingress disruption) accident scenario. Study, and evaluation of, disruption-induced aerosol generation and mobilization is essential to characterize database on particulate formation and distribution for large future fusion tokamak reactor like ITER. In order to provide database relevant to ITER, the SIRENS electrothermal plasma facility at NCSU has been modified to closely simulate heat fluxes expected in ITER.

  10. Climatological aspects of aerosol physical characteristics in Tunisia deduced from sun photometric measurements.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaâbane, Mabrouk; Azri, Chafai; Medhioub, Khaled

    2012-01-01

    Atmospheric and climatic data measured at Thala site (Tunisia) for a long-time period (1977-2001) are used to analyse the monthly, seasonal, and annual variations of the aerosol optical depth at 1 μm wavelength. We have shown that aerosol and microphysical properties and the dominating aerosol types depend on seasons. A comparison of the seasonal cycle of aerosol optical characteristics at Thala site showed that the contribution of long-range transported particles is expected to be larger in summer as a consequence of the weather stability typical of this season. Also, the winter decrease in atmospheric turbidity may result from increases in relative humidity and decreases in temperature, leading to increased particle size and mass and increased fall and deposition velocities. The spring and autumn weather patterns usually carry fine dust and sand particles for the desert area to Thala region. The annual behaviour of the aerosol optical depth recorded a period of stead increase started in 1986 until 2001. Trends in atmospheric turbidity after 1988 could be explained other ways by the contribution of the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 and by local or regional changes in climate or in aerosol emissions.

  11. Optical, microphysical and radiative properties of aerosols over a tropical rural site in Kenya, East Africa: Source identification, modification and aerosol type discrimination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boiyo, Richard; Kumar, K. Raghavendra; Zhao, Tianliang

    2018-03-01

    A better understanding of aerosol optical, microphysical and radiative properties is a crucial challenge for climate change studies. In the present study, column-integrated aerosol optical and radiative properties observed at a rural site, Mbita (0.42°S, 34.20 °E, and 1125 m above sea level) located in Kenya, East Africa (EA) are investigated using ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data retrieved during January, 2007 to December, 2015. The annual mean aerosol optical depth (AOD500 nm), Ångström exponent (AE440-870 nm), fine mode fraction of AOD500 nm (FMF500 nm), and columnar water vapor (CWV, cm) were found to be 0.23 ± 0.08, 1.01 ± 0.16, 0.60 ± 0.07, and 2.72 ± 0.20, respectively. The aerosol optical properties exhibited a unimodal distribution with substantial seasonal heterogeneity in their peak values being low (high) during the local wet (dry) seasons. The observed data showed that Mbita and its environs are significantly influenced by various types of aerosols, with biomass burning and/or urban-industrial (BUI), mixed (MXD), and desert dust (DDT) aerosol types contributing to 37.72%, 32.81%, and 1.40%, respectively during the local dry season (JJA). The aerosol volume size distribution (VSD) exhibited bimodal lognormal structure with a geometric mean radius of 0.15 μm and 3.86-5.06 μm for fine- and coarse-mode aerosols, respectively. Further, analysis of single scattering albedo (SSA), asymmetry parameter (ASY) and refractive index (RI) revealed dominance of fine-mode absorbing aerosols during JJA. The averaged aerosol direct radiative forcing (ARF) retrieved from the AERONET showed a strong cooling effect at the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA) and significant warming within the atmosphere (ATM), representing the important role of aerosols played in this rural site of Kenya. Finally, the Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model revealed that aerosols from distinct sources resulted in enhanced loading

  12. Aerosol nucleation and growth and their coupling to thermal hydraulics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clement, C.F.

    1985-01-01

    We examine the physical processes leading to vapour condensation as an aerosol in the formation and cooling of vapour-gas mixtures. Requirements for mathematical, computer and experimental modelling are discussed in relation to nuclear aerosols. In the absence of sudden pressure drops we give a complete schematic set of equations which govern the motion of aerosol, vapour, gas and heat including radiation. The coupling to the aerosol equation is mainly through the droplet growth rate, R, and a nucleation term whose possible forms are described. Rapid equilibration between vapour and aerosol means that the likely heterogeneous nucleation term must be treated separately. General forms are given for the coupling terms in the equations for vapour concentration and temperature in terms of the local mass transfer rate to the aerosol. The properties of this quantity are shown clearly by an expression for it obtained in terms of Lewis and condensation numbers and the quantify, zeta, whose derivative gives the local total heat transfer rate. Sizes of these numbers are given for some relevant vapour-gas mixtures. Throughout the paper we give the physical requirements necessary to make the transitions to the more calculable cases of uniform or well-mixed aerosols, and finally we discuss the case of initially unsaturated vapour-gas mixtures. (orig.)

  13. HALIPP. Photocatalysis of tropospheric chemistry by sea salt. Final report; HALIPP. Photokatalyse der Luftchemie durch Seesalz-Aerosole. Abschlussbericht

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zetzsch, C; Scheer, V; Krueger, H U; Behnke, W

    1994-12-31

    The reactions of gaseous NO{sub 2} and N{sub 2}O{sub 5} with humidified NaCl-aerosol and humidified mixed NaCl/NaNO{sub 3}- and NaCl/Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4} -aerosols and of gaseous O{sub 3} with humidified sea-salt aerosol were investigated. An upper limit of <10{sup 4} was estimated for the uptake coefficient of NO{sub 2} from our measurements, the uptake coefficient of N{sub 2}O{sub 5} was determined to be 0.032{+-}0.003 (stated error: {+-}2{sigma}). Instead of NOCl reported as a product from NaCl in the literature, HONO is formed from the reaction of NO{sub 2} with deliquescent NaCl aerosol. Gaseaous N{sub 2}O{sub 5} is converted to gaseous CINO{sub 2} below relative humidities of 94%. Only at much higher humidities the formation of 2 HNO{sub 3} increases. No precursors of atomic Cl are observed to be formed from gaseous ozone and pure NaCl-aerosol. Only in the presence of seal-salt aerosols a formation of Cl{sub 2} is found (although not yet quantified). (orig.) [Deutsch] Es wurde die Reaktion von gasfoermigem NO{sub 2} und N{sub 2}O{sub 5} mit feuchtem NaCl- und gemischtem NaCl/NaNO{sub 3}- und NaCl/Na{sub 2}SO{sub 4}- Aerosol sowie von gasfoermigem O{sub 3} mit feuchtem Seesalzaerosol untersucht. Der Uptake-Koeffizient von NO{sub 2} wurde mit kleiner 10{sup -4} abgeschaetzt, der von N{sub 2}O{sub 5} mit 0.032{+-}0.003 (2{sigma}-Fehler) bestimmt. In Gegenwart von NO{sub 2} bildet sich anstelle des in der Literatur angegebenen NOCl gasfoermigs HONO und in Gegenwart von N{sub 2}O{sub 5} unterhalb einer relativen Feuchte von 94% hauptsaechlich gasfoermiges ClNO{sub 2}. Erst in Gegenwart wesentlich hoeherer Feuchten nimmt die Bildung von 2HNO{sub 3} zu. In Gegenwart von Ozon und reinem NaCl-Aerosol bilden sich keine Chloratomvorlaeufer. Erst in Gegenwart von Seesalzaerosolen kommt es zur Bildung von Cl{sub 2}. Eine Quantifizierung dieser letzteren Ergebnisse wurde noch nicht durchgefuehrt. (orig.)

  14. Physical metrology of aerosols; Metrologie physique des aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Boulaud, D.; Vendel, J. [CEA Saclay, 91 - Gif-sur-Yvette (France). Inst. de Protection et de Surete Nucleaire

    1996-12-31

    The various detection and measuring methods for aerosols are presented, and their selection is related to aerosol characteristics (size range, concentration or mass range), thermo-hydraulic conditions (carrier fluid temperature, pressure and flow rate) and to the measuring system conditions (measuring frequency, data collection speed, cost...). Methods based on aerosol dynamic properties (inertial, diffusional and electrical methods) and aerosol optical properties (localized and integral methods) are described and their performances and applications are compared

  15. Background aerosol over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau: observed characteristics of aerosol mass loading

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Bin; Cong, Zhiyuan; Wang, Yuesi; Xin, Jinyuan; Wan, Xin; Pan, Yuepeng; Liu, Zirui; Wang, Yonghong; Zhang, Guoshuai; Wang, Zhongyan; Wang, Yongjie; Kang, Shichang

    2017-01-01

    To investigate the atmospheric aerosols of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau (HTP), an observation network was established within the region's various ecosystems, including at the Ngari, Qomolangma (QOMS), Nam Co, and Southeastern Tibetan (SET) stations. In this paper we illustrate aerosol mass loadings by integrating in situ measurements with satellite and ground-based remote sensing datasets for the 2011-2013 period, on both local and large scales. Mass concentrations of these surface atmospheric aerosols were relatively low and varied with land cover, showing a general tendency of Ngari and QOMS (barren sites) > Nam Co (grassland site) > SET (forest site). Daily averages of online PM2.5 (particulates with aerodynamic diameters below 2.5 µm) at these sites were sequentially 18.2 ± 8.9, 14.5 ± 7.4, 11.9 ± 4.9 and 11.7 ± 4.7 µg m-3. Correspondingly, the ratios of PM2.5 to total suspended particles (TSP) were 27.4 ± 6.65, 22.3 ± 10.9, 37.3 ± 11.1 and 54.4 ± 6.72 %. Bimodal mass distributions of size-segregated particles were found at all sites, with a relatively small peak in accumulation mode and a more notable peak in coarse mode. Diurnal variations in fine-aerosol masses generally displayed a bi-peak pattern at the QOMS, Nam Co and SET stations and a single-peak pattern at the Ngari station, controlled by the effects of local geomorphology, mountain-valley breeze circulation and aerosol emissions. Dust aerosol content in PM2.1 samples gave fractions of 26 % at the Ngari station and 29 % at the QOMS station, or ˜ 2-3 times that of reported results at human-influenced sites. Furthermore, observed evidence confirmed the existence of the aerodynamic conditions necessary for the uplift of fine particles from a barren land surface. Combining surface aerosol data and atmospheric-column aerosol optical properties, the TSP mass and aerosol optical depth (AOD) of the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) generally decreased as land cover changed from

  16. Exploring Climatology and Long-Term Variations of Aerosols from NASA Reanalysis MERRA-2 with Giovanni

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Suhung; Ostrenga, Dana; Vollmer, Bruce; Li, Zhanqing

    2016-01-01

    Dust plays important roles in energy cycle and climate variations. The dust deposition is the major source of iron in the open ocean, which is an essential micronutrient for phytoplankton growth and therefore may influence the ocean uptake of atmospheric CO2. Mineral dust can also act as fertilizer for forests over long time periods. Over 35 years of simulated global aerosol products from NASA atmospheric reanalysis, second Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications (MERRA-2) are available from NASA Goddard Earth Science Data and Information Services Center (GES DISC). The MERRA-2 covers the period 1980-present, continuing as an ongoing climate analysis. Aerosol assimilation is included throughout the period, using MODIS, MISR, AERONET, and AVHRR (in the pre-EOS period). The aerosols are assimilated by using MERRA-2 aerosol model, which interact directly with the radiation parameterization, and radiatively coupled with atmospheric model dynamics in the Goddard Earth Observing System Model, Version 5 (GEOS-5). Dust deposition data along with other major aerosol compositions (e.g. black carbon, sea salt, and sulfate, etc.) are simulated as dry and wet deposition, respectively. The hourly and monthly data are available at spatial resolution of 0.5ox0.625o (latitude x longitude). Quick data exploration of climatology and interannual variations of MERRA-2 aerosol can be done through the online visualization and analysis tool, Giovanni. This presentation, using dust deposition as an example, demonstrates a number of MERRA-2 data services at GES DISC. Global distributions of dust depositions, and their seasonal and inter-annual variations are investigated from MERRA-2 monthly aerosol products.

  17. Overview of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment/Aerosol Direct Radiative Forcing on the Mediterranean Climate (ChArMEx/ADRIMED summer 2013 campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Mallet

    2016-01-01

    direct forcing, in situ surface and aircraft observations have been merged and used as inputs in 1-D radiative transfer codes for calculating the aerosol direct radiative forcing (DRF. Results show significant surface SW instantaneous forcing (up to −90 W m−2 at noon. Aircraft observations provide also original estimates of the vertical structure of SW and LW radiative heating revealing significant instantaneous values of about 5° K per day in the solar spectrum (for a solar angle of 30° within the dust layer. Associated 3-D modeling studies from regional climate (RCM and chemistry transport (CTM models indicate a relatively good agreement for simulated AOD compared with observations from the AERONET/PHOTONS network and satellite data, especially for long-range dust transport. Calculations of the 3-D SW (clear-sky surface DRF indicate an average of about −10 to −20 W m−2 (for the whole period over the Mediterranean Sea together with maxima (−50 W m−2 over northern Africa. The top of the atmosphere (TOA DRF is shown to be highly variable within the domain, due to moderate absorbing properties of dust and changes in the surface albedo. Indeed, 3-D simulations indicate negative forcing over the Mediterranean Sea and Europe and positive forcing over northern Africa. Finally, a multi-year simulation, performed for the 2003 to 2009 period and including an ocean–atmosphere (O–A coupling, underlines the impact of the aerosol direct radiative forcing on the sea surface temperature, O–A fluxes and the hydrological cycle over the Mediterranean.

  18. Aerosols, clouds, and precipitation in the North Atlantic trades observed during the Barbados aerosol cloud experiment – Part 1: Distributions and variability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Jung

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Shallow marine cumulus clouds are by far the most frequently observed cloud type over the Earth's oceans; but they are poorly understood and have not been investigated as extensively as stratocumulus clouds. This study describes and discusses the properties and variations of aerosol, cloud, and precipitation associated with shallow marine cumulus clouds observed in the North Atlantic trades during a field campaign (Barbados Aerosol Cloud Experiment- BACEX, March–April 2010, which took place off Barbados where African dust periodically affects the region. The principal observing platform was the Center for Interdisciplinary Remotely Piloted Aircraft Studies (CIRPAS Twin Otter (TO research aircraft, which was equipped with standard meteorological instruments, a zenith pointing cloud radar and probes that measured aerosol, cloud, and precipitation characteristics.The temporal variation and vertical distribution of aerosols observed from the 15 flights, which included the most intense African dust event during all of 2010 in Barbados, showed a wide range of aerosol conditions. During dusty periods, aerosol concentrations increased substantially in the size range between 0.5 and 10 µm (diameter, particles that are large enough to be effective giant cloud condensation nuclei (CCN. The 10-day back trajectories showed three distinct air masses with distinct vertical structures associated with air masses originating in the Atlantic (typical maritime air mass with relatively low aerosol concentrations in the marine boundary layer, Africa (Saharan air layer, and mid-latitudes (continental pollution plumes. Despite the large differences in the total mass loading and the origin of the aerosols, the overall shapes of the aerosol particle size distributions were consistent, with the exception of the transition period.The TO was able to sample many clouds at various phases of growth. Maximum cloud depth observed was less than ∼ 3 km, while most

  19. Field Trial of an Aerosol-Based Enclosure Sealing Technology

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Harrington, Curtis [Univ. of California, Davis, CA (United States); Springer, David [Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI), Davis, CA (United States)

    2015-09-01

    This report presents the results from several demonstrations of a new method for sealing building envelope air leaks using an aerosol sealing process developed by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis. The process involves pressurizing a building while applying an aerosol sealant to the interior. As air escapes through leaks in the building envelope, the aerosol particles are transported to the leaks where they collect and form a seal that blocks the leak. Standard blower door technology is used to facilitate the building pressurization, which allows the installer to track the sealing progress during the installation and automatically verify the final building tightness. Each aerosol envelope sealing installation was performed after drywall was installed and taped, and the process did not appear to interrupt the construction schedule or interfere with other trades working in the homes. The labor needed to physically seal bulk air leaks in typical construction will not be replaced by this technology.

  20. Evaluating MODIS Collection 6 Dark Target Over Water Aerosol Products for Multi-sensor Data Fusion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Y.; Zhang, J.; Reid, J. S.; Hyer, E. J.; McHardy, T. M.; Lee, L.

    2014-12-01

    The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aerosol products have been widely used in aerosol related climate, visibility, and air quality studies for more than a decade. Recently, the MODIS collection 6 (c6) aerosol products from MODIS-Aqua have been released. The reported changes between Collection 5 and Collection 6 include updates in the retrieving algorithms and a new cloud filtering process for the over-ocean products. Thus it is necessary to fully evaluate the collection 6 products for applications that require high quality MODIS aerosol optical depth data, such as operational aerosol data assimilation. The uncertainties in the MODIS c6 DT over ocean products are studied through both inter-comparing with the Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) aerosol products and by evaluation against ground truth. Special attention is given to the low bias in MODIS DT products due to the misclassifications of heavy aerosol plumes as clouds. Finally, a quality assured data assimilation grade aerosol optical product is constructed for aerosol data assimilation related applications.

  1. The Effect of Aerosol Hygroscopicity and Volatility on Aerosol Optical Properties During Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khlystov, A.; Grieshop, A. P.; Saha, P.; Subramanian, R.

    2014-12-01

    Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from biogenic sources can influence optical properties of ambient aerosol by altering its hygroscopicity and contributing to light absorption directly via formation of brown carbon and indirectly by enhancing light absorption by black carbon ("lensing effect"). The magnitude of these effects remains highly uncertain. A set of state-of-the-art instruments was deployed at the SEARCH site near Centerville, AL during the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) campaign in summer 2013 to measure the effect of relative humidity and temperature on aerosol size distribution, composition and optical properties. Light scattering and absorption by temperature- and humidity-conditioned aerosols was measured using three photo-acoustic extinctiometers (PAX) at three wavelengths (405 nm, 532 nm, and 870 nm). The sample-conditioning system provided measurements at ambient RH, 10%RH ("dry"), 85%RH ("wet"), and 200 C ("TD"). In parallel to these measurements, a long residence time temperature-stepping thermodenuder (TD) and a variable residence time constant temperature TD in combination with three SMPS systems and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) were used to assess aerosol volatility and kinetics of aerosol evaporation. We will present results of the on-going analysis of the collected data set. We will show that both temperature and relative humidity have a strong effect on aerosol optical properties. SOA appears to increase aerosol light absorption by about 10%. TD measurements suggest that aerosol equilibrated fairly quickly, within 2 s. Evaporation varied substantially with ambient aerosol loading and composition and meteorology.

  2. SAGE II Measurements of Stratospheric Aerosol Properties at Non-Volcanic Levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomason, Larry W.; Burton, Sharon P.; Luo, Bei-Ping; Peter, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    Since 2000, stratospheric aerosol levels have been relatively stable and at the lowest levels observed in the historical record. Given the challenges of making satellite measurements of aerosol properties at these levels, we have performed a study of the sensitivity of the product to the major components of the processing algorithm used in the production of SAGE II aerosol extinction measurements and the retrieval process that produces the operational surface area density (SAD) product. We find that the aerosol extinction measurements, particularly at 1020 nm, remain robust and reliable at the observed aerosol levels. On the other hand, during background periods, the SAD operational product has an uncertainty of at least a factor of 2 during due to the lack of sensitivity to particles with radii less than 100 nm.

  3. Aerosol optical properties and precipitable water vapor column in the atmosphere of Norway.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muyimbwa, Dennis; Frette, Øyvind; Stamnes, Jakob J; Ssenyonga, Taddeo; Chen, Yi-Chun; Hamre, Børge

    2015-02-20

    Between February 2012 and April 2014, we measured and analyzed direct solar radiances at a ground-based station in Bergen, Norway. We discovered that the spectral aerosol optical thickness (AOT) and precipitable water vapor column (PWVC) retrieved from these measurements have a seasonal variation with highest values in summer and lowest values in winter. The highest value of the monthly median AOT at 440 nm of about 0.16 was measured in July and the lowest of about 0.04 was measured in December. The highest value of the monthly median PWVC of about 2.0 cm was measured in July and the lowest of about 0.4 cm was measured in December. We derived Ångström exponents that were used to deduce aerosol particle size distributions. We found that coarse-mode aerosol particles dominated most of the time during the measurement period, but fine-mode aerosol particles dominated during the winter seasons. The derived Ångström exponent values suggested that aerosols containing sea salt could have been dominating at this station during the measurement period.

  4. Steam condensation on finned tubes, in the presence of non-condensable gases and aerosols: Influence of impaction, diffusiophoresis and settling on aerosol deposition

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Munoz-Cobo, J.L.; Pena, J.; Herranz, L.E.; Perez-Navarro, A.

    2005-01-01

    This paper presents a mechanistic model to predict the steam condensation on containment finned tube heat exchangers in the presence of non-condensable gases (NC) and aerosols. The total thermal resistance from the bulk gas to the coolant is formulated as a parallel combination of the convective and condensation gas resistances coupled in series to those of condensate layer, the aerosol fouling layer, the wall, and the coolant. The condensate layer thermal resistance is calculated by means of an Adamek-based condensation model. The aerosol fouling layer is computed based on diffusiophoresis, settling and impaction mechanisms. The gas mixture (steam plus NC) thermal resistance is formulated based on a diffusion layer modeling. Finally, this paper presents a Montecarlo method implemented in the FORTRAN code TAEROSOL that is able to compute the amount of aerosol mass that is deposited by impaction on the top of the finned tubes. The model results are compared with the available experimental data of the CONGA European project

  5. Aerosol optical depth in a western Mediterranean site: An assessment of different methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Romero, A.; González, J. A.; Calbó, J.; Sanchez-Lorenzo, A.; Michalsky, J.

    2016-06-01

    Column aerosol optical properties were derived from multifilter rotating shadowing radiometer (MFRSR) observations carried out at Girona (northeast Spain) from June 2012 to June 2014. We used a technique that allows estimating simultaneously aerosol optical depth (AOD) and Ångström exponent (AE) at high time-resolution. For the period studied, mean AOD at 500 nm was 0.14, with a noticeable seasonal pattern, i.e. maximum in summer and minimum in winter. Mean AE from 500 to 870 nm was 1.2 with a strong day-to-day variation and slightly higher values in summer. So, the summer increase in AOD seems to be linked with an enhancement in the number of fine particles. A radiative closure experiment, using the SMARTS2 model, was performed to confirm that the MFRSR-retrieved aerosol optical properties appropriately represent the continuously varying atmospheric conditions in Girona. Thus, the calculated broadband values of the direct flux show a mean absolute difference of less than 5.9 W m- 2 (0.77%) and R = 0.99 when compared to the observed fluxes. The sensitivity of the achieved closure to uncertainties in AOD and AE was also examined. We use this MFRSR-based dataset as a reference for other ground-based and satellite measurements that might be used to assess the aerosol properties at this site. First, we used observations obtained from a 100 km away AERONET station; despite a general similar behavior when compared with the in-situ MFRSR observations, certain discrepancies for AOD estimates in the different channels (R < 0.84 and slope < 1) appear. Second, AOD products from MISR and MODIS satellite observations were compared with our ground-based retrievals. Reasonable agreements are found for the MISR product (R = 0.92), with somewhat poorer agreement for the MODIS product (R = 0.70). Finally, we apply all these methods to study in detail the aerosol properties during two singular aerosol events related to a forest fire and a desert dust intrusion.

  6. Long-term Satellite Observations of Cloud and Aerosol Radiative Effects Using the (A)ATSR Satellite Data Record

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, M.; McGarragh, G.; Thomas, G.; Povey, A.; Proud, S.; Poulsen, C. A.; Grainger, R. G.

    2016-12-01

    Radiative forcing by clouds, aerosols, and their interactions constitute some of the largest sources of uncertainties in the climate system (Chapter 7 IPCC, 2013). It is essential to understand the past through examination of long-term satellite observation records to provide insight into the uncertainty characteristics of these radiative forcers. As part of the ESA CCI (Climate Change Initiative) we have recently implemented a broadband radiative flux algorithm (known as BUGSrad) into the Optimal Retrieval for Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC) scheme. ORAC achieves radiative consistency of its aerosol and cloud products through an optimal estimation scheme and is highly versatile, enabling retrievals for numerous satellite sensors: ATSR, MODIS, VIIRS, AVHRR, SLSTR, SEVIRI, and AHI. An analysis of the 17-year well-calibrated Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) data is used to quantify trends in cloud and aerosol radiative effects over a wide range of spatiotemporal scales. The El Niño Southern Oscillation stands out as the largest contributing mode of variability to the radiative energy balance (long wave and shortwave fluxes) at the top of the atmosphere. Furthermore, trends in planetary albedo show substantial decreases across the Arctic Ocean (likely due to the melting of sea ice and snow) and modest increases in regions dominated by stratocumulus (e.g., off the coast of California) through notable increases in cloud fraction and liquid water path. Finally, changes in volcanic activity and biomass burning aerosol over this period show sizeable radiative forcing impacts at local-scales. We will demonstrate that radiative forcing from aerosols and clouds have played a significant role in the identified key climate processes using 17 years of satellite observational data.

  7. Aerosol Indirect Effect on Warm Clouds over Eastern China Using Combined CALIOP and MODIS Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Jianping; Wang, Fu; Huang, Jingfeng; Li, Xiaowen

    2015-04-01

    Aerosol, one of key components of the climate system, is highly variable, both temporally and spatially. It often exerts great influences on the cloud-precipitation chain processes by serving as CCN/IN, altering cloud microphysics and its life cycle. Yet, the aerosol indirect effect on clouds remains largely unknown, because the initial changes in clouds due to aerosols may be enhanced or dampened by such feedback processes as modified cloud dynamics, or evaporation of the smaller droplets due to the competition for water vapor. In this study, we attempted to quantify the aerosol effects on warm cloud over eastern China, based on near-simultaneous retrievals from MODIS/AQUA, CALIOP/CALIPSO and CPR/CLOUDSAT during the period 2006 to 2010. The seasonality of aerosol from ground-based PM10 is quite different from that estimated from MODIS AOD. This result is corroborated by lower level profile of aerosol occurrence frequency from CALIOP, indicating the significant role CALIOP could play in aerosol-cloud interaction. The combined use of CALIOP and CPR facilitate the process to exactly determine the (vertical) position of warm cloud relative to aerosol, out of six scenarios in terms of aerosol-cloud mixing status in terms of aerosol-cloud mixing status, which shows as follows: AO (Aerosol only), CO (Cloud only), SASC (Single aerosol-single cloud), SADC (single aerosol-double cloud), DASC (double aerosol-single cloud), and others. Results shows that about 54% of all the cases belong to mixed status, among all the collocated aerosol-cloud cases. Under mixed condition, a boomerang shape is observed, i.e., reduced cloud droplet radius (CDR) is associated with increasing aerosol at moderate aerosol pollution (AODcases. We categorize dataset into warm-season and cold-season subsets to figure out how the boomerang shape varies with season. For moderate aerosol loading (AODMixed" cases is greater during cold season (denoted by a large slope), as compared with that during warm

  8. Loading capacity of various filters for lithium fire generated aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jeppson, D.W.; Barreca, J.R.

    1980-01-01

    The lithium aerosol loading capacity of a prefilter, HEPA filters and a sand and gravel bed filter was determined. The test aerosol was characterized and was generated by burning lithium in an unlimited air atmosphere. Correlation to sodium aerosol loading capacities were made to relate existing data to lithium aerosol loadings under varying conditions. This work is being conducted in support of the fusion reactor safety program. The lithium aerosol was generated by burning lithium pools, up to 45 kgs, in a 340 m 3 low humidity air atmosphere to supply aerosol to recirculating filter test loops. The aerosol was sampled to determine particle size, mass concentrations and chemical species. The dew point and gas concentrations were monitored throughout the tests. Loop inlet aerosol mass concentrations ranged up to 5 gr/m 3 . Chemical compounds analyzed to be present in the aerosol include Li 2 O, LiOH, and Li 2 CO 3 . HEPA filters with and without separators and a prefilter and HEPA filter in series were loaded with 7.8 to 11.1 kg/m 2 of aerosol at a flow rate of 1.31 m/sec and 5 kPa pressure drop. The HEPA filter loading capacity was determined to be greater at a lower flow rate. The loading capacity increased from 0.4 to 2.8 kg by decreasing the flow rate from 1.31 to 0.26 m/sec for a pressure drop of 0.11 kPa due to aerosol buildup. The prefilter tested in series with a HEPA did not increase the total loading capacity significantly for the same total pressure drop. Separators in the HEPA had only minor effect on loading capacity. The sand and gravel bed filter loaded to 0.50 kg/m 2 at an aerosol flow rate of 0.069 m/sec and final pressure drop of 6.2 kPa. These loading capacities and their dependence on test variables are similar to those reported for sodium aerosols except for the lithium aerosol HEPA loading capacity dependence upon flow rate

  9. Aerosol transport from Chiang Mai, Thailand to Mt. Lulin, Taiwan - Implication of aerosol aging during long-range transport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuang, Ming-Tung; Lee, Chung-Te; Chou, Charles C.-K.; Engling, Guenter; Chang, Shih-Yu; Chang, Shuenn-Chin; Sheu, Guey-Rong; Lin, Neng-Huei; Sopajaree, Khajornsak; Chang, You-Jia; Hong, Guo-Jun

    2016-07-01

    The transport of biomass burning (BB) aerosol from Indochina may cause a potential effect on climate change in Southeast Asia, East Asia, and the Western Pacific. Up to now, the understanding of BB aerosol composition modification during long-range transport (LRT) is still very limited due to the lack of observational data. In this study, atmospheric aerosols were collected at the Suthep/Doi Ang Khang (DAK) mountain sites in Chiang Mai, Thailand and the Lulin Atmospheric Background Station (Mt. Lulin) in central Taiwan from March to April 2010 and from February to April 2013, respectively. During the study period, an upwind and downwind relationship between the Suthep/DAK and Lulin sites (2400 km apart) was validated by backward trajectories. Comprehensive aerosol properties were resolved for PM2.5 water-soluble inorganic ions, carbonaceous content, water-soluble/insoluble organic carbon (WSOC/WIOC), dicarboxylic acids and their salts (DCAS), and anhydrosugars. A Modification Factor (MF) is proposed by employing non-sea-salt potassium ion (nss-K+) or fractionalized elemental carbon evolved at 580 °C after pyrolized OC correction (EC1-OP) as a BB aerosol tracer to evaluate the mass fraction changes of aerosol components from source to receptor regions during LRT. The MF values of nss-SO42-, NH4+, NO3-, OC1 (fractionalized organic carbon evolved from room temperature to 140 °C), OP (pyrolized OC fraction), DCAS, and WSOC were above unity, which indicated that these aerosol components were enhanced during LRT as compared with those in the near-source region. In contrast, the MF values of anhydrosugars ranged from 0.1 to 0.3, indicating anhydrosugars have degraded during LRT.

  10. HOT AEROSOL FIRE EXTINGUISHING AGENTS AND THE ASSOCIATED TECHNOLOGIES: A REVIEW

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaotian Zhang

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available AbstractSince the phase out of Halon extinguishers in the 1980s, hot aerosol fire suppression technology has gained much attention. Unlike traditional inert gas, foam, water mist and Halon fire suppression agents, hot aerosol fire extinguishing agents do not need to be driven out by pressurized gases and can extinguish class A, B, C, D and K fires at 30 to 200 g/m3. Generally, hot aerosol fire extinguishing technology has developed from a generation I oil tank suppression system to a generation III strontium salt based S-type system. S-type hot aerosol fire extinguishing technology greatly solves the corrosion problem of electrical devices and electronics compared to potassium salt based generation I & II hot aerosol fire extinguishing technology. As substitutes for Halon agents, the ODP and GWP values of hot fire extinguishing aerosols are nearly zero, but those fine aerosol particles can cause adverse health effects once inhaled by human. As for configurations of hot aerosol fire extinguishing devices, fixed or portable cylindrical canisters are the most common among generation II & III hot aerosol fire extinguishers across the world, while generation I hot aerosol fire suppression systems are integrated with the oil tank as a whole. Some countries like the U.S., Australia, Russia and China, etc. have already developed standards for manufacturing and quality control of hot aerosol fire extinguishing agents and norms for hot aerosol fire extinguishing system design under different fire protection scenarios. Coolants in hot aerosol fire suppression systems, which are responsible for reducing hot aerosol temperature to avoid secondary fire risk are reviewed for the first time. Cooling effects are generally achieved through vaporization and endothermic chemical decomposition of coolants. Finally, this review discussed areas applying generation I, II or III hot aerosol fire suppression technologies. The generation III hot aerosol fire extinguishing

  11. Whole-body nanoparticle aerosol inhalation exposures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yi, Jinghai; Chen, Bean T; Schwegler-Berry, Diane; Frazer, Dave; Castranova, Vince; McBride, Carroll; Knuckles, Travis L; Stapleton, Phoebe A; Minarchick, Valerie C; Nurkiewicz, Timothy R

    2013-05-07

    Inhalation is the most likely exposure route for individuals working with aerosolizable engineered nano-materials (ENM). To properly perform nanoparticle inhalation toxicology studies, the aerosols in a chamber housing the experimental animals must have: 1) a steady concentration maintained at a desired level for the entire exposure period; 2) a homogenous composition free of contaminants; and 3) a stable size distribution with a geometric mean diameter generation of aerosols containing nanoparticles is quite challenging because nanoparticles easily agglomerate. This is largely due to very strong inter-particle forces and the formation of large fractal structures in tens or hundreds of microns in size (6), which are difficult to be broken up. Several common aerosol generators, including nebulizers, fluidized beds, Venturi aspirators and the Wright dust feed, were tested; however, none were able to produce nanoparticle aerosols which satisfy all criteria (5). A whole-body nanoparticle aerosol inhalation exposure system was fabricated, validated and utilized for nano-TiO2 inhalation toxicology studies. Critical components: 1) novel nano-TiO2 aerosol generator; 2) 0.5 m(3) whole-body inhalation exposure chamber; and 3) monitor and control system. Nano-TiO2 aerosols generated from bulk dry nano-TiO2 powders (primary diameter of 21 nm, bulk density of 3.8 g/cm(3)) were delivered into the exposure chamber at a flow rate of 90 LPM (10.8 air changes/hr). Particle size distribution and mass concentration profiles were measured continuously with a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and an electric low pressure impactor (ELPI). The aerosol mass concentration (C) was verified gravimetrically (mg/m(3)). The mass (M) of the collected particles was determined as M = (Mpost-Mpre), where Mpre and Mpost are masses of the filter before and after sampling (mg). The mass concentration was calculated as C = M/(Q*t), where Q is sampling flowrate (m(3)/min), and t is the sampling

  12. Modelling aerosol transfer in a ventilated room

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nerisson, Ph.

    2009-02-01

    When particulate radioactive contamination is likely to become airborne in a ventilated room, assessment of aerosol concentration in every point of this room is important, in order to ensure protection of operators and supervision of workspaces. Thus, a model of aerosol transport and deposition has been developed as part of a project started with IRSN, EDF and IMFT. A simplified Eulerian model, called 'diffusion-inertia model' is used for particle transport. It contains a single transport equation of aerosol concentration. The specific study of deposition on walls has permitted to develop a boundary condition approach, which determines precisely the particle flux towards the wall in the boundary layer, for any deposition regime and surface orientation.The final transport and deposition models retained have been implemented in a CFD code called Code-Saturne. These models have been validated according to literature data in simple geometries and tracing experiments in ventilated rooms, which have been carried out in 30 m 3 and 1500 m 3 laboratory rooms. (author)

  13. Size distribution and ionic composition of marine summer aerosol at the continental Antarctic site Kohnen

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weller, Rolf; Legrand, Michel; Preunkert, Susanne

    2018-02-01

    We measured aerosol size distributions and conducted bulk and size-segregated aerosol sampling during two summer campaigns in January 2015 and January 2016 at the continental Antarctic station Kohnen (Dronning Maud Land). Physical and chemical aerosol properties differ conspicuously during the episodic impact of a distinctive low-pressure system in 2015 (LPS15) compared to the prevailing clear sky conditions. The approximately 3-day LPS15 located in the eastern Weddell Sea was associated with the following: marine boundary layer air mass intrusion; enhanced condensation particle concentrations (1400 ± 700 cm-3 compared to 250 ± 120 cm-3 under clear sky conditions; mean ± SD); the occurrence of a new particle formation event exhibiting a continuous growth of particle diameters (Dp) from 12 to 43 nm over 44 h (growth rate 0.6 nm h-1); peaking methane sulfonate (MS-), non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO42-), and Na+ concentrations (190 ng m-3 MS-, 137 ng m-3 nss-SO42-, and 53 ng m-3 Na+ compared to 24 ± 15, 107 ± 20, and 4.1 ± 2.2 ng m-3, respectively, during clear sky conditions); and finally an increased MS- / nss-SO42- mass ratio βMS of 0.4 up to 2.3 (0.21 ± 0.1 under clear sky conditions) comparable to typical values found at coastal Antarctic sites. Throughout the observation period a larger part of MS- could be found in super-micron aerosol compared to nss-SO42-, i.e., (10 ± 2) % by mass compared to (3.2 ± 2) %, respectively. On the whole, under clear sky conditions aged aerosol characterized by usually mono-modal size distributions around Dp = 60 nm was observed. Although our observations indicate that the sporadic impacts of coastal cyclones were associated with enhanced marine aerosol entry, aerosol deposition on-site during austral summer should be largely dominated by typical steady clear sky conditions.

  14. Aerosol modelling and validation during ESCOMPTE 2001

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cousin, F.; Liousse, C.; Cachier, H.; Bessagnet, B.; Guillaume, B.; Rosset, R.

    The ESCOMPTE 2001 programme (Atmospheric Research. 69(3-4) (2004) 241) has resulted in an exhaustive set of dynamical, radiative, gas and aerosol observations (surface and aircraft measurements). A previous paper (Atmospheric Research. (2004) in press) has dealt with dynamics and gas-phase chemistry. The present paper is an extension to aerosol formation, transport and evolution. To account for important loadings of primary and secondary aerosols and their transformation processes in the ESCOMPTE domain, the ORISAM aerosol module (Atmospheric Environment. 35 (2001) 4751) was implemented on-line in the air-quality Meso-NH-C model. Additional developments have been introduced in ORganic and Inorganic Spectral Aerosol Module (ORISAM) to improve the comparison between simulations and experimental surface and aircraft field data. This paper discusses this comparison for a simulation performed during one selected day, 24 June 2001, during the Intensive Observation Period IOP2b. Our work relies on BC and OCp emission inventories specifically developed for ESCOMPTE. This study confirms the need for a fine resolution aerosol inventory with spectral chemical speciation. BC levels are satisfactorily reproduced, thus validating our emission inventory and its processing through Meso-NH-C. However, comparisons for reactive species generally denote an underestimation of concentrations. Organic aerosol levels are rather well simulated though with a trend to underestimation in the afternoon. Inorganic aerosol species are underestimated for several reasons, some of them have been identified. For sulphates, primary emissions were introduced. Improvement was obtained too for modelled nitrate and ammonium levels after introducing heterogeneous chemistry. However, no modelling of terrigeneous particles is probably a major cause for nitrates and ammonium underestimations. Particle numbers and size distributions are well reproduced, but only in the submicrometer range. Our work points out

  15. Contribution of anthropogenic aerosols in direct radiative forcing and atmospheric heating rate over Delhi in the Indo-Gangetic Basin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Atul K; Singh, Sachchidanand; Tiwari, S; Bisht, D S

    2012-05-01

    The present work is aimed to understand direct radiation effects due to aerosols over Delhi in the Indo-Gangetic Basin (IGB) region, using detailed chemical analysis of surface measured aerosols during the year 2007. An optically equivalent aerosol model was formulated on the basis of measured aerosol chemical compositions along with the ambient meteorological parameters to derive radiatively important aerosol optical parameters. The derived aerosol parameters were then used to estimate the aerosol direct radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere, surface, and in the atmosphere. The anthropogenic components measured at Delhi were found to be contributing ∼ 72% to the composite aerosol optical depth (AOD(0.5) ∼ 0.84). The estimated mean surface and atmospheric forcing for composite aerosols over Delhi were found to be about -69, -85, and -78 W m(-2) and about +78, +98, and +79 W m(-2) during the winter, summer, and post-monsoon periods, respectively. The anthropogenic aerosols contribute ∼ 90%, 53%, and 84% to the total aerosol surface forcing and ∼ 93%, 54%, and 88% to the total aerosol atmospheric forcing during the above respective periods. The mean (± SD) surface and atmospheric forcing for composite aerosols was about -79 (± 15) and +87 (± 26) W m(-2) over Delhi with respective anthropogenic contributions of ∼ 71% and 75% during the overall period of observation. Aerosol induced large surface cooling, which was relatively higher during summer as compared to the winter suggesting an increase in dust loading over the station. The total atmospheric heating rate at Delhi averaged during the observation was found to be 2.42  ±  0.72 K day(-1), of which the anthropogenic fraction contributed as much as ∼ 73%.

  16. Marine aerosol distribution and variability over the pristine Southern Indian Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mallet, Paul-Étienne; Pujol, Olivier; Brioude, Jérôme; Evan, Stéphanie; Jensen, Andrew

    2018-06-01

    This paper presents an 8-year (2005-2012 inclusive) study of the marine aerosol distribution and variability over the Southern Indian Ocean, precisely in the area { 10 °S - 40 °S ; 50 °E - 110 °E } which has been identified as one of the most pristine regions of the globe. A large dataset consisting of satellite data (POLDER, CALIOP), AERONET measurements at Saint-Denis (French Réunion Island) and model reanalysis (MACC), has been used. In spite of a positive bias of about 0.05 between the AOD (aerosol optical depth) given by POLDER and MACC on one hand and the AOD measured by AERONET on the other, consistent results for aerosol distribution and variability over the area considered have been obtained. First, aerosols are mainly confined below 2km asl (above sea level) and are dominated by sea salt, especially in the center of the area of interest, with AOD ≤ 0 . 1. This zone is the most pristine and is associated with the position of the Mascarene anticyclone. There, the direct radiative effect is assessed around - 9 Wm-2 at the top of the atmosphere and probability density functions of the AOD s are leptokurtic lognormal functions without any significant seasonal variation. It is also suggested that the Madden-Jullian oscillation impacts sea salt emissions in the northern part of the area considered by modifying the state of the ocean surface. Finally, this area is surrounded in the northeast and the southwest by seasonal Australian and South African intrusions (AOD > 0.1) ; throughout the year, the ITCZ seems to limit continental contaminations from Asia. Due to the long period of time considered (almost a decade), this paper completes and strengthens results of studies based on observations performed during previous specific field campaigns.

  17. Spatial Interpolation of Aerosol Optical Depth Pollution: Comparison of Methods for the Development of Aerosol Distribution

    Science.gov (United States)

    Safarpour, S.; Abdullah, K.; Lim, H. S.; Dadras, M.

    2017-09-01

    Air pollution is a growing problem arising from domestic heating, high density of vehicle traffic, electricity production, and expanding commercial and industrial activities, all increasing in parallel with urban population. Monitoring and forecasting of air quality parameters are important due to health impact. One widely available metric of aerosol abundance is the aerosol optical depth (AOD). The AOD is the integrated light extinction coefficient over a vertical atmospheric column of unit cross section, which represents the extent to which the aerosols in that vertical profile prevent the transmission of light by absorption or scattering. Seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD) values at 550 nm derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor onboard NASA's Terra satellites, for the 10 years period of 2000 - 2010 were used to test 7 different spatial interpolation methods in the present study. The accuracy of estimations was assessed through visual analysis as well as independent validation based on basic statistics, such as root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient. Based on the RMSE and R values of predictions made using measured values from 2000 to 2010, Radial Basis Functions (RBFs) yielded the best results for spring, summer and winter and ordinary kriging yielded the best results for fall.

  18. SPATIAL INTERPOLATION OF AEROSOL OPTICAL DEPTH POLLUTION: COMPARISON OF METHODS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF AEROSOL DISTRIBUTION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Safarpour

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Air pollution is a growing problem arising from domestic heating, high density of vehicle traffic, electricity production, and expanding commercial and industrial activities, all increasing in parallel with urban population. Monitoring and forecasting of air quality parameters are important due to health impact. One widely available metric of aerosol abundance is the aerosol optical depth (AOD. The AOD is the integrated light extinction coefficient over a vertical atmospheric column of unit cross section, which represents the extent to which the aerosols in that vertical profile prevent the transmission of light by absorption or scattering. Seasonal aerosol optical depth (AOD values at 550 nm derived from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS sensor onboard NASA’s Terra satellites, for the 10 years period of 2000 - 2010 were used to test 7 different spatial interpolation methods in the present study. The accuracy of estimations was assessed through visual analysis as well as independent validation based on basic statistics, such as root mean square error (RMSE and correlation coefficient. Based on the RMSE and R values of predictions made using measured values from 2000 to 2010, Radial Basis Functions (RBFs yielded the best results for spring, summer and winter and ordinary kriging yielded the best results for fall.

  19. Laboratory and field measurements of organic aerosols with the photoionization aerosol mass spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dreyfus, Matthew A.

    Analytical methods developed to sample and characterize ambient organic aerosols often face the trade-off between long sampling times and the loss of detailed information regarding specific chemical species present. The soft, universal ionization scheme of the Photoionization Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (PIAMS) allows for identification of various chemical compounds by a signature ion, often the molecular ion. The goal of this thesis work is to apply PIAMS to both laboratory and field experiments to answer questions regarding the formation, composition, and behavior of organic aerosols. To achieve this goal, a variety of hardware and software upgrades were administered to PIAMS to optimize the instrument. Data collection and processing software were either refined or built from the ground up to simplify difficult or monotonous tasks. Additional components were added to PIAMS with the intent to automate the instrument, enhance the results, and make the instrument more rugged and user-friendly. These changes, combined with the application of an external particle concentration system (mini-Versatile Aerosol Concentration Enrichment System, m-VACES), allowed PIAMS to be suitable for field measurements of organic aerosols. Two such field campaigns were completed, both at the State of Delaware Air Quality Monitoring Site in Wilmington, Delaware: a one week period in June, 2006, and an 18 day period in October and November of 2007. A sampling method developed was capable of collecting sufficient ambient organic aerosol and analyzing it with a time resolution of 3.5 minutes. Because of this method, short term concentration changes of individual species can be tracked. Combined with meteorological data, the behavior of these species can be analyzed as a function of time or wind direction. Many compounds are found at enhanced levels during the evening/night-time hours; potentially due to the combined effects of temperature inversion, and fresh emissions in a cooler environment

  20. New trajectory-driven aerosol and chemical process model Chemical and Aerosol Lagrangian Model (CALM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Tunved

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available A new Chemical and Aerosol Lagrangian Model (CALM has been developed and tested. The model incorporates all central aerosol dynamical processes, from nucleation, condensation, coagulation and deposition to cloud formation and in-cloud processing. The model is tested and evaluated against observations performed at the SMEAR II station located at Hyytiälä (61° 51' N, 24° 17' E over a time period of two years, 2000–2001. The model shows good agreement with measurements throughout most of the year, but fails in reproducing the aerosol properties during the winter season, resulting in poor agreement between model and measurements especially during December–January. Nevertheless, through the rest of the year both trends and magnitude of modal concentrations show good agreement with observation, as do the monthly average size distribution properties. The model is also shown to capture individual nucleation events to a certain degree. This indicates that nucleation largely is controlled by the availability of nucleating material (as prescribed by the [H2SO4], availability of condensing material (in this model 15% of primary reactions of monoterpenes (MT are assumed to produce low volatile species and the properties of the size distribution (more specifically, the condensation sink. This is further demonstrated by the fact that the model captures the annual trend in nuclei mode concentration. The model is also used, alongside sensitivity tests, to examine which processes dominate the aerosol size distribution physical properties. It is shown, in agreement with previous studies, that nucleation governs the number concentration during transport from clean areas. It is also shown that primary number emissions almost exclusively govern the CN concentration when air from Central Europe is advected north over Scandinavia. We also show that biogenic emissions have a large influence on the amount of potential CCN observed

  1. Recent advances in aerosol research a bibliographical review

    CERN Document Server

    Davies, C N

    1964-01-01

    Recent Advances in Aerosol Research: A Bibliographical Review presents a bibliographic review of advances in aerosol research covering the period from the beginning of 1957 to the end of 1962. Topics covered include chemical reactions, combustion, coagulation and diffusion, and adhesion of particles. References on filtration, evaporation and condensation, nucleation and growth, and laminar flow and impingement are also included. This volume is comprised of 19 chapters and begins by citing research on acoustic, ultrasonic, and shock wave effects, along with adhesion of particles, chemical react

  2. Evaluation of the atmospheric significance of multiphase reactions in atmospheric secondary organic aerosol formation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gelencsér

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available In a simple conceptual cloud-aerosol model the mass of secondary organic aerosol (SOA that may be formed in multiphase reaction in an idealized scenario involving two cloud cycles separated with a cloud-free period is evaluated. The conditions are set to those typical of continental clouds, and each parameter used in the model calculations is selected as a mean of available observational data of individual species for which the multiphase SOA formation route has been established. In the idealized setting gas and aqueous-phase reactions are both considered, but only the latter is expected to yield products of sufficiently low volatility to be retained by aerosol particles after the cloud dissipates. The key variable of the model is the Henry-constant which primarily determines how important multiphase reactions are relative to gas-phase photooxidation processes. The precursor considered in the model is assumed to already have some affinity to water, i.e. it is a compound having oxygen-containing functional group(s. As a principal model output an aerosol yield parameter is calculated for the multiphase SOA formation route as a function of the Henry-constant, and has been found to be significant already above H~103 M atm-1. Among the potential precursors that may be eligible for this mechanism based on their Henry constants, there are a suite of oxygenated compounds such as primary oxidation products of biogenic and anthropogenic hydrocarbons, including, for example, pinonaldehyde. Finally, the analogy of multiphase SOA formation to in-cloud sulfate production is exploited.

  3. Advanced source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols by coupling offline AMS and radiocarbon size-segregated measurements over a nearly 2-year period

    OpenAIRE

    Vlachou, Athanasia; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Bozzetti, Carlo; Chazeau, Benjamin; Salazar Quintero, Gary Abdiel; Szidat, Sönke; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc; Hueglin, Christoph; Baltensperger, Urs; Haddad, Imad El; Prévôt, André S. H.

    2018-01-01

    Carbonaceous aerosols are related to adverse human health effects. Therefore, identification of their sources and analysis of their chemical composition is important. The offline AMS (aerosol mass spectrometer) technique offers quantitative separation of organic aerosol (OA) factors which can be related to major OA sources, either primary or secondary. While primary OA can be more clearly separated into sources, secondary (SOA) source apportionment is more challenging because different source...

  4. Advanced source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols by coupling offline AMS and radiocarbon size-segregated measurements over a nearly 2-year period

    OpenAIRE

    A. Vlachou; K. R. Daellenbach; C. Bozzetti; B. Chazeau; G. A. Salazar; S. Szidat; J.-L. Jaffrezo; C. Hueglin; U. Baltensperger; I. E. Haddad; A. S. H. Prévôt

    2018-01-01

    Carbonaceous aerosols are related to adverse human health effects. Therefore, identification of their sources and analysis of their chemical composition is important. The offline AMS (aerosol mass spectrometer) technique offers quantitative separation of organic aerosol (OA) factors which can be related to major OA sources, either primary or secondary. While primary OA can be more clearly separated into sources, secondary (SOA) source apportionment is more challenging because d...

  5. Final Report: Safety of Plasma-Facing Components and Aerosol Transport During Hard Disruptions and Accidental Energy Release in Fusion Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bourham, Mohamed A.; Gilligan, John G.

    1999-01-01

    Safety considerations in large future fusion reactors like ITER are important before licensing the reactor. Several scenarios are considered hazardous, which include safety of plasma-facing components during hard disruptions, high heat fluxes and thermal stresses during normal operation, accidental energy release, and aerosol formation and transport. Disruption events, in large tokamaks like ITER, are expected to produce local heat fluxes on plasma-facing components, which may exceed 100 GW/m 2 over a period of about 0.1 ms. As a result, the surface temperature dramatically increases, which results in surface melting and vaporization, and produces thermal stresses and surface erosion. Plasma-facing components safety issues extends to cover a wide range of possible scenarios, including disruption severity and the impact of plasma-facing components on disruption parameters, accidental energy release and short/long term LOCA's, and formation of airborne particles by convective current transport during a LOVA (water/air ingress disruption) accident scenario. Study, and evaluation of, disruption-induced aerosol generation and mobilization is essential to characterize database on particulate formation and distribution for large future fusion tokamak reactor like ITER. In order to provide database relevant to ITER, the SIRENS electrothermal plasma facility at NCSU has been modified to closely simulate heat fluxes expected in ITER

  6. Influence of trace aromatics on the chemical growth mechanisms of Titan aerosol analogues

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gautier, Thomas; Sebree, Joshua A.; Li, Xiang; Pinnick, Veronica T.; Grubisic, Andrej; Loeffler, Mark J.; Getty, Stephanie A.; Trainer, Melissa G.; Brinckerhoff, William B.

    2017-06-01

    The chemical structure and formation pathways of Titan aerosols remain largely unknown. In this work, we studied the effect of trace aromatics on the chemical composition and formation pathways of laboratory analogues of Titan's organic aerosols. The aerosol analogues were produced using four different trace aromatic molecules, comprised of one or two aromatic rings, each with or without a nitrogen heteroatom. Samples were then analyzed by laser desorption/ionization Mass Spectrometry (LDMS), revealing a high variability in the sample composition depending on the trace aromatic used. Our work reveals that the final chemical structure of the aerosols depends strongly on the number of aromatic rings in the trace molecule, leading either to a polymeric or to a random co-polymeric growth of the sample. These different chemical structures can affect the physical properties of the aerosol. Future analysis of Titan's aerosols using better resolution could potentially determine whether either of the growth hypotheses are preferred.

  7. On the relationship between aerosol model uncertainty and radiative forcing uncertainty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Lindsay A; Reddington, Carly L; Carslaw, Kenneth S

    2016-05-24

    The largest uncertainty in the historical radiative forcing of climate is caused by the interaction of aerosols with clouds. Historical forcing is not a directly measurable quantity, so reliable assessments depend on the development of global models of aerosols and clouds that are well constrained by observations. However, there has been no systematic assessment of how reduction in the uncertainty of global aerosol models will feed through to the uncertainty in the predicted forcing. We use a global model perturbed parameter ensemble to show that tight observational constraint of aerosol concentrations in the model has a relatively small effect on the aerosol-related uncertainty in the calculated forcing between preindustrial and present-day periods. One factor is the low sensitivity of present-day aerosol to natural emissions that determine the preindustrial aerosol state. However, the major cause of the weak constraint is that the full uncertainty space of the model generates a large number of model variants that are equally acceptable compared to present-day aerosol observations. The narrow range of aerosol concentrations in the observationally constrained model gives the impression of low aerosol model uncertainty. However, these multiple "equifinal" models predict a wide range of forcings. To make progress, we need to develop a much deeper understanding of model uncertainty and ways to use observations to constrain it. Equifinality in the aerosol model means that tuning of a small number of model processes to achieve model-observation agreement could give a misleading impression of model robustness.

  8. Characteristics, sources, and transport of aerosols measured in spring 2008 during the aerosol, radiation, and cloud processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC Project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. A. Brock

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available We present an overview of the background, scientific goals, and execution of the Aerosol, Radiation, and Cloud Processes affecting Arctic Climate (ARCPAC project of April 2008. We then summarize airborne measurements, made in the troposphere of the Alaskan Arctic, of aerosol particle size distributions, composition, and optical properties and discuss the sources and transport of the aerosols. The aerosol data were grouped into four categories based on gas-phase composition. First, the background troposphere contained a relatively diffuse, sulfate-rich aerosol extending from the top of the sea-ice inversion layer to 7.4 km altitude. Second, a region of depleted (relative to the background aerosol was present within the surface inversion layer over sea-ice. Third, layers of dense, organic-rich smoke from open biomass fires in southern Russia and southeastern Siberia were frequently encountered at all altitudes from the top of the inversion layer to 7.1 km. Finally, some aerosol layers were dominated by components originating from fossil fuel combustion.

    Of these four categories measured during ARCPAC, the diffuse background aerosol was most similar to the average springtime aerosol properties observed at a long-term monitoring site at Barrow, Alaska. The biomass burning (BB and fossil fuel layers were present above the sea-ice inversion layer and did not reach the sea-ice surface during the course of the ARCPAC measurements. The BB aerosol layers were highly scattering and were moderately hygroscopic. On average, the layers produced a noontime net heating of ~0.1 K day−1 between 3 and 7 km and a slight cooling at the surface. The ratios of particle mass to carbon monoxide (CO in the BB plumes, which had been transported over distances >5000 km, were comparable to the high end of literature values derived from previous measurements in wildfire smoke. These ratios suggest minimal precipitation scavenging and removal of the BB

  9. Enhancement of the aerosol direct radiative effect by semi-volatile aerosol components: airborne measurements in North-Western Europe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. T. Morgan

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available A case study of atmospheric aerosol measurements exploring the impact of the vertical distribution of aerosol chemical composition upon the radiative budget in North-Western Europe is presented. Sub-micron aerosol chemical composition was measured by an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS on both an airborne platform and a ground-based site at Cabauw in the Netherlands. The examined period in May 2008 was characterised by enhanced pollution loadings in North-Western Europe and was dominated by ammonium nitrate and Organic Matter (OM. Both ammonium nitrate and OM were observed to increase with altitude in the atmospheric boundary layer. This is primarily attributed to partitioning of semi-volatile gas phase species to the particle phase at reduced temperature and enhanced relative humidity. Increased ammonium nitrate concentrations in particular were found to strongly increase the ambient scattering potential of the aerosol burden, which was a consequence of the large amount of associated water as well as the enhanced mass. During particularly polluted conditions, increases in aerosol optical depth of 50–100% were estimated to occur due to the observed increase in secondary aerosol mass and associated water uptake. Furthermore, the single scattering albedo was also shown to increase with height in the boundary layer. These enhancements combined to increase the negative direct aerosol radiative forcing by close to a factor of two at the median percentile level. Such increases have major ramifications for regional climate predictions as semi-volatile components are often not included in aerosol models.

    The results presented here provide an ideal opportunity to test regional and global representations of both the aerosol vertical distribution and subsequent impacts in North-Western Europe. North-Western Europe can be viewed as an analogue for the possible future air quality over other polluted regions of the Northern Hemisphere, where

  10. Climatic effects of 1950–2050 changes in US anthropogenic aerosols – Part 1: Aerosol trends and radiative forcing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. G. Streets

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available We calculate decadal aerosol direct and indirect (warm cloud radiative forcings from US anthropogenic sources over the 1950–2050 period. Past and future aerosol distributions are constructed using GEOS-Chem and historical emission inventories and future projections from the IPCC A1B scenario. Aerosol simulations are evaluated with observed spatial distributions and 1980–2010 trends of aerosol concentrations and wet deposition in the contiguous US. Direct and indirect radiative forcing is calculated using the GISS general circulation model and monthly mean aerosol distributions from GEOS-Chem. The radiative forcing from US anthropogenic aerosols is strongly localized over the eastern US. We find that its magnitude peaked in 1970–1990, with values over the eastern US (east of 100° W of −2.0 W m−2 for direct forcing including contributions from sulfate (−2.0 W m−2, nitrate (−0.2 W m−2, organic carbon (−0.2 W m−2, and black carbon (+0.4 W m−2. The uncertainties in radiative forcing due to aerosol radiative properties are estimated to be about 50%. The aerosol indirect effect is estimated to be of comparable magnitude to the direct forcing. We find that the magnitude of the forcing declined sharply from 1990 to 2010 (by 0.8 W m−2 direct and 1.0 W m−2 indirect, mainly reflecting decreases in SO2 emissions, and project that it will continue declining post-2010 but at a much slower rate since US SO2 emissions have already declined by almost 60% from their peak. This suggests that much of the warming effect of reducing US anthropogenic aerosol sources has already been realized. The small positive radiative forcing from US BC emissions (+0.3 W m−2 over the eastern US in 2010; 5% of the global forcing from anthropogenic BC emissions worldwide suggests that a US emission control strategy focused on BC would have only limited climate benefit.

  11. Decadal trends in aerosol chemical composition at Barrow, Alaska: 1976–2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. E. Shaw

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol measurements at Barrow, Alaska during the past 30 years have identified the long range transport of pollution associated with Arctic Haze as well as ocean-derived aerosols of more local origin. Here, we focus on measurements of aerosol chemical composition to assess (1 trends in Arctic Haze aerosol and implications for source regions, (2 the interaction between pollution-derived and ocean-derived aerosols and the resulting impacts on the chemistry of the Arctic boundary layer, and (3 the response of aerosols to a changing climate. Aerosol chemical composition measured at Barrow, AK during the Arctic haze season is compared for the years 1976–1977 and 1997–2008. Based on these two data sets, concentrations of non-sea salt (nss sulfate (SO4= and non-crustal (nc vanadium (V have decreased by about 60% over this 30 year period. Consistency in the ratios of nss SO4=/ncV and nc manganese (Mn/ncV between the two data sets indicates that, although emissions have decreased in the source regions, the source regions have remained the same over this time period. The measurements from 1997–2008 indicate that, during the haze season, the nss SO4= aerosol at Barrow is becoming less neutralized by ammonium (NH4+ yielding an increasing sea salt aerosol chloride (Cl deficit. The expected consequence is an increase in the release of Cl atoms to the atmosphere and a change in the lifetime of volatile organic compounds (VOCs including methane. In addition, summertime concentrations of biogenically-derived methanesulfonate (MSA and nss SO4= are increasing at a rate of 12 and 8% per year, respectively. Further research is required to assess the environmental factors behind the increasing concentrations of biogenic aerosol.

  12. Quantitative measurement of aerosol deposition on skin, hair and clothing for dosimetric assessment. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fogh, C.L.; Byrne, M.A.; Andersson, K.G.; Bell, K.F.; Roed, J.; Goddard, A.J.H.; Vollmair, D.V.; Hotchkiss, S.A.M

    1999-06-01

    In the past, very little thought has been given to the processes and implications of deposition of potentially hazardous aerosol directly onto humans. This state of unpreparedness is unsatisfactory and suitable protocols have been developed and validated for tracer experiments to investigate the deposition and subsequent fate of contaminant aerosol on skin, hair and clothing. The main technique applied involves the release and subsequent deposition on volunteers in test rooms of particles of different sizes labelled with neutron activatable rare earth tracers. Experiments indicate that the deposition velocity to skin increases linearly with the particle size. A wind tunnel experiment simulating outdoor conditions showed a dependence on skin deposition velocity of wind speed, indicating that outdoor deposition velocities may be great. Both in vivo and in vitro experiments were conducted, and the influence of various factors, such as surface type, air flow, heating and electrostatics were examined. The dynamics of particle removal from human skin were studied by fluorescence scanning. This technique was also applied to estimate the fraction of aerosol dust transferred to skin by contact with a contaminated surface. The various parameters determined were applied to establish a model for calculation of radiation doses received from deposition of airborne radioactive aerosol on human body surfaces. It was found that the gamma doses from deposition on skin may be expected to be of the same order of magnitude as the gamma doses received over the first year from contamination on outdoor surfaces. According to the calculations, beta doses from skin deposition to individuals in areas of Russia, where dry deposition of Chernobyl fallout led to very high levels of contamination, may have amounted to several Sievert and may thus be responsible for a significant cancer risk. (au)

  13. Classifying Aerosols Based on Fuzzy Clustering and Their Optical and Microphysical Properties Study in Beijing, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wenhao Zhang

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Classification of Beijing aerosol is carried out based on clustering optical properties obtained from three Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET sites. The fuzzy c-mean (FCM clustering algorithm is used to classify fourteen-year (2001–2014 observations, totally of 6,732 records, into six aerosol types. They are identified as fine particle nonabsorbing, two kinds of fine particle moderately absorbing (fine-MA1 and fine-MA2, fine particle highly absorbing, polluted dust, and desert dust aerosol. These aerosol types exhibit obvious optical characteristics difference. While five of them show similarities with aerosol types identified elsewhere, the polluted dust aerosol has no comparable prototype. Then the membership degree, a significant parameter provided by fuzzy clustering, is used to analyze internal variation of optical properties of each aerosol type. Finally, temporal variations of aerosol types are investigated. The dominant aerosol types are polluted dust and desert dust in spring, fine particle nonabsorbing aerosol in summer, and fine particle highly absorbing aerosol in winter. The fine particle moderately absorbing aerosol occurs during the whole year. Optical properties of the six types can also be used for radiative forcing estimation and satellite aerosol retrieval. Additionally, methodology of this study can be applied to identify aerosol types on a global scale.

  14. Black carbon aerosol mixing state, organic aerosols and aerosol optical properties over the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMeeking, G. R.; Morgan, W. T.; Flynn, M.; Highwood, E. J.; Turnbull, K.; Haywood, J.; Coe, H.

    2011-05-01

    Black carbon (BC) aerosols absorb sunlight thereby leading to a positive radiative forcing and a warming of climate and can also impact human health through their impact on the respiratory system. The state of mixing of BC with other aerosol species, particularly the degree of internal/external mixing, has been highlighted as a major uncertainty in assessing its radiative forcing and hence its climate impact, but few in situ observations of mixing state exist. We present airborne single particle soot photometer (SP2) measurements of refractory BC (rBC) mass concentrations and mixing state coupled with aerosol composition and optical properties measured in urban plumes and regional pollution over the UK. All data were obtained using instrumentation flown on the UK's BAe-146-301 large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) operated by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM). We measured sub-micron aerosol composition using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and used positive matrix factorization to separate hydrocarbon-like (HOA) and oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA). We found a higher number fraction of thickly coated rBC particles in air masses with large OOA relative to HOA, higher ozone-to-nitrogen oxides (NOx) ratios and large concentrations of total sub-micron aerosol mass relative to rBC mass concentrations. The more ozone- and OOA-rich air masses were associated with transport from continental Europe, while plumes from UK cities had higher HOA and NOx and fewer thickly coated rBC particles. We did not observe any significant change in the rBC mass absorption efficiency calculated from rBC mass and light absorption coefficients measured by a particle soot absorption photometer despite observing significant changes in aerosol composition and rBC mixing state. The contributions of light scattering and absorption to total extinction (quantified by the single scattering albedo; SSA) did change for different air masses, with lower SSA observed in

  15. The effect of changes in humidity on the size of submicron aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Phillips, C.R.; Khan, A.

    1987-06-01

    The effect of humidity on inhaled aerosols in the respiratory tract is to cause an increase in particle size of up to several times if the aerosol particle is hygroscopic. The presence of ionizing radiation and air ions (for example, from uranium and radon/thoron) increases the tendency of water vapour to nucleate. The desposition of particles in the lung is enhanced by high charge density (>10 charges/particle). Radon has been reported to play an important role in the formation of sulphate and nitrate particles in the atmosphere. A detailed overview of the effect of humidity on aerosols is presented in the present work. Results of experimental measurements made on NaCl (hygroscopic) and kerosene combustion (hydrophobic) aerosols under ambient and humid conditions are reported. Initial aerosol conditions were 20 degrees C and 35% R.H. Final aerosol conditions were maintained at 37 degrees C and 100% R.H. in order to simulate the conditions inside the respiratory tract. An average growth factor of 1.9 ± 0.4 (standard deviation) was observed for the NaCl aerosol and 1.3 ± 0.2 (standard deviation) for the kerosene aerosol. For the activity size distribution, however, the NaCl aerosols were observed to grow by an average factor of only 1.2 ± 0.1 (standard deviation) whereas the kerosene aerosols grew by a factor of 1.3 ± 0.2 (standard deviation)

  16. Enhanced water use efficiency in global terrestrial ecosystems under increasing aerosol loadings

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lu, Xiaoliang; Chen, Min; Liu, Yaling; Miralles, Diego G.; Wang, Faming

    2017-05-01

    Aerosols play a crucial role in the climate system, affecting incoming radiation and cloud formation. Based on a modelling framework that couples ecosystem processes with the atmospheric transfer of radiation, we analyze the effect of aerosols on surface incoming radiation, gross primary productivity (GPP), water losses from ecosystems through evapotranspiration (ET) and ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE, defined as GPP/ET) for 2003–2010 and validate them at global FLUXNET sites. The total diffuse radiation increases under relatively low or intermediate aerosol loadings, but decreases under more polluted conditions. We find that aerosol-induced changes in GPP depend on leaf area index, aerosol loading and cloudiness. Specifically, low and moderate aerosol loadings cause increases in GPP for all plant types, while heavy aerosol loadings result in enhancement (decrease) in GPP for dense (sparse) vegetation. On the other hand, ET is mainly negatively affected by aerosol loadings due to the reduction in total incoming radiation. Finally, WUE shows a consistent rise in all plant types under increasing aerosol loadings. Overall, the simulated daily WUE compares well with observations at 43 eddy-covariance tower sites (R2=0.84 and RMSE=0.01gC (kg H2O)-1) with better performance at forest sites. In addition to the increasing portions of diffuse light, the rise in WUE is also favored by the reduction in radiation- and heat-stress caused by the aerosols, especially for wet and hot climates.

  17. DSMC multicomponent aerosol dynamics: Sampling algorithms and aerosol processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palaniswaamy, Geethpriya

    The post-accident nuclear reactor primary and containment environments can be characterized by high temperatures and pressures, and fission products and nuclear aerosols. These aerosols evolve via natural transport processes as well as under the influence of engineered safety features. These aerosols can be hazardous and may pose risk to the public if released into the environment. Computations of their evolution, movement and distribution involve the study of various processes such as coagulation, deposition, condensation, etc., and are influenced by factors such as particle shape, charge, radioactivity and spatial inhomogeneity. These many factors make the numerical study of nuclear aerosol evolution computationally very complicated. The focus of this research is on the use of the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) technique to elucidate the role of various phenomena that influence the nuclear aerosol evolution. In this research, several aerosol processes such as coagulation, deposition, condensation, and source reinforcement are explored for a multi-component, aerosol dynamics problem in a spatially homogeneous medium. Among the various sampling algorithms explored the Metropolis sampling algorithm was found to be effective and fast. Several test problems and test cases are simulated using the DSMC technique. The DSMC results obtained are verified against the analytical and sectional results for appropriate test problems. Results show that the assumption of a single mean density is not appropriate due to the complicated effect of component densities on the aerosol processes. The methods developed and the insights gained will also be helpful in future research on the challenges associated with the description of fission product and aerosol releases.

  18. Final Project Report for Award ER65581

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Stoy, Paul C. [Montana State Univ., Bozeman, MT (United States)

    2017-07-13

    The attached final project report describes contributions of Montana State University (MSU) to the project "Bridging land-surface fluxes and aerosol concentrations to triggering convective rainfall" (PI: Fuentes).

  19. Sources and atmospheric processing of winter aerosols in Seoul, Korea: insights from real-time measurements using a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hwajin; Zhang, Qi; Bae, Gwi-Nam; Kim, Jin Young; Bok Lee, Seung

    2017-02-01

    Highly time-resolved chemical characterization of nonrefractory submicrometer particulate matter (NR-PM1) was conducted in Seoul, the capital and largest metropolis of Korea, using an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). The measurements were performed during winter, when elevated particulate matter (PM) pollution events are often observed. This is the first time that detailed real-time aerosol measurement results have been reported from Seoul, Korea, and they reveal valuable insights into the sources and atmospheric processes that contribute to PM pollution in this region. The average concentration of submicron aerosol (PM1 = NR-PM1+ black carbon (BC)) was 27.5 µg m-3, and the total mass was dominated by organics (44 %), followed by nitrate (24 %) and sulfate (10 %). The average atomic ratios of oxygen to carbon (O / C), hydrogen to carbon (H / C), and nitrogen to carbon (N / C) of organic aerosols (OA) were 0.37, 1.79, and 0.018, respectively, which result in an average organic mass-to-carbon (OM / OC) ratio of 1.67. The concentrations (2.6-90.7 µg m-3) and composition of PM1 varied dynamically during the measurement period due to the influences of different meteorological conditions, emission sources, and air mass origins. Five distinct sources of OA were identified via positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of the HR-ToF-AMS data: vehicle emissions represented by a hydrocarbon-like OA factor (HOA, O / C = 0.06), cooking activities represented by a cooking OA factor (COA, O / C = 0.14), wood combustion represented by a biomass burning OA factor (BBOA, O / C = 0.34), and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) represented by a semivolatile oxygenated OA factor (SV-OOA, O / C = 0.56) and a low-volatility oxygenated OA factor (LV-OOA, O / C = 0.68). On average, primary OA (POA = HOA + COA + BBOA) accounted for 59 % the OA mass, whereas SV-OOA and LV-OOA contributed 15 and 26 %, respectively. Our results indicate that air

  20. Aerosol formation from high-velocity uranium drops: Comparison of number and mass distributions. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rader, D.J.; Benson, D.A.

    1995-05-01

    This report presents the results of an experimental study of the aerosol produced by the combustion of high-velocity molten-uranium droplets produced by the simultaneous heating and electromagnetic launch of uranium wires. These tests are intended to simulate the reduction of high-velocity fragments into aerosol in high-explosive detonations or reactor accidents involving nuclear materials. As reported earlier, the resulting aerosol consists mainly of web-like chain agglomerates. A condensation nucleus counter was used to investigate the decay of the total particle concentration due to coagulation and losses. Number size distributions based on mobility equivalent diameter obtained soon after launch with a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer showed lognormal distributions with an initial count median diameter (CMD) of 0.3 {mu}m and a geometric standard deviation, {sigma}{sub g} of about 2; the CMD was found to increase and {sigma}{sub g} decrease with time due to coagulation. Mass size distributions based on aerodynamic diameter were obtained for the first time with a Microorifice Uniform Deposit Impactor, which showed lognormal distributions with mass median aerodynamic diameters of about 0.5 {mu}m and an aerodynamic geometric standard deviation of about 2. Approximate methods for converting between number and mass distributions and between mobility and aerodynamic equivalent diameters are presented.

  1. Aerosol formation from high-velocity uranium drops: Comparison of number and mass distributions. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rader, D.J.; Benson, D.A.

    1995-05-01

    This report presents the results of an experimental study of the aerosol produced by the combustion of high-velocity molten-uranium droplets produced by the simultaneous heating and electromagnetic launch of uranium wires. These tests are intended to simulate the reduction of high-velocity fragments into aerosol in high-explosive detonations or reactor accidents involving nuclear materials. As reported earlier, the resulting aerosol consists mainly of web-like chain agglomerates. A condensation nucleus counter was used to investigate the decay of the total particle concentration due to coagulation and losses. Number size distributions based on mobility equivalent diameter obtained soon after launch with a Differential Mobility Particle Sizer showed lognormal distributions with an initial count median diameter (CMD) of 0.3 μm and a geometric standard deviation, σ g of about 2; the CMD was found to increase and σ g decrease with time due to coagulation. Mass size distributions based on aerodynamic diameter were obtained for the first time with a Microorifice Uniform Deposit Impactor, which showed lognormal distributions with mass median aerodynamic diameters of about 0.5 μm and an aerodynamic geometric standard deviation of about 2. Approximate methods for converting between number and mass distributions and between mobility and aerodynamic equivalent diameters are presented

  2. Estimation of Uncertainty in Aerosol Concentration Measured by Aerosol Sampling System

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jong Chan; Song, Yong Jae; Jung, Woo Young; Lee, Hyun Chul; Kim, Gyu Tae; Lee, Doo Yong [FNC Technology Co., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-10-15

    FNC Technology Co., Ltd has been developed test facilities for the aerosol generation, mixing, sampling and measurement under high pressure and high temperature conditions. The aerosol generation system is connected to the aerosol mixing system which injects SiO{sub 2}/ethanol mixture. In the sampling system, glass fiber membrane filter has been used to measure average mass concentration. Based on the experimental results using main carrier gas of steam and air mixture, the uncertainty estimation of the sampled aerosol concentration was performed by applying Gaussian error propagation law. FNC Technology Co., Ltd. has been developed the experimental facilities for the aerosol measurement under high pressure and high temperature. The purpose of the tests is to develop commercial test module for aerosol generation, mixing and sampling system applicable to environmental industry and safety related system in nuclear power plant. For the uncertainty calculation of aerosol concentration, the value of the sampled aerosol concentration is not measured directly, but must be calculated from other quantities. The uncertainty of the sampled aerosol concentration is a function of flow rates of air and steam, sampled mass, sampling time, condensed steam mass and its absolute errors. These variables propagate to the combination of variables in the function. Using operating parameters and its single errors from the aerosol test cases performed at FNC, the uncertainty of aerosol concentration evaluated by Gaussian error propagation law is less than 1%. The results of uncertainty estimation in the aerosol sampling system will be utilized for the system performance data.

  3. Mechanics of aerosols in nuclear reactor safety: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Loyalka, S.K.

    1983-01-01

    Although the estimated public risks from nuclear reactors are not high, a significant fraction of these arises from the accident sequences that lead to severe core damage. Calculation of release fractions of the core radioactive inventories for such accidents requires an understanding of the evolution of aerosols in primary coolant systems and reactor containment. The state-of-the-art in the mechanics of a single aerosol particle is reviewed and available work on coagulation of two aerosol particles is discussed. Progress in kinetic theory descriptions and experimental works is described and directions of future work are noted. The General Dynamic Equation for the aerosol distribution is considered, and several forms of this for conditions of interest are noted. Methods of solution that are discussed include analytical techniques, similarity transforms, moments methods and numerical techniques. Computer programs that have been developed in the past few years are also discussed, and their capabilities and limitations are noted. Finally, the comparison of computed results with the available experimental data is discussed, and needs for future research are emphasized. (author)

  4. Fission-nuclide concentrations of ambient aerosol separated by size

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Csepregi, T.; Kovacs, L.; Maschek, I.; Szterjopulos, K.

    1984-01-01

    Examinations were carried on the radionuclides in aerosol deposited on filters of an air-conditioning plant with high air flow rate. For nuclide concentration of ambient air qualitative and quantitative analyses were made by gamma spectrometry. Methods have been developed for sample preparation, size fractionation by sedimentation technique and measurement of air flow. The collected aerosol particles was separated into five size fractions from 1 to 5 μm and the aerosol fractions were analysed. The mass/size distribution of the particles processed by sedimentation has been compared with that of the ambient aerosol separated by a slot impactor Hungarian type. Because the aggregation caused by the resuspensationtechnique would be assumed, electronmicrophotos were made on processed and unprocessed aerosols. On the basis of them the particle aggregation may be negligible. Otherwise, the derivation of concentration needs to know the exact air volume. For this aim the technical parameters of the aerodynamic system have also been measured in two different ways. The paper reports on the size dependence of fission products originating from the present global late fallout for a two years monitoring period. The results are compared with the daily beta activity concentration of aerosol samples taken by an other sampling unit. (Author)

  5. Variability of aerosol vertical distribution in the Sahel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    O. Cavalieri

    2010-12-01

    continent by the monsoon flow.

    During summer months, the entire Sahelian region is under the influence of Saharan dust aerosols: the air masses in low levels arrive from West Africa crossing the Sahara desert or from the Southern Hemisphere crossing the Guinea Gulf while in the upper layers air masses still originate from North, North-East. The maximum of the desert dust activity is observed in this period which is characterized by large AOD (above 0.2 and backscattering values. It also corresponds to a maximum in the extension of the aerosol vertical distribution (up to 6 km of altitude. In correspondence, a progressive cleaning up of the lowermost layers of the atmosphere is occurring, especially evident in the Banizoumbou and Cinzana sites.

    Summer is in fact characterized by extensive and fast convective phenomena.

    Lidar profiles show at times large dust events loading the atmosphere with aerosol from the ground up to 6 km of altitude. These events are characterized by large total attenuated backscattering values, and alternate with very clear profiles, sometimes separated by only a few hours, indicative of fast removal processes occurring, likely due to intense convective and rain activity.

    The inter-annual variability in the three year monitoring period is not very significant. An analysis of the aerosol transport pathways, aiming at detecting the main source regions, revealed that air originated from the Saharan desert is present all year long and it is observed in the lower levels of the atmosphere at the beginning and at the end of the year. In the central part of the year it extends upward and the lower levels are less affected by air masses from Saharan desert when the monsoon flow carries air from the Guinea Gulf and the Southern Hemisphere inland.

  6. Aerosol and monsoon climate interactions over Asia: AEROSOL AND MONSOON CLIMATE INTERACTIONS

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Li, Zhanqing [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Lau, W. K. -M. [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Ramanathan, V. [Department of Atmospheric and Climate Sciences, University of California, San Diego California USA; Wu, G. [Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing China; Ding, Y. [National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing China; Manoj, M. G. [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Liu, J. [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Qian, Y. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Li, J. [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Zhou, T. [Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing China; Fan, J. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland Washington USA; Rosenfeld, D. [Institute of Earth Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem Israel; Ming, Y. [Geophysical Fluid Dynamic Laboratory, NOAA, Princeton New Jersey USA; Wang, Y. [Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena California USA; Huang, J. [College of Atmospheric Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou China; Wang, B. [Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Hawaii, Honolulu Hawaii USA; School of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing China; Xu, X. [Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing China; Lee, S. -S. [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Cribb, M. [Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and ESSIC, University of Maryland, College Park Maryland USA; Zhang, F. [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Yang, X. [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Zhao, C. [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Takemura, T. [Research Institute for Applied Mechanics, Kyushu University, Fukuoka Japan; Wang, K. [State Key Laboratory of Earth Surface Processes and Resource Ecology and College of Global Change and Earth System Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing China; Xia, X. [Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing China; Yin, Y. [School of Atmospheric Physics, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing China; Zhang, H. [National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing China; Guo, J. [Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing China; Zhai, P. M. [Chinese Academy of Meteorological Sciences, Beijing China; Sugimoto, N. [National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba Japan; Babu, S. S. [Space Physics Laboratory, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Thiruvananthapuram India; Brasseur, G. P. [Max Planck Institute for Meteorology, Hamburg Germany

    2016-11-15

    Asian monsoons and aerosols have been studied extensively which are intertwined in influencing the climate of Asia. This paper provides a comprehensive review of ample studies on Asian aerosol, monsoon and their interactions. The region is the primary source of aerosol emissions of varies species, influenced by distinct weather and climatic regimes. On continental scale, aerosols reduce surface insolation and weaken the land-ocean thermal contrast, thus inhibiting the development of monsoons. Locally, aerosol radiative effects alter the thermodynamic stability and convective potential of the lower atmosphere leading to reduced temperatures, increased atmospheric stability, and weakened wind and atmospheric circulation. The atmospheric thermodynamic state may also be altered by the aerosol serving as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nuclei. Many mechanisms have been put forth regarding how aerosols modulate the amplitude, frequency, intensity, and phase of numerous monsoon climate variables. A wide range of theoretical, observational, and modeling findings on the Asian monsoon, aerosols, and their interactions are synthesized. A new paradigm is proposed on investigating aerosol-monsoon interactions, in which natural aerosols such as desert dust, black carbon from biomass burning, and biogenic aerosols from vegetation are considered integral components of an intrinsic aerosol-monsoon climate system, subject to external forcings of global warming, anthropogenic aerosols, and land use and change. Future research on aerosol-monsoon interactions calls for an integrated approach and international collaborations based on long-term sustained observations, process measurements, and improved models, as well as using observations to constrain model simulations and projections.

  7. Influence of inland aerosol loading on the monsoon over Indian subcontinent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Satyanarayana, M.; Krishnakumar, V.; Mahadevan Pillai, V. P.; Radhakrishnan, S. R.; Raghunath, K.

    2008-12-01

    The monsoon water cycle is the lifeline to over 60% of the world's population. The study on the behavioral change of Indian monsoon due to aerosol loading will help for the better understanding of Indian Monsoon. Aerosol system influences the atmosphere in two ways; it affects directly the radiation budget and indirectly provides condensation nuclei required for the clouds. The precipitation of the clouds in the monsoon season depends on the microphysical properties of the clouds. The effect of aerosol on cirrus clouds is being looked into through this work as an effort to study the role of aerosol on Indian Monsoon. The microphysical properties of high altitude clouds were obtained from the ground based lidar experiments at a low latitude station in the Indian subcontinent. Measurements during the Indian monsoon period from the inland station National Atmospheric Research Laboratory (NARL) Gadanki (13.5_ N, 79.2_ E), Tirupati, India were used for the investigation. The depolarization characteristics of the cirrus clouds were measured and the correlation between the depolarization and the precipitation characteristics were studied. The results obtained over a period of one year from January 1998 to December 1998 were presented.

  8. Impact of anthropogenic aerosols on present and future climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Deandreis, C.

    2008-03-01

    Aerosols influence the Earth radiative budget both through their direct effect (scattering and absorption of solar radiation) and their indirect effect (impacts on cloud microphysics). The role of anthropogenic aerosol in climate change has been recognized to be significant when compared to the one of greenhouse gases. Despite many studies on this topic, the assessments of both anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing and their impacts on meteorological variables are still very uncertain. Major reasons for these uncertainties stem from the insufficient knowledge of the emissions sources and of the processes of formation, transformation and deposition. Models used to study climate are often inadequate to study aerosol processes because of coarse spatial and temporal scales. Uncertainties due to the parameterization of the aerosol are added to the uncertainties in the representation of large scale dynamics and physical processes such as transport, hydrological cycle and radiative budget. To predict, the role of the anthropogenic aerosol impact in the future climate change, I have addressed some of these key uncertainties. In this study, I simulate interactively aerosols processes in a climate model in order to improve the estimation of their direct and indirect effects. I estimate a modification of the top of the atmosphere net flux of 60% for the present period. I also show that, for future projection, the representation of the emissions source is an other important source of error. I assess that aerosols radiative forcing differ by 40% between simulations performed with 2 different emissions inventories. These inventories are representative for a high and a low limit in term of carbonaceous aerosols emissions for the 2050 horizon. (author)

  9. Sensitive detection of aerosol effect on simulated IASI spectral radiance

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Quan, X.; Huang, H.-L.; Zhang, L.; Weisz, E.; Cao, X.

    2013-01-01

    Guided by radiative transfer modeling of the effects of dust (aerosol) on satellite thermal infrared radiance by many different imaging radiometers, in this article, we present the aerosol-effected satellite radiative signal changes in the top of atmosphere (TOA). The simulation of TOA radiance for Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI) is performed by using the RTTOV fast radiative transfer model. The model computation is carried out with setting representative geographical atmospheric models and typical default aerosol climatological models under clear sky condition. The radiative differences (in units of equivalent black body brightness temperature differences (BTDs)) between simulated radiances without consideration of the impact of aerosol (Aerosol-free) and with various aerosol models (Aerosol-modified) are calculated for the whole IASI spectrum between 3.62 and 15.5 μm. The comparisons of BTDs are performed through 11 aerosol models in 5 classified atmospheric models. The results show that the Desert aerosol model has the most significant impact on IASI spectral simulated radiances than the other aerosol models (Continental, Urban, Maritime types and so on) in Mid-latitude Summer, contributing to the mineral aerosol components contained. The value of BTDs could reach up to 1 K at peak points. The atmospheric window spectral region between 900 and 1100 cm −1 (9.09–11.11 μm) is concentrated after the investigation for the largest values of aerosol-affected radiance differences. BTDs in IASI spectral region between 645 and 1200 cm −1 occupies the largest oscillation and the major part of the whole spectrum. The IASI highest window peak-points channels (such as 9.4 and 10.2 μm) are obtained finally, which are the most sensitive ones to the simulated IASI radiance. -- Highlights: ► Sensitive study of aerosol effect on simulated IASI spectral radiance is performed. ► The aerosol components have influenced IASI spectral regions

  10. The aerosols and the greenhouse effect; Aerosoler og klimaeffekten

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Iversen, Trond; Kirkevaag, Alf; Seland, Oeyvind; Debernard, Jens Boldingh; Kristjansson, Jon Egill; Storelvmo, Trude

    2008-07-01

    The article discussed the aerosol effects on the climatic changes and points out that the climate models do not incorporate these components satisfactorily mostly due to insufficient knowledge of the aerosol pollution sources. The direct and indirect effects of aerosols are mentioned as well as the climate response (tk)

  11. Trace elements in California aerosols. Part I. Instrumental neutron activation analysis techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ragaini, R.C.; Ralston, H.R.; Garvis, D.; Kaifer, R.

    1975-01-01

    Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) done at LLL played a key role in the 1972--1974 California Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACHEX), a major experiment in the chemistry of aerosols in urban and non-urban sites of California sponsored by the State of California Air Resources Board. The main purpose of INAA was to measure the particle size distributions and diurnal patterns of key chemical constituents in aerosols collected in California. These data were used to satisfy some of the key objectives of ACHEX, including aerosol characterization and evaluation of the origins and evolutions of aerosols. Secondary uses of INAA were the validations of the Lundgren rotating drum cascade impactors used in the ACHEX, and validations of other analytical techniques used in the chemical analyses. As a result of these studies, it was concluded that techniques using INAA were useful operational methods for chemical analysis of aerosols collected over two-hour periods in urban air with an active monitoring program. (U.S.)

  12. Interaction of Microphysical Aerosol Processes with Hydrodynamics Mixing

    KAUST Repository

    Alshaarawi, Amjad

    2015-01-01

    ) streams owing from opposite nozzles. A mixing layer is established across a stagnation plane in the center where nucleation and other aerosol dynamics are triggered. The second is homogeneous isotropic turbulence in a three-dimensional periodic domain

  13. LMFBR aerosol release and transport program. Quarterly progress report, July-September 1981

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kress, T.S.; Tobias, M.L.

    1982-01-01

    This report summarizes progress for the Aerosol Release and Transport Program sponsored by the Office of Nuclear Regulatory Research, Division of Accident Evaluation of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the period July-September 1981. Topics discussed include (1) preparations for under-sodium tests at the Fast Aerosol Simulant Test Facility, (2) progress in interpretation of Oak Ridge National Laboratory-Sandia Laboratory normalization test results, (3) U 3 O 8 in steam (light-water reactor accident) aerosol experiments conducted in the Nuclear Safety Power Plant, (4) experiments on B 2 O 3 and SiO 2 aerosols at the Containment Research Installation-II Facility, (5) fuel-melting tests in small-scale experimental facilities for the core-melt aerosol program, (6) analytical comparison of simple adiabatic nonlinear and linear analytical models of bubble oscillation phenomena with experimental data

  14. Efficient transport of tropospheric aerosol into the stratosphere via the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Pengfei; Rosenlof, Karen H.; Liu, Shang; Telg, Hagen; Thornberry, Troy D.; Rollins, Andrew W.; Portmann, Robert W.; Bai, Zhixuan; Ray, Eric A.; Duan, Yunjun; Pan, Laura L.; Toon, Owen B.; Bian, Jianchun; Gao, Ru-Shan

    2017-07-01

    An enhanced aerosol layer near the tropopause over Asia during the June-September period of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) was recently identified using satellite observations. Its sources and climate impact are presently not well-characterized. To improve understanding of this phenomenon, we made in situ aerosol measurements during summer 2015 from Kunming, China, then followed with a modeling study to assess the global significance. The in situ measurements revealed a robust enhancement in aerosol concentration that extended up to 2 km above the tropopause. A climate model simulation demonstrates that the abundant anthropogenic aerosol precursor emissions from Asia coupled with rapid vertical transport associated with monsoon convection leads to significant particle formation in the upper troposphere within the ASM anticyclone. These particles subsequently spread throughout the entire Northern Hemispheric (NH) lower stratosphere and contribute significantly (˜15%) to the NH stratospheric column aerosol surface area on an annual basis. This contribution is comparable to that from the sum of small volcanic eruptions in the period between 2000 and 2015. Although the ASM contribution is smaller than that from tropical upwelling (˜35%), we find that this region is about three times as efficient per unit area and time in populating the NH stratosphere with aerosol. With a substantial amount of organic and sulfur emissions in Asia, the ASM anticyclone serves as an efficient smokestack venting aerosols to the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere. As economic growth continues in Asia, the relative importance of Asian emissions to stratospheric aerosol is likely to increase.

  15. The History of Therapeutic Aerosols: A Chronological Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stein, Stephen W; Thiel, Charles G

    2017-02-01

    In 1956, Riker Laboratories, Inc., (now 3 M Drug Delivery Systems) introduced the first pressurized metered dose inhaler (MDI). In many respects, the introduction of the MDI marked the beginning of the modern pharmaceutical aerosol industry. The MDI was the first truly portable and convenient inhaler that effectively delivered drug to the lung and quickly gained widespread acceptance. Since 1956, the pharmaceutical aerosol industry has experienced dramatic growth. The signing of the Montreal Protocol in 1987 led to a surge in innovation that resulted in the diversification of inhaler technologies with significantly enhanced delivery efficiency, including modern MDIs, dry powder inhalers, and nebulizer systems. The innovative inhalers and drugs discovered by the pharmaceutical aerosol industry, particularly since 1956, have improved the quality of life of literally hundreds of millions of people. Yet, the delivery of therapeutic aerosols has a surprisingly rich history dating back more than 3500 years to ancient Egypt. The delivery of atropine and related compounds has been a crucial inhalation therapy throughout this period and the delivery of associated structural analogs remains an important therapy today. Over the centuries, discoveries from many cultures have advanced the delivery of therapeutic aerosols. For thousands of years, therapeutic aerosols were prepared by the patient or a physician with direct oversight of the patient using custom-made delivery systems. However, starting with the Industrial Revolution, advancements in manufacturing resulted in the bulk production of therapeutic aerosol delivery systems produced by people completely disconnected from contact with the patient. This trend continued and accelerated in the 20th century with the mass commercialization of modern pharmaceutical inhaler products. In this article, we will provide a summary of therapeutic aerosol delivery from ancient times to the present along with a look to the future. We

  16. Extremely large anthropogenic-aerosol contribution to total aerosol load over the Bay of Bengal during winter season

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. G. Kaskaoutis

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Ship-borne observations of spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD have been carried out over the entire Bay of Bengal (BoB as part of the W-ICARB cruise campaign during the period 27 December 2008–30 January 2009. The results reveal a pronounced temporal and spatial variability in the optical characteristics of aerosols mainly due to anthropogenic emissions and their dispersion controlled by local meteorology. The highest aerosol amount, with mean AOD500>0.4, being even above 1.0 on specific days, is found close to the coastal regions in the western and northern parts of BoB. In these regions the Ångström exponent is also found to be high (~1.2–1.25 indicating transport of strong anthropogenic emissions from continental regions, while very high AOD500 (0.39±0.07 and α380–870 values (1.27±0.09 are found over the eastern BoB. Except from the large α380–870 values, an indication of strong fine-mode dominance is also observed from the AOD curvature, which is negative in the vast majority of the cases, suggesting dominance of an anthropogenic-pollution aerosol type. On the other hand, clean maritime conditions are rather rare over the region, while the aerosol types are further examined through a classification scheme based on the relationship between α and dα. It was found that even for the same α values the fine-mode dominance is larger for higher AODs showing the strong continental influence over the marine environment of BoB. Furthermore, there is also an evidence of aerosol-size growth under more turbid conditions indicative of coagulation and/or humidification over specific BoB regions. The results obtained using OPAC model show significant fraction of soot aerosols (~6 %–8 % over the eastern and northwestern BoB, while coarse-mode sea salt particles are found to dominate in the southern parts of BoB.

  17. Climatological aspects of aerosol optical properties in Northern Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Gerasopoulos

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available Measurements of aerosol optical properties (aerosol optical depth, scattering and backscattering coefficients have been conducted at two ground-based sites in Northern Greece, Ouranoupolis (40° 23' N, 23° 57' E, 170 m a.s.l. and Thessaloniki (40° 38' N, 22° 57' E, 80 m a.s.l., between 1999 and 2002. The frequency distributions of the observed parameters have revealed the presence of individual modes of high and low values, indicating the influence from different sources. At both sites, the mean aerosol optical depth at 500 nm was 0.23. Values increase considerably during summer when they remain persistently between 0.3 and 0.5, going up to 0.7-0.8 during specific cases. The mean value of 65±40 Mm-1 of the particle scattering coefficient at 550 nm reflects the impact of continental pollution in the regional boundary layer. Trajectory analysis has shown that higher values of aerosol optical depth and the scattering coefficient are found in the east sector (former Soviet Union countries, eastern Balkan countries, whereas cleaner conditions are found for the NW direction. The influence of Sahara dust events is clearly reflected in the Ångström exponents. About 45-60% of the observed diurnal variation of the optical properties was attributed to the growth of aerosols with humidity, while the rest of the variability is in phase with the evolution of the sea-breeze cell. The contribution of local pollution is estimated to contribute 35±10% to the average aerosol optical depth at the Thessaloniki site during summer. Finally, the aerosol scale height (aerosol optical depth divided by scattering coefficient was found to be related to the height of the boundary layer with values between 0.5-1 km during winter and up to 2.5-3 km during summer.

  18. Aerosols in Northern Morocco: Input pathways and their chemical fingerprint

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benchrif, A.; Guinot, B.; Bounakhla, M.; Cachier, H.; Damnati, B.; Baghdad, B.

    2018-02-01

    The Mediterranean basin is one of the most sensitive regions in the world regarding climate change and air quality. Deserts and marine aerosols combine with combustion aerosols from maritime traffic, large urban centers, and at a larger scale from populated industrialized regions in Europe. From Tetouan city located in the North of Morocco, we attempted to better figure out the main aerosol transport pathways and their respective aerosol load and chemical profile by examining air mass back trajectory patterns and aerosol chemical compositions from May 2011 to April 2012. The back trajectory analysis throughout the sampling period led to four clusters, for which meteorological conditions and aerosol chemical characteristics have been investigated. The most frequent cluster (CL3: 39%) corresponds to polluted air masses coming from the Mediterranean Basin, characterized by urban and marine vessels emissions out of Spain and of Northern Africa. Two other polluted clusters were characterized. One is of local origin (CL1: 22%), with a marked contribution from urban aerosols (Rabat, Casablanca) and from biomass burning aerosols. The second (CL2: 32%) defines air masses from the near Atlantic Ocean, affected by pollutants emitted from the Iberian coast. A fourth cluster (CL4: 7%) is characterized by rather clean, fast and rainy oceanic air masses, influenced during their last 24 h before reaching Tetouan by similar sources with those affecting CL2, but to a lesser extent. The chemical data show that carbonaceous species are found in the fine aerosols fraction and are generally from local primary sources (low OC/EC) rather than long-range transported. In addition to fresh traffic and maritime vessel aerosols, our results suggest the contribution of local biomass burning.

  19. Characterization of distinct Arctic aerosol accumulation modes and their sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lange, R.; Dall'Osto, M.; Skov, H.; Nøjgaard, J. K.; Nielsen, I. E.; Beddows, D. C. S.; Simo, R.; Harrison, R. M.; Massling, A.

    2018-06-01

    In this work we use cluster analysis of long term particle size distribution data to expand an array of different shorter term atmospheric measurements, thereby gaining insights into longer term patterns and properties of Arctic aerosol. Measurements of aerosol number size distributions (9-915 nm) were conducted at Villum Research Station (VRS), Station Nord in North Greenland during a 5 year record (2012-2016). Alongside this, measurements of aerosol composition, meteorological parameters, gaseous compounds and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity were performed during different shorter occasions. K-means clustering analysis of particle number size distributions on daily basis identified several clusters. Clusters of accumulation mode aerosols (main size modes > 100 nm) accounted for 56% of the total aerosol during the sampling period (89-91% during February-April, 1-3% during June-August). By association to chemical composition, cloud condensation nuclei properties, and meteorological variables, three typical accumulation mode aerosol clusters were identified: Haze (32% of the time), Bimodal (14%) and Aged (6%). In brief: (1) Haze accumulation mode aerosol shows a single mode at 150 nm, peaking in February-April, with highest loadings of sulfate and black carbon concentrations. (2) Accumulation mode Bimodal aerosol shows two modes, at 38 nm and 150 nm, peaking in June-August, with the highest ratio of organics to sulfate concentrations. (3) Aged accumulation mode aerosol shows a single mode at 213 nm, peaking in September-October and is associated with cloudy and humid weather conditions during autumn. The three aerosol clusters were considered alongside CCN concentrations. We suggest that organic compounds, that are likely marine biogenic in nature, greatly influence the Bimodal cluster and contribute significantly to its CCN activity. This stresses the importance of better characterizing the marine ecosystem and the aerosol-mediated climate effects in the

  20. Black carbon aerosol mixing state, organic aerosols and aerosol optical properties over the United Kingdom

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMeeking, G. R.; Morgan, W. T.; Flynn, M.; Highwood, E. J.; Turnbull, K.; Haywood, J.; Coe, H.

    2011-09-01

    Black carbon (BC) aerosols absorb sunlight thereby leading to a positive radiative forcing and a warming of climate and can also impact human health through their impact on the respiratory system. The state of mixing of BC with other aerosol species, particularly the degree of internal/external mixing, has been highlighted as a major uncertainty in assessing its radiative forcing and hence its climate impact, but few in situ observations of mixing state exist. We present airborne single particle soot photometer (SP2) measurements of refractory BC (rBC) mass concentrations and mixing state coupled with aerosol composition and optical properties measured in urban plumes and regional pollution over the United Kingdom. All data were obtained using instrumentation flown on the UK's BAe-146-301 large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA) operated by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM). We measured sub-micron aerosol composition using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and used positive matrix factorization to separate hydrocarbon-like (HOA) and oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA). We found a higher number fraction of thickly coated rBC particles in air masses with large OOA relative to HOA, higher ozone-to-nitrogen oxides (NOx) ratios and large concentrations of total sub-micron aerosol mass relative to rBC mass concentrations. The more ozone- and OOA-rich air masses were associated with transport from continental Europe, while plumes from UK cities had higher HOA and NOx and fewer thickly coated rBC particles. We did not observe any significant change in the rBC mass absorption efficiency calculated from rBC mass and light absorption coefficients measured by a particle soot absorption photometer despite observing significant changes in aerosol composition and rBC mixing state. The contributions of light scattering and absorption to total extinction (quantified by the single scattering albedo; SSA) did change for different air masses, with lower SSA

  1. Black carbon aerosol mixing state, organic aerosols and aerosol optical properties over the United Kingdom

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. R. McMeeking

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Black carbon (BC aerosols absorb sunlight thereby leading to a positive radiative forcing and a warming of climate and can also impact human health through their impact on the respiratory system. The state of mixing of BC with other aerosol species, particularly the degree of internal/external mixing, has been highlighted as a major uncertainty in assessing its radiative forcing and hence its climate impact, but few in situ observations of mixing state exist. We present airborne single particle soot photometer (SP2 measurements of refractory BC (rBC mass concentrations and mixing state coupled with aerosol composition and optical properties measured in urban plumes and regional pollution over the United Kingdom. All data were obtained using instrumentation flown on the UK's BAe-146-301 large Atmospheric Research Aircraft (ARA operated by the Facility for Airborne Atmospheric Measurements (FAAM. We measured sub-micron aerosol composition using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS and used positive matrix factorization to separate hydrocarbon-like (HOA and oxygenated organic aerosols (OOA. We found a higher number fraction of thickly coated rBC particles in air masses with large OOA relative to HOA, higher ozone-to-nitrogen oxides (NOx ratios and large concentrations of total sub-micron aerosol mass relative to rBC mass concentrations. The more ozone- and OOA-rich air masses were associated with transport from continental Europe, while plumes from UK cities had higher HOA and NOx and fewer thickly coated rBC particles. We did not observe any significant change in the rBC mass absorption efficiency calculated from rBC mass and light absorption coefficients measured by a particle soot absorption photometer despite observing significant changes in aerosol composition and rBC mixing state. The contributions of light scattering and absorption to total extinction (quantified by the single scattering albedo; SSA did change for

  2. Estimating marine aerosol particle volume and number from Maritime Aerosol Network data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. M. Sayer

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available As well as spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD, aerosol composition and concentration (number, volume, or mass are of interest for a variety of applications. However, remote sensing of these quantities is more difficult than for AOD, as it is more sensitive to assumptions relating to aerosol composition. This study uses spectral AOD measured on Maritime Aerosol Network (MAN cruises, with the additional constraint of a microphysical model for unpolluted maritime aerosol based on analysis of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET inversions, to estimate these quantities over open ocean. When the MAN data are subset to those likely to be comprised of maritime aerosol, number and volume concentrations obtained are physically reasonable. Attempts to estimate surface concentration from columnar abundance, however, are shown to be limited by uncertainties in vertical distribution. Columnar AOD at 550 nm and aerosol number for unpolluted maritime cases are also compared with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS data, for both the present Collection 5.1 and forthcoming Collection 6. MODIS provides a best-fitting retrieval solution, as well as the average for several different solutions, with different aerosol microphysical models. The "average solution" MODIS dataset agrees more closely with MAN than the "best solution" dataset. Terra tends to retrieve lower aerosol number than MAN, and Aqua higher, linked with differences in the aerosol models commonly chosen. Collection 6 AOD is likely to agree more closely with MAN over open ocean than Collection 5.1. In situations where spectral AOD is measured accurately, and aerosol microphysical properties are reasonably well-constrained, estimates of aerosol number and volume using MAN or similar data would provide for a greater variety of potential comparisons with aerosol properties derived from satellite or chemistry transport model data. However, without accurate AOD data and prior knowledge of

  3. Characterization of biogenic secondary organic aerosols using statistical methods; Charakterisierung Biogener Sekundaerer Organischer Aerosole mit Statistischen Methoden

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Spindler, Christian

    2010-07-01

    spectral characteristics of aerosol from different precursor mixtures or of different age, statistical methods comprise a major part of the analysis performed in this work. First, hierarchical cluster analysis is used to classify similar mass spectra. This method is based on the distances between pairs of mass spectra and is helpful to distinguish between groups of very similar data sets. Cluster analysis operates on static mass spectra and does not incorporate time-dependent processes. As a result it is found that the chemical composition of BSOA is almost independent from the detailed composition of the terpene precursor mixture. Second, elemental analysis of the mass spectra is performed using the high resolving power of the time-of-flight AMS. For each mass spectrum, the ratio of oxygen to carbon atoms, O/C, can be calculated by knowing the chemical composition of the individual fragments and counting the respective elements. This analysis helps interpreting the results from the statistical methods. The temporal evolution of O/C can be directly interpreted as an aging process. The evolution is further compared to the oxidation conditions of the respective experiments. It is found that the temporal O/C evolution in SAPHIR experiments is strongly dependent on the abundance of OH. Finally, a matrix factorization method constraining the entries in the solution matrices to positive values (PMF) is applied to determine factors in aging experiments. The results are linked to fragment distributions in high-resolved mass spectra and to external measurements of terpene oxidation products. A main result from PMF is that the chemical composition of BSOA particles is a combination of many parallel processes with different time constants. Additional measurements were performed on heated aerosol to infer the volatility and changes in the chemical composition with evaporation of the most volatile compounds. The discussion of the results from these measurements forms the final chapter

  4. Aerosols generated by 239PU and 233U droplets burning in air

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nelson, L.S.; Raabe, O.G.

    1978-01-01

    The inhalation hazards of radioactive aerosols produced by the explosive disruption and subsequent combustion of metallic plutonium in air are not adequately understood. Results of a study to determine whether uranium can be substituted for plutonium in such a situation in which experiments were performed under identical conditions with laser-ignited, single, freely falling droplets of 239 Pu and 233 U are reported. The total amounts of aerosol produced were studied quantitatively as a function of time during the combustion. Also, particle size distributions of selected aerosols were studied with aerodynamic particle separation techniques. Results showed that the ultimate quantity of aerosols, their final particle size distributions, and depositions as a function of time are not identical mainly because of the different vapor pressures of the metals, and the unlike degrees of violence of the explosions of the droplets

  5. Apportionment of urban aerosol sources in Cork (Ireland) by synergistic measurement techniques.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dall'Osto, Manuel; Hellebust, Stig; Healy, Robert M; O'Connor, Ian P; Kourtchev, Ivan; Sodeau, John R; Ovadnevaite, Jurgita; Ceburnis, Darius; O'Dowd, Colin D; Wenger, John C

    2014-09-15

    The sources of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during wintertime at a background urban location in Cork city (Ireland) have been determined. Aerosol chemical analyses were performed by multiple techniques including on-line high resolution aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS), on-line single particle aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TSI ATOFMS), on-line elemental carbon-organic carbon analysis (Sunset_EC-OC), and off-line gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and ion chromatography analysis of filter samples collected at 6-h resolution. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) has been carried out to better elucidate aerosol sources not clearly identified when analyzing results from individual aerosol techniques on their own. Two datasets have been considered: on-line measurements averaged over 2-h periods, and both on-line and off-line measurements averaged over 6-h periods. Five aerosol sources were identified by PMF in both datasets, with excellent agreement between the two solutions: (1) regional domestic solid fuel burning--"DSF_Regional," 24-27%; (2) local urban domestic solid fuel burning--"DSF_Urban," 22-23%; (3) road vehicle emissions--"Traffic," 15-20%; (4) secondary aerosols from regional anthropogenic sources--"SA_Regional" 9-13%; and (5) secondary aged/processed aerosols related to urban anthropogenic sources--"SA_Urban," 21-26%. The results indicate that, despite regulations for restricting the use of smoky fuels, solid fuel burning is the major source (46-50%) of PM2.5 in wintertime in Cork, and also likely other areas of Ireland. Whilst wood combustion is strongly associated with OC and EC, it was found that peat and coal combustion is linked mainly with OC and the aerosol from these latter sources appears to be more volatile than that produced by wood combustion. Ship emissions from the nearby port were found to be mixed with the SA_Regional factor. The PMF analysis allowed us to link the AMS cooking organic

  6. Chemical composition and characteristics of ambient aerosols and rainwater residues during Indian summer monsoon: Insight from aerosol mass spectrometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, Abhishek; Gupta, Tarun; Tripathi, Sachchida N.

    2016-07-01

    Real time composition of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) is measured via Aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) for the first time during Indian summer monsoon at Kanpur, a polluted urban location located at the heart of Indo Gangetic Plain (IGP). Submicron aerosols are found to be dominated by organics followed by nitrate. Source apportionment of organic aerosols (OA) via positive matrix factorization (PMF) revealed several types of secondary/oxidized and primary organic aerosols. On average, OA are completely dominated by oxidized OA with a very little contribution from biomass burning OA. During rain events, PM1 concentration is decreased almost by 60%, but its composition remains nearly the same. Oxidized OA showed slightly more decrease than primary OAs, probably due to their higher hygroscopicity. The presence of organo nitrates (ON) is also detected in ambient aerosols. Apart from real-time sampling, collected fog and rainwater samples were also analyzed via AMS in offline mode and in the ICP-OES (Inductively coupled plasma - Optical emission spectrometry) for elements. The presence of sea salt, organo nitrates and sulfates has been observed. Rainwater residues are also dominated by organics but their O/C ratios are 15-20% lower than the observed values for ambient OA. Alkali metals such as Ca, Na, K are found to be most abundant in the rainwater followed by Zn. Rainwater residues are also found to be much less oxidized than the aerosols present inside the fog water, indicating presence of less oxidized organics. These findings indicate that rain can act as an effective scavenger of different types of pollutants even for submicron particle range. Rainwater residues also contain organo sulfates which indicate that some portion of the dissolved aerosols has undergone aqueous processing, possibly inside the cloud. Highly oxidized and possibly hygroscopic OA during monsoon period compared to other seasons (winter, post monsoon), indicates that they can act

  7. Time Resolved Measurements of Primary Biogenic Aerosol Particles in Amazonia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wollny, A. G.; Garland, R.; Pöschl, U.

    2009-04-01

    Biogenic aerosols are ubiquitous in the Earth's atmosphere and they influence atmospheric chemistry and physics, the biosphere, climate, and public health. They play an important role in the spread of biological organisms and reproductive materials, and they can cause or enhance human, animal, and plant diseases. Moreover, they influence the Earth's energy budget by scattering and absorbing radiation, and they can initiate the formation of clouds and precipitation as cloud condensation and ice nuclei. The composition, abundance, and origin of biogenic aerosol particles and components are, however, still not well understood and poorly quantified. Prominent examples of primary biogenic aerosol particles, which are directly emitted from the biosphere to the atmosphere, are pollen, bacteria, fungal spores, viruses, and fragments of animals and plants. During the Amazonian Aerosol Characterization Experiment (AMAZE-08) a large number of aerosol and gas-phase measurements were taken on a remote site close to Manaus, Brazil, during a period of five weeks in February and March 2008. This presented study is focused on data from an ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UVAPS, TSI inc.) that has been deployed for the first time in Amazonia. In this instrument, particle counting and aerodynamic sizing over the range of 0.5-20 µm are complemented by the measurement of UV fluorescence at 355 nm (excitation) and 420-575 nm (emission), respectively. Fluorescence at these wavelengths is characteristic for reduced pyridine nucleotides (e.g., NAD(P)H) and for riboflavin, which are specific for living cells. Thus particles exhibiting fluorescence signals can be regarded as "viable aerosols" or "fluorescent bioparticles" (FBAP), and their concentration can be considered as lower limit for the actual abundance of primary biogenic aerosol particles. Data from the UVAPS were averaged over 5 minute time intervals. The presence of bioparticles in the observed size range has been

  8. Chemical and aerosol characterisation of the troposphere over West Africa during the monsoon period as part of AMMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. E. Reeves

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available During June, July and August 2006 five aircraft took part in a campaign over West Africa to observe the aerosol content and chemical composition of the troposphere and lower stratosphere as part of the African Monsoon Multidisciplinary Analysis (AMMA project. These are the first such measurements in this region during the monsoon period. In addition to providing an overview of the tropospheric composition, this paper provides a description of the measurement strategy (flights performed, instrumental payloads, wing-tip to wing-tip comparisons and points to some of the important findings discussed in more detail in other papers in this special issue.

    The ozone data exhibits an "S" shaped vertical profile which appears to result from significant losses in the lower troposphere due to rapid deposition to forested areas and photochemical destruction in the moist monsoon air, and convective uplift of ozone-poor air to the upper troposphere. This profile is disturbed, particularly in the south of the region, by the intrusions in the lower and middle troposphere of air from the southern hemisphere impacted by biomass burning. Comparisons with longer term data sets suggest the impact of these intrusions on West Africa in 2006 was greater than in other recent wet seasons. There is evidence for net photochemical production of ozone in these biomass burning plumes as well as in urban plumes, in particular that from Lagos, convective outflow in the upper troposphere and in boundary layer air affected by nitrogen oxide emissions from recently wetted soils. This latter effect, along with enhanced deposition to the forested areas, contributes to a latitudinal gradient of ozone in the lower troposphere. Biogenic volatile organic compounds are also important in defining the composition both for the boundary layer and upper tropospheric convective outflow.

    Mineral dust was found to be the most abundant and ubiquitous aerosol type in the

  9. Use of the NASA GEOS-5 SEAC4RS Meteorological and Aerosol Reanalysis for assessing simulated aerosol optical properties as a function of smoke age

    Science.gov (United States)

    Randles, C. A.; da Silva, A. M., Jr.; Colarco, P. R.; Darmenov, A.; Buchard, V.; Govindaraju, R.; Chen, G.; Hair, J. W.; Russell, P. B.; Shinozuka, Y.; Wagner, N.; Lack, D.

    2014-12-01

    The NASA Goddard Earth Observing System version 5 (GEOS-5) Earth system model, which includes an online aerosol module, provided chemical and weather forecasts during the SEAC4RS field campaign. For post-mission analysis, we have produced a high resolution (25 km) meteorological and aerosol reanalysis for the entire campaign period. In addition to the full meteorological observing system used for routine NWP, we assimilate 550 nm aerosol optical depth (AOD) derived from MODIS (both Aqua and Terra satellites), ground-based AERONET sun photometers, and the MISR instrument (over bright surfaces only). Daily biomass burning emissions of CO, CO2, SO2, and aerosols are derived from MODIS fire radiative power retrievals. We have also introduced novel smoke "age" tracers, which provide, for a given time, a snapshot histogram of the age of simulated smoke aerosol. Because GEOS-5 assimilates remotely sensed AOD data, it generally reproduces observed (column) AOD compared to, for example, the airborne 4-STAR instrument. Constraining AOD, however, does not imply a good representation of either the vertical profile or the aerosol microphysical properties (e.g., composition, absorption). We do find a reasonable vertical structure for aerosols is attained in the model, provided actual smoke injection heights are not much above the planetary boundary layer, as verified with observations from DIAL/HRSL aboard the DC8. The translation of the simulated aerosol microphysical properties to total column AOD, needed in the aerosol assimilation step, is based on prescribed mass extinction efficiencies that depend on wavelength, composition, and relative humidity. Here we also evaluate the performance of the simulated aerosol speciation by examining in situ retrievals of aerosol absorption/single scattering albedo and scattering growth factor (f(RH)) from the LARGE and AOP suite of instruments. Putting these comparisons in the context of smoke age as diagnosed by the model helps us to

  10. Aerosol climate effects and air quality impacts from 1980 to 2030

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menon, Surabi; Sednev, Igor; Unger, Nadine; Koch, Dorothy; Shindell, Drew; Francis, Jennifer; Garrett, Tim; Streets, David

    2008-01-01

    We investigate aerosol effects on climate for 1980, 1995 (meant to reflect present day) and 2030 using the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies climate model coupled to an on-line aerosol source and transport model with interactive oxidant and aerosol chemistry. Aerosols simulated include sulfates, organic matter (OM), black carbon (BC), sea-salt and dust and, additionally, the amount of tropospheric ozone is calculated, allowing us to estimate both changes to air quality and climate for different time periods and emission amounts. We include both the direct aerosol effect and indirect aerosol effects for liquid-phase clouds. Future changes for the 2030 A1B scenario are examined, focusing on the Arctic and Asia, since changes are pronounced in these regions. Our results for the different time periods include both emission changes and physical climate changes. We find that the aerosol indirect effect (AIE) has a large impact on photochemical processing, decreasing ozone amount and ozone forcing, especially for the future (2030-1995). Ozone forcings increase from 0 to 0.12 W m -2 and the total aerosol forcing decreases from -0.10 to -0.94 W m -2 (AIE decreases from -0.13 to -0.68 W m -2 ) for 1995-1980 versus 2030-1995. Over the Arctic we find that compared to ozone and the direct aerosol effect, the AIE contributes the most to net radiative flux changes. The AIE, calculated for 1995-1980, is positive (1.0 W m -2 ), but the magnitude decreases (-0.3 W m -2 ) considerably for the future scenario. Over Asia, we evaluate the role of biofuel- and transportation-based emissions (for BC and OM) via a scenario (2030A) that includes a projected increase (factor of 2) in biofuel- and transport-based emissions for 2030 A1B over Asia. Projected changes from present day due to the 2030A emissions versus 2030 A1B are a factor of 4 decrease in summertime precipitation in Asia. Our results are sensitive to emissions used. Uncertainty in present-day emissions suggests that

  11. Study on Aerosol Penetration Through Clothing and Individual Protective Equipment

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-05-01

    8.4X10-3 mg.m-3 (2.57X105 particles per cubic meter of air) over a 30 minute period. This scenario represents a very high end threat with a large... Isokinetic air sampling was applied and the effect of aerosol losses in sampling lines and other parts of the test rig were incorporated in analysis...eliminate any “memory” effect. The aerosol sampling (airflow direction control, start of sampling) was operated manually. Isokinetic sampling conditions

  12. Radiation protection instrumentation. Monitoring equipment. Radioactive aerosols in the environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-01-01

    This international standard applies to portable or installed equipment for continuous monitoring of radioactive aerosols in the environment in normal and emergency conditions. Monitoring involves continuous sampling and, where desirable, automatic start of sampling. The document applies particularly to the following assignments: (i) determination of the volume activity of radionuclides in the form of aerosols, either per time unit, along with its time changes, or in the integral form over a longer time period such as 24 h, and measurement of the volume sampled; (ii) triggering a warning alarm signal if the preset volume activity or time integral of the volume activity of aerosols has been exceeded. The document deals with radioactive aerosol monitor design, testing procedures, and documentation. Appended tables refer to the reference and normal testing conditions, tests in normal testing conditions, tests during changes of the affecting quantities, and tests of the air circuit. (P.A.)

  13. Aerosol effects on the photochemistry in Mexico City during MCMA-2006/MILAGRO campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Li

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available In the present study, the impact of aerosols on the photochemistry in Mexico City is evaluated using the WRF-CHEM model for the period from 24 to 29 March during the MCMA-2006/MILAGRO campaign. An aerosol radiative module has been developed with detailed consideration of aerosol size, composition, and mixing. The module has been coupled into the WRF-CHEM model to calculate the aerosol optical properties, including optical depth, single scattering albedo, and asymmetry factor. Calculated aerosol optical properties are in good agreement with the surface observations and aircraft and satellite measurements during daytime. In general, the photolysis rates are reduced due to the absorption by carbonaceous aerosols, particularly in the early morning and late afternoon hours with a long aerosol optical path. However, with the growth of aerosol particles and the decrease of the solar zenith angle around noontime, aerosols can slightly enhance photolysis rates when ultraviolet (UV radiation scattering dominates UV absorption by aerosols at the lower-most model layer. The changes in photolysis rates due to aerosols lead to about 2–17 % surface ozone reduction during daytime in the urban area in Mexico City with generally larger reductions during early morning hours near the city center, resulting in a decrease of OH level by about 9 %, as well as a decrease in the daytime concentrations of nitrate and secondary organic aerosols by 5–6 % on average. In addition, the rapid aging of black carbon aerosols and the enhanced absorption of UV radiation by organic aerosols contribute substantially to the reduction of photolysis rates.

  14. Aerosol Absorption Measurements in MILAGRO.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaffney, J. S.; Marley, N. A.; Arnott, W. P.; Paredes-Miranda, L.; Barnard, J. C.

    2007-12-01

    During the month of March 2006, a number of instruments were used to determine the absorption characteristics of aerosols found in the Mexico City Megacity and nearby Valley of Mexico. These measurements were taken as part of the Department of Energy's Megacity Aerosol Experiment - Mexico City (MAX-Mex) that was carried out in collaboration with the Megacity Interactions: Local and Global Research Observations (MILAGRO) campaign. MILAGRO was a joint effort between the DOE, NSF, NASA, and Mexican agencies aimed at understanding the impacts of a megacity on the urban and regional scale. A super-site was operated at the Instituto Mexicano de Petroleo in Mexico City (designated T-0) and at the Universidad Technologica de Tecamac (designated T-1) that was located about 35 km to the north east of the T-0 site in the State of Mexico. A third site was located at a private rancho in the State of Hidalgo approximately another 35 km to the northeast (designated T-2). Aerosol absorption measurements were taken in real time using a number of instruments at the T-0 and T-1 sites. These included a seven wavelength aethalometer, a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP), and a photo-acoustic spectrometer. Aerosol absorption was also derived from spectral radiometers including a multi-filter rotating band spectral radiometer (MFRSR). The results clearly indicate that there is significant aerosol absorption by the aerosols in the Mexico City megacity region. The absorption can lead to single scattering albedo reduction leading to values below 0.5 under some circumstances. The absorption is also found to deviate from that expected for a "well-behaved" soot anticipated from diesel engine emissions, i.e. from a simple 1/lambda wavelength dependence for absorption. Indeed, enhanced absorption is seen in the region of 300-450 nm in many cases, particularly in the afternoon periods indicating that secondary organic aerosols are contributing to the aerosol absorption. This is likely due

  15. Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berg, Larry K [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2016-05-01

    This study included the deployment of the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Mobile Facility (AMF), ARM Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS) and the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF). The study was a collaborative effort involving scientists from DOE national laboratories, NOAA, NASA, and universities. The AAF and MAOS were deployed for two approximately month-long Intensive Operational Periods (IOPs) conducted in June 2012 and February 2013. Seasonal differences in the aerosol chemical and optical properties observed using the AMF, AAF, and MAOS are presented in this report. The total mass loading of aerosol is found to be much greater in the summer than in the winter, with the difference associated with greater amounts of organic aerosol. The mass fraction of organic aerosol is much reduced in the winter, when sulfate is the dominant aerosol type. Surprisingly, very little sea-salt aerosol was observed in the summer. In contrast, much more sea salt aerosol was observed in the winter. The mass loading of black carbon is nearly the same in both seasons. These differences lead to a relative increase in the aerosol light absorption in the winter and an associated decrease in observed single-scattering albedo. Measurements of aerosol mixing state were made using a single-particle mass spectrometer, which showed that the majority of the summertime aerosol consisted of organic compounds mixed with various amounts of sulfate. A number of other findings are also summarized in the report, including: impact of aerosol layers aloft on the column aerosol optical depth; documentation of the aerosol properties at the AMF; differences in the aerosol properties associated with both columns, which are not systematic but reflect the complicated meteorological and chemical processes that impact aerosol as it is advected away from North America; and new instruments and data-processing techniques for measuring both aerosol and

  16. Slower CCN growth kinetics of anthropogenic aerosol compared to biogenic aerosol observed at a rural site

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shantz, N. C.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Slowik, J. G.; Vlasenko, A.; Abbatt, J. P. D.; Leaitch, W. R.

    2010-01-01

    Growth rates of water droplets were measured with a static diffusion cloud condensation chamber in May-June 2007 at a rural field site in Southern Ontario, Canada, 70 km north of Toronto. The observations include periods when the winds were from the south and the site was impacted by anthropogenic air from the U.S. and Southern Ontario as well as during a 5-day period of northerly wind flow when the aerosol was dominated by biogenic sources. The growth of droplets on anthropogenic size-selected particles centred at 0.1 μm diameter and composed of approximately 40% organic and 60% ammonium sulphate (AS) by mass, was delayed by on the order of 1 s compared to a pure AS aerosol. Simulations of the growth rate on monodisperse particles indicate that a lowering of the water mass accommodation coefficient from αc=1 to an average of αc=0.04 is needed (assuming an insoluble organic with hygroscopicity parameter, κorg, of zero). Simulations of the initial growth rate on polydisperse anthropogenic particles agree best with observations for αc=0.07. In contrast, the growth rate of droplets on size-selected aerosol of biogenic character, consisting of >80% organic, was similar to that of pure AS. Simulations of the predominantly biogenic polydisperse aerosol show agreement between the observations and simulations when κorg=0.2 (with upper and lower limits of 0.5 and 0.07, respectively) and αc=1. Inhibition of water uptake by the anthropogenic organic applied to an adiabatic cloud parcel model in the form of a constant low αc increases the number of droplets in a cloud compared to pure AS. If the αc is assumed to increase with increasing liquid water on the droplets, then the number of droplets decreases which could diminish the indirect climate forcing effect. The slightly lower κorg in the biogenic case decreases the number of droplets in a cloud compared to pure AS.

  17. Radioactive aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chamberlain, A.C.

    1991-01-01

    Radon. Fission product aerosols. Radioiodine. Tritium. Plutonium. Mass transfer of radioactive vapours and aerosols. Studies with radioactive particles and human subjects. Index. This paper explores the environmental and health aspects of radioactive aerosols. Covers radioactive nuclides of potential concern to public health and applications to the study of boundary layer transport. Contains bibliographic references. Suitable for environmental chemistry collections in academic and research libraries

  18. Origins of atmospheric aerosols. Basic concepts on aerosol main physical properties; L`aerosol atmospherique: ses origines quelques notions sur les principales proprietes physiques des aerosols

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Renoux, A. [Paris-12 Univ., 94 - Creteil (France). Laboratoire de Physique des aerosols et de transferts des contaminations

    1996-12-31

    Natural and anthropogenic sources of atmospheric aerosols are reviewed and indications of their concentrations and granulometry are given. Calculation of the lifetime of an atmospheric aerosol of a certain size is presented and the various modes of aerosol granulometry and their relations with photochemical and physico-chemical processes in the atmosphere are discussed. The main physical, electrical and optical properties of aerosols are also presented: diffusion coefficient, dynamic mobility and relaxation time, Stokes number, limit rate of fall, electrical mobility, optical diffraction

  19. Observation of optical properties and sources of aerosols at Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini, Nepal: environmental implications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rupakheti, Dipesh; Kang, Shichang; Rupakheti, Maheswar; Cong, Zhiyuan; Tripathee, Lekhendra; Panday, Arnico K; Holben, Brent N

    2018-03-15

    For the first time, aerosol optical properties are measured over Lumbini, Nepal, with CIMEL sunphotometer of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) program. Lumbini is a sacred place as the birthplace of Lord Buddha, and thus a UNESCO world heritage site, located near the northern edge of the central Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP) and before the Himalayan foothills (and Himalayas) to its north. Average aerosol optical depth (AOD) is found to be 0.64 ± 0.38 (0.06-3.28) over the sampling period (January 2013-December 2014), with the highest seasonal AOD during the post-monsoon season (0.72 ± 0.44). More than 80% of the daily averaged AOD values, during the monitoring period, are above 0.3, indicating polluted conditions in the region. The levels of aerosol load observed over Lumbini are comparable to those observed at several heavily polluted sites in the IGP. Based on the relationship between AOD and Ångstrom exponent (α), anthropogenic, biomass burning, and mixed aerosols are found to be the most prevalent aerosol types. The aerosol volume-size distribution is bi-modal during all four seasons with modes centered at 0.1-0.3 and 3-4 μm. For both fine and coarse modes, the highest volumetric concentration of ~ 0.08 μm -3  μm -2 is observed during the post-monsoon and pre-monsoon seasons. As revealed by the single-scattering albedo (SSA), asymmetry parameter (AP), and refractive index (RI) analyses, aerosol loading over Lumbini is dominated by absorbing, urban-industrial, and biomass burning aerosols.

  20. Advanced accelerator test facility-Final report for the period 9/1/2010 - 8/31/2013

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hirshfield, Jay [Yale Univ., New Haven, CT (United States)

    2014-10-27

    This final report summarizes results achieved in the Beam Physics Laboratory at Yale University during the period 9/1/2010 – 8/31//2013, under DoE grant DE-FG02-07 ER 41504. During the period covered by this report, notable progress in technical consolidation of facilities in the Yale Beam Physics Laboratory has occurred; and theory, design, and fabrication for future experiments have been carried out. In the period covered by this grant, 29 scientific publications based on this work and related topics have appeared in the archival literature. Titles, authors, and citations are listed in Section V of this report.

  1. Aerosol studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cristy, G.A.; Fish, M.E.

    1978-01-01

    As part of the continuing studies of the effects of very severe reactor accidents, an effort was made to develop, test, and improve simple, effective, and inexpensive methods by which the average citizen, using only materials readily available, could protect his residence, himself, and his family from injury by toxic aerosols. The methods for protection against radioactive aerosols should be equally effective against a clandestine biological attack by terrorists. The results of the tests to date are limited to showing that spores of the harmless bacterium, bacillus globegii (BG), can be used as a simulant for the radioactive aerosols. An aerosol generator of Lauterbach type was developed which will produce an essentially monodisperse aerosol at the rate of 10 9 spores/min. Analytical techniques have been established which give reproducible results. Preliminary field tests have been conducted to check out the components of the system. Preliminary tests of protective devices, such as ordinary vacuum sweepers, have given protection factors of over 1000

  2. Aerosol Climate Time Series in ESA Aerosol_cci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popp, Thomas; de Leeuw, Gerrit; Pinnock, Simon

    2016-04-01

    Within the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Aerosol_cci (2010 - 2017) conducts intensive work to improve algorithms for the retrieval of aerosol information from European sensors. Meanwhile, full mission time series of 2 GCOS-required aerosol parameters are completely validated and released: Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from dual view ATSR-2 / AATSR radiometers (3 algorithms, 1995 - 2012), and stratospheric extinction profiles from star occultation GOMOS spectrometer (2002 - 2012). Additionally, a 35-year multi-sensor time series of the qualitative Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) together with sensitivity information and an AAI model simulator is available. Complementary aerosol properties requested by GCOS are in a "round robin" phase, where various algorithms are inter-compared: fine mode AOD, mineral dust AOD (from the thermal IASI spectrometer, but also from ATSR instruments and the POLDER sensor), absorption information and aerosol layer height. As a quasi-reference for validation in few selected regions with sparse ground-based observations the multi-pixel GRASP algorithm for the POLDER instrument is used. Validation of first dataset versions (vs. AERONET, MAN) and inter-comparison to other satellite datasets (MODIS, MISR, SeaWIFS) proved the high quality of the available datasets comparable to other satellite retrievals and revealed needs for algorithm improvement (for example for higher AOD values) which were taken into account for a reprocessing. The datasets contain pixel level uncertainty estimates which were also validated and improved in the reprocessing. For the three ATSR algorithms the use of an ensemble method was tested. The paper will summarize and discuss the status of dataset reprocessing and validation. The focus will be on the ATSR, GOMOS and IASI datasets. Pixel level uncertainties validation will be summarized and discussed including unknown components and their potential usefulness and limitations. Opportunities for time series extension

  3. Aerosol comparisons between sunphotometry / sky radiometry and the GEOS-Chem model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaubey, J. P.; Hesaraki, S.; O'Neill, N. T.; Saha, A.; Martin, R.; Lesins, G. B.; Abboud, I.

    2014-12-01

    Comparisons of aerosol optical depth (AOD), spectral AOD parameters and microphysical parameters derived from AEROCAN / AERONET sunphotometer / sky radiometer data acquired over Canada were compared with GEOS-Chem (Geos5,v9-01-03) estimations. The Canadian sites were selected so as to encompass a representative variety of different aerosol types ranging from fine mode (submicron) pollution and smoke aerosols, coarse mode (supermicron) dust, fine and coarse mode marine aerosols, volcanic (fine mode) sulfates and volcanic (coarse mode) ash, etc). A particular focus was placed on comparisons at remote Canadian sites with a further focus on Arctic sites. The analysis included meteorological-scale event comparisons as well as seasonal and yearly comparisons on a climatological scale. The investigations were given a further aerosol type context by comparing optical retrievals of fine and coarse mode AOD with the AODs of the different aerosol types predicted by GEOS-Chem. The effects of temporal and spectral cloud screening of the sunphotometer data on the quality and robustness of these comparisons was the object of an important supporting investigation. The results of this study will be presented for a 3 year period from 2009 to 2011.

  4. Transport of dust and anthropogenic aerosols across Alexandria, Egypt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    El-Askary, H. [Chapman Univ., Orange, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics Computational Science and Engineering; Chapman Univ., Orange, CA (United States). Center of Excellence in Earth Observing; Alexandria Univ. (Egypt). Dept. of Environmental Sciences; National Authority for Remote Sensing and Space Science (NARSS), Cairo (Egypt); Farouk, R. [Alexandria Univ. (Egypt). Dept. of Environmental Sciences; Ichoku, C. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD (United States). Climate and Radiation Branch; Kafatos, M. [Chapman Univ., Orange, CA (United States). Dept. of Physics Computational Science and Engineering; Chapman Univ., Orange, CA (United States). Center of Excellence in Earth Observing

    2009-07-01

    The flow of pollutants from Europe and desert dust to Europe from the Sahara desert both affects the air quality of the coastal regions of Egypt. As such, measurements from both ground and satellite observations assume great importance to ascertain the conditions and flow affecting the Nile Delta and the large city of Alexandria. We note that special weather conditions prevailing in the Mediterranean Sea result in a westerly wind flow pattern during spring and from North to South during the summer. Such flow patterns transport dust-loaded and polluted air masses from the Sahara desert and Europe, respectively, through Alexandria, and the Nile Delta in Egypt. We have carried out measurements acquired with a ground- based portable sun photometer (Microtops II) and the satellite-borne TERRA/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor during the periods of October 1999-August 2001 and July 2002-September 2003. These measurements show a seasonal variability in aerosol optical depth (AOD) following these flow patterns. Maximum aerosol loadings accompanied by total precipitable water vapor (W) enhancements are observed during the spring and summer seasons. Pronounced changes have been observed in the Aangstroem exponent ({alpha}) derived from ground-based measurements over Alexandria (31.14 N, 29.59 E) during both dust and pollution periods. We have followed up the observations with a 3-day back-trajectories model to trace the probable sources and pathways of the air masses causing the observed aerosol loadings. We have also used other NASA model outputs to estimate the sea salt, dust, sulfates and black carbon AOD spatial distributions during different seasons. Our results reveal the probable source regions of these aerosol types, showing agreement with the trajectory and Aangstroem exponent analysis results. It is confirmed that Alexandria is subjected to different atmospheric conditions involving dust, pollution, mixed aerosols and clean sky. (orig.)

  5. a Study of the Origin of Atmospheric Organic Aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hildemann, Lynn Mary

    1990-01-01

    predictions and ambient concentrations that could be due to atmospheric chemical reaction are discussed. An upper limit on the amount of secondary organic aerosol present is estimated based on the difference between the acidic organic aerosol present in ambient samples versus that due to primary emissions as computed by the model. Finally, several hypotheses concerning the origin of the organic aerosol are proposed.

  6. Deployable Plume and Aerosol Release Prediction and Tracking System. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Task 1. Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kleppe, John; Norris, William; Etezadi, Mehdi

    2006-07-19

    This contract was awarded in response to a proposal in which a deployable plume and aerosol release prediction and tracking system would be designed, fabricated, and tested. The system would gather real time atmospheric data and input it into a real time atmospheric model that could be used for plume predition and tracking. The system would be able to be quickly deployed by aircraft to points of interest or positioned for deployment by vehicles. The system would provide three dimensional (u, v, and w) wind vector data, inversion height measurements, surface wind information, classical weather station data, and solar radiation. The on-board real time computer model would provide the prediction of the behavior of plumes and released aerosols.

  7. Real time measurements of submicrometer aerosols in Seoul, Korea: Sources, characteristics, and processing of organic aerosols during winter time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, H.; Zhang, Q.

    2016-12-01

    Highly time-resolved chemical characterization of non-refractory submicrometer particulate matter (NR-PM1) was conducted in Seoul, the capital of Korea, using an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). The measurements were performed during winter when persistent air quality problems associated with elevated PM concentrations were observed. The average NR-PM1 concentration was 27.5 µg m-3 and the average mass was dominated by organics (44%), followed by nitrate (24%) and sulfate (10%). Five distinct sources of organic aerosol (OA) were identified from positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of the AMS data: vehicle emissions represented by a hydrocarbon-like OA factor (HOA), cooking represented by a cooking OA factor (COA), wood combustion represented by a biomass burning OA factor (BBOA), and secondary aerosol formation in the atmosphere that is represented by a semi-volatile oxygenated OA factor (SVOOA) and a low volatile oxygenated OA factor (LVOOA). These factors, on average, contributed 16, 20, 23, 15 and 26% to the total OA mass, respectively, with primary organic aerosol (POA = HOA + COA + BBOA) accounting for 59% of the OA mass. On average, both primary emissions and secondary aerosol formation are important factors affecting air quality in Seoul during winter, contributing approximately equal. However, differences in the fraction of PM source and properties were observed between high and low loading PM period. For example, during stagnant period with low wind speed (WS) (0.99 ± 0.7 m/s) and high RH (71%), high PM loadings (43.6 ± 12.4 µg m-3) with enhanced fractions of nitrate (27%) and SVOOA (8%) were observed, indicating a strong influence from locally generated secondary aerosol. On the other hand, when low PM loadings (12.6 ± 7.1 µg m-3), which were commonly associated with high WS (1.8 ± 1.1 m/s) and low RH (50 %), were observed, the fraction of regional sources, such as sulfate (12%) and LVOOA (21

  8. Interpretation of aerosol trace metal particle size distributions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Johansson, T.B.; Van Grieken, R.E.; Winchester, J.W.

    1974-01-01

    Proton-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) analysis is capable of rapid routine determination of 10--15 elements present in amounts greater than or equal to 1 ng simultaneously in aerosol size fractions as collected by single orifice impactors over short periods of time. This enables detailed study of complex relationships between elements detected. Since absolute elemental concentrations may be strongly influenced by meteorological and topographical conditions, it is useful to normalize to a reference element. Comparison between the ratios of concentrations with aerosol and corresponding values for anticipated sources may lead to the identification of important sources for the elements. Further geochemical insights may be found through linear correlation coefficients, regression analysis, and cluster analysis. By calculating correlations for elemental pairs, an indication of the degree of covariance between the elements is obtained. Preliminary results indicate that correlations may be particle size dependent. A high degree of covariance may be caused either by a common source or may only reflect the conservative nature of the aerosol. In a regression analysis, by plotting elemental pairs and estimating the regression coefficients, we may be able to conclude if there is more than one source operating for a given element in a certain size range. Analysis of clustering of several elements, previously investigated for aerosol filter samples, can be applied to the analysis of aerosol size fractions. Careful statistical treatment of elemental concentrations as a function of aerosol particle size may thus yield significant information on the generation, transport and deposition of trace metals in the atmosphere

  9. MATRIX-VBS Condensing Organic Aerosols in an Aerosol Microphysics Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Chloe Y.; Tsigaridis, Konstas; Bauer, Susanne E.

    2015-01-01

    The condensation of organic aerosols is represented in a newly developed box-model scheme, where its effect on the growth and composition of particles are examined. We implemented the volatility-basis set (VBS) framework into the aerosol mixing state resolving microphysical scheme Multiconfiguration Aerosol TRacker of mIXing state (MATRIX). This new scheme is unique and advances the representation of organic aerosols in models in that, contrary to the traditional treatment of organic aerosols as non-volatile in most climate models and in the original version of MATRIX, this new scheme treats them as semi-volatile. Such treatment is important because low-volatility organics contribute significantly to the growth of particles. The new scheme includes several classes of semi-volatile organic compounds from the VBS framework that can partition among aerosol populations in MATRIX, thus representing the growth of particles via condensation of low volatility organic vapors. Results from test cases representing Mexico City and a Finish forrest condistions show good representation of the time evolutions of concentration for VBS species in the gas phase and in the condensed particulate phase. Emitted semi-volatile primary organic aerosols evaporate almost completely in the high volatile range, and they condense more efficiently in the low volatility range.

  10. Sources and Transport of Aerosol above the Boundary Layer over the Mediterranean Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Greg; Corrigan, Craig; Ritchie, John; Pont, Veronique; Claeys, Marine; Sciare, Jean; Mallet, Marc; Dulac, François; Mihalopoulos, Nikos

    2015-04-01

    The Mediterranean Region has been identified as sensitive to changes in the hydrological cycle, which could affect the water resources for millions of people by the turn of the century. However, prior to recent observations, most climate models have not accounted for the impacts of aerosol in this region. Past airborne studies have shown that aerosol sources from Europe and Africa are often transported throughout the lower troposphere; yet, because of their complex vertical distribution, it is a challenge to capture the variability and quantify the contribution of these sources to the radiative budget and precipitation processes. The PAEROS ChArMEx Mountain Experiment (PACMEx) complemented the regional activities by collecting aerosol data from atop a mountain on the island of Corsica, France in order to assess boundary layer / free troposphere atmospheric processes. In June/July 2013, PACMEx instruments were deployed at 2000 m.asl near the center of Corsica, France to complement ground-based aerosol observations at 550 m.asl on the northern peninsula, as well as airborne measurements. Comparisons between the peninsula site and the mountain site show similar general trends in aerosol properties; yet, differences in aerosol properties reveal the myriad transport mechanisms over the Mediterranean Basin. Using aerosol physicochemical data coupled with back trajectory analysis, different sources have been identified including Saharan dust transport, residual dust mixed with sea salt, anthropogenic emissions from Western Europe, and a period of biomass burning from Eastern Europe. Each period exhibits distinct signatures in the aerosol related to transport processes above and below the boundary layer. In addition, the total aerosol concentrations at the mountain site revealed a strong diurnal cycling the between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free troposphere, which is typical of mountain-top observations. PACMEx was funded by the National Science Foundation

  11. Transport and characterization of ambient biological aerosol near Laurel, MD

    Science.gov (United States)

    Santarpia, J. L.; Cunningham, D.; Gilberry, J.; Kim, S.; Smith, E. E.; Ratnesar-Shumate, S.; Quizon, J.

    2010-09-01

    Bacterial aerosol have been observed and studied in the ambient environment since the mid nineteenth century. These studies have sought to provide a better understanding of the diversity, variability and factors that control the biological aerosol population. In this study, we show comparisons between diversity of culturable bacteria and fungi, using culture and clinical biochemical tests, and 16S rRNA diversity using Affymetrix PhyloChips. Comparing the culturable fraction and surveying the total 16S rRNA of each sample provides a comprehensive look at the bacterial population studied and allows comparison with previous studies. Thirty-six hour back-trajectories of the air parcels sampled, over the two day period beginning 4 November 2008, provide information on the sources of aerosol sampled on the campus of Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD. This study indicates that back-trajectory modeling of air parcels may provide insights into the observed diversity of biological aerosol.

  12. Aerosol Climate Time Series Evaluation In ESA Aerosol_cci

    Science.gov (United States)

    Popp, T.; de Leeuw, G.; Pinnock, S.

    2015-12-01

    Within the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI) Aerosol_cci (2010 - 2017) conducts intensive work to improve algorithms for the retrieval of aerosol information from European sensors. By the end of 2015 full mission time series of 2 GCOS-required aerosol parameters are completely validated and released: Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from dual view ATSR-2 / AATSR radiometers (3 algorithms, 1995 - 2012), and stratospheric extinction profiles from star occultation GOMOS spectrometer (2002 - 2012). Additionally, a 35-year multi-sensor time series of the qualitative Absorbing Aerosol Index (AAI) together with sensitivity information and an AAI model simulator is available. Complementary aerosol properties requested by GCOS are in a "round robin" phase, where various algorithms are inter-compared: fine mode AOD, mineral dust AOD (from the thermal IASI spectrometer), absorption information and aerosol layer height. As a quasi-reference for validation in few selected regions with sparse ground-based observations the multi-pixel GRASP algorithm for the POLDER instrument is used. Validation of first dataset versions (vs. AERONET, MAN) and inter-comparison to other satellite datasets (MODIS, MISR, SeaWIFS) proved the high quality of the available datasets comparable to other satellite retrievals and revealed needs for algorithm improvement (for example for higher AOD values) which were taken into account for a reprocessing. The datasets contain pixel level uncertainty estimates which are also validated. The paper will summarize and discuss the results of major reprocessing and validation conducted in 2015. The focus will be on the ATSR, GOMOS and IASI datasets. Pixel level uncertainties validation will be summarized and discussed including unknown components and their potential usefulness and limitations. Opportunities for time series extension with successor instruments of the Sentinel family will be described and the complementarity of the different satellite aerosol products

  13. Aerosol dynamics within and above forest in relation to turbulent transport and dry deposition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ü. Rannik

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available A 1-D atmospheric boundary layer (ABL model coupled with a detailed atmospheric chemistry and aerosol dynamical model, the model SOSAA, was used to predict the ABL and detailed aerosol population (characterized by the number size distribution time evolution. The model was applied over a period of 10 days in May 2013 to a pine forest site in southern Finland. The period was characterized by frequent new particle formation events and simultaneous intensive aerosol transformation. The aim of the study was to analyze and quantify the role of aerosol and ABL dynamics in the vertical transport of aerosols. It was of particular interest to what extent the fluxes above the canopy deviate from the particle dry deposition on the canopy foliage due to the above-mentioned processes. The model simulations revealed that the particle concentration change due to aerosol dynamics frequently exceeded the effect of particle deposition by even an order of magnitude or more. The impact was, however, strongly dependent on particle size and time. In spite of the fact that the timescale of turbulent transfer inside the canopy is much smaller than the timescales of aerosol dynamics and dry deposition, leading us to assume well-mixed properties of air, the fluxes at the canopy top frequently deviated from deposition inside the forest. This was due to transformation of aerosol concentration throughout the ABL and resulting complicated pattern of vertical transport. Therefore we argue that the comparison of timescales of aerosol dynamics and deposition defined for the processes below the flux measurement level do not unambiguously describe the importance of aerosol dynamics for vertical transport above the canopy. We conclude that under dynamical conditions reported in the current study the micrometeorological particle flux measurements can significantly deviate from the dry deposition into the canopy. The deviation can be systematic for certain size ranges so that the

  14. Environmental exposure of primary care personnel to ribavirin aerosol when supervising treatment of infants with respiratory syncytial virus infections.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rodriguez, W J; Bui, R H; Connor, J D; Kim, H W; Brandt, C D; Parrott, R H; Burch, B; Mace, J

    1987-01-01

    The potential exposure to ribavirin aerosol in the environment was assessed in nurses caring for infants and children with severe lower respiratory tract infections due to respiratory syncytial virus. Ribavirin aerosol was administered via a ventilator, oxygen tent, or oxygen hood. Participants worked directly with infants receiving ribavirin for 20.0 to 35.0 h over a 3-day period. No toxic or adverse effects of ribavirin aerosol were observed in any of the 19 nurses studied, and ribavirin was not detected in erythrocytes, plasma, or urine collected after the potential exposure period. PMID:3662474

  15. Development and Characterization of a Thermodenuder for Aerosol Volatility Measurements

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dr. Timothy Onasch

    2009-09-09

    This SBIR Phase I project addressed the critical need for improved characterization of carbonaceous aerosol species in the atmosphere. The proposed work focused on the development of a thermodenuder (TD) system capable of systematically measuring volatility profiles of primary and secondary organic aerosol species and providing insight into the effects of absorbing and nonabsorbing organic coatings on particle absorption properties. This work provided the fundamental framework for the generation of essential information needed for improved predictions of ambient aerosol loadings and radiative properties by atmospheric chemistry models. As part of this work, Aerodyne Research, Inc. (ARI) continued to develop and test, with the final objective of commercialization, an improved thermodenuder system that can be used in series with any aerosol instrument or suite of instruments (e.g., aerosol mass spectrometers-AMS, scanning mobility particle sizers-SMPS, photoacoustic absorption spectrometers-PAS, etc.) to obtain aerosol chemical, physical, and optical properties as a function of particle volatility. In particular, we provided the proof of concept for the direct coupling of our improved TD design with a full microphysical model to obtain volatility profiles for different organic aerosol components and to allow for meaningful comparisons between different TD-derived aerosol measurements. In a TD, particles are passed through a heated zone and a denuding (activated charcoal) zone to remove semi-volatile material. Changes in particle size, number concentration, optical absorption, and chemical composition are subsequently detected with aerosol instrumentation. The aerosol volatility profiles provided by the TD will strengthen organic aerosol emission inventories, provide further insight into secondary aerosol formation mechanisms, and provide an important measure of particle absorption (including brown carbon contributions and identification, and absorption enhancements

  16. Size distribution and hygroscopic properties of aerosol particles from dry-season biomass burning in Amazonia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Rissler

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol particle number size distributions and hygroscopic properties were measured at a pasture site in the southwestern Amazon region (Rondonia. The measurements were performed 11 September-14 November 2002 as part of LBA-SMOCC (Large scale Biosphere atmosphere experiment in Amazonia - SMOke aerosols, Clouds, rainfall and Climate, and cover the later part of the dry season (with heavy biomass burning, a transition period, and the onset of the wet period. Particle number size distributions were measured with a DMPS (Differential Mobility Particle Sizer, 3-850nm and an APS (Aerodynamic Particle Sizer, extending the distributions up to 3.3 µm in diameter. An H-TDMA (Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer measured the hygroscopic diameter growth factors (Gf at 90% relative humidity (RH, for particles with dry diameters (dp between 20-440 nm, and at several occasions RH scans (30-90% RH were performed for 165nm particles. These data provide the most extensive characterization of Amazonian biomass burning aerosol, with respect to particle number size distributions and hygroscopic properties, presented until now. The evolution of the convective boundary layer over the course of the day causes a distinct diel variation in the aerosol physical properties, which was used to get information about the properties of the aerosol at higher altitudes. The number size distributions averaged over the three defined time periods showed three modes; a nucleation mode with geometrical median diameters (GMD of ~12 nm, an Aitken mode (GMD=61-92 nm and an accumulation mode (GMD=128-190 nm. The two larger modes were shifted towards larger GMD with increasing influence from biomass burning. The hygroscopic growth at 90% RH revealed a somewhat external mixture with two groups of particles; here denoted nearly hydrophobic (Gf~1.09 for 100 nm particles and moderately hygroscopic (Gf~1.26. While the hygroscopic growth factors were surprisingly similar over the

  17. Chemical and microphysical properties of the aerosol during foggy and nonfoggy episodes: a relationship between organic and inorganic content of the aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaul, D. S.; Gupta, T.; Tripathi, S. N.

    2012-06-01

    An extensive field measurement during winter was carried out at a site located in the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) which gets heavily influenced by the fog during winter almost every year. The chemical and microphysical properties of the aerosols during foggy and nonfoggy episodes and chemical composition of the fogwater are presented. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) as a tool for the source apportionment was employed to understand the sources of pollution. Four major sources viz. biomass burning, refractory, secondary and mineral dust were identified. Aerosols properties during foggy episodes were heavily influenced by almost all the sources and they caused considerable loading of almost all the organic and inorganic species during the period. The biomass generated aerosols were removed from the atmosphere by scavenging during foggy episodes. The wet removal of almost all the species by the fog droplets was observed. The K+, water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water soluble inorganic carbon (WSIC) and NO3- were most heavily scavenged among the species and their concentrations consequently became lower than the nonfoggy episode concentrations. The production of secondary inorganic aerosol, mainly sulfate and ammonium, during foggy episodes was considerably higher than nitrate which was rather heavily scavenged and removed by the fog droplets. The fogwater analysis showed that dissolved inorganic species play a vital role in processing of organic carbon such as the formation of organo-sulfate and organo-nitrate inside the fog droplets. The formation of organo-sulfate and organo-nitrate in aerosol and the influence of acidity on the secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation were rather found to be negligible. The study average inorganic component of the aerosol was considerably higher than the carbonaceous component during both foggy and nonfoggy episode. The secondary production of the aerosol changed the microphysical properties of aerosol which was reflected by

  18. An attempt to determine positions of aerosol source by the PIXE analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Matsuyama, S.; Tokai, Y.; Ishii, K.

    1999-01-01

    Aerosols were continuously collected for 2 or 3 hours during the periods of 4-27 August 1997 and of 23 March-2 April 1998 at a suburb of Sendai City (east 10 km from Sendai), and meteorological data such as wind directions, wind velocities, etc were measured at the same time. The collected aerosol samples were analyzed by the particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method. Fourteen elements (S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Hg and Pb) were contained in these samples. The elemental concentrations increased in the daytime and decreased at night. It coincided with the time variation of people movement. The concentrations of Mn, Fe, Zn and Pb elements depended strongly on the direction of wind and their distributions for wind directions reflected to the position of aerosol sources. This result suggests that the position of aerosol source can be determined by measuring aerosols and wind directions at the many positions. (author)

  19. Online Simulations of Global Aerosol Distributions in the NASA GEOS-4 Model and Comparisons to Satellite and Ground-Based Aerosol Optical Depth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colarco, Peter; daSilva, Arlindo; Chin, Mian; Diehl, Thomas

    2010-01-01

    We have implemented a module for tropospheric aerosols (GO CART) online in the NASA Goddard Earth Observing System version 4 model and simulated global aerosol distributions for the period 2000-2006. The new online system offers several advantages over the previous offline version, providing a platform for aerosol data assimilation, aerosol-chemistry-climate interaction studies, and short-range chemical weather forecasting and climate prediction. We introduce as well a methodology for sampling model output consistently with satellite aerosol optical thickness (AOT) retrievals to facilitate model-satellite comparison. Our results are similar to the offline GOCART model and to the models participating in the AeroCom intercomparison. The simulated AOT has similar seasonal and regional variability and magnitude to Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer observations. The model AOT and Angstrom parameter are consistently low relative to AERONET in biomass-burning-dominated regions, where emissions appear to be underestimated, consistent with the results of the offline GOCART model. In contrast, the model AOT is biased high in sulfate-dominated regions of North America and Europe. Our model-satellite comparison methodology shows that diurnal variability in aerosol loading is unimportant compared to sampling the model where the satellite has cloud-free observations, particularly in sulfate-dominated regions. Simulated sea salt burden and optical thickness are high by a factor of 2-3 relative to other models, and agreement between model and satellite over-ocean AOT is improved by reducing the model sea salt burden by a factor of 2. The best agreement in both AOT magnitude and variability occurs immediately downwind of the Saharan dust plume.

  20. Final Progress Report for Collaborative Research: Aging of Black Carbon during Atmospheric Transport: Understanding Results from the DOE’s 2010 CARES and 2012 ClearfLo Campaigns

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mazzoleni, Claudio [Michigan Technological Univ., Houghton, MI (United States); Subramanian, R. [Carnegie Mellon Univ., Pittsburgh, PA (United States)

    2016-08-31

    Over the course of this project, we have analyzed data and samples from the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) and the Clear air for London (ClearfLo) campaign, as well as conducted or participated in laboratory experiments designed to better understand black carbon mixing state and climate-relevant properties. The laboratory campaigns took place at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Carnegie Mellon University to study various climate-relevant aerosol properties of different sources of soot mixing with secondary organic aerosol precursors. Results from some of these activities were summarized in the previous progress report. This final report presents the manuscripts that have been published (many in the period since the last progress report), lists presentations at different conferences based on grant-related activities, and presents some results that are likely to be submitted for publication in the near future.

  1. Aerosol core nuclear reactor for space-based high energy/power nuclear-pumped lasers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prelas, M.A.; Boody, F.P.; Zediker, M.S.

    1987-01-01

    An aerosol core reactor concept can overcome the efficiency and/or chemical activity problems of other fuel-reactant interface concepts. In the design of a laser using the nuclear energy for a photon-intermediate pumping scheme, several features of the aerosol core reactor concept are attractive. First, the photon-intermediate pumping concept coupled with photon concentration methods and the aerosol fuel can provide the high power densities required to drive high energy/power lasers efficiently (about 25 to 100 kW/cu cm). Secondly, the intermediate photons should have relatively large mean free paths in the aerosol fuel which will allow the concept to scale more favorably. Finally, the aerosol core reactor concept can use materials which should allow the system to operate at high temperatures. An excimer laser pumped by the photons created in the fluorescer driven by a self-critical aerosol core reactor would have reasonable dimensions (finite cylinder of height 245 cm and radius of 245 cm), reasonable laser energy (1 MJ in approximately a 1 millisecond pulse), and reasonable mass (21 kg uranium, 8280 kg moderator, 460 kg fluorescer, 450 kg laser medium, and 3233 kg reflector). 12 references

  2. Synthesis of nanosized metal particles from an aerosol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Srećko R. Stopić

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available The synthesis of metallic nanoparticles from the precursor solution of salts using the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis method was considered in this work. During the control of process parameters (surface tension and density, the concentration of solution, residence time of aerosol in the reactor, presence of additives, gas flow rate, decomposition temperature of aerosol, type of precursor and working atmosphere it is possible to guide the process in order to obtain powders with such a morphology which satisfies more complex requirements for the desired properties of advanced engineering materials.  Significant advance in the improvement of powder characteristics (lower particles sizes, better spheroidity, higher surface area was obtained by the application of the ultrasonic generator for the preparation of aerosols. Ultrasonic spray pyrolysis is performed by the action of a powerful source of ultrasound on the corresponding precursor solution forming the aerosol with a constant droplet size, which depends on the characteristics of liquid and the frequency of ultrasound. The produced aerosols were transported into the hot reactor, which enables the reaction to occur in a very small volume of a particle and formation of  nanosized powder. Spherical, nanosized particles of metals (Cu, Ag, Au, Co were produced with new and improved physical and chemical characteristics at the IME, RWTH Aachen University. The high costs associated with small quantities of produced nanosized particles represent a limitation of the USP-method. Therefore, scale up of the ultrasonic spray pyrolysis was performed as a final target in the synthesis of nanosized powder.

  3. Dynamics of neutral and charged aerosol particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Leppae, J.

    2012-07-01

    Atmospheric aerosol particles have various climate effects and adverse health effects, which both depend on the size and number concentration of the particles. Freshly-formed particles are not large enough to impact neither health nor climate and they are most susceptible to removal by collisions with larger pre-existing particles. Consequently, the knowledge of both the formation and the growth rate of particles are crucially important when assessing the health and climate effects of atmospheric new particle formation. The purpose of this thesis is to increase our knowledge of the dynamics of neutral and charged aerosol particles with a specific interest towards the particle growth rate and processes affecting the aerosol charging state. A new model, Ion-UHMA, which simulates the dynamics of neutral and charged particles, was developed for this purpose. Simple analytical formulae that can be used to estimate the growth rate due to various processes were derived and used to study the effects of charged particles on the growth rate. It was found that the growth rate of a freshly-formed particle population due to condensation and coagulation could be significantly increased when a considerable fraction of the particles are charged. Finally, recent data-analysis methods that have been applied to the aerosol charging states obtained from the measurements were modified for a charge asymmetric framework. The methods were then tested on data obtained from aerosol dynamics simulations. The methods were found to be able to provide reasonable estimates on the growth rate and proportion of particles formed via ion-induced nucleation, provided that the growth rate is high enough and that the charged particles do not grow much more rapidly than the neutral ones. A simple procedure for estimating whether the methods are suitable for analysing data obtained in specific conditions was provided. In this thesis, the dynamics of neutral and charged aerosol particles were studied in

  4. Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Turner, David, D.; Ferrare, Richard, A.

    2011-07-06

    The 'Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds' project focused extensively on the analysis and utilization of water vapor and aerosol profiles derived from the ARM Raman lidar at the Southern Great Plains ARM site. A wide range of different tasks were performed during this project, all of which improved quality of the data products derived from the lidar or advanced the understanding of atmospheric processes over the site. These activities included: upgrading the Raman lidar to improve its sensitivity; participating in field experiments to validate the lidar aerosol and water vapor retrievals; using the lidar aerosol profiles to evaluate the accuracy of the vertical distribution of aerosols in global aerosol model simulations; examining the correlation between relative humidity and aerosol extinction, and how these change, due to horizontal distance away from cumulus clouds; inferring boundary layer turbulence structure in convective boundary layers from the high-time-resolution lidar water vapor measurements; retrieving cumulus entrainment rates in boundary layer cumulus clouds; and participating in a field experiment that provided data to help validate both the entrainment rate retrievals and the turbulent profiles derived from lidar observations.

  5. Characteristics of Aerosols over the Garhwal Himalayas: India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soni, A.; Panwar, P.; Sundriyal, S.; Prabhu, V.; Shridhar, V.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosols and Black Carbon (BC) is very important pollutants in context of global warming study. Due to high spatio-temporal variation in aerosols, there is a large uncertainty in climate change study. This study was conducted to understand the particulate pollution level in different altitude ranging from 300 m AMSL to 2600 m AMSL (see fig.). In this study eight different sizes of aerosols (10 µm to 0.43 µm) concentration along with BC measured during summer season (MJJ) of 2014-2016 over 5 different locations of Garhwal Himalayas using Anderson Cascade Impactor (ACI) and Aethalometer AE-33. Sampling was performed continuously for 15-20 days at each site. It is the preliminary study to understand the sources of aerosols. Further chemical analysis of different sizes of aerosols helps to identify sources accurately. It will also help in future policies implications. High altitude site i.e. at 2600 m was very close to the Gangotri Glacier where river Ganga originates. The Ganga is one of the most important river in India, millions people rely on the water of this river. Since last decade many catastrophic events happened in this region because of melting of glacier fastly. Previously, no one studies BC and aerosols over this important fragile landscape. BC concentration was ranging from 4.72 ± 5.64 µg m-3 to 15.06 ± 7.69 µg m-3 at 2600 m to 300 m AMSL. At high altitude site highest aerosol concentration was observed to be 56.43 µg m-3 on the size range of PM3.3-4.7. During April-May there was a big fire event (around 3500 hector forest burnt) and the sampling period at 2600 m was on May. So that, to understand transportation of aerosols from forest fire region backward trajectories were calculated using HYSPLIT model. It gives evidence that during summer months aerosols transported from neighbouring forest fire area. While the concentration at lowest altitude was observed to be 248.95 µg m-3 in the size range of PM9-10 which is much higher than the permissible

  6. Spatio-temporal variability of aerosols in the tropics relationship with atmospheric and oceanic environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zuluaga-Arias, Manuel D.

    2011-12-01

    Earth's radiation budget is directly influenced by aerosols through the absorption of solar radiation and subsequent heating of the atmosphere. Aerosols modulate the hydrological cycle indirectly by modifying cloud properties, precipitation and ocean heat storage. In addition, polluting aerosols impose health risks in local, regional and global scales. In spite of recent advances in the study of aerosols variability, uncertainty in their spatio-temporal distributions still presents a challenge in the understanding of climate variability. For example, aerosol loading varies not only from year to year but also on higher frequency intraseasonal time scales producing strong variability on local and regional scales. An assessment of the impact of aerosol variability requires long period measurements of aerosols at both regional and global scales. The present dissertation compiles a large database of remotely sensed aerosol loading in order to analyze its spatio-temporal variability, and how this load interacts with different variables that characterize the dynamic and thermodynamic states of the environment. Aerosol Index (AI) and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) were used as measures of the atmospheric aerosol load. In addition, atmospheric and oceanic satellite observations, and reanalysis datasets is used in the analysis to investigate aerosol-environment interactions. A diagnostic study is conducted to produce global and regional aerosol satellite climatologies, and to analyze and compare the validity of aerosol retrievals. We find similarities and differences between the aerosol distributions over various regions of the globe when comparing the different satellite retrievals. A nonparametric approach is also used to examine the spatial distribution of the recent trends in aerosol concentration. A significant positive trend was found over the Middle East, Arabian Sea and South Asian regions strongly influenced by increases in dust events. Spectral and composite analyses

  7. Physico-chemical study of the anthropic aerosol and of its evolutions in Beijing; Etude physico-chimique de l'aerosol anthropique et de ses evolutions a Pekin

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guinot, B

    2006-05-15

    Beijing aerosols are characterised for the 2003-2004 period using an inclusive experimental set up for aerosol mass, chemistry and number, deployed at three sites. Aerosol size segregation in two fractions (fine and coarse) appears appropriated for source identification and investigations about gas-to-particle interactions. Several various sources contribute to air pollution: traffic, coal burning and industrial activities. The present study also shows how summer aerosol is influenced by the photochemical formation of secondary particles, and the significant amount of coarse and fine mineral dust all year long. Coal burning in winter has a lower influence than assessed in the past. The origin and altitude of the air masses entering Beijing are of key interest to understand the ageing of pollutants and their regional redistribution. By its expected effects onto these regional parameters, climate change may strongly affect Beijing air pollution in the coming decades. (author)

  8. Efficacy of face shields against cough aerosol droplets from a cough simulator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindsley, William G; Noti, John D; Blachere, Francoise M; Szalajda, Jonathan V; Beezhold, Donald H

    2014-01-01

    Health care workers are exposed to potentially infectious airborne particles while providing routine care to coughing patients. However, much is not understood about the behavior of these aerosols and the risks they pose. We used a coughing patient simulator and a breathing worker simulator to investigate the exposure of health care workers to cough aerosol droplets, and to examine the efficacy of face shields in reducing this exposure. Our results showed that 0.9% of the initial burst of aerosol from a cough can be inhaled by a worker 46 cm (18 inches) from the patient. During testing of an influenza-laden cough aerosol with a volume median diameter (VMD) of 8.5 μm, wearing a face shield reduced the inhalational exposure of the worker by 96% in the period immediately after a cough. The face shield also reduced the surface contamination of a respirator by 97%. When a smaller cough aerosol was used (VMD = 3.4 μm), the face shield was less effective, blocking only 68% of the cough and 76% of the surface contamination. In the period from 1 to 30 minutes after a cough, during which the aerosol had dispersed throughout the room and larger particles had settled, the face shield reduced aerosol inhalation by only 23%. Increasing the distance between the patient and worker to 183 cm (72 inches) reduced the exposure to influenza that occurred immediately after a cough by 92%. Our results show that health care workers can inhale infectious airborne particles while treating a coughing patient. Face shields can substantially reduce the short-term exposure of health care workers to large infectious aerosol particles, but smaller particles can remain airborne longer and flow around the face shield more easily to be inhaled. Thus, face shields provide a useful adjunct to respiratory protection for workers caring for patients with respiratory infections. However, they cannot be used as a substitute for respiratory protection when it is needed. [Supplementary materials are

  9. Aerosol retrieval experiments in the ESA Aerosol_cci project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. Holzer-Popp

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Within the ESA Climate Change Initiative (CCI project Aerosol_cci (2010–2013, algorithms for the production of long-term total column aerosol optical depth (AOD datasets from European Earth Observation sensors are developed. Starting with eight existing pre-cursor algorithms three analysis steps are conducted to improve and qualify the algorithms: (1 a series of experiments applied to one month of global data to understand several major sensitivities to assumptions needed due to the ill-posed nature of the underlying inversion problem, (2 a round robin exercise of "best" versions of each of these algorithms (defined using the step 1 outcome applied to four months of global data to identify mature algorithms, and (3 a comprehensive validation exercise applied to one complete year of global data produced by the algorithms selected as mature based on the round robin exercise. The algorithms tested included four using AATSR, three using MERIS and one using PARASOL. This paper summarizes the first step. Three experiments were conducted to assess the potential impact of major assumptions in the various aerosol retrieval algorithms. In the first experiment a common set of four aerosol components was used to provide all algorithms with the same assumptions. The second experiment introduced an aerosol property climatology, derived from a combination of model and sun photometer observations, as a priori information in the retrievals on the occurrence of the common aerosol components. The third experiment assessed the impact of using a common nadir cloud mask for AATSR and MERIS algorithms in order to characterize the sensitivity to remaining cloud contamination in the retrievals against the baseline dataset versions. The impact of the algorithm changes was assessed for one month (September 2008 of data: qualitatively by inspection of monthly mean AOD maps and quantitatively by comparing daily gridded satellite data against daily averaged AERONET sun

  10. Cloud condensation nuclei closure study on summer arctic aerosol

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, M.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Sierau, B.; Sjogren, S.; Swietlicki, E.; Abbatt, J. P. D.; Leck, C.; Lohmann, U.

    2011-11-01

    We present an aerosol - cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) closure study on summer high Arctic aerosol based on measurements that were carried out in 2008 during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) on board the Swedish ice breaker Oden. The data presented here were collected during a three-week time period in the pack ice (>85° N) when the icebreaker Oden was moored to an ice floe and drifted passively during the most biological active period into autumn freeze up conditions. CCN number concentrations were obtained using two CCN counters measuring at different supersaturations. The directly measured CCN number concentration was then compared with a CCN number concentration calculated using both bulk aerosol mass composition data from an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and aerosol number size distributions obtained from a differential mobility particle sizer, assuming κ-Köhler theory, surface tension of water and an internally mixed aerosol. The last assumption was supported by measurements made with a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) for particles >70 nm. For the two highest measured supersaturations, 0.73 and 0.41%, closure could not be achieved with the investigated settings concerning hygroscopicity and density. The calculated CCN number concentration was always higher than the measured one for those two supersaturations. This might be caused by a relative larger insoluble organic mass fraction of the smaller particles that activate at these supersaturations, which are thus less good CCN than the larger particles. On average, 36% of the mass measured with the AMS was organic mass. At 0.20, 0.15 and 0.10% supersaturation, closure could be achieved with different combinations of hygroscopic parameters and densities within the uncertainty range of the fit. The best agreement of the calculated CCN number concentration with the observed one was achieved when the organic fraction of the aerosol was treated as nearly water insoluble

  11. XBAER-derived aerosol optical thickness from OLCI/Sentinel-3 observation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Linlu; Rozanov, Vladimir; Vountas, Marco; Burrows, John P.; Richter, Andreas

    2018-02-01

    A cloud identification algorithm used for cloud masking, which is based on the spatial variability of reflectances at the top of the atmosphere in visible wavelengths, has been developed for the retrieval of aerosol properties by MODIS. It is shown that the spatial pattern of cloud reflectance, as observed from space, is very different from that of aerosols. Clouds show a high spatial variability in the scale of a hundred metres to a few kilometres, whereas aerosols in general are homogeneous. The concept of spatial variability of reflectances at the top of the atmosphere is mainly applicable over the ocean, where the surface background is sufficiently homogeneous for the separation between aerosols and clouds. Aerosol retrievals require a sufficiently accurate cloud identification to be able to mask these ground scenes. However, a conservative mask will exclude strong aerosol episodes and a less conservative mask could introduce cloud contamination that biases the retrieved aerosol optical properties (e.g. aerosol optical depth and effective radii). A detailed study on the effect of cloud contamination on aerosol retrievals has been performed and parameters are established determining the threshold value for the MODIS aerosol cloud mask (3×3-STD) over the ocean. The 3×3-STD algorithm discussed in this paper is the operational cloud mask used for MODIS aerosol retrievals over the ocean.A prolonged pollution haze event occurred in the northeast part of China during the period 16-21 December 2016. To assess the impact of such events, the amounts and distribution of aerosol particles, formed in such events, need to be quantified. The newly launched Ocean Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) onboard Sentinel-3 is the successor of the MEdium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (MERIS). It provides measurements of the radiance and reflectance at the top of the atmosphere, which can be used to retrieve the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) from synoptic to global scales. In this

  12. Physicochemical and toxicological characteristics of urban aerosols during a recent Indonesian biomass burning episode.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pavagadhi, Shruti; Betha, Raghu; Venkatesan, Shriram; Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar; Hande, Manoor Prakash

    2013-04-01

    Air particulate matter (PM) samples were collected in Singapore from 21 to 29 October 2010. During this time period, a severe regional smoke haze episode lasted for a few days (21-23 October). Physicochemical and toxicological characteristics of both haze and non-haze aerosols were evaluated. The average mass concentration of PM2.5 (PM with aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 μm) increased by a factor of 4 during the smoke haze period (107.2 μg/m(3)) as compared to that during the non-smoke haze period (27.0 μg/m(3)). The PM2.5 samples were analyzed for 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and 10 transition metals. Out of the seven PAHs known as potential or suspected carcinogens, five were found in significantly higher levels in smoke haze aerosols as compared to those in the background air. Metal concentrations were also found to be higher in haze aerosols. Additionally, the toxicological profile of the PM2.5 samples was evaluated using a human epithelial lung cell line (A549). Cell viability and death counts were measured after a direct exposure of PM2.5 samples to A459 cells for a period of 48 h. The percentage of metabolically active cells decreased significantly following a direct exposure to PM samples collected during the haze period. To provide further insights into the toxicological characteristics of the aerosol particles, glutathione levels, as an indirect measure of oxidative stress and caspase-3/7 levels as a measure of apoptotic death, were also evaluated.

  13. Special aerosol sources for certification and test of aerosol radiometers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Belkina, S.K.; Zalmanzon, Y.E.; Kuznetsov, Y.V.; Rizin, A.I.; Fertman, D.E.

    1991-01-01

    The results are presented of the development and practical application of new radionuclide source types (Special Aerosol Sources (SAS)), that meet the international standard recommendations, which are used for certification and test of aerosol radiometers (monitors) using model aerosols of plutonium-239, strontium-yttrium-90 or uranium of natural isotope composition and certified against Union of Soviet Socialist Republics USSR national radioactive aerosol standard or by means of a reference radiometer. The original technology for source production allows the particular features of sampling to be taken into account as well as geometry and conditions of radionuclides radiation registration in the sample for the given type of radiometer. (author)

  14. Special aerosol sources for certification and test of aerosol radiometers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belkina, S.K.; Zalmanzon, Y.E.; Kuznetsov, Y.V.; Rizin, A.I.; Fertman, D.E. (Union Research Institute of Instrumentation, Moscow (USSR))

    1991-01-01

    The results are presented of the development and practical application of new radionuclide source types (Special Aerosol Sources (SAS)), that meet the international standard recommendations, which are used for certification and test of aerosol radiometers (monitors) using model aerosols of plutonium-239, strontium-yttrium-90 or uranium of natural isotope composition and certified against Union of Soviet Socialist Republics USSR national radioactive aerosol standard or by means of a reference radiometer. The original technology for source production allows the particular features of sampling to be taken into account as well as geometry and conditions of radionuclides radiation registration in the sample for the given type of radiometer. (author).

  15. Aerosols and the lungs

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1987-01-01

    The lectures of the colloquium are discussed in summary form. There were 5 lectures on aerosol deposition, 5 on aerosol elimination, 7 on toxicology, and 7 on the uses of aerosols in medical therapy. In some cases aerosols with radioactive labels were used. Several lectures reviewed the kinetics and toxicology of airborne environmental pollutants. (MG) [de

  16. Analyses of biomass burning contribution to aerosol in Zhengzhou during wheat harvest season in 2015

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Hongyang; Yin, Shasha; Li, Xiao; Wang, Jia; Zhang, Ruiqin

    2018-07-01

    Ambient PM2.5 samples were collected in suburban area of Zhengzhou, China to investigate the impact of straw open burning on local aerosol during wheat harvest season in 2015. Secondary formation and accumulation processes were found under unfavorable meteorological conditions through the chemical composition analysis in PM2.5. And spatial and temporal variation of the agricultural activities were observed through MODIS fire spots data combined with back trajectory analysis. Results showed elevated levoglucosan was affected directly during biomass burning episodes and transportation periods. In order to estimate the contribution, levoglucosan/K+ combined with levoglucosan/mannosan were analyzed to identify biomass burning sources. And the results showed that levoglucosan were emitted from straw burning mixing with softwood combustion during the study period, emphasizing that wood combustion for households was non-negligible which consists part of the levoglucosan background in Zhengzhou aerosol. Based on emission factors (levoglucosan/OC or levoglucosan/PM2.5) summarized by laboratory simulation experiments, the study period was divided into 7 depending on the former characteristics to estimate the contribution of biomass burning to aerosol, and the average contributions of biomass burning emission to OC and PM2.5 were 46% and 13% relatively, indicating biomass burning have a significant impact on ambient aerosol levels during harvest season.

  17. Aerosols and Climate

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Large warming by elevated aerosols · AERONET – Global network (NASA) · Slide 25 · Slide 26 · Slide 27 · Slide 28 · Slide 29 · Slide 30 · Slide 31 · Long-term trends - Trivandrum · Enhanced warming over Himalayan-Gangetic region · Aerosol Radiative Forcing Over India _ Regional Aerosol Warming Experiment ...

  18. Interaction of Microphysical Aerosol Processes with Hydrodynamics Mixing

    KAUST Repository

    Alshaarawi, Amjad

    2015-12-15

    This work is concerned with the interaction between condensing aerosol dynamics and hydrodynamic mixing within ow configurations in which aerosol particles form (nucleate) from a supersaturated vapor and supersaturation is induced by the mixing of two streams (a saturated stream and a cold one). Two canonical hydrodynamic configurations are proposed for the investigation. The First is the steady one-dimensional opposed-ow configuration. The setup consists of the two (saturated and cold) streams owing from opposite nozzles. A mixing layer is established across a stagnation plane in the center where nucleation and other aerosol dynamics are triggered. The second is homogeneous isotropic turbulence in a three-dimensional periodic domain. Patches of a hot saturated gas mix with patches of a cold one. A mixing layer forms across the growing interface where the aerosol dynamics of interest occur. In both configurations, a unique analogy is observed. The results reveal a complex response to variations in the mixing rates. Depending on the mixing rate, the response of the number density falls into one of two regimes. For fast mixing rates, the maximum reached number density of the condensing droplets increases with the hydrodynamic time. We refer to this as the nucleation regime. On the contrary, for low mixing rates, the maximum reached number density decreases with the hydrodynamic time. We refer to this as the consumption regime. It is shown that vapor scavenging by the aerosol phase is key to explaining the transition between these two regimes.

  19. BAECC Biogenic Aerosols - Effects on Clouds and Climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Petäjä, Tuukka [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Moisseev, Dmitri [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Sinclair, Victoria [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); O' Connor, Ewan J. [Finnish Meteorological Institute, Helsinki (Finland); Manninen, Antti J. [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Levula, Janne [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Väänänen, Riikka [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Heikkinen, Liine [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Äijälä, Mikko [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Aalto, Juho [Univ. of Helsinki (Finland); Bäck, Jaana [University of Helsinki, Finland

    2015-11-01

    “Biogenic Aerosols - Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC)”, featured the U.S. Department of Energy’s Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Program’s 2nd Mobile Facility (AMF2) in Hyytiälä, Finland. It operated for an 8-month intensive measurement campaign from February to September 2014. The main research goal was to understand the role of biogenic aerosols in cloud formation. One of the reasons to perform BAECC study in Hyytiälä was the fact that it hosts SMEAR-II (Station for Measuring Forest Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations), which is one of the world’s most comprehensive surface in-situ observation sites in a boreal forest environment. The station has been measuring atmospheric aerosols, biogenic emissions and an extensive suite of parameters relevant to atmosphere-biosphere interactions continuously since 1996. The BAECC enables combining vertical profiles from AMF2 with surface-based in-situ SMEAR-II observations and allows the processes at the surface to be directly related to processes occurring throughout the entire tropospheric column. With the inclusion of extensive surface precipitation measurements, and intensive observation periods involving aircraft flights and novel radiosonde launches, the complementary observations of AMF2 and SMEAR-II provide a unique opportunity for investigating aerosol-cloud interactions, and cloud-to-precipitation processes. The BAECC dataset will initiate new opportunities for evaluating and improving models of aerosol sources and transport, cloud microphysical processes, and boundary-layer structures.

  20. Moderate Imaging Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Aerosol Optical Depth Retrieval for Aerosol Radiative Forcing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Asmat, A.; Jalal, K. A.; Ahmad, N.

    2018-02-01

    The present study uses the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) retrieved from Moderate Imaging Resolution Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for the period from January 2011 until December 2015 over an urban area in Kuching, Sarawak. The results show the minimum AOD value retrieved from MODIS is -0.06 and the maximum value is 6.0. High aerosol loading with high AOD value observed during dry seasons and low AOD monitored during wet seasons. Multi plane regression technique used to retrieve AOD from MODIS (AODMODIS) and different statistics parameter is proposed by using relative absolute error for accuracy assessment in spatial and temporal averaging approach. The AODMODIS then compared with AOD derived from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sunphotometer (AODAERONET) and the results shows high correlation coefficient (R2) for AODMODIS and AODAERONET with 0.93. AODMODIS used as an input parameters into Santa Barbara Discrete Ordinate Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model to estimate urban radiative forcing at Kuching. The observed hourly averaged for urban radiative forcing is -0.12 Wm-2 for top of atmosphere (TOA), -2.13 Wm-2 at the surface and 2.00 Wm-2 in the atmosphere. There is a moderate relationship observed between urban radiative forcing calculated using SBDART and AERONET which are 0.75 at the surface, 0.65 at TOA and 0.56 in atmosphere. Overall, variation in AOD tends to cause large bias in the estimated urban radiative forcing.

  1. Black carbon's contribution to aerosol absorption optical depth over S. Korea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lamb, K.; Perring, A. E.; Beyersdorf, A. J.; Anderson, B. E.; Segal-Rosenhaimer, M.; Redemann, J.; Holben, B. N.; Schwarz, J. P.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD) monitored by ground-based sites (AERONET, SKYNET, etc.) is used to constrain climate radiative forcing from black carbon (BC) and other absorbing aerosols in global models, but few validation studies between in situ aerosol measurements and ground-based AAOD exist. AAOD is affected by aerosol size distributions, composition, mixing state, and morphology. Megacities provide appealing test cases for this type of study due to their association with very high concentrations of anthropogenic aerosols. During the KORUS-AQ campaign in S. Korea, which took place in late spring and early summer of 2016, in situ aircraft measurements over the Seoul Metropolitan Area and Taehwa Research Forest (downwind of Seoul) were repeated three times per flight over a 6 week period, providing significant temporal coverage of vertically resolved aerosol properties influenced by different meteorological conditions and sources. Measurements aboard the NASA DC-8 by the NOAA Humidified Dual Single Particle Soot Photometers (HD-SP2) quantified BC mass, size distributions, mixing state, and the hygroscopicity of BC containing aerosols. The in situ BC mass vertical profiles are combined with estimated absorption enhancement calculated from observed optical size and hygroscopicity using Mie theory, and then integrated over the depth of the profile to calculate BC's contribution to AAOD. Along with bulk aerosol size distributions and hygroscopicity, bulk absorbing aerosol optical properties, and on-board sky radiance measurements, these measurements are compared with ground-based AERONET site measurements of AAOD to evaluate closure between in situ vertical profiles of BC and AAOD measurements. This study will provide constraints on the relative importance of BC (including lensing and hygroscopicity effects) and non-BC components to AAOD over S. Korea.

  2. Glassy aerosols with a range of compositions nucleate ice heterogeneously at cirrus temperatures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. W. Wilson

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric secondary organic aerosol (SOA is likely to exist in a semi-solid or glassy state, particularly at low temperatures and humidities. Previously, it has been shown that glassy aqueous citric acid aerosol is able to nucleate ice heterogeneously under conditions relevant to cirrus in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL. In this study we test if glassy aerosol distributions with a range of chemical compositions heterogeneously nucleate ice under cirrus conditions. Three single component aqueous solution aerosols (raffinose, 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-DL-mandelic acid (HMMA and levoglucosan and one multi component aqueous solution aerosol (raffinose mixed with five dicarboxylic acids and ammonium sulphate were studied in both the liquid and glassy states at a large cloud simulation chamber. The investigated organic compounds have similar functionality to oxidised organic material found in atmospheric aerosol and have estimated temperature/humidity induced glass transition thresholds that fall within the range predicted for atmospheric SOA. A small fraction of aerosol particles of all compositions were found to nucleate ice heterogeneously in the deposition mode at temperatures relevant to the TTL (<200 K. Raffinose and HMMA, which form glasses at higher temperatures, nucleated ice heterogeneously at temperatures as high as 214.6 and 218.5 K respectively. We present the calculated ice active surface site density, ns, of the aerosols tested here and also of glassy citric acid aerosol as a function of relative humidity with respect to ice (RHi. We also propose a parameterisation which can be used to estimate heterogeneous ice nucleation by glassy aerosol for use in cirrus cloud models up to ~220 K. Finally, we show that heterogeneous nucleation by glassy aerosol may compete with ice nucleation on mineral dust particles in mid-latitudes cirrus.

  3. Impact of cloud-borne aerosol representation on aerosol direct and indirect effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. J. Ghan

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol particles attached to cloud droplets are much more likely to be removed from the atmosphere and are much less efficient at scattering sunlight than if unattached. Models used to estimate direct and indirect effects of aerosols employ a variety of representations of such cloud-borne particles. Here we use a global aerosol model with a relatively complete treatment of cloud-borne particles to estimate the sensitivity of simulated aerosol, cloud and radiation fields to various approximations to the representation of cloud-borne particles. We find that neglecting transport of cloud-borne particles introduces little error, but that diagnosing cloud-borne particles produces global mean biases of 20% and local errors of up to 40% for aerosol, droplet number, and direct and indirect radiative forcing. Aerosol number, aerosol optical depth and droplet number are significantly underestimated in regions and seasons where and when wet removal is primarily by stratiform rather than convective clouds (polar regions during winter, but direct and indirect effects are less biased because of the limited sunlight there and then. A treatment that predicts the total mass concentration of cloud-borne particles for each mode yields smaller errors and runs 20% faster than the complete treatment. The errors are much smaller than current estimates of uncertainty in direct and indirect effects of aerosols, which suggests that the treatment of cloud-borne aerosol is not a significant source of uncertainty in estimates of direct and indirect effects.

  4. Long-range Transport of Aerosol at a Mountain Site in the Western Mediterranean Basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roberts, Greg; Corrigan, Craig; Ritchie, John; Pont, Véronique; Claeys, Marine; Sciare, Jean; Dulac, François

    2016-04-01

    The Mediterranean Region has been identified as sensitive to changes in the hydrological cycle, which could affect the water resources for millions of people by the turn of the century. However, prior to recent observations, most climate models have not accounted for the impacts of aerosol in this region. Past airborne studies have shown that aerosol sources from Europe and Africa are often transported throughout the lower troposphere; yet, because of their complex vertical distribution, it is a challenge to capture the variability and quantify the contribution of these sources to the radiative budget and precipitation processes. The PAEROS ChArMEx Mountain Experiment (PACMEx) complemented the regional activities by collecting aerosol data from atop a mountain on the island of Corsica, France in order to assess boundary layer / free troposphere atmospheric processes. In June/July 2013, PACMEx instruments were deployed at 2000 m.asl near the center of Corsica, France to complement ground-based aerosol observations at 550 m.asl on the northern peninsula, as well as airborne measurements. Comparisons between the peninsula site and the mountain site show similar general trends in aerosol properties; yet, differences in aerosol properties reveal the myriad transport mechanisms over the Mediterranean Basin. Using aerosol physicochemical data coupled with back trajectory analysis, different sources have been identified including Saharan dust transport, residual dust mixed with sea salt, anthropogenic emissions from Western Europe, and a period of biomass burning from Eastern Europe. Each period exhibits distinct signatures in the aerosol related to transport processes above and below the boundary layer. In addition, the total aerosol concentrations at the mountain site revealed a strong diurnal cycling the between the atmospheric boundary layer and the free troposphere, which is typical of mountain-top observations. PACMEx was funded by the National Science Foundation

  5. Advanced source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols by coupling offline AMS and radiocarbon size-segregated measurements over a nearly 2-year period

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vlachou, Athanasia; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Bozzetti, Carlo; Chazeau, Benjamin; Salazar, Gary A.; Szidat, Soenke; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc; Hueglin, Christoph; Baltensperger, Urs; El Haddad, Imad; Prévôt, André S. H.

    2018-05-01

    .20 µg m-3). The secondary OC was separated into two oxygenated, non-fossil OC factors which were identified based on their seasonal variability (i.e. summer and winter oxygenated organic carbon, OOC) and a third anthropogenic OOC factor which correlated with fossil OC mainly peaking in winter and spring, contributing on average 13 % ± 7 % (10 % ± 9 %) to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5). The winter OOC was also connected to anthropogenic sources, contributing on average 13 % ± 13 % (6 % ± 6 %) to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5). The summer OOC (SOOC), stemming from oxidation of biogenic emissions, was more pronounced in the fine mode, contributing on average 43 % ± 12 % (75 % ± 44 %) to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5). In total the non-fossil OC significantly dominated the fossil OC throughout all seasons, by contributing on average 75 % ± 24 % to the total OC. The results also suggested that during the cold period the prevailing source was residential biomass burning while during the warm period primary biological sources and secondary organic aerosol from the oxidation of biogenic emissions became important. However, SOC was also formed by aged fossil fuel combustion emissions not only in summer but also during the rest of the year.

  6. Confronting the Uncertainty in Aerosol Forcing Using Comprehensive Observational Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, J. S.; Regayre, L. A.; Yoshioka, M.; Pringle, K.; Sexton, D.; Lee, L.; Carslaw, K. S.

    2017-12-01

    The effect of aerosols on cloud droplet concentrations and radiative properties is the largest uncertainty in the overall radiative forcing of climate over the industrial period. In this study, we take advantage of a large perturbed parameter ensemble of simulations from the UK Met Office HadGEM-UKCA model (the aerosol component of the UK Earth System Model) to comprehensively sample uncertainty in aerosol forcing. Uncertain aerosol and atmospheric parameters cause substantial aerosol forcing uncertainty in climatically important regions. As the aerosol radiative forcing itself is unobservable, we investigate the potential for observations of aerosol and radiative properties to act as constraints on the large forcing uncertainty. We test how eight different theoretically perfect aerosol and radiation observations can constrain the forcing uncertainty over Europe. We find that the achievable constraint is weak unless many diverse observations are used simultaneously. This is due to the complex relationships between model output responses and the multiple interacting parameter uncertainties: compensating model errors mean there are many ways to produce the same model output (known as model equifinality) which impacts on the achievable constraint. However, using all eight observable quantities together we show that the aerosol forcing uncertainty can potentially be reduced by around 50%. This reduction occurs as we reduce a large sample of model variants (over 1 million) that cover the full parametric uncertainty to around 1% that are observationally plausible.Constraining the forcing uncertainty using real observations is a more complex undertaking, in which we must account for multiple further uncertainties including measurement uncertainties, structural model uncertainties and the model discrepancy from reality. Here, we make a first attempt to determine the true potential constraint on the forcing uncertainty from our model that is achievable using a comprehensive

  7. Aerosol delivery and humidification with the Boussignac continuous positive airway pressure device.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thille, Arnaud W; Bertholon, Jean-François; Becquemin, Marie-Hélène; Roy, Monique; Lyazidi, Aissam; Lellouche, François; Pertusini, Esther; Boussignac, Georges; Maître, Bernard; Brochard, Laurent

    2011-10-01

    A simple method for effective bronchodilator aerosol delivery while administering continuing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) would be useful in patients with severe bronchial obstruction. To assess the effectiveness of bronchodilator aerosol delivery during CPAP generated by the Boussignac CPAP system and its optimal humidification system. First we assessed the relationship between flow and pressure generated in the mask with the Boussignac CPAP system. Next we measured the inspired-gas humidity during CPAP, with several humidification strategies, in 9 healthy volunteers. We then measured the bronchodilator aerosol particle size during CPAP, with and without heat-and-moisture exchanger, in a bench study. Finally, in 7 patients with acute respiratory failure and airway obstruction, we measured work of breathing and gas exchange after a β(2)-agonist bronchodilator aerosol (terbutaline) delivered during CPAP or via standard nebulization. Optimal humidity was obtained only with the heat-and-moisture exchanger or heated humidifier. The heat-and-moisture exchanger had no influence on bronchodilator aerosol particle size. Work of breathing decreased similarly after bronchodilator via either standard nebulization or CPAP, but P(aO(2)) increased significantly only after CPAP aerosol delivery. CPAP bronchodilator delivery decreases the work of breathing as effectively as does standard nebulization, but produces a greater oxygenation improvement in patients with airway obstruction. To optimize airway humidification, a heat-and-moisture exchanger could be used with the Boussignac CPAP system, without modifying aerosol delivery.

  8. Regional and monthly and clear-sky aerosol direct radiative effect (and forcing derived from the GlobAEROSOL-AATSR satellite aerosol product

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. E. Thomas

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Using the GlobAEROSOL-AATSR dataset, estimates of the instantaneous, clear-sky, direct aerosol radiative effect and radiative forcing have been produced for the year 2006. Aerosol Robotic Network sun-photometer measurements have been used to characterise the random and systematic error in the GlobAEROSOL product for 22 regions covering the globe. Representative aerosol properties for each region were derived from the results of a wide range of literature sources and, along with the de-biased GlobAEROSOL AODs, were used to drive an offline version of the Met Office unified model radiation scheme. In addition to the mean AOD, best-estimate run of the radiation scheme, a range of additional calculations were done to propagate uncertainty estimates in the AOD, optical properties, surface albedo and errors due to the temporal and spatial averaging of the AOD fields. This analysis produced monthly, regional estimates of the clear-sky aerosol radiative effect and its uncertainty, which were combined to produce annual, global mean values of (−6.7 ± 3.9 W m−2 at the top of atmosphere (TOA and (−12 ± 6 W m−2 at the surface. These results were then used to give estimates of regional, clear-sky aerosol direct radiative forcing, using modelled pre-industrial AOD fields for the year 1750 calculated for the AEROCOM PRE experiment. However, as it was not possible to quantify the uncertainty in the pre-industrial aerosol loading, these figures can only be taken as indicative and their uncertainties as lower bounds on the likely errors. Although the uncertainty on aerosol radiative effect presented here is considerably larger than most previous estimates, the explicit inclusion of the major sources of error in the calculations suggest that they are closer to the true constraint on this figure from similar methodologies, and point to the need for more, improved estimates of both global aerosol loading and aerosol optical properties.

  9. Impact of agriculture crop residue burning on atmospheric aerosol loading – a study over Punjab State, India

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Darshan Singh

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available The present study deals with the impact of agriculture crop residue burning on aerosol properties during October 2006 and 2007 over Punjab State, India using ground based measurements and multi-satellite data. Spectral aerosol optical depth (AOD and Ångström exponent (α values exhibited larger day to day variation during crop residue burning period. The monthly mean Ångström exponent "α" and turbidity parameter "β" values during October 2007 were 1.31±0.31 and 0.36±0.21, respectively. The higher values of "α" and "β" suggest turbid atmospheric conditions with increase in fine mode aerosols over the region during crop residue burning period. AURA-OMI derived Aerosol Index (AI and Nitrogen dioxide (NO2 showed higher values over the study region during October 2007 compared to October 2006 suggesting enhanced atmospheric pollution associated with agriculture crop residue burning.

  10. Validation of MODIS derived aerosol optical depth and an investigation on aerosol transport over the South East Arabian Sea during ARMEX-II

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Aloysius

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available The influence of wind and humidity on aerosol optical depth (AOD over the Arabian sea is being investigated using MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Level 3 (Collection-5 and NCEP (National Centres for Environmental Prediction reanalysis data for the second phase of the Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX-II over the South East Arabian Sea (SEAS in the pre-monsoon period (14 March–10 April 2003. In order to qualify MODIS data for this study, MODIS aerosol parameters were first compared with ship borne Microtops measurements. This showed correlations 0.96–0.97 in the case of spectral AODs and a correlation 0.72 for the angstrom exponents. The daily AOD data from MODIS and winds from NCEP reveal that the ship observed episodic enhancement and decay of AOD at the TSL (Time Series Location during 23 March–6 April 2003 was caused by the southward drift of an aerosol pocket driven by an intensification and reduction of surface pressure in the North Western Arabian Sea with a low altitude convergence prevailing over SEAS. The AOD increase coincided with a decrease in the Angstrom exponent and the fine mode fraction suggesting the pocket being dominated by coarse mode particles. A partial correlation analysis reveals that the lower altitude wind convergence is the most influential atmospheric variable in modulating AOD over the ARMEX-II domain during the TSL period. However, surface winds at a distant zone in the north/north west upwind direction also had a moderate influence, though with a lag of two days. But this effect was minor since the winds were not strong enough to produce marine aerosols matching with the high AODs over the ARMEX-II domain. These findings and the similarity between MODIS column mass concentration and the ship borne QCM (Quartz Crystal Microbalance measured coarse mode mass concentration, suggest that the aerosol pocket was mostly composed of coarse mode mineral dust in the lower atmospheric altitudes

  11. Seasonal variation of marine organic aerosols in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, P.; Kawamura, K.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric aerosols were collected in the marine boundary layer during five marine cruises in the northern Pacific Ocean from October 1996 to July 1997. Organic molecular compositions of the marine aerosols were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Higher concentrations of levoglucosan and its isomers, the biomass-burning tracers, were observed in the coastal regions than those in the central north Pacific. Seasonal trends of biomass burning tracers were found to be higher in fall-winter-spring than in summer, suggesting an enhanced influence of continental aerosols to the marine atmosphere during cold seasons when the westerlies prevail. However, the atmospheric levels of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from the photooxidation of isoprene and monoterpenes were higher in warm seasons than cold seasons, which are in accordance with the enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in summer. Stable C isotope ratios of total carbon (δ13CTC) in the marine aerosols ranged from -28.5‰ to -23.6‰ (mean -26.4‰), suggesting an important input of terrestrial/continental aerosol particles. Stable N isotope ratios (2.6‰ to 12.9‰, mean 7.1‰) were found to be higher in the coastal regions than those in the open oceans, suggesting an enhanced emission of marine aerosols in the open oceans. The fluorescence properties of the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in the marine aerosols conform the importance of marine emitted organics in the open ocean, especially during the high biological activity periods.

  12. Using MODIS Cloud Regimes to Sort Diagnostic Signals of Aerosol-Cloud-Precipitation Interactions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oreopoulos, Lazaros; Cho, Nayeong; Lee, Dongmin

    2017-05-27

    Coincident multi-year measurements of aerosol, cloud, precipitation and radiation at near-global scales are analyzed to diagnose their apparent relationships as suggestive of interactions previously proposed based on theoretical, observational, and model constructs. Specifically, we examine whether differences in aerosol loading in separate observations go along with consistently different precipitation, cloud properties, and cloud radiative effects. Our analysis uses a cloud regime (CR) framework to dissect and sort the results. The CRs come from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensor and are defined as distinct groups of cloud systems with similar co-variations of cloud top pressure and cloud optical thickness. Aerosol optical depth used as proxy for aerosol loading comes from two sources, MODIS observations, and the MERRA-2 re-analysis, and its variability is defined with respect to local seasonal climatologies. The choice of aerosol dataset impacts our results substantially. We also find that the responses of the marine and continental component of a CR are frequently quite disparate. Overall, CRs dominated by warm clouds tend to exhibit less ambiguous signals, but also have more uncertainty with regard to precipitation changes. Finally, we find weak, but occasionally systematic co-variations of select meteorological indicators and aerosol, which serves as a sober reminder that ascribing changes in cloud and cloud-affected variables solely to aerosol variations is precarious.

  13. Regional variation of carbonaceous aerosols from space and simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukai, Sonoyo; Sano, Itaru; Nakata, Makiko; Kokhanovsky, Alexander

    2017-04-01

    effect on carbonaceous aerosols. And then the selected data observed by ADEOS-2/GLI and POLDER in 2003 are treated by using Vector form Method of Successive Order of Scattering (VMSOS) for radiative transfer simulations in the semi-infinite atmosphere [2]. Finally the obtained optical properties of the carbonaceous aerosols are investigated in comparison with the numerical model simulations of SPRINTARS. In spite of the limited case studies, it has been pointed out that NUV-channel data are effective for retrieval of the carbonaceous aerosol properties. Therefore we have to treat with this issue for not only detection of biomass burning plume but also retrieval itself. If that happens, synthetic analysis based on multi-channel and/or polarization measurements become practical, and the proposed procedure and results are available for a feasibility study of coming space missions. [1] Sano, I., Y. Okada, M. Mukai and S. Mukai, "Retrieval algorithm based on combined use of POLDER and GLI data for biomass aerosols," J. RSSJ, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 54-59, doi:10.11440/rssj.29.54, 2009. [2] Mukai, S., M. Nakata, M. Yasumoto, I. Sano and A. Kokhanovsky, "A study of aerosol pollution episode due to agriculture biomass burning in the east-central China using satellite data," Front. Environ. Sci., vol. 3:57, doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2015.00057, 2015.

  14. TOMS Absorbing Aerosol Index

    Data.gov (United States)

    Washington University St Louis — TOMS_AI_G is an aerosol related dataset derived from the Total Ozone Monitoring Satellite (TOMS) Sensor. The TOMS aerosol index arises from absorbing aerosols such...

  15. Atmospheric aerosol system: An overview

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prospero, J.M.; Charlson, R.J.; Mohnen, V.; Jaenicke, R.; Delany, A.C.; Moyers, J.; Zoller, W.; Rahn, K.

    1983-01-01

    Aerosols could play a critical role in many processes which impact on our lives either indirectly (e.g., climate) or directly (e.g., health). However, our ability to assess these possible impacts is constrained by our limited knowledge of the physical and chemical properties of aerosols, both anthropogenic and natural. This deficiency is attributable in part to the fact that aerosols are the end product of a vast array of chemical and physical processes. Consequently, the properties of the aerosol can exhibit a great deal of variability in both time and space. Furthermore, most aerosol studies have focused on measurements of a single aerosol characteristic such as composition or size distribution. Such information is generally not useful for the assessment of impacts because the degree of impact may depend on the integral properties of the aerosol, for example, the aerosol composition as a function of particle size. In this overview we discuss recent work on atmospheric aerosols that illustrates the complex nature of the aerosol chemical and physical system, and we suggest strategies for future research. A major conclusion is that man has had a great impact on the global budgets of certain species, especially sulfur and nitrogen, that play a dominant role in the atmospheric aerosol system. These changes could conceivably affect climate. Large-scale impacts are implied because it has recently been demonstrated that natural and pollutant aerosol episodes can be propagated over great distances. However, at present there is no evidence linking anthropogenic activities with a persistent increase in aerosol concentrations on a global scale. A major problem in assessing man's impact on the atmospheric aerosol system and on global budgets is the absence of aerosol measurements in remote marine and continental areas

  16. Medicaid program; premiums and cost sharing. Final rule; delay of effective date and reopening of comment period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-03-27

    This action temporarily delays the effective date of the November 25, 2008 final rule entitled, Medicaid Program; Premiums and Cost Sharing" (73 FR 71828) until December 31, 2009. In addition, this action reopens the comment period on the policies set out in the November 25, 2008 final rule, and specifically solicits comments on the effect of certain provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

  17. Variability in regional background aerosols within the Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Pey, J.; Cusack, M.; Pérez, N.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Theodosi, C.; Gerasopoulos, E.; Kubilay, N.; Koçak, M.

    2009-07-01

    The main objective of this study is the identification of major factors controlling levels and chemical composition of aerosols in the regional background (RB) along the Mediterranean Basin (MB). To this end, data on PM levels and speciation from Montseny (MSY, NE Spain), Finokalia (FKL, Southern Greece) and Erdemli (ERL, Southern Turkey) for the period 2001 to 2008 are evaluated. Important differences on PM levels and composition are evident when comparing the Western and Eastern MBs. The results manifest W-E and N-S PM10 and PM2.5 gradients along the MB, attributed to the higher frequency and intensity of African dust outbreaks in the EMB, while for PM1 very similar levels are encountered. PM in the EMB is characterized by higher levels of crustal material and sulphate as compared to WMB (and central European sites), however, RB nitrate and OC + EC levels are relatively constant across the Mediterranean and lower than other European sites. Marked seasonal trends are evidenced for PM levels, nitrate (WMB), ammonium and sulphate. Also relatively higher levels of V and Ni (WMB) are measured in the Mediterranean basin, probably as a consequence of high emissions from fuel-oil combustion (power generation, industrial and shipping emissions). Enhanced sulphate levels in EMB compared to WMB were measured. The high levels of sulphate in the EMB may deplete the available gas-phase NH3 so that little ammonium nitrate can form due to the low NH3 levels. This study illustrates the existence of three very important features within the Mediterranean that need to be accounted for when modeling climate effects of aerosols in the area, namely: a) the increasing gradient of dust from WMB to EMB; b) the change of hygroscopic behavior of mineral aerosols (dust) via nitration and sulfation; and c) the abundance of highly hygroscopic aerosols during high insolation (low cloud formation) periods.

  18. Aerosol Optical Properties at the Ground Sites during the 2010 CARES Field Campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Atkinson, D. B.; Radney, J. G.; Harworth, J. W.

    2010-12-01

    Preliminary results from the ground sites at the 2010 CARES field campaign (T0 near Sacramento, CA and T1 near Cool, CA) will be presented. A number of aerosol optical properties were measured at high time resolution for the four week study period using custom instruments. The aerosol extinction coefficient was measured at T0 using a cavity ring-down transmissometer (CRDT) at two wavelengths (532 and 1064 nm) and the aerosol scattering coefficient was measured at 532 nm using a Radiance Research M903 nephelometer. At T1, a new CRDT instrument was deployed that measured the extinction coefficient at three wavelengths (355, 532, and 1064 nm) for sub-10 μm (nominal) and sub-2.5 μm aerosols at ambient, elevated, and reduced relative humidity. A new type of custom nephelometer that measures the aerosol scattering coefficient at 532 nm using an array detector was also deployed at T1.

  19. The influence of anthropogenic aerosol on multi-decadal variations of historical global climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wilcox, L J; Highwood, E J; Dunstone, N J

    2013-01-01

    Analysis of single forcing runs from CMIP5 (the fifth Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) simulations shows that the mid-twentieth century temperature hiatus, and the coincident decrease in precipitation, is likely to have been influenced strongly by anthropogenic aerosol forcing. Models that include a representation of the indirect effect of aerosol better reproduce inter-decadal variability in historical global-mean near-surface temperatures, particularly the cooling in the 1950s and 1960s, compared to models with representation of the aerosol direct effect only. Models with the indirect effect also show a more pronounced decrease in precipitation during this period, which is in better agreement with observations, and greater inter-decadal variability in the inter-hemispheric temperature difference. This study demonstrates the importance of representing aerosols, and their indirect effects, in general circulation models, and suggests that inter-model diversity in aerosol burden and representation of aerosol–cloud interaction can produce substantial variation in simulations of climate variability on multi-decadal timescales. (letter)

  20. Charging and coagulation of water aerosols with negligible addition of high-radioactive droplets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vasil'eva, N.L.; Sedova, G.L.; Chernyj, L.T.

    1994-01-01

    The mechanics of electrocoagulation of water aerosols with negligible admixture of high-radioactive droplets is considered. A corresponding mathematical model has been worked out which describes the processes of ionization, electrification and coagulation of radioactive aerosols. Numerical studies are carried out for a series of typical aerosols on the time dependence of ion concentrations, charge and pure droplet concentrations, as well as the charge and radius of radioactive droplets. It is shown that coagulation can give rise to the growth of droplet radius from 5-10 μm up to 30-40 μm for a 10 4 s period f time, and therefore it can play a considerable role in the development of aerosols with droplet radius up to 20 μm when gravitational coagulation is insignificant

  1. Lead exposures and biological responses in military weapons systems: Aerosol characteristics and acute lead effects among US Army artillerymen: Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Bhattacharyya, M.H.; Stebbings, J.H.; Peterson, D.P.; Johnson, S.A.; Kumar, R.; Goun, B.D.; Janssen, I.; Trier, J.E.

    1993-03-01

    This study was to determine the concentration and chemical nature of lead (Pb) aerosols produced during the firing of artillery and to determine the exposures and biological responses of crew members exposed to lead aerosols during such firing. The concentrations of lead-containing aerosols at crew positions depended on wind conditions, with higher concentrations when firing into a head wind. Aerosol concentrations were highest in the muzzle blast zone. Concentrations of lead in the blood of crew members rose during the first 12 days of exposure to elevated airborne lead concentrations and then leveled off. There was no rapid decrease in blood lead concentrations after completion of firing. Small decreases in hematocrit and small increases in free erythrocyte porphyrin were correlated with increasing exposure to airborne lead. These changes were reversed by seven weeks after firing. Changes in nerve conduction velocity had borderline statistical significance to airborne lead exposure. In measuring nerve conduction velocity, differences in skin temperature must be taken into account.

  2. Perceptions of Secondhand E-Cigarette Aerosol Among Twitter Users.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Unger, Jennifer B; Escobedo, Patricia; Allem, Jon-Patrick; Soto, Daniel W; Chu, Kar-Hai; Cruz, Tess

    2016-04-01

    There is considerable debate among the public health community about the health risks of secondhand exposure to the aerosol from electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). Despite mounting scientific evidence on the chemical content of e-cigarette aerosol, public perceptions of the relative safety of secondhand e-cigarette aerosol have not been well characterized. This study collected tweets, or messages sent using Twitter, about exposure to secondhand e-cigarette aerosol over a 6-week period in 2015. Tweets were coded on sentiment about e-cigarettes (pro-, anti-, or neutral/unknown) and topic (health, social, advertisement, or unknown). The 1519 tweets included 531 pro-e-cigarette tweets, 392 anti-e-cigarette tweets, and 596 neutral tweets. Social tweets far outnumbered health tweets (747 vs. 182, respectively). Social-focused tweets were predominantly pro-e-cigarette, whereas health-focused tweets were predominantly anti-e-cigarette. Twitter discussions about secondhand vaping are dominated by pro-e-cigarette social tweets, although there is a presence of anti-e-cigarette social tweets and tweets about negative and positive health effects. Public health and regulatory agencies could use social media and traditional media to disseminate the message that e-cigarette aerosol contains potentially harmful chemicals and could be perceived as offensive. This study identifies the prevalent topics and opinions that could be incorporated into health education messages.

  3. In situ acidity and pH of size-fractionated aerosols during a recent smoke-haze episode in Southeast Asia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behera, Sailesh N; Cheng, Jinping; Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar

    2015-10-01

    The characterization of aerosol acidity has received increased attention in recent years due to its influence on atmospheric visibility, climate change and human health. Distribution of water soluble inorganic (WSI) ions in 12 different size fractions of aerosols was investigated under two different atmospheric conditions (smoke-haze and non-haze periods) in 2012 using the Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) and nano-MOUDI for the first time in Singapore. To estimate the in situ acidity ([H(+)]Ins) and in situ aerosol pH (pHIS), the Aerosol Inorganic Model version-IV under deliquescent mode of airborne particles was used at prevailing ambient temperature and relative humidity. The study revealed an increase in the levels of airborne particulate matter (PM) mass and concentrations of WSI ions for all size fractions during the smoke-haze period, which was caused by the trans-boundary transport of biomass burning-impacted air masses from Indonesia. A bimodal distribution was observed for concentrations of SO4(2-), NO3(-), Cl(-), K(+) and Na(+), whereas concentrations of NH4(+), Ca(2+) and Mg(2+) showed a single mode distribution. The concentration of WSI ions in PM1.8 during the smoke-haze period increased by 3.8 (for SO4(2-)) to 10.5 (for K(+)) times more than those observed during the non-haze period. The pHIS were observed to be lower during the smoke-haze period than that during the non-haze period for all size fractions of PM, indicating that atmospheric aerosols were more acidic due to the influence of biomass burning emissions. The particles in the accumulation mode were more acidic than those in the coarse mode.

  4. Updated African biomass burning emission inventories in the framework of the AMMA-IDAF program, with an evaluation of combustion aerosols

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Liousse

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available African biomass burning emission inventories for gaseous and particulate species have been constructed at a resolution of 1 km by 1km with daily coverage for the 2000–2007 period. These inventories are higher than the GFED2 inventories, which are currently widely in use. Evaluation specifically focusing on combustion aerosol has been carried out with the ORISAM-TM4 global chemistry transport model which includes a detailed aerosol module. This paper compares modeled results with measurements of surface BC concentrations and scattering coefficients from the AMMA Enhanced Observations period, aerosol optical depths and single scattering albedo from AERONET sunphotometers, LIDAR vertical distributions of extinction coefficients as well as satellite data. Aerosol seasonal and interannual evolutions over the 2004–2007 period observed at regional scale and more specifically at the Djougou (Benin and Banizoumbou (Niger AMMA/IDAF sites are well reproduced by our global model, indicating that our biomass burning emission inventory appears reasonable.

  5. Facility of aerosol filtration

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Duverger de Cuy, G; Regnier, J

    1975-04-18

    Said invention relates to a facility of aerosol filtration, particularly of sodium aerosols. Said facility is of special interest for fast reactors where sodium fires involve the possibility of high concentrations of sodium aerosols which soon clog up conventional filters. The facility intended for continuous operation, includes at the pre-filtering stage, means for increasing the size of the aerosol particles and separating clustered particles (cyclone separator).

  6. Improvement of aerosol optical depth retrieval from MODIS spectral reflectance over the global ocean using new aerosol models archived from AERONET inversion data and tri-axial ellipsoidal dust database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Lee

    2012-08-01

    Full Text Available New over-ocean aerosol models are developed by integrating the inversion data from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET sun/sky radiometers with a database for the optical properties of tri-axial ellipsoid particles. The new aerosol models allow more accurate retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS in the case of high AOD (AOD > 0.3. The aerosol models are categorized by using the fine-mode fraction (FMF at 550 nm and the single-scattering albedo (SSA at 440 nm from the AERONET inversion data to include a variety of aerosol types found around the globe. For each aerosol model, the changes in the aerosol optical properties (AOPs as functions of AOD are considered to better represent aerosol characteristics. Comparisons of AODs between AERONET and MODIS for the period from 2003 to 2010 show that the use of the new aerosol models enhances the AOD accuracy with a Pearson coefficient of 0.93 and a regression slope of 0.99 compared to 0.92 and 0.85 calculated using the MODIS Collection 5 data. Moreover, the percentage of data within an expected error of ± (0.03 + 0.05 × AOD is increased from 62% to 64% for overall data and from 39% to 5% for AOD > 0.3. Errors in the retrieved AOD are further characterized with respect to the Ångström exponent (AE, scattering angle (Θ, SSA, and air mass factor (AMF. Due to more realistic AOPs assumptions, the new algorithm generally reduces systematic errors in the retrieved AODs compared with the current operational algorithm. In particular, the underestimation of fine-dominated AOD and the scattering angle dependence of dust-dominated AOD are significantly mitigated as results of the new algorithm's improved treatment of aerosol size distribution and dust particle nonsphericity.

  7. Improvement of Aerosol Optical Depth Retrieval from MODIS Spectral Reflectance over the Global Ocean Using New Aerosol Models Archived from AERONET Inversion Data and Tri-axial Ellipsoidal Dust Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, J.; Kim, J.; Yang, P.; Hsu, N. C.

    2012-01-01

    New over-ocean aerosol models are developed by integrating the inversion data from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun/sky radiometers with a database for the optical properties of tri-axial ellipsoid particles. The new aerosol models allow more accurate retrieval of aerosol optical depth (AOD) from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) in the case of high AOD (AOD greater than 0.3). The aerosol models are categorized by using the fine-mode fraction (FMF) at 550 nm and the singlescattering albedo (SSA) at 440 nm from the AERONET inversion data to include a variety of aerosol types found around the globe. For each aerosol model, the changes in the aerosol optical properties (AOPs) as functions of AOD are considered to better represent aerosol characteristics. Comparisons of AODs between AERONET and MODIS for the period from 2003 to 2010 show that the use of the new aerosol models enhances the AOD accuracy with a Pearson coefficient of 0.93 and a regression slope of 0.99 compared to 0.92 and 0.85 calculated using the MODIS Collection 5 data. Moreover, the percentage of data within an expected error of +/-(0.03 + 0.05xAOD) is increased from 62 percent to 64 percent for overall data and from 39 percent to 51 percent for AOD greater than 0.3. Errors in the retrieved AOD are further characterized with respect to the Angstrom exponent (AE), scattering angle, SSA, and air mass factor (AMF). Due to more realistic AOPs assumptions, the new algorithm generally reduces systematic errors in the retrieved AODs compared with the current operational algorithm. In particular, the underestimation of fine-dominated AOD and the scattering angle dependence of dust-dominated AOD are significantly mitigated as results of the new algorithm's improved treatment of aerosol size distribution and dust particle nonsphericity.

  8. SAFARI 2000 TOMS Aerosol Index Data, Southern Africa, Dry Season 2000

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — ABSTRACT: Daily Aerosol Index (AI) data from Earth Probe (EP) Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS) for the period of August 12-September 25, 2000 were processed...

  9. Antarctic aerosols - A review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Glenn E.

    1988-02-01

    Tropospheric aerosols with the diameter range of half a micron reside in the atmosphere for tens of days and teleconnect Antarctica with other regions by transport that reaches planetary scales of distances; thus, the aerosol on the Antarctic ice represents 'memory modules' of events that took place at regions separated from Antarctica by tens of thousands of kilometers. In terms of aerosol mass, the aerosol species include insoluble crustal products (less than 5 percent), transported sea-salt residues (highly variable but averaging about 10 percent), Ni-rich meteoric material, and anomalously enriched material with an unknown origin. Most (70-90 percent by mass) of the aerosol over the Antarctic ice shield, however, is the 'natural acid sulfate aerosol', apparently deriving from biological processes taking place in the surrounding oceans.

  10. Characterization of urban aerosol using aerosol mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleveland, M. J.; Ziemba, L. D.; Griffin, R. J.; Dibb, J. E.; Anderson, C. H.; Lefer, B.; Rappenglück, B.

    2012-07-01

    Particulate matter was measured during August and September of 2006 in Houston as part of the Texas Air Quality Study II Radical and Aerosol Measurement Project. Aerosol size and composition were determined using an Aerodyne quadrupole aerosol mass spectrometer. Aerosol was dominated by sulfate (4.1 ± 2.6 μg m-3) and organic material (5.5 ± 4.0 μg m-3), with contributions of organic material from both primary (˜32%) and secondary (˜68%) sources. Secondary organic aerosol appears to be formed locally. In addition, 29 aerosol filter samples were analyzed using proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopy to determine relative concentrations of organic functional groups. Houston aerosols are less oxidized than those observed elsewhere, with smaller relative contributions of carbon-oxygen double bonds. These particles do not fit 1H NMR source apportionment fingerprints for identification of secondary, marine, and biomass burning organic aerosol, suggesting that a new fingerprint for highly urbanized and industrially influenced locations be established.

  11. Global direct radiative forcing by process-parameterized aerosol optical properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    KirkevâG, Alf; Iversen, Trond

    2002-10-01

    A parameterization of aerosol optical parameters is developed and implemented in an extended version of the community climate model version 3.2 (CCM3) of the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research. Direct radiative forcing (DRF) by monthly averaged calculated concentrations of non-sea-salt sulfate and black carbon (BC) is estimated. Inputs are production-specific BC and sulfate from [2002] and background aerosol size distribution and composition. The scheme interpolates between tabulated values to obtain the aerosol single scattering albedo, asymmetry factor, extinction coefficient, and specific extinction coefficient. The tables are constructed by full calculations of optical properties for an array of aerosol input values, for which size-distributed aerosol properties are estimated from theory for condensation and Brownian coagulation, assumed distribution of cloud-droplet residuals from aqueous phase oxidation, and prescribed properties of the background aerosols. Humidity swelling is estimated from the Köhler equation, and Mie calculations finally yield spectrally resolved aerosol optical parameters for 13 solar bands. The scheme is shown to give excellent agreement with nonparameterized DRF calculations for a wide range of situations. Using IPCC emission scenarios for the years 2000 and 2100, calculations with an atmospheric global cliamte model (AFCM) yield a global net anthropogenic DRF of -0.11 and 0.11 W m-2, respectively, when 90% of BC from biomass burning is assumed anthropogenic. In the 2000 scenario, the individual DRF due to sulfate and BC has separately been estimated to -0.29 and 0.19 W m-2, respectively. Our estimates of DRF by BC per BC mass burden are lower than earlier published estimates. Some sensitivity tests are included to investigate to what extent uncertain assumptions may influence these results.

  12. Seasonality of major aerosol species and their transformations in Cairo mega-city

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Favez, O.; Cachier, H.; Sciare, J.; Alfaro, S.C.; El-Araby, T.M.; Harhash, M.A.; Abdelwahab, M.M.

    2008-01-01

    Bulk aerosols sampled oil a weekly basis at two Cairo (Egypt) urban sites from January 2003 to May 2006 were analysed for their chemical composition of major aerosol species (elemental carbon, water soluble/insoluble organic carbon, nitrate, sulphate, ammonium, chloride, sodium and calcium). Data subsequently obtained constitute one of the longest and more detailed dataset related to Cairo aerosols, and offer the opportunity to investigate seasonal trends. Dust aerosols (derived from calcium measurements) displayed maximum concentrations in spring and winter, due to frequent dust storms, but also high background concentration levels (∼ 50 μgm -3 ), all year long. Within these particles, about 40% oil average of Ca 2+ was found to be associated SO 4 2- , NO 3 - and/or Cl - , pointing out 'dust anthropization' processes and their subsequent climatic impact oil a regional scale. Seasonal variations of non-dust aerosols, equally distributed between carbonaceous aerosols and ions, were also observed, with concentrations of the order of 100 μgm -3 in autumn and winter, and of 60 μgm -3 in spring and summer. High concentration levels of non-sea-salt chloride (up to 15 μg m -3 on a monthly basis), likely of industrial origin, were observed in autumn and winter. During the autumn 'Black Cloud' event, biomass burning aerosols originating front rice straw burning in the Nile Delta have shown to account for 12%, 35%, and 50% of Cairo EC, WIOC and WSOC mass concentrations, respectively. Finally, relatively low WSOC/OC ratios (similar to 1/3) were obtained all the year long, calling for more investigation oil the water-solubility of organic aerosols originating from the burning of agricultural waste, and oil that of secondary organic aerosols formed in dry urban atmospheres. (authors)

  13. Aerosol Deposition in Health and Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Abstract The success of inhalation therapy is not only dependent upon the pharmacology of the drugs being inhaled but also upon the site and extent of deposition in the respiratory tract. This article reviews the main mechanisms affecting the transport and deposition of inhaled aerosol in the human lung. Aerosol deposition in both the healthy and diseased lung is described mainly based on the results of human studies using nonimaging techniques. This is followed by a discussion of the effect of flow regime on aerosol deposition. Finally, the link between therapeutic effects of inhaled drugs and their deposition pattern is briefly addressed. Data show that total lung deposition is a poor predictor of clinical outcome, and that regional deposition needs to be assessed to predict therapeutic effectiveness. Indeed, spatial distribution of deposited particles and, as a consequence, drug efficiency is strongly affected by particle size. Large particles (>6 μm) tend to mainly deposit in the upper airway, limiting the amount of drugs that can be delivered to the lung. Small particles (<2 μm) deposit mainly in the alveolar region and are probably the most apt to act systemically, whereas the particle in the size range 2–6 μm are be best suited to treat the central and small airways. PMID:22686623

  14. A six year satellite-based assessment of the regional variations in aerosol indirect effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    T. A. Jones

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Aerosols act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN for cloud water droplets, and changes in aerosol concentrations have significant microphysical impacts on the corresponding cloud properties. Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS aerosol and cloud properties are combined with NCEP Reanalysis data for six different regions around the globe between March 2000 and December 2005 to study the effects of different aerosol, cloud, and atmospheric conditions on the aerosol indirect effect (AIE. Emphasis is placed in examining the relative importance of aerosol concentration, type, and atmospheric conditions (mainly vertical motion to AIE from region to region.

    Results show that in most regions, AIE has a distinct seasonal cycle, though the cycle varies in significance and period from region to region. In the Arabian Sea (AS, the six-year mean anthropogenic + dust AIE is −0.27 Wm−2 and is greatest during the summer months (<−2.0 Wm−2 during which aerosol concentrations (from both dust and anthropogenic sources are greatest. Comparing AIE as a function of thin (LWP<20 gm−2 vs. thick (LWP≥20 gm−2 clouds under conditions of large scale ascent or decent at 850 hPa showed that AIE is greatest for thick clouds during periods of upward vertical motion. In the Bay of Bengal, AIE is negligible owing to less favorable atmospheric conditions, a lower concentration of aerosols, and a non-alignment of aerosol and cloud layers. In the eastern North Atlantic, AIE is weakly positive (+0.1 Wm−2 with dust aerosol concentration being much greater than the anthropogenic or sea salt components. However, elevated dust in this region exists above the maritime cloud layers and does not have a hygroscopic coating, which occurs in AS, preventing the dust from acting as CCN and limiting AIE. The Western Atlantic has a large anthropogenic aerosol concentration transported from the eastern

  15. The ten-year pattern (1978-1987) of stratospheric aerosol loading using ground-based radiometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Michalsky, J.J.; Pearson, E.W.; LeBaron, B.A.

    1988-09-01

    In this paper the procedures used to obtain a stratospheric measurement with ground-based sun radiometry are reviewed briefly. The five-wavelength optical depths are then used to study the evolution of aerosol size during the decade. The time history of loading from the instruments described are compared. Particular emphasis will be placed on the Garmisch-Partenkirchen data because their latitude is very nearly that of the PNL site. The most useful data for this study are those observational records that measure total stratospheric aerosol burden and include the early period and continue throughout the eruption and decay of El Chichon. The lidar data from Langley Research Center and Fraunhofer-Institute for Atmospheric Environmental Research at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the SAM II satellite data, and the Pacific Northwest Laboratory (PNL) sun radiometry are the published contiguous measurements of the stratosphere aerosol burden during this period. 16 refs., 6 figs

  16. Aerosol dynamics within and above forest in relation to turbulent transport and dry deposition

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rannik, Üllar; Zhou, Luxi; Zhou, Putian

    2016-01-01

    of 10 days in May 2013 to a pine forest site in southern Finland. The period was characterized by frequent new particle formation events and simultaneous intensive aerosol transformation. The aim of the study was to analyze and quantify the role of aerosol and ABL dynamics in the vertical transport...... of aerosols. It was of particular interest to what extent the fluxes above the canopy deviate from the particle dry deposition on the canopy foliage due to the above-mentioned processes. The model simulations revealed that the particle concentration change due to aerosol dynamics frequently exceeded...... the effect of particle deposition by even an order of magnitude or more. The impact was, however, strongly dependent on particle size and time. In spite of the fact that the timescale of turbulent transfer inside the canopy is much smaller than the timescales of aerosol dynamics and dry deposition, leading...

  17. Single particle characterization, source apportionment, and aging effects of ambient aerosols in Southern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shields, Laura Grace

    Composed of a mixture of chemical species and phases and existing in a variety of shapes and sizes, atmospheric aerosols are complex and can have serious influence on human health, the environment, and climate. In order to better understand the impact of aerosols on local to global scales, detailed measurements on the physical and chemical properties of ambient particles are essential. In addition, knowing the origin or the source of the aerosols is important for policymakers to implement targeted regulations and effective control strategies to reduce air pollution in their region. One of the most ground breaking techniques in aerosol instrumentation is single particle mass spectrometry (SPMS), which can provide online chemical composition and size information on the individual particle level. The primary focus of this work is to further improve the ability of one specific SPMS technique, aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS), for the use of identifying the specific origin of ambient aerosols, which is known as source apportionment. The ATOFMS source apportionment method utilizes a library of distinct source mass spectral signatures to match the chemical information of the single ambient particles. The unique signatures are obtained in controlled source characterization studies, such as with the exhaust emissions of heavy duty diesel vehicles (HDDV) operating on a dynamometer. The apportionment of ambient aerosols is complicated by the chemical and physical processes an individual particle can undergo as it spends time in the atmosphere, which is referred to as "aging" of the aerosol. Therefore, the performance of the source signature library technique was investigated on the ambient dataset of the highly aged environment of Riverside, California. Additionally, two specific subsets of the Riverside dataset (ultrafine particles and particles containing trace metals), which are known to cause adverse health effects, were probed in greater detail. Finally

  18. Study of total column atmospheric aerosol optical depth, ozone and ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    general circulation models. ... at all wavelengths from initial to later part of observation period due to cloud-scavenging and rain-washout effects as well as signature of coastal aerosol loading. ... important roles in the study of the Earth's climate.

  19. Global aerosol transport and consequences for the radiation budget

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Newiger, M.; Grassl, H.; Schussel, P.; Rehkopf, J.

    1984-01-01

    Man's activities may influence global climate by changing the atmospheric composition and surface characteristics and by waste heat. Most prominent within this discussion is the increase or decrease of radiatively active trace gases like CO/sub 2/, N/sub 2/O, O/sub 3/, and others. The general opinion is converging towards a greenhouse effect as a combined action of all trace gases, whose exact magnitude is uncertain mainly because of the unknown reaction of water cycle. The aim of our global 2-D (resolving latitude and height) aerosol transport model is the calculation of aerosol particle number density profiles as a function of latitude for present natural plus anthropogenic emissions. The aerosol transport model uses prescribed meridonal circulation, diffusivity factors and cloud climatology for January as well as July. All these latitude and height dependent input parameters were taken from well known sources. The fixed climatology excludes the feedback of aerosol particle parameter changes on mean circulation. However, the radiative parameters of six clouds types are modified, although they possess by adoption of the Telegadas and London (1954) cloud climatology prescribed amount and height. The inclusion of the feedback on mean circulation seems premature at present. Adding particles either accounting for natural emissions or natural anthropogenic emission and removing particles by all known sinks outside and within clouds gives us - for the stationary state - vertical profiles of aerosol number density in three sizes classes as a function of latitude. These profiles in turn are input for radiation flux calculations in clear and cloudy areas in order to assess net flux changes caused by the present aerosol load in comparison to a scenario without anthropogenic emissions. The net flux changes finally are compared to those calculated for increased CO/sub 2/ levels

  20. Ultrasonic-resonator-combined apparatus for purifying nuclear aerosol particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hou, Suxia; Zhang, Quanhu; Li, Sufen; Chen, Chen; Su, Xianghua [Xi' an Hi-Tech Institute, Xi' an (China)

    2017-12-15

    The radiation hazards of radionuclides in the air arising from the storage room of nuclear devices to the operators cannot be ignored. A new ultrasonic-resonator-combined method for purifying nuclear aerosol particles is introduced. To remove particles with diameters smaller than 0.3 μm, an ultrasonic chamber is induced to agglomerate these submicron particles. An apparatus which is used to purify the nuclear aerosol particles is described in the article. The apparatus consists of four main parts: two filtering systems, an ultrasonic chamber and a high-pressure electrostatic precipitator system. Finally, experimental results demonstrated the effectiveness of the implementation of the ultrasonic resonators. The feasibility of the method is proven by its application to the data analysis of the experiments.

  1. Impact of Wildfire Emissions on Chloride and Bromide Depletion in Marine Aerosol Particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Braun, Rachel A; Dadashazar, Hossein; MacDonald, Alexander B; Aldhaif, Abdulamonam M; Maudlin, Lindsay C; Crosbie, Ewan; Aghdam, Mojtaba Azadi; Hossein Mardi, Ali; Sorooshian, Armin

    2017-08-15

    This work examines particulate chloride (Cl - ) and bromide (Br - ) depletion in marine aerosol particles influenced by wildfires at a coastal California site in the summers of 2013 and 2016. Chloride exhibited a dominant coarse mode due to sea salt influence, with substantially diminished concentrations during fire periods as compared to nonfire periods. Bromide exhibited a peak in the submicrometer range during fire and nonfire periods, with an additional supermicrometer peak in the latter periods. Chloride and Br - depletions were enhanced during fire periods as compared to nonfire periods. The highest observed %Cl - depletion occurred in the submicrometer range, with maximum values of 98.9% (0.32-0.56 μm) and 85.6% (0.56-1 μm) during fire and nonfire periods, respectively. The highest %Br - depletion occurred in the supermicrometer range during fire and nonfire periods with peak depletion between 1.8-3.2 μm (78.8% and 58.6%, respectively). When accounting for the neutralization of sulfate by ammonium, organic acid particles showed the greatest influence on Cl - depletion in the submicrometer range. These results have implications for aerosol hygroscopicity and radiative forcing in areas with wildfire influence owing to depletion effects on composition.

  2. Aerosol Indices Derived from MODIS Data for Indicating Aerosol-Induced Air Pollution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junliang He

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol optical depth (AOD is a critical variable in estimating aerosol concentration in the atmosphere, evaluating severity of atmospheric pollution, and studying their impact on climate. With the assistance of the 6S radiative transfer model, we simulated apparent reflectancein relation to AOD in each Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS waveband in this study. The closeness of the relationship was used to identify the most and least sensitive MODIS wavebands. These two bands were then used to construct three aerosol indices (difference, ratio, and normalized difference for estimating AOD quickly and effectively. The three indices were correlated, respectively, with in situ measured AOD at the Aerosol Robotic NETwork (AERONET Lake Taihu, Beijing, and Xianghe stations. It is found that apparent reflectance of the blue waveband (band 3 is the most sensitive to AOD while the mid-infrared wavelength (band 7 is the least sensitive. The difference aerosol index is the most accurate in indicating aerosol-induced atmospheric pollution with a correlation coefficient of 0.585, 0.860, 0.685, and 0.333 at the Lake Taihu station, 0.721, 0.839, 0.795, and 0.629 at the Beijing station, and 0.778, 0.782, 0.837, and 0.643 at the Xianghe station in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. It is concluded that the newly proposed difference aerosol index can be used effectively to study the level of aerosol-induced air pollution from MODIS satellite imagery with relative ease.

  3. Columnar characteristics of aerosols by spectroradiometer measurements in the maritime area of the Cadiz Gulf (Spain)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vergaz, Ricardo; Cachorro, Victoria E.; de Frutos, Ángel M.; Vilaplana, José M.; de La Morena, Benito A.

    2005-11-01

    Atmospheric aerosol characteristics represented by the spectral aerosol optical depth AOD) and the Ångström turbidity parameter were determined in the coastal area of the Gulf of Cádiz, (southwest of Spain). The columnar aerosol properties presented here correspond to the 1996-1999 period, and were obtained by solar direct irradiance measurements carried out by a Licor1800 spectroradiometer. The performance of this type of medium-spectral resolution radiometric system is analysed over the measured period. The detailed spectral information of these irradiance measurements enabled the use of selected non-absorption gases spectral windows to determine the columnar spectral AOD that was modelled by Ångström formula to obtain the coefficient. Temporal evolutions of instantaneous values together with a general statistical analysis represented by seasonal values, frequency distributions and some representative correlations for the AOD and the derived Ångström coefficient gave us the first insight of aerosol characteristics in this coastal area. Special attention was paid to the analysis of these aerosol properties at the nominal wavelengths of 440 nm, 670 nm, 870 nm and 1020 nm for the near-future comparisons with the Cimel sun-photometer data. However, taking the most representative aerosol wavelength of 500 nm, the variability of the AOD ranges from 0.005 to 0.53, with a mean of 0.12 (s.d = 0.07) and that of the parameter is given by a mean value of 0.93 (s.d. = 0.58) falling inside the range of marine aerosols. A quantitative discrimination of aerosol types was conducted on the basis of the spectral aerosol properties and air mass back trajectory analysis, which resulted in a mixed type because of the specificity of this area, given by very frequent desert dust episodes, continental and polluted local influences. This study represents the first extended data characterization about columnar properties of aerosols in Spain which has been continued by Cimel

  4. Observational evidence for the aerosol impact on ice cloud properties regulated by cloud/aerosol types

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, B.; Gu, Y.; Liou, K. N.; Jiang, J. H.; Li, Q.; Liu, X.; Huang, L.; Wang, Y.; Su, H.

    2017-12-01

    The interactions between aerosols and ice clouds (consisting only of ice) represent one of the largest uncertainties in global radiative forcing from pre-industrial time to the present. The observational evidence for the aerosol impact on ice cloud properties has been quite limited and showed conflicting results, partly because previous observational studies did not consider the distinct features of different ice cloud and aerosol types. Using 9-year satellite observations, we find that, for ice clouds generated from deep convection, cloud thickness, cloud optical thickness (COT), and ice cloud fraction increase and decrease with small-to-moderate and high aerosol loadings, respectively. For in-situ formed ice clouds, however, the preceding cloud properties increase monotonically and more sharply with aerosol loadings. The case is more complicated for ice crystal effective radius (Rei). For both convection-generated and in-situ ice clouds, the responses of Rei to aerosol loadings are modulated by water vapor amount in conjunction with several other meteorological parameters, but the sensitivities of Rei to aerosols under the same water vapor amount differ remarkably between the two ice cloud types. As a result, overall Rei slightly increases with aerosol loading for convection-generated ice clouds, but decreases for in-situ ice clouds. When aerosols are decomposed into different types, an increase in the loading of smoke aerosols generally leads to a decrease in COT of convection-generated ice clouds, while the reverse is true for dust and anthropogenic pollution. In contrast, an increase in the loading of any aerosol type can significantly enhance COT of in-situ ice clouds. The modulation of the aerosol impacts by cloud/aerosol types is demonstrated and reproduced by simulations using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Adequate and accurate representations of the impact of different cloud/aerosol types in climate models are crucial for reducing the

  5. Satellite and Ground Based Monitoring of Aerosol Plumes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Doyle, Martin; Dorling, Stephen

    2002-01-01

    Plumes of atmospheric aerosol have been studied using a range of satellite and ground-based techniques. The Sea-viewing WideField-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) has been used to observe plumes of sulphate aerosol and Saharan dust around the coast of the United Kingdom. Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) was retrieved from SeaWiFS for two events; a plume of Saharan dust transported over the United Kingdom from Western Africa and a period of elevated sulphate experienced over the Easternregion of the UK. Patterns of AOT are discussed and related to the synoptic and mesoscale weather conditions. Further observation of the sulphate aerosol event was undertaken using the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer instrument(AVHRR). Atmospheric back trajectories and weather conditions were studied in order to identify the meteorological conditions which led to this event. Co-located ground-based measurements of PM 10 and PM 2.5 were obtained for 4sites within the UK and PM 2.5/10 ratios were calculated in order to identify any unusually high or low ratios(indicating the dominant size fraction within the plume)during either of these events. Calculated percentiles ofPM 2.5/10 ratios during the 2 events examined show that these events were notable within the record, but were in noway unique or unusual in the context of a 3 yr monitoring record. Visibility measurements for both episodes have been examined and show that visibility degradation occurred during both the sulphate aerosol and Saharan dust episodes

  6. Aerosol-ozone correlations during dust transport episodes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Bonasoni

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Its location in the Mediterranean region and its physical characteristics render Mt. Cimone (44°11′ N, 10°42′ E, the highest peak of the Italian northern Apennines (2165 m asl, particularly suitable to study the transport of air masses from the north African desert area to Europe. During these northward transports 12 dust events were registered in measurements of the aerosol concentration at the station during the period June–December 2000, allowing the study of the impact of mineral dust transports on free tropospheric ozone concentrations, which were also measured at Mt. Cimone. Three-dimensional backward trajectories were used to determine the air mass origin, while TOMS Aerosol Index data for the Mt. Cimone area were used to confirm the presence of absorbing aerosol over the measurement site. A trajectory statistical analysis allowed identifying the main source areas of ozone and aerosols. The analysis of these back trajectories showed that central Europe and north and central Italy are the major pollution source areas for ozone and fine aerosol, whereas the north African desert regions were the most important source areas for coarse aerosol and low ozone concentrations. During dust events, the Mt. Cimone mean volume concentration for coarse particles was 6.18 µm3/cm3 compared to 0.63 µm3/cm3 in dust-free conditions, while the ozone concentrations were 4% to 21% lower than the monthly mean background values. Our observations show that surface ozone concentrations were lower than the background values in air masses coming from north Africa, and when these air masses were also rich in coarse particles, the lowest ozone values were registered. Moreover, preliminary results on the possible impact of the dust events on PM10 and ozone values measured in Italian urban and rural areas showed that during the greater number of the considered dust events, significant PM10 increases and ozone decreases have occurred in the Po valley.

  7. The Spatial and Temporal Distributions of Absorbing Aerosols over East Asia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Litai Kang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Absorbing aerosols can strongly absorb solar radiation and have a profound impact on the global and regional climate. Black carbon (BC, organic carbon (OC and dust are three major types of absorbing aerosols. In order to deepen the overall understanding of absorbing aerosols over East Asia and provide a basis for further investigation of its role in enhanced warming in drylands, the spatial-temporal distribution of absorbing aerosols over East Asia for the period of 2005–2016 was investigated based on the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI satellite retrievals. Overall, high values of Aerosol Absorption Optical Depth (AAOD mainly distribute near dust sources as well as BC and OC sources. AAOD reaches its maximum during spring over East Asia as a result of dust activity and biomass burning. Single-scattering albedo (SSA is comparatively high (>0.96 in the most part of East Asia in the summer, indicating the dominance of aerosol scattering. Hyper-arid regions have the highest Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD and AAOD among the five climatic regions, with springtime values up to 0.72 and 0.04, respectively. Humid and sub-humid regions have relatively high AOD and AAOD during the spring and winter and the highest SSA during the summer. AAOD in some areas shows significant upward trends, which is likely due to the increase of BC and OC emission. SSA shows overall downward trends, indicating the enhancement of the aerosol absorption. Analysis of emission inventory and dust index data shows that BC and OC emissions mainly come from the humid regions, while dust sources mainly distribute in drylands.

  8. How important is organic aerosol hygroscopicity to aerosol indirect forcing?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Xiaohong; Wang Jian

    2010-01-01

    Organics are among the most abundant aerosol components in the atmosphere. However, there are still large uncertainties with emissions of primary organic aerosol (POA) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (precursor gases of secondary organic aerosol, SOA), formation of SOA, and chemical and physical properties (e.g., hygroscopicity) of POA and SOA. All these may have significant impacts on aerosol direct and indirect forcing estimated from global models. In this study a modal aerosol module (MAM) in the NCAR community atmospheric model (CAM) is used to examine sensitivities of aerosol indirect forcing to hygroscopicity (represented by a single parameter 'κ' ) of POA and SOA. Our model simulation indicates that in the present-day (PD) condition changing the 'κ' value of POA from 0 to 0.1 increases the number concentration of cloud condensational nuclei (CCN) at supersaturation S = 0.1% by 40-80% over the POA source regions, while changing the 'κ' value of SOA by ± 50% (from 0.14 to 0.07 and 0.21) changes the CCN concentration within 40%. There are disproportionally larger changes in CCN concentration in the pre-industrial (PI) condition. Due to the stronger impact of organics hygroscopicity on CCN and cloud droplet number concentration at PI condition, global annual mean anthropogenic aerosol indirect forcing (AIF) between PD and PI conditions reduces with the increase of the hygroscopicity of organics. Global annual mean AIF varies by 0.4 W m -2 in the sensitivity runs with the control run of - 1.3 W m -2 , highlighting the need for improved understanding of organics hygroscopicity and its representation in global models.

  9. Highly-controlled, reproducible measurements of aerosol emissions from African biomass combustion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haslett, Sophie; Thomas, J. Chris; Morgan, William; Hadden, Rory; Liu, Dantong; Allan, James; Williams, Paul; Sekou, Keïta; Liousse, Catherine; Coe, Hugh

    2017-04-01

    Particulate emissions from biomass burning can alter the atmosphere's radiative balance and cause significant harm to human health. However, the relationship between these emissions and fundamental combustion processes is, to date, poorly characterised. In atmospheric models, aerosol emissions are represented by emission factors based on mass loss, which are averaged over an entire combustion event for each particulate species. This approach, however, masks huge variability in emissions during different phases of the combustion period. Laboratory tests have shown that even small changes to the burning environment can lead to huge variation in observed aerosol emission factors (Akagi et al., 2011). In order to address this gap in understanding, in this study, small wood samples sourced from Côte D'Ivoire were burned in a highly-controlled laboratory environment. The shape and mass of samples, available airflow and surrounding heat were carefully regulated. Organic aerosol and refractory black carbon emissions were measured in real-time using an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer and a Single Particle Soot Photometer, respectively. Both of these instruments are used regularly to measure aerosol concentrations in the field. This methodology produced remarkably repeatable results, allowing three different phases of combustion to be identified by their emissions. Black carbon was emitted predominantly during flaming combustion; organic aerosols were emitted during pyrolysis before ignition and from smouldering-dominated behaviour near the end of combustion. During the flaming period, there was a strong correlation between the emission of black carbon and the rate of mass loss, which suggests there is value in employing a mass-based emission factor for this species. However, very little correlation was seen between organic aerosol and mass loss throughout the tests. As such, results here suggest that emission factors averaged over an entire combustion event are unlikely to be

  10. Aerosol characterizaton in El Paso-Juarez airshed using optical methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Esparza, Angel Eduardo

    2011-12-01

    retrieve the size distribution of them. This method permits the assessment of aerosols in the ambient in-situ, without physically extracting them from their current state, as the filter technique does. The second objective was an analysis and comparison of the aerosol optical thickness (AOT) data between ground-based instruments and satellite data. In this project, the groundbased instruments are the Multi Filter Rotating Shadowband Radiometers (MFRSR) installed at UTEP and the nearest sun photometer facility, a NASA's Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), located at White Sands, New Mexico. The satellite data is provided by the NASA's Multi-angle Imaging Spectro-radiometer (MISR) instrument located in the Terra satellite. Finally, the third objective was to estimate ground particulate matter concentration of particles no greater than 2.5 mum in diameter (PM2.5) by using the MISR's satellite data. This objective was achieved by implementing an empirical mathematical model that includes measured data. In addition, this model addressed the geographic characteristics of the region as well as several factors such as season, relative humidity (RH) and the height of the planetary boundary layer (PBL).

  11. Operational remote sensing of aerosols over land to account for directional effects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ramon, Didier; Santer, Richard

    2001-01-01

    The assumption that the ground is a Lambertian reflector is commonly adopted in operational atmospheric corrections of spaceborne sensors. Through a simple modeling of directional effects in radiative transfer following the second simulation of the satellite signal in the solar spectrum (6S) approach, we propose an operational method to account for the departure from Lambertian behavior of a reflector covered by a scattering medium. This method relies on the computation of coupling terms between the reflecting and the scattering media and is able to deal with a two-layer atmosphere. We focus on the difficult problem of aerosol remote sensing over land. One popular sensing method relies on observations over dense dark vegetation, for which the surface reflectance is low and quite well defined in the blue and in the red. Therefore a study was made for three cases: (1) dark vegetation covered by atmospheric aerosols, (2) atmospheric aerosols covered by molecules, and finally (3) dark vegetation covered by atmospheric aerosols covered by molecules. Comparisons of top-of-the-atmosphere reflectances computed with our modeling and reference computations made with the successive-order-of-scattering code show the robustness of the modeling in the blue and in the red for aerosol optical thicknesses as great as 0.6 and solar zenith angles as large as 60 deg. . The model begins to fail only in the blue for large solar zenith angles. The benefits expected for aerosol remote sensing over land are evaluated with an aerosol retrieval scheme developed for the Medium-Resolution Imaging Spectrometer. The main result is a better constraint on the aerosol model with inclusion of directional effects and a weaker effect on the optical thickness of the retrieval aerosol. The directional scheme is then applied to the aerosol remote-sensing problem in actual Indian Remote Sensing Satellite P3/Modular Optoelectronic Scanner images over land and shows significant improvement compared with a

  12. Long-term measurement of aerosol chemical composition in Athens, Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paraskevopoulou, Despina; Liakakou, Eleni; Theodosi, Christina; Gerasopoulos, Evangelos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2014-05-01

    The collection of our samples was conducted for a period of five years (2008 - 2013) in Athens, Greece. The site is situated at the premises of the National Observatory of Athens on Penteli Hill, northeast Athens suburbs, and is considered an urban background station. The aim of our study was a first long-term estimation of the chemical mass closure of aerosol. For the purposes of the study, we applied three filter samplers during the sampling period: two Partisol FRM Model 2000 air samplers (one of them collecting PM10 and the other PM2.5 fractions of aerosol) and one Dichotomous Partisol auto-sampler (with PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 inlet). Aerosols were collected on Whatman QM-A quartz fiber filters and the mass of the collected samples was estimated by weighing the pre-combusted filters before and after sampling, under controlled conditions, using a microbalance. All quartz filters were analysed for organic (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) by a thermal - optical transmission technique. The concentration of water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) was defined for each filter using a total organic carbon analyzer, while the content in main water soluble ions (Cl-, Br-, NO-3, SO4-2, PO4-3, C2O4-2, NH4+, K+, Na+, Mg+2, Ca+2) was determined by ion chromatography. Additionally the filters were analyzed for trace metals by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Aerosol chemical mass closure calculations were conducted for the PM2.5 fraction. The area of Athens is characterized by aged aerosol that can originate from the marine boundary layer, the European mainland and occasionally from North African desert areas. The contribution of dust and particulate organic matter on PM levels was estimated taking into consideration the location of the sampling site, while identification and evaluation of sources was performed. Additionally, non-sea salt concentrations of the main ions were estimated to complete the chemical closure in the extended area. According to

  13. Rapid generation of protein aerosols and nanoparticles via surface acoustic wave atomization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez, Mar; Friend, James; Yeo, Leslie Y

    2008-01-01

    We describe the fabrication of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) atomizer and show its ability to generate monodisperse aerosols and particles for drug delivery applications. In particular, we demonstrate the generation of insulin liquid aerosols for pulmonary delivery and solid protein nanoparticles for transdermal and gastrointestinal delivery routes using 20 MHz SAW devices. Insulin droplets around 3 μm were obtained, matching the optimum range for maximizing absorption in the alveolar region. A new approach is provided to explain these atomized droplet diameters by returning to fundamental physical analysis and considering viscous-capillary and inertial-capillary force balance rather than employing modifications to the Kelvin equation under the assumption of parametric forcing that has been extended to these frequencies in past investigations. In addition, we consider possible mechanisms by which the droplet ejections take place with the aid of high-speed flow visualization. Finally, we show that nanoscale protein particles (50-100 nm in diameter) were obtained through an evaporative process of the initial aerosol, the final size of which could be controlled merely by modifying the initial protein concentration. These results illustrate the feasibility of using SAW as a novel method for rapidly producing particles and droplets with a controlled and narrow size distribution.

  14. Containment aerosol behaviour simulation studies in the BARC nuclear aerosol test facility

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mayya, Y.S.; Sapra, B.K.; Khan, Arshad; Sunny, Faby; Nair, R.N.; Raghunath, Radha; Tripathi, R.M.; Markandeya, S.G.; Puranik, V.D.; Ghosh, A.K.; Kushwaha, H.S.; Shreekumar, K.P.; Padmanabhan, P.V.A.; Murthy, P.S.S.; Venlataramani, N.

    2005-02-01

    A Nuclear Aerosol Test Facility (NATF) has been built and commissioned at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre to carry out simulation studies on the behaviour of aerosols released into the reactor containment under accident conditions. This report also discusses some new experimental techniques for estimation of density of metallic aggregates. The experimental studies have shown that the dynamic densities of aerosol aggregates are far lower than their material densities as expected by the well-known fractal theory of aggregates. In the context of codes, this has significant bearing in providing a mechanistic basis for the input density parameter used in estimating the aerosol evolution characteristics. The data generated under the quiescent and turbulent conditions and the information on aggregate densities are now being subjected to the validation of the aerosol behaviour codes. (author)

  15. Phenomenological study of aerosol dry deposition in urban area: surface properties, turbulence and local meteorology influences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Roupsard, P.

    2013-01-01

    Aerosol dry deposition is not much known for urban areas due to the lack of data. Knowledge on this phenomenon is necessary to understand pollutant fluxes in cities and to estimate inhabitant exposition to ionizing radiation of radioactive aerosols. A data providing could enable to enhance dry deposition models for these areas. An original experimental approach is performed to study submicron aerosol dry deposition on urban surfaces. Wind tunnel coupled to in situ experiments give results to study different physical phenomenon governing dry deposition. Dry deposition velocities are measured using aerosol tracers. These data are associated to turbulent and meteorological measured conditions. This database permits to classify the principal physical phenomenon for each experiment type. Finally, different phenomenon must be considered for chronic and acute exposition of urban surfaces to atmospheric particles. (author)

  16. Submicron organic aerosol in Tijuana, Mexico, from local and Southern California sources during the CalMex campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takahama, S.; Johnson, A.; Guzman Morales, J.; Russell, L. M.; Duran, R.; Rodriguez, G.; Zheng, J.; Zhang, R.; Toom-Sauntry, D.; Leaitch, W. R.

    2013-05-01

    The CalMex campaign was conducted from May 15 to June 30 of 2010 to study the properties and sources of air pollution in Tijuana, Mexico. In this study, submicron organic aerosol mass (OM) composition measured by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM), and X-ray spectromicroscopy are combined with statistical analysis and measurements of other atmospheric constituents. The average (±one standard deviation) OM concentration was 3.3 ± 1.7 μg m-3. A large source of submicron aerosol mass at this location was determined to be vehicular sources, which contributed approximately 40% to the submicron OM; largely during weekday mornings. The O/C ratio estimated from ACSM measurements was 0.64 ± 0.19; diurnal variations in this value and the more oxygenated fraction of OM as determined from Positive Matrix Factorization and classification analyses suggest the high degree of oxygenation originates from aged OM, rather than locally-produced secondary organic aerosol. A large contribution of this oxygenated aerosol to Tijuana from various source classes was observed; some fraction of this aerosol mass may be associated with non-refractory components, such as dust or BC. Backtrajectory simulations using the HYSPLIT model suggest that the mean wind vector consistently originated from the northwest region, over the Pacific Ocean and near the Southern California coast, which suggests that the origin of much of the oxygenated organic aerosol observed in Tijuana (as much as 60% of OM) may have been the Southern California Air Basin. The marine aerosol contribution to OM during the period was on average 23 ± 24%, though its contribution varied over synoptic rather than diurnal timescales. BB aerosol contributed 20 ± 20% of the OM during the campaign period, with notable BB events occurring during several weekend evenings.

  17. Development of an aerosol decontamination factor evaluation method using an aerosol spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kanai, Taizo; Furuya, Masahiro; Arai, Takahiro; Nishi, Yoshihisa

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • Aerosol DF of each diameter is evaluable by using optical scattering method. • Outlet aerosol concentration shows exponential decay by the submergence. • This decay constant depends on the aerosol diameter. • Aerosol DF at water scrubber is described by simple equation. - Abstract: During a severe nuclear power plant accident, the release of fission products into containment and an increase in containment pressure are assumed to be possible. When the containment is damaged by excess pressure or temperature, radioactive materials are released. Pressure suppression pools, containment spray systems and a filtered containment venting system (FCVS) reduce containment pressure and reduce the radioactive release into the environment. These devices remove radioactive materials via various mechanisms. Pressure suppression pools remove radioactive materials by pool scrubbing. Spray systems remove radioactive materials by droplet−aerosol interaction. FCVS, which is installed in the exhaust system, comprises multi-scrubbers (venturi-scrubber, pool scrubbing, static mixer, metal−fiber filter and molecular sieve). For the particulate radioactive materials, its size affects the removal performance and a number of studies have been performed on the removal effect of radioactive materials. This study has developed a new means of evaluating aerosol removal efficiency. The aerosol number density of each effective diameter (light scattering equivalent diameter) is measured using an optical method, while the decontamination factor (DF) of each effective diameter is evaluated by the inlet outlet number density ratio. While the applicable scope is limited to several conditions (geometry of test section: inner diameter 500 mm × height 8.0 m, nozzle shape and air-water ambient pressure conditions), this study has developed a numerical model which defines aerosol DF as a function of aerosol diameter (d) and submergences (x).

  18. Development of an aerosol decontamination factor evaluation method using an aerosol spectrometer

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kanai, Taizo, E-mail: t-kanai@criepi.denken.or.jp; Furuya, Masahiro, E-mail: furuya@criepi.denken.or.jp; Arai, Takahiro, E-mail: t-arai@criepi.denken.or.jp; Nishi, Yoshihisa, E-mail: y-nishi@criepi.denken.or.jp

    2016-07-15

    Highlights: • Aerosol DF of each diameter is evaluable by using optical scattering method. • Outlet aerosol concentration shows exponential decay by the submergence. • This decay constant depends on the aerosol diameter. • Aerosol DF at water scrubber is described by simple equation. - Abstract: During a severe nuclear power plant accident, the release of fission products into containment and an increase in containment pressure are assumed to be possible. When the containment is damaged by excess pressure or temperature, radioactive materials are released. Pressure suppression pools, containment spray systems and a filtered containment venting system (FCVS) reduce containment pressure and reduce the radioactive release into the environment. These devices remove radioactive materials via various mechanisms. Pressure suppression pools remove radioactive materials by pool scrubbing. Spray systems remove radioactive materials by droplet−aerosol interaction. FCVS, which is installed in the exhaust system, comprises multi-scrubbers (venturi-scrubber, pool scrubbing, static mixer, metal−fiber filter and molecular sieve). For the particulate radioactive materials, its size affects the removal performance and a number of studies have been performed on the removal effect of radioactive materials. This study has developed a new means of evaluating aerosol removal efficiency. The aerosol number density of each effective diameter (light scattering equivalent diameter) is measured using an optical method, while the decontamination factor (DF) of each effective diameter is evaluated by the inlet outlet number density ratio. While the applicable scope is limited to several conditions (geometry of test section: inner diameter 500 mm × height 8.0 m, nozzle shape and air-water ambient pressure conditions), this study has developed a numerical model which defines aerosol DF as a function of aerosol diameter (d) and submergences (x).

  19. DARE : Dedicated Aerosols Retrieval Experiment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smorenburg, K.; Courrèges-Lacoste, G.B.; Decae, R.; Court, A.J.; Leeuw, G. de; Visser, H.

    2004-01-01

    At present there is an increasing interest in remote sensing of aerosols from space because of the large impact of aerosols on climate, earth observation and health. TNO has performed a study aimed at improving aerosol characterisation using a space based instrument and state-of-the-art aerosol

  20. Filter-based Aerosol Measurement Experiments using Spherical Aerosol Particles under High Temperature and High Pressure

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lee, Jong Chan; Jung, Woo Young; Lee, Hyun Chul; Lee, Doo Young [FNC TECH., Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2016-05-15

    Optical Particle Counter (OPC) is used to provide real-time measurement of aerosol concentration and size distribution. Glass fiber membrane filter also be used to measure average mass concentration. Three tests (MTA-1, 2 and 3) have been conducted to study thermal-hydraulic effect, a filtering tendency at given SiO{sub 2} particles. Based on the experimental results, the experiment will be carried out further with a main carrier gas of steam and different aerosol size. The test results will provide representative behavior of the aerosols under various conditions. The aim of the tests, MTA 1, 2 and 3, are to be able to 1) establish the test manuals for aerosol generation, mixing, sampling and measurement system, which defines aerosol preparation, calibration, operating and evaluation method under high pressure and high temperature 2) develop commercial aerosol test modules applicable to the thermal power plant, environmental industry, automobile exhaust gas, chemical plant, HVAC system including nuclear power plant. Based on the test results, sampled aerosol particles in the filter indicate that important parameters affecting aerosol behavior aerosols are 1) system temperature to keep above a evaporation temperature of ethanol and 2) aerosol losses due to the settling by ethanol liquid droplet.

  1. Aerosol Chemical Composition and its Effects on Cloud-Aerosol Interactions during the 2007 CHAPS Experiment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Y.; Alexander, L.; Newburn, M.; Jayne, J.; Hubbe, J.; Springston, S.; Senum, G.; Andrews, B.; Ogren, J.; Kleinman, L.; Daum, P.; Berg, L.; Berkowitz, C.

    2007-12-01

    Chemical composition of submicron aerosol particles was determined using an Aerodyne Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) outfitted on the DOE G-1 aircraft during the Cumulus Humilis Aerosol Processing Study (CHAPS) conducted in Oklahoma City area in June 2007. The primary objective of CHAPS was to investigate the effects of urban emissions on cloud aerosol interactions as a function of processing of the emissions. Aerosol composition was typically determined at three different altitudes: below, in, and above cloud, in both upwind and downwind regions of the urban area. Aerosols were sampled from an isokinetic inlet with an upper size cut-off of ~1.5 micrometer. During cloud passages, the AMS also sampled particles that were dried from cloud droplets collected using a counter-flow virtual impactor (CVI) sampler. The aerosol mass concentrations were typically below 10 microgram per cubic meter, and were dominated by organics and sulfate. Ammonium was often less than required for complete neutralization of sulfate. Aerosol nitrate levels were very low. We noted that nitrate levels were significantly enhanced in cloud droplets compared to aerosols, most likely resulting from dissolution of gaseous nitric acid. Organic to sulfate ratios appeared to be lower in cloud droplets than in aerosols, suggesting cloud condensation nuclei properties of aerosol particles might be affected by loading and nature of the organic components in aerosols. In-cloud formation of sulfate was considered unimportant because of the very low SO2 concentration in the region. A detailed examination of the sources of the aerosol organic components (based on hydrocarbons determined using a proton transfer reaction mass spectrometer) and their effects on cloud formation as a function of atmospheric processing (based on the degree of oxidation of the organic components) will be presented.

  2. Water content of aged aerosol

    OpenAIRE

    G. J. Engelhart; L. Hildebrandt; E. Kostenidou; N. Mihalopoulos; N. M. Donahue; S. N. Pandis

    2010-01-01

    The composition and physical properties of aged atmospheric aerosol were characterized at a remote sampling site on the northern coast of Crete, Greece during the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment in May 2008 (FAME-2008). A reduced Dry-Ambient Aerosol Size Spectrometer (DAASS) was deployed to measure the aerosol water content and volumetric growth factor of fine particulate matter. The particles remained wet even at relative humidity (RH) as low as 20%. The aerosol was acidic during mo...

  3. Effects of relative humidity on aerosol light scattering in the Arctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Zieger

    2010-04-01

    method to retrieve an apparent hygroscopic growth factor g(RH, defined as the aerosol particle diameter at a certain RH divided by the dry diameter, using the WetNeph, the DryNeph, the aerosol size distribution measurements and Mie theory. With this approach we found, on average, g(RH=85% values to be 1.61±0.12 (mean±standard deviation. No clear seasonal shift of f(RH, λ was observed during the 3-month period, while aerosol properties (size and chemical composition clearly changed with time. While the beginning of the campaign was mainly characterized by smaller and less hygroscopic particles, the end was dominated by larger and more hygroscopic particles. This suggests that compensating effects of hygroscopicity and size determined the temporal stability of f(RH, λ. During sea salt influenced periods, distinct deliquescence transitions were observed. At the end we present a method on how to transfer the dry in-situ measured aerosol scattering coefficients to ambient values for the aerosol measured during summer and fall at this location.

  4. Aerosol effects on UV radiation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koepke, P.; Reuder, J.; Schwander, H.

    2000-01-01

    The reduction of erythemally weighted UV-irradiance (given as UV index, UVI) due to aerosols is analyzed by variation of the tropospheric particles in a wide, but realistic range. Varied are amount and composition of the particles and relative humidity and thickness of the mixing layer. The reduction of UVI increases with aerosol optical depth and the UV change is around 10% for a change aerosol optical depth from 0.25 to 0.1 and 0.4 respectively. Since both aerosol absorption and scattering are of relevance, the aerosol effect depends besides total aerosol amount on relative amount of soot and on relative humidity

  5. Aerosol sampler for analysis of fine and ultrafine aerosols

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mikuška, Pavel; Čapka, Lukáš; Večeřa, Zbyněk

    2018-01-01

    Roč. 1020 (2018), s. 123-133 ISSN 0003-2670 R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA14-25558S Institutional support: RVO:68081715 Keywords : atmospheric aerosols * aerosol collection * chemical composition Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation OBOR OECD: Analytical chemistry Impact factor: 4.950, year: 2016

  6. Experimental Design for CMIP6: Aerosol, Land Use, and Future Scenarios Final Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Arnott, James [AGCI

    2015-10-30

    The Aspen Global Change Institute hosted a technical science workshop entitled, “Experimental design for CMIP6: Aerosol, Land Use, and Future Scenarios,” on August 3-8, 2014 in Aspen, CO. Claudia Tebaldi (NCAR) and Brian O’Neill (NCAR) served as co-chairs for the workshop. The Organizing committee also included Dave Lawrence (NCAR), Jean-Francois Lamarque (NCAR), George Hurtt (University of Maryland), & Detlef van Vuuren (PBL Netherlands Environmental Change). The meeting included the participation of 22 scientists representing many of the major climate modeling centers for a total of 110 participant days.

  7. Comprehensive Measurement of Atmospheric Aerosols with a Wide Range Aerosol Spectrometer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Keck, L; Pesch, M; Grimm, H

    2011-01-01

    A wide range aerosol spectrometer (WRAS) was used for comprehensive long term measurements of aerosol size distributions. The system combines the results of an optical aerosol spectrometer with the results of a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) to record essentially the full size range (5 nm - 32 μm) of atmospheric particles in 72 channels. Measurements were carried out over one year (2009) at the Global Atmospheric Watch (GAW)-Station Hohenpeissenberg, Bavaria. Total particle number concentrations obtained from the aerosol size distributions were compared to the total number concentrations measured by a Condensation Particle Counter (CPC). The comparison showed an excellent agreement of the data. The high time resolution of 5 minutes allows the combination of the measured size distributions with meteorological data and correlations to gaseous pollutants (CO, NOx and SO2). A good correlation of particle number and CO concentrations was found for long distance transported small particles, which were probably mainly soot particles. Correlations to NOx were observed for aerosols from local sources such as traffic emissions. The formation of secondary aerosols from gaseous precursors was also observed. Episodes of relatively high concentration of particles in the range of 2-3 μm were probably caused by pollen.

  8. The DRAGON aerosol research facility to study aerosol behaviour for reactor safety applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suckow, Detlef; Guentay, Salih

    2008-01-01

    During a severe accident in a nuclear power plant fission products are expected to be released in form of aerosol particles and droplets. To study the behaviour of safety relevant reactor components under aerosol loads and prototypical severe accident conditions the multi-purpose aerosol generation facility DRAGON is used since 1994 for several projects. DRAGON can generate aerosol particles by the evaporation-condensation technique using a plasma torch system, fluidized bed and atomization of particles suspended in a liquid. Soluble, hygroscopic aerosol (i.e. CsOH) and insoluble aerosol particles (i.e. SnO 2 , TiO 2 ) or mixtures of them can be used. DRAGON uses state-of-the-art thermal-hydraulic, data acquisition and aerosol measurement techniques and is mainly composed of a mixing chamber, the plasma torch system, a steam generator, nitrogen gas and compressed air delivery systems, several aerosol delivery piping, gas heaters and several auxiliary systems to provide vacuum, coolant and off-gas treatment. The facility can be operated at system pressure of 5 bars, temperatures of 300 deg. C, flow rates of non-condensable gas of 900 kg/h and steam of 270 kg/h, respectively. A test section under investigation is attached to DRAGON. The paper summarizes and demonstrates with the help of two project examples the capabilities of DRAGON for reactor safety studies. (authors)

  9. Evaluating Global Aerosol Models and Aerosol and Water Vapor Properties Near Clouds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Richard A. Ferrare; David D. Turner

    2011-09-01

    Project goals: (1) Use the routine surface and airborne measurements at the ARM SGP site, and the routine surface measurements at the NSA site, to continue our evaluations of model aerosol simulations; (2) Determine the degree to which the Raman lidar measurements of water vapor and aerosol scattering and extinction can be used to remotely characterize the aerosol humidification factor; (3) Use the high temporal resolution CARL data to examine how aerosol properties vary near clouds; and (4) Use the high temporal resolution CARL and Atmospheric Emitted Radiance Interferometer (AERI) data to quantify entrainment in optically thin continental cumulus clouds.

  10. Aerosols CFA 97

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1998-01-01

    During the thirteen congress on aerosols several papers were presented about the behaviour of radioactive aerosols and their impact on environment, or the exposure to radon and to its daughters, the measurement of the size of the particulates of the short-lived radon daughters and two papers about the behaviour of aerosols in containment during a fission products release in the primary circuit and susceptible to be released in atmosphere in the case of containment failure. (N.C.)

  11. Assessment of the Aerosol Generation and Toxicity of Carbon Nanotubes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Patrick T. O'Shaughnessy

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Current interest in the pulmonary toxicity of carbon nanotubes (CNTs has resulted in a need for an aerosol generation system that is capable of consistently producing a CNT aerosol at a desired concentration level. This two-part study was designed to: (1 assess the properties of a commercially-available aerosol generator when producing an aerosol from a purchased powder supply of double-walled carbon nanotubes (DWCNTs; and (2 assess the pulmonary sub-acute toxicity of DWCNTs in a murine model during a 5-day (4 h/day whole-body exposure. The aerosol generator, consisting of a novel dustfeed mechanism and venturi ejector was determined to be capable of producing a DWCNT consistently over a 4 h exposure period at an average level of 10.8 mg/m3. The count median diameter was 121 nm with a geometric standard deviation of 2.04. The estimated deposited dose was 32 µg/mouse. The total number of cells in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL fluid was significantly (p < 0.01 increased in exposed mice compared to controls. Similarly, macrophages in BAL fluid were significantly elevated in exposed mice, but not neutrophils. All animals exposed to CNT and euthanized immediately after exposure had changes in the lung tissues showing acute inflammation and injury; however these pathological changes resolved two weeks after the exposure.

  12. The ion–aerosol interactions from the ion mobility and aerosol ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    2005-02-18

    aerosol interactions from the ion mobility and aerosol particle size distribution measurements on January 17 and February 18, 2005 at Maitri, Antarctica – A case study. Devendraa Siingh Vimlesh Pant A K Kamra. Volume 120 Issue 4 August ...

  13. The hygroscopicity parameter (κ) of ambient organic aerosol at a field site subject to biogenic and anthropogenic influences: relationship to degree of aerosol oxidation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, R. Y.-W.; Slowik, J. G.; Shantz, N. C.; Vlasenko, A.; Liggio, J.; Sjostedt, S. J.; Leaitch, W. R.; Abbatt, J. P. D.

    2010-06-01

    Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations were measured at Egbert, a rural site in Ontario, Canada during the spring of 2007. The CCN concentrations were compared to values predicted from the aerosol chemical composition and size distribution using κ-Köhler theory, with the specific goal of this work being to determine the hygroscopic parameter (κ) of the oxygenated organic component of the aerosol, assuming that oxygenation drives the hygroscopicity for the entire organic fraction of the aerosol. The hygroscopicity of the oxygenated fraction of the organic component, as determined by an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), was characterised by two methods. First, positive matrix factorization (PMF) was used to separate oxygenated and unoxygenated organic aerosol factors. By assuming that the unoxygenated factor is completely non-hygroscopic and by varying κ of the oxygenated factor so that the predicted and measured CCN concentrations are internally consistent and in good agreement, κ of the oxygenated organic factor was found to be 0.22±0.04 for the suite of measurements made during this five-week campaign. In a second, equivalent approach, we continue to assume that the unoxygenated component of the aerosol, with a mole ratio of atomic oxygen to atomic carbon (O/C) ≈ 0, is completely non-hygroscopic, and we postulate a simple linear relationship between κorg and O/C. Under these assumptions, the κ of the entire organic component for bulk aerosols measured by the AMS can be parameterised as κorg=(0.29±0.05)·(O/C), for the range of O/C observed in this study (0.3 to 0.6). These results are averaged over our five-week study at one location using only the AMS for composition analysis. Empirically, our measurements are consistent with κorg generally increasing with increasing particle oxygenation, but high uncertainties preclude us from testing this hypothesis. Lastly, we examine select periods of different aerosol composition, corresponding

  14. Evolution of aerosol loading in Santiago de Chile between 1997 and 2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pistone, Kristina; Gallardo, Laura

    2015-04-01

    While aerosols produced by major cities are a significant component of anthropogenic climate forcing as well as an important factor in public health, many South American cities have not been a major focus of aerosol studies due in part to relatively few long-term observations in the region. Here we present a synthesis of the available data for the emerging megacity of Santiago, Chile. We report new results from a recent NASA AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) site in the Santiago basin, combining these with previous AERONET observations in Santiago as well as with a new assessment of the 11-station air quality monitoring network currently administered by the Chilean Environment Ministry (MMA, Ministerio del Medio Ambiente) to assess changes in aerosol composition since 1997. While the average surface concentration of pollution components (specifically PM2.5 and PM10) has decreased, no significant change in total aerosol optical depth was observed. However, changes in aerosol size and composition are suggested by the proxy measurements. Previous studies have revealed limitations in purely satellite-based studies over Santiago due to biases from high surface reflection in the region, particularly in summer months (e.g. Escribano et al 2014). To overcome this difficulty and certain limitations in the air quality data, we next incorporate analysis of aerosol products from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) instrument along with those from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument, both on NASA's Terra satellite, to better quantify the high bias of MODIS. Thus incorporating these complementary datasets, we characterize the aerosol over Santiago over the period 1997 to 2014, including the evolution of aerosol properties over time and seasonal dependencies in the observed trends. References: Escribano et al (2014), "Satellite Retrievals of Aerosol Optical Depth over a Subtropical Urban Area: The Role of Stratification and Surface

  15. Column Aerosol Optical Properties and Aerosol Radiative Forcing During a Serious Haze-Fog Month over North China Plain in 2013 Based on Ground-Based Sunphotometer Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Che, H.; Xia, X.; Zhu, J.; Li, Z.; Dubovik, O.; Holben, Brent N.; Goloub, P.; Chen, H.; Estelles, V.; Cuevas-Agullo, E.

    2014-01-01

    In January 2013, North China Plain experienced several serious haze events. Cimel sunphotometer measurements at seven sites over rural, suburban and urban regions of North China Plain from 1 to 30 January 2013 were used to further our understanding of spatial-temporal variation of aerosol optical parameters and aerosol radiative forcing (ARF). It was found that Aerosol Optical Depth at 500 nm (AOD500nm) during non-pollution periods at all stations was lower than 0.30 and increased significantly to greater than 1.00 as pollution events developed. The Angstrom exponent (Alpha) was larger than 0.80 for all stations most of the time. AOD500nm averages increased from north to south during both polluted and non-polluted periods on the three urban sites in Beijing. The fine mode AOD during pollution periods is about a factor of 2.5 times larger than that during the non-pollution period at urban sites but a factor of 5.0 at suburban and rural sites. The fine mode fraction of AOD675nm was higher than 80% for all sites during January 2013. The absorption AOD675nm at rural sites was only about 0.01 during pollution periods, while 0.03-0.07 and 0.01-0.03 during pollution and non-pollution periods at other sites, respectively. Single scattering albedo varied between 0.87 and 0.95 during January 2013 over North China Plain. The size distribution showed an obvious tri-peak pattern during the most serious period. The fine mode effective radius in the pollution period was about 0.01-0.08 microns larger than during nonpollution periods, while the coarse mode radius in pollution periods was about 0.06-0.38 microns less than that during nonpollution periods. The total, fine and coarse mode particle volumes varied by about 0.06-0.34 cu microns, 0.03-0.23 cu microns, and 0.03-0.10 cu microns, respectively, throughout January 2013. During the most intense period (1-16 January), ARF at the surface exceeded -50W/sq m, -180W/sq m, and -200W/sq m at rural, suburban, and urban sites

  16. Effects of Ocean Ecosystem on Marine Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nicholas Meskhidze

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Using satellite data for the surface ocean, aerosol optical depth (AOD, and cloud microphysical parameters, we show that statistically significant positive correlations exist between ocean ecosystem productivity, the abundance of submicron aerosols, and cloud microphysical properties over different parts of the remote oceans. The correlation coefficient for remotely sensed surface chlorophyll a concentration ([Chl-a] and liquid cloud effective radii over productive areas of the oceans varies between −0.2 and −0.6. Special attention is given to identifying (and addressing problems from correlation analysis used in the previous studies that can lead to erroneous conclusions. A new approach (using the difference between retrieved AOD and predicted sea salt aerosol optical depth, AODdiff is developed to explore causal links between ocean physical and biological systems and the abundance of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN in the remote marine atmosphere. We have found that over multiple time periods, 550 nm AODdiff (sensitive to accumulation mode aerosol, which is the prime contributor to CCN correlates well with [Chl-a] over the productive waters of the Southern Ocean. Since [Chl-a] can be used as a proxy of ocean biological productivity, our analysis demonstrates the role of ocean ecology in contributing CCN, thus shaping the microphysical properties of low-level marine clouds.

  17. Simulating SAL formation and aerosol size distribution during SAMUM-I

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Basit Ali

    2015-04-01

    To understand the formation mechanisms of Saharan Air Layer (SAL), we combine model simulations and dust observations collected during the first stage of the Saharan Mineral Dust Experiment (SAMUM-I), which sampled dust events that extended from Morocco to Portugal, and investigated the spatial distribution and the microphysical, optical, chemical, and radiative properties of Saharan mineral dust. We employed the Weather Research Forecast model coupled with the Chemistry/Aerosol module (WRF-Chem) to reproduce the meteorological environment and spatial and size distributions of dust. The experimental domain covers northwest Africa including the southern Sahara, Morocco and part of the Atlantic Ocean with 5 km horizontal grid spacing and 51 vertical layers. The experiments were run from 20 May to 9 June 2006, covering the period of most intensive dust outbreaks. Comparisons of model results with available airborne and ground-based observations show that WRF-Chem reproduces observed meteorological fields as well as aerosol spatial distribution across the entire region and along the airplane\\'s tracks. We evaluated several aerosol uplift processes and found that orographic lifting, aerosol transport through the land/sea interface with steep gradients of meteorological characteristics, and interaction of sea breezes with the continental outflow are key mechanisms that form a surface-detached aerosol plume over the ocean. Comparisons of simulated dust size distributions with airplane and ground-based observations are generally good, but suggest that more detailed treatment of microphysics in the model is required to capture the full-scale effect of large aerosol particles.

  18. Physicochemical characterization of Capstone depleted uranium aerosols IV: in vitro solubility analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guilmette, Raymond A; Cheng, Yung Sung

    2009-03-01

    As part of the Capstone Depleted Uranium (DU) Aerosol Study, the solubility of selected aerosol samples was measured using an accepted in vitro dissolution test system. This static system was employed along with a SUF (synthetic ultrafiltrate) solvent, which is designed to mimic the physiological chemistry of extracellular fluid. Using sequentially obtained solvent samples, the dissolution behavior over a 46-d test period was evaluated by fitting the measurement data to two- or three-component negative exponential functions. These functions were then compared with Type M and S absorption taken from the International Commission on Radiological Protection Publication 66 Human Respiratory Tract Model. The results indicated that there was a substantial variability in solubility of the aerosols, which in part depended on the type of armor being impacted by the DU penetrator and the particle size fraction being tested. Although some trends were suggested, the variability noted leads to uncertainties in predicting the solubility of other DU-based aerosols. Nevertheless, these data provide a useful experimental basis for modeling the intake-dose relationships for inhaled DU aerosols arising from penetrator impact on armored vehicles.

  19. Aerosol Observing System (AOS) Handbook

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jefferson, A

    2011-01-17

    The Aerosol Observing System (AOS) is a suite of in situ surface measurements of aerosol optical and cloud-forming properties. The instruments measure aerosol properties that influence the earth’s radiative balance. The primary optical measurements are those of the aerosol scattering and absorption coefficients as a function of particle size and radiation wavelength and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) measurements as a function of percent supersaturation. Additional measurements include those of the particle number concentration and scattering hygroscopic growth. Aerosol optical measurements are useful for calculating parameters used in radiative forcing calculations such as the aerosol single-scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, mass scattering efficiency, and hygroscopic growth. CCN measurements are important in cloud microphysical models to predict droplet formation.

  20. Satellite-derived aerosol radiative forcing from the 2004 British Columbia wildfires

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Song; Leighton, H.

    2008-01-01

    The British Columbia wildfires of 2004 was one of the largest wildfire events in the last ten years in Canada. Both the shortwave and longwave smoke aerosol radiative forcing at the top-of-atmosphere (TOA) are investigated using data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments. Relationships between the radiative forcing fluxes (??F) and wildfire aerosol optical thickness (AOT) at 0.55 ??m (??0.55) are deduced for both noontime instantaneous forcing and diurnally averaged forcing. The noontime averaged instantaneous shortwave and longwave smoke aerosol radiative forcing at the TOA are 45.8??27.5 W m-2 and -12.6??6.9 W m-2, respectively for a selected study area between 62??N and 68??N in latitude and 125??W and 145??W in longitude over three mainly clear-sky days (23-25 June). The derived diurnally averaged smoke aerosol shortwave radiative forcing is 19.9??12.1 W m-2 for a mean ??0.55 of 1.88??0.71 over the same time period. The derived ??F-?? relationship can be implemented in the radiation scheme used in regional climate models to assess the effect of wildfire aerosols.

  1. Enviro-HIRLAM/ HARMONIE Studies in ECMWF HPC EnviroAerosols Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansen Sass, Bent; Mahura, Alexander; Nuterman, Roman; Baklanov, Alexander; Palamarchuk, Julia; Ivanov, Serguei; Pagh Nielsen, Kristian; Penenko, Alexey; Edvardsson, Nellie; Stysiak, Aleksander Andrzej; Bostanbekov, Kairat; Amstrup, Bjarne; Yang, Xiaohua; Ruban, Igor; Bergen Jensen, Marina; Penenko, Vladimir; Nurseitov, Daniyar; Zakarin, Edige

    2017-04-01

    convection permitting weather model" & "Meteorological and chemical urban scale modelling for Shanghai metropolitan area" with focus on aerosol effects and influence of urban areas in China at regional-subregional-urban scales. At fourth, study on "Direct variational data assimilation algorithm for atmospheric chemistry data with transport and transformation model" with focus on testing chemical data assimilation algorithm of in situ concentration measurements on real data scenario. At firth, study on "Aerosol influence on High Resolution NWP HARMONIE Operational Forecasts" with focus on impact of sea salt aerosols on numerical weather prediction during low precipitation events. And finally, study on "Impact of regional afforestation on climatic conditions in metropolitan areas: case study of Copenhagen" with focus on impact of forest and land-cover change on formation and development of temperature regimes in the Copenhagen metropolitan area of Denmark. Selected results and findings will be presented and discussed.

  2. Physico-chemical study of the anthropic aerosol and of its evolutions in Beijing

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guinot, B.

    2006-05-01

    Beijing aerosols are characterised for the 2003-2004 period using an inclusive experimental set up for aerosol mass, chemistry and number, deployed at three sites. Aerosol size segregation in two fractions (fine and coarse) appears appropriated for source identification and investigations about gas-to-particle interactions. Several various sources contribute to air pollution: traffic, coal burning and industrial activities. The present study also shows how summer aerosol is influenced by the photochemical formation of secondary particles, and the significant amount of coarse and fine mineral dust all year long. Coal burning in winter has a lower influence than assessed in the past. The origin and altitude of the air masses entering Beijing are of key interest to understand the ageing of pollutants and their regional redistribution. By its expected effects onto these regional parameters, climate change may strongly affect Beijing air pollution in the coming decades. (author)

  3. Confinement of surface waves at the air-water interface to control aerosol size and dispersity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nazarzadeh, Elijah; Wilson, Rab; King, Xi; Reboud, Julien; Tassieri, Manlio; Cooper, Jonathan M.

    2017-11-01

    The precise control over the size and dispersity of droplets, produced within aerosols, is of great interest across many manufacturing, food, cosmetic, and medical industries. Amongst these applications, the delivery of new classes of high value drugs to the lungs has recently attracted significant attention from pharmaceutical companies. This is commonly achieved through the mechanical excitation of surface waves at the air liquid interface of a parent liquid volume. Previous studies have established a correlation between the wavelength on the surface of liquid and the final aerosol size. In this work, we show that the droplet size distribution of aerosols can be controlled by constraining the liquid inside micron-sized cavities and coupling surface acoustic waves into different volumes of liquid inside micro-grids. In particular, we show that by reducing the characteristic physical confinement size (i.e., either the initial liquid volume or the cavities' diameters), higher harmonics of capillary waves are revealed with a consequent reduction of both aerosol mean size and dispersity. In doing so, we provide a new method for the generation and fine control of aerosols' sizes distribution.

  4. Southern Great Plains Ice Nuclei Characterization Experiment Final Campaign Summary

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    DeMott, PJ [Colorado State University; Suski, KJ [Colorado State University; Hill, TCJ [Colorado State University; Levin, EJT [Colorado State University

    2015-03-01

    The first ever ice nucleating particle (INP) measurements to be collected at the Southern Great Plains site were made during a period from late April to June 2014, as a trial for possible longer-term measurements at the site. These measurements will also be used to lay the foundation for understanding and parameterizing (for cloud resolving modeling) the sources of these climatically important aerosols as well as to augment the existing database containing this knowledge. Siting the measurements during the spring was intended to capture INP sources in or to this region from plant, soil, dust transported over long distances, biomass burning, and pollution aerosols at a time when they may influence warm-season convective clouds and precipitation. Data have been archived of real-time measurements of INP number concentrations as a function of processing conditions (temperature and relative humidity) during 18 days of sampling that spanned two distinctly different weather situations: a warm, dry and windy period with regional dust and biomass burning influences in early May, and a cooler period of frequent precipitation during early June. Precipitation delayed winter wheat harvesting, preventing intended sampling during that perturbation on atmospheric aerosols. INP concentrations were highest and most variable at all temperatures in the dry period, where we attribute the INP activity primarily to soil dust emissions. Additional offline INP analyses are underway to extend the characterization of INP to cover the entire mixed phase cloud regime from -5°C to -35°C during the full study. Initial comparisons between methods on four days show good agreement and excellent future promise. The additional offline immersion freezing data will be archived as soon as completed under separate funding. Analyses of additional specialized studies for specific attribution of INP to biological and smoke sources are continuing via the National Science Foundation and National Aeronautics

  5. The Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment – 2008 (FAME-08: an overview

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Pikridas

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available A month (4 May to 8 June 2008 of ambient aerosol, air ion and gas phase sampling (Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment 2008, FAME-08 was conducted at Finokalia, on the island of Crete, Greece. The purpose of the study was to characterize the physical and chemical properties of aged aerosol and to investigate new particle formation. Measurements included aerosol and air ion size distributions, size-resolved chemical composition, organic aerosol thermal volatility, water uptake and particle optical properties (light scattering and absorption. Statistical analysis of the aerosol mass concentration variations revealed the absence of diurnal patterns suggesting the lack of strong local sources. Sulfates accounted for approximately half of the particulate matter less than 1 micrometer in diameter (PM1 and organics for 28%. The PM1 organic aerosol fraction was highly oxidized with 80% water soluble. The supermicrometer particles were dominated by crustal components (50%, sea salt (24% and nitrates (16%. The organic carbon to elemental carbon (OC/EC ratio correlated with ozone measurements but with a one-day lag. The average OC/EC ratio for the study period was equal to 5.4. For three days air masses from North Africa resulted in a 6-fold increase of particulate matter less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10 and a decrease of the OC/EC ratio by a factor of 2. Back trajectory analysis, based on FLEXPART footprint plots, identified five source regions (Athens, Greece, Africa, other continental and marine, each of which influenced the PM1 aerosol composition and properties. Marine air masses had the lowest PM1 concentrations and air masses from the Balkans, Turkey and Eastern Europe the highest.

  6. Aerosol radiative effects on mesoscale cloud-precipitation variables over Northeast Asia during the MAPS-Seoul 2015 campaign

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Shin-Young; Lee, Hyo-Jung; Kang, Jeong-Eon; Lee, Taehyoung; Kim, Cheol-Hee

    2018-01-01

    The online model, Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is employed to interpret the effects of aerosol-cloud-precipitation interaction on mesoscale meteorological fields over Northeast Asia during the Megacity Air Pollution Study-Seoul (MAPS-Seoul) 2015 campaign. The MAPS-Seoul campaign is a pre-campaign of the Korea-United States Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) campaign conducted over the Korean Peninsula. We validated the WRF-Chem simulations during the campaign period, and analyzed aerosol-warm cloud interactions by diagnosing both aerosol direct, indirect, and total effects. The results demonstrated that aerosol directly decreased downward shortwave radiation up to -44% (-282 W m-2) for this period and subsequently increased downward longwave radiation up to +15% (∼52 W m-2) in the presence of low-level clouds along the thematic area. Aerosol increased cloud fraction indirectly up to ∼24% with the increases of both liquid water path and the droplet number mixing ratio. Precipitation properties were altered both directly and indirectly. Direct effects simply changed cloud-precipitation quantities via simple updraft process associated with perturbed radiation and temperature, while indirect effects mainly suppressed precipitation, but sometimes increased precipitation in the higher relative humidity atmosphere or near vapor-saturated condition. The total aerosol effects caused a time lag of the precipitation rate with the delayed onset time of up to 9 h. This implies the importance of aerosol effects in improving mesoscale precipitation rate prediction in the online approach in the presence of non-linear warm cloud.

  7. Chemical composition, sources and evolution processes of aerosol at an urban site in Yangtze River Delta, China during wintertime

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunjiang; Tang, Lili; Yu, Hongxia; Wang, Zhuang; Sun, Yele; Qin, Wei; Chen, Wentai; Chen, Changhong; Ding, Aijun; Wu, Jing; Ge, Shun; Chen, Cheng; Zhou, Hong-cang

    2015-12-01

    To investigate the composition, sources and evolution processes of submicron aerosol during wintertime, a field experiment was conducted during December 1-31, 2013 in urban Nanjing, a megacity in Yangtze River Delta of China. Non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) species were measured with an Aerodyne Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor. NR-PM1 is dominated by secondary inorganic aerosol (55%) and organic aerosol (OA, 42%) during haze periods. Six OA components were identified by positive matrix factorization of the OA mass spectra. The hydrocarbon-like OA and cooking-related OA represent the local traffic and cooking sources, respectively. A highly oxidized factor related to biomass burning OA accounted for 15% of the total OA mass during haze periods. Three types of oxygenated OA (OOA), i.e., a less-oxidized OOA (LO-OOA), a more-oxidized OOA (MO-OOA), and a low-volatility OOA (LV-OOA), were identified. LO-OOA is likely associated with fresh urban secondary OA. MO-OOA likely represents photochemical products showing a similar diurnal cycle to nitrate with a pronounced noon peak. LV-OOA appears to be a more oxidized factor with a pronounced noon peak. The OA composition is dominated by secondary species, especially during haze events. LO-OOA, MO-OOA and LV-OOA on average account for 11%, (18%), 24% (21%) and 23% (18%) of the total OA mass for the haze (clean) periods respectively. Analysis of meteorological influence suggested that regional transport from the northern and southeastern areas of the city is responsible for large secondary and low-volatility aerosol formation.

  8. Aerosols, Chemistry, and Radiative Forcing: A 3-D Model Analysis of Satellite and ACE-Asia data (ACMAP)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chin, Mian; Ginoux, Paul; Torres, Omar; Zhao, Xue-Peng

    2005-01-01

    We propose a research project to incorporate a global 3-D model and satellite data into the multi-national Aerosol Characterization Experiment-Asia (ACE-Asia) mission. Our objectives are (1) to understand the physical, chemical, and optical properties of aerosols and the processes that control those properties over the Asian-Pacific region, (2) to investigate the interaction between aerosols and tropospheric chemistry, and (3) to determine the aerosol radiative forcing over the Asia-Pacific region. We will use the Georgia TecWGoddard Global Ozone Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) model to link satellite observations and the ACE-Asia measurements. First, we will use the GOCART model to simulate aerosols and related species, and evaluate the model with satellite and in-situ observations. Second, the model generated aerosol vertical profiles and compositions will be used to validate the satellite products; and the satellite data will be used for during- and post- mission analysis. Third, we will use the model to analyze and interpret both satellite and ACE- Asia field campaign data and investigate the aerosol-chemistry interactions. Finally, we will calculate aerosol radiative forcing over the Asian-Pacific region, and assess the influence of Asian pollution in the global atmosphere. We propose a research project to incorporate a global 3-D model and satellite data into

  9. Final Report for Cloud-Aerosol Physics in Super-Parameterized Atmospheric Regional Climate Simulations (CAP-SPARCS)(DE-SC0002003) for 8/15/2009 through 8/14/2012

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Russell, Lynn M; Somerville, Richard C.J.

    2012-11-05

    Improving the representation of local and non-local aerosol interactions in state-of-the-science regional climate models is a priority for the coming decade (Zhang, 2008). With this aim in mind, we have combined two new technologies that have a useful synergy: (1) an aerosol-enabled regional climate model (Advanced Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry WRF-Chem), whose primary weakness is a lack of high quality boundary conditions and (2) an aerosol-enabled multiscale modeling framework (PNNL Multiscale Aerosol Climate Model (MACM)), which is global but captures aerosol-convection-cloud feedbacks, and thus an ideal source of boundary conditions. Combining these two approaches has resulted in an aerosol-enabled modeling framework that not only resolves high resolution details in a particular region, but crucially does so within a global context that is similarly faithful to multi-scale aerosol-climate interactions. We have applied and improved the representation of aerosol interactions by evaluating model performance over multiple domains, with (1) an extensive evaluation of mid-continent precipitation representation by multiscale modeling, (2) two focused comparisons to transport of aerosol plumes to the eastern United States for comparison with observations made as part of the International Consortium for Atmospheric Research on Transport and Transformation (ICARTT), with the first being idealized and the second being linked to an extensive wildfire plume, and (3) the extension of these ideas to the development of a new approach to evaluating aerosol indirect effects with limited-duration model runs by nudging to observations. This research supported the work of one postdoc (Zhan Zhao) for two years and contributed to the training and research of two graduate students. Four peer-reviewed publications have resulted from this work, and ground work for a follow-on project was completed.

  10. Compact and portable system for evaluation of individual exposure at aerosol particle in urban area

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    De Zaiacomo, T.

    1995-01-01

    A compact and portable system for real-time acquisition of aerosol concentration data in urban and extra-urban area is presented. It is based on two optical type aerosol monitors integrated by aerosol particle separating and collecting devices, assembled into a carrying case together with temperature and relative humidity sensors and a programmable analog data logger; data output is addressed to a dedicated printer or personal computer. Further data about particle size, morphological aspect and particle mass concentration are obtainable by weighing supports used to concurrently collect aerosol particles and/or by means of microanalytical techniques. System performances are evaluated from the point of view of portability, possibility of use as stationary sampler for long-term monitoring purposes and coherence between optical response and ponderal mass. Some tests are finally carried out, to investigate the effect of relative humidity on the optical response of this type of instruments

  11. The impact of precipitation evaporation on the atmospheric aerosol distribution in EC-Earth v3.2.0

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Bruine, Marco; Krol, Maarten; van Noije, Twan; Le Sager, Philippe; Röckmann, Thomas

    2018-04-01

    The representation of aerosol-cloud interaction in global climate models (GCMs) remains a large source of uncertainty in climate projections. Due to its complexity, precipitation evaporation is either ignored or taken into account in a simplified manner in GCMs. This research explores various ways to treat aerosol resuspension and determines the possible impact of precipitation evaporation and subsequent aerosol resuspension on global aerosol burdens and distribution. The representation of aerosol wet deposition by large-scale precipitation in the EC-Earth model has been improved by utilising additional precipitation-related 3-D fields from the dynamical core, the Integrated Forecasting System (IFS) general circulation model, in the chemistry and aerosol module Tracer Model, version 5 (TM5). A simple approach of scaling aerosol release with evaporated precipitation fraction leads to an increase in the global aerosol burden (+7.8 to +15 % for different aerosol species). However, when taking into account the different sizes and evaporation rate of raindrops following Gong et al. (2006), the release of aerosols is strongly reduced, and the total aerosol burden decreases by -3.0 to -8.5 %. Moreover, inclusion of cloud processing based on observations by Mitra et al. (1992) transforms scavenged small aerosol to coarse particles, which enhances removal by sedimentation and hence leads to a -10 to -11 % lower aerosol burden. Finally, when these two effects are combined, the global aerosol burden decreases by -11 to -19 %. Compared to the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite observations, aerosol optical depth (AOD) is generally underestimated in most parts of the world in all configurations of the TM5 model and although the representation is now physically more realistic, global AOD shows no large improvements in spatial patterns. Similarly, the agreement of the vertical profile with Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP

  12. Intermittent aerosol delivery to the lungs during high-flow nasal cannula therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golshahi, Laleh; Longest, P Worth; Azimi, Mandana; Syed, Aamer; Hindle, Michael

    2014-10-01

    Use of submicrometer particles combined with condensational growth techniques has been proposed to reduce drug losses within components of high-flow nasal cannula therapy systems and to enhance the dose reaching the lower respiratory tract. These methods have been evaluated using continuous inhalation flow rather than realistic inhalation/exhalation breathing cycles. The goal of this study was to evaluate in vitro aerosol drug delivery using condensational growth techniques during high-flow nasal cannula therapy using realistic breathing profiles and incorporating intermittent aerosol delivery techniques. A mixer-heater combined with a vibrating mesh nebulizer was used to generate a submicrometer aerosol using a formulation of 0.2% albuterol sulfate and 0.2% sodium chloride in water. Delivery efficiency of the aerosol for 1 min through a nasal cannula was considered using an intermittent delivery regime with aerosol being emitted for either the entire inhalation time (2 s) or half of the inhalation period (1 s) and compared with continuous delivery. The deposition of the aerosol was evaluated in the nasal delivery components (ventilator tubing and cannula) and an in vitro adult nose-mouth-throat (NMT) model using 3 realistic breathing profiles. Significant improvements in dose delivered to the exit of the NMT model (ex-NMT) were observed for both condensational growth methods using intermittent aerosol delivery compared with continuous delivery, and increasing the tidal volume was found useful. The combination of the largest tidal volume with the shortest intermittent delivery time resulted in the lowest respiration losses and the highest ex-NMT delivered dose. Intermittent aerosol delivery using realistic breathing profiles of submicrometer condensational growth aerosols was found to be efficient in delivering nasally administered drugs in an in vitro airway model. Copyright © 2014 by Daedalus Enterprises.

  13. Mechanical desorption of immobilized proteins using carbon dioxide aerosols for reusable biosensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Singh, Renu; Hong, Seongkyeol; Jang, Jaesung

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Immobilized proteins were removed using carbon dioxide aerosols. • We observed high removal efficiencies due to the aerosol treatment. • We confirmed the removal with FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. • This CO 2 aerosol treatment did not undermine re-functionalization. • This technique is a fast and damage-free method to reuse a sensor surface. - Abstract: Reusability of a biosensor has recently received considerable attention, and it is closely related with the effective desorption of probe molecules. We present a novel mechanical desorption technique to reuse biosensors by using periodic jets of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) aerosols (a mixture of solid and gaseous CO 2 ), and demonstrate its feasibility by removing physically adsorbed and covalently bonded fluorescent proteins i.e., Escherichia coli fluorescein isothiocyanate antibody and bovine serum albumin (E. coli FITC–Ab and FITC–BSA) from silicon chips. The proteins on the chip surfaces were measured by fluorescent images before and after applying the aerosols. The removal efficiency of the aerosol treatment was measured for various concentrations (1–20 μg mL −1 ) of E. coli FITC–Ab and FITC–BSA with two different removal cycles (5 and 11 cycles; each cycle: 8 s). We observed high removal efficiencies (>93.5% for physically adsorbed Ab and >84.6% for covalently bonded Ab) at 11 cycle aerosol treatment. This CO 2 aerosol treatment did not undermine re-functionalization, which was confirmed by the fluorescent images of FITC–Abs for fresh and reused chips. Desorption of the immobilized layers was validated by Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses. We also conducted an experiment on the regeneration of E. coli sensing chips using this aerosol treatment, and the chips were re-used 5 times successfully. This mechanical desorption technique is a highly effective and novel strategy for reusable biosensors

  14. Aerosol-foam interaction experiments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ball, M.H.E.; Luscombe, C.DeM.; Mitchell, J.P.

    1990-03-01

    Foam treatment offers the potential to clean gas streams containing radioactive particles. A large decontamination factor has been claimed for the removal of airborne plutonium dust when spraying a commercially available foam on the walls and horizontal surfaces of an alpha-active room. Experiments have been designed and undertaken to reproduce these conditions with a non-radioactive simulant aerosol. Careful measurements of aerosol concentrations with and without foam treatment failed to provide convincing evidence to support the earlier observation. The foam may not have been as well mixed with the aerosol in the present studies. Further work is required to explore more efficient mixing methods, including systems in which the aerosol steam is passed through the foam, rather than merely spraying foam into the path of the aerosol. (author)

  15. Arctic Aerosols and Sources

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nielsen, Ingeborg Elbæk

    2017-01-01

    Since the Industrial Revolution, the anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases has been increasing, leading to a rise in the global temperature. Particularly in the Arctic, climate change is having serious impact where the average temperature has increased almost twice as much as the global during......, ammonium, black carbon, and trace metals. This PhD dissertation studies Arctic aerosols and their sources, with special focus on black carbon, attempting to increase the knowledge about aerosols’ effect on the climate in an Arctic content. The first part of the dissertation examines the diversity...... of aerosol emissions from an important anthropogenic aerosol source: residential wood combustion. The second part, characterizes the chemical and physical composition of aerosols while investigating sources of aerosols in the Arctic. The main instrument used in this research has been the state...

  16. The Impact of Aerosol Particle Mixing State on the Hygroscopicity of Sea Spray Aerosol.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schill, Steven R; Collins, Douglas B; Lee, Christopher; Morris, Holly S; Novak, Gordon A; Prather, Kimberly A; Quinn, Patricia K; Sultana, Camille M; Tivanski, Alexei V; Zimmermann, Kathryn; Cappa, Christopher D; Bertram, Timothy H

    2015-06-24

    Aerosol particles influence global climate by determining cloud droplet number concentrations, brightness, and lifetime. Primary aerosol particles, such as those produced from breaking waves in the ocean, display large particle-particle variability in chemical composition, morphology, and physical phase state, all of which affect the ability of individual particles to accommodate water and grow into cloud droplets. Despite such diversity in molecular composition, there is a paucity of methods available to assess how particle-particle variability in chemistry translates to corresponding differences in aerosol hygroscopicity. Here, an approach has been developed that allows for characterization of the distribution of aerosol hygroscopicity within a chemically complex population of atmospheric particles. This methodology, when applied to the interpretation of nascent sea spray aerosol, provides a quantitative framework for connecting results obtained using molecular mimics generated in the laboratory with chemically complex ambient aerosol. We show that nascent sea spray aerosol, generated in situ in the Atlantic Ocean, displays a broad distribution of particle hygroscopicities, indicative of a correspondingly broad distribution of particle chemical compositions. Molecular mimics of sea spray aerosol organic material were used in the laboratory to assess the volume fractions and molecular functionality required to suppress sea spray aerosol hygroscopicity to the extent indicated by field observations. We show that proper accounting for the distribution and diversity in particle hygroscopicity and composition are important to the assessment of particle impacts on clouds and global climate.

  17. Aerosol impacts on regional trends in atmospheric stagnation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mascioli, N. R.; Fiore, A. M.; Previdi, M. J.

    2017-12-01

    Extreme pollution events pose a significant threat to human health and are a leading cause of premature mortality worldwide. While emissions of atmospheric pollutants and their precursors are projected to decrease in the future due to air quality legislation, future climate change may affect the underlying meteorological conditions that contribute to extreme pollution events. Stagnation events, characterized by weak winds and an absence of precipitation, contribute to extreme pollution by halting the removal of pollutants via advection and wet deposition. Here, we use a global climate model (GFDL-CM3) to show that regional stagnation trends over the historical period (1860-2005) are driven by changes in anthropogenic aerosol emissions, rather than rising greenhouse gases. In the northeastern and central United States, aerosol-induced changes in surface and upper level winds have produced significant decreases in the number of stagnant summer days, while decreasing precipitation in the southeast US has increased the number of stagnant summer days. Significant drying over eastern China in response to aerosol forcing contributed to increased stagnation. Additionally, this region was found to be particularly sensitive to changes in local emissions, indicating that improving air quality will also lessen stagnation. In Europe, we find a dipole pattern wherein stagnation decreases over southern Europe and increases over northern Europe in response to global increases in aerosol emissions. We hypothesize that this is due to changes in the large-scale circulation patterns associated with a poleward shift of the North Atlantic storm track. We find that in the future, the combination of declining aerosol emissions and the continued rise of greenhouse gas emissions will lead to a reversal of the historical stagnation trends.

  18. Primary aerosol and secondary inorganic aerosol budget over the Mediterranean Basin during 2012 and 2013

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guth, Jonathan; Marécal, Virginie; Josse, Béatrice; Arteta, Joaquim; Hamer, Paul

    2018-04-01

    In the frame of the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment (ChArMEx), we analyse the budget of primary aerosols and secondary inorganic aerosols over the Mediterranean Basin during the years 2012 and 2013. To do this, we use two year-long numerical simulations with the chemistry-transport model MOCAGE validated against satellite- and ground-based measurements. The budget is presented on an annual and a monthly basis on a domain covering 29 to 47° N latitude and 10° W to 38° E longitude. The years 2012 and 2013 show similar seasonal variations. The desert dust is the main contributor to the annual aerosol burden in the Mediterranean region with a peak in spring, and sea salt being the second most important contributor. The secondary inorganic aerosols, taken as a whole, contribute a similar level to sea salt. The results show that all of the considered aerosol types, except for sea salt aerosols, experience net export out of our Mediterranean Basin model domain, and thus this area should be considered as a source region for aerosols globally. Our study showed that 11 % of the desert dust, 22.8 to 39.5 % of the carbonaceous aerosols, 35 % of the sulfate and 9 % of the ammonium emitted or produced into the study domain are exported. The main sources of variability for aerosols between 2012 and 2013 are weather-related variations, acting on emissions processes, and the episodic import of aerosols from North American fires. In order to assess the importance of the anthropogenic emissions of the marine and the coastal areas which are central for the economy of the Mediterranean Basin, we made a sensitivity test simulation. This simulation is similar to the reference simulation but with the removal of the international shipping emissions and the anthropogenic emissions over a 50 km wide band inland along the coast. We showed that around 30 % of the emissions of carbonaceous aerosols and 35 to 60 % of the exported carbonaceous aerosols originates from the marine and

  19. Stable generator of polydisperse aerosol

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Mikuška, Pavel

    2001-01-01

    Roč. 32, Suppl. 1 (2001), s. S823-S824 ISSN 0021-8502. [European Aerosol Conference 2001. Leipzig, 03.09.2001-07.09.2001] R&D Projects: GA AV ČR IAA4031105 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z4031919 Keywords : aerosol generator * fine aerosol * polydisperse aerosol Subject RIV: CB - Analytical Chemistry, Separation Impact factor: 1.605, year: 2001

  20. Program GICC, final report (March 2005), inventory of carbonaceous aerosol particles from 1860 to 2100 or which carbonaceous aerosol for a significant climatic regional/global impact?; Programme GICC, RAPPORT DEFINITIF (Mars 2005), inventaire d'emissions d'aerosol carbone de 1860 a 2100 ou quelles emissions d'aerosol carbone pour un impact climatique regional/global significatif?

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cachier, H.; Guinot, B. [Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l' Environnment, UMR CEA/CNRS 1572 - CEA Saclay, 91 - Gif sur Yvette (France); Criqui, P.; Mima, S. [IEPE, 38 - Grenoble (France); Brignon, J.M. [INERIS, 60 - Verneuil-en-Halatte (France); Penner, J. [Michigan Univ., Ann Arbor, MI (United States); Carmichael, G. [Iowa Univ., Iowa City, IA (United States); Gadi, R. [National Physical Lab., New Delhi (India); Denier Van der Gon, H. [TNO Hollande (Netherlands); Gregoire, J.M. [JRC, Ispra (Italy); Liousse, C.; Michel, C.; Guillaume, B.; Junker, C

    2007-07-01

    The aim of our program is to determine past, present and future emission inventories of carbonaceous particles from 1860 to 2100 for fossil fuel and biofuel sources. Emission inventories for savannah and forest fires have been developed by using burnt area products given by satellite for Asia and Africa. The strong collaboration with the different groups attending this GICC program has allowed to develop the following results. 1- With the improvement of algorithms and new choices for emission factors, emission inventories for black carbon (BC), primary organic carbon (OCp) and total organic carbon (OCtot) have been constructed for the period 1950 to 1997 for fossil fuel and biofuel sources. With these new development, biofuel sources have been seen to be significant, especially in the developing countries. 2- Past inventories have been developed for fossil fuel and biofuel sources from 1860 to 1997 by taking into account the evolution of fuel consumption, fuel use and emission factors. 3- Savannah and forest fire inventories have been constructed based on burnt area products, for Africa (1981-1991, 2000) and Asia (2000-2001). These results show the importance of using real time data instead of statistics. 4-Future emission inventory of black carbon by fossil fuel sources has been constructed for 2100 following the IPCC scenario A2 (catastrophic case) and B1 (perfect world). 5-Characterization of biofuel emissions has been realized by organizing an experiment in a combustion chamber where indian and chinese biofuels (fuelwood, agricultural wastes, dung-cake etc..). were burnt, reproducing the burning methods used in these countries. 6-Finally, the differences between the existing inventories of carbonaceous aerosols has been explained. (A.L.B.)

  1. Biomonitoring of atmospheric pollution: a novel approach for the evaluation of natural and anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric aerosol particles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Caggiano, Rosa; Calamita, Giuseppe; Sabia, Serena; Trippetta, Serena

    2017-03-01

    The investigation of the potential natural and anthropogenic contribution to atmospheric aerosol particles by using lichen-bag technique was performed in the Agri Valley (Basilicata region, southern Italy). This is an area of international concern since it houses one of the largest European on-shore reservoirs and the biggest oil/gas pre-treatment plant (i.e., Centro Olio Val d'Agri (COVA)) within an anthropized context. In particular, the concentrations of 17 trace elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, P, Pb, S, Ti, and Zn) were measured in lichen bags exposed in 59 selected monitoring points over periods of 6 months (from October 2011 to April 2012) and 12 months (from October 2011 to October 2012). The general origin of the main air masses affecting the sampling site during the study period was assessed by the back trajectories clustering calculated using the HYbrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model. The results allowed the identification and characterization of the crustal material, smoke, sea salt, sulfate, and anthropogenic trace element contributions to the atmospheric aerosol particles in the study area. Finally, the application of the trend surface analysis (TSA) allowed the study of the spatial distribution of the considered contributions highlighting the existence of a continuous broad variation of these contributions in the area of interest.

  2. Atmospheric aerosols size distribution properties in winter and pre-monsoon over western Indian Thar Desert location

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Panwar, Chhagan, E-mail: chhaganpanwar@gmail.com; Vyas, B. M. [Department of Physics, M.L. Sukhadia University, Udaipur-313001 (India)

    2016-05-06

    The first ever experimental results over Indian Thar Desert region concerning to height integrated aerosols size distribution function in particles size ranging between 0.09 to 2 µm such as, aerosols columnar size distribution (CSD), effective radius (R{sub eff}), integrated content of total aerosols (N{sub t}), columnar content of accumulation and coarse size aerosols particles concentration (N{sub a}) (size < 0.5 µm) and (N{sub c}) (size between 0.5 to 2 µm) have been described specifically during winter (a stable weather condition and intense anthropogenic pollution activity period) and pre-monsoon (intense dust storms of natural mineral aerosols as well as unstable atmospheric weather condition period) at Jaisalmer (26.90°N, 69.90°E, 220 m above surface level (asl)) located in central Thar desert vicinity of western Indian site. The CSD and various derived other aerosols size parameters are retrieved from their average spectral characteristics of Aerosol Optical Thickness (AOT) from UV to Infrared wavelength spectrum measured from Multi-Wavelength solar Radiometer (MWR). The natures of CSD are, in general, bio-modal character, instead of uniformly distributed character and power law distributions. The observed primary peaks in CSD plots are seen around about 10{sup 13} m{sup 2} μm{sup −1} at radius range 0.09-0.20 µm during both the seasons. But, in winter months, secondary peaks of relatively lower CSD values of 10{sup 10} to 10{sup 11} m{sup 2}/μm{sup −1} occur within a lower radius size range 0.4 to 0.6 µm. In contrast to this, while in dust dominated and hot season, the dominated secondary maxima of the higher CSD of about 10{sup 12} m{sup 2}μm{sup −3} is found of bigger aerosols size particles in a rage of 0.6 to 1.0 µm which is clearly demonstrating the characteristics of higher aerosols laden of bigger size aerosols in summer months relative to their prevailed lower aerosols loading of smaller size aerosols particles (0

  3. Aerosol counterflow two-jets unit for continuous measurement of the soluble fraction of atmospheric aerosols.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mikuska, Pavel; Vecera, Zbynek

    2005-09-01

    A new type of aerosol collector employing a liquid at laboratory temperature for continuous sampling of atmospheric particles is described. The collector operates on the principle of a Venturi scrubber. Sampled air flows at high linear velocity through two Venturi nozzles "atomizing" the liquid to form two jets of a polydisperse aerosol of fine droplets situated against each other. Counterflow jets of droplets collide, and within this process, the aerosol particles are captured into dispersed liquid. Under optimum conditions (air flow rate of 5 L/min and water flow rate of 2 mL/min), aerosol particles down to 0.3 microm in diameter are quantitatively collected in the collector into deionized water while the collection efficiency of smaller particles decreases. There is very little loss of fine aerosol within the aerosol counterflow two-jets unit (ACTJU). Coupling of the aerosol collector with an annular diffusion denuder located upstream of the collector ensures an artifact-free sampling of atmospheric aerosols. Operation of the ACTJU in combination with on-line detection devices allows in situ automated analysis of water-soluble aerosol species (e.g., NO2-, NO3-)with high time resolution (as high as 1 s). Under the optimum conditions, the limit of detection for particulate nitrite and nitrate is 28 and 77 ng/m(3), respectively. The instrument is sufficiently rugged for its application at routine monitoring of aerosol composition in the real time.

  4. Chemical character and probable origin of aerosols at the BARC site, Trombay

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sequeira, R.; Kelkar, D.N.

    1975-01-01

    Measurements carried out on the dustload and concentration of sodium, potassium, ammonium, calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminium, silicon, chloride and sulphate in atmospheric air at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre site, Trombay, the period November 1971-April 1972 have been reported. The average dustload is around 200μg/M 3 . About 50 percent of this could be accounted for, by the present analytical estimatioon of the individual chemical constituents : the water-soluble fraction obtained being 20 percent and the water-insoluble fraction accounting for the rest. Marine contribution to aerosol mass, calculated on the basis of water-soluble sodium concentration indicated that the sea is minor source of aerosols contributing 5 percent of the total aerosol mass. It was observed that the organic matter was about 20 percent of the total aerosol mass. If the local soil and fly-ash are the soil contributors to water-insoluble iron and potassium in aerosols, the respective contributions by these two sources were seen to be 13 percent and 48 percents. If all the organics and the non-marine fraction of the water-soluble mass are of industrial origin, the man-made fraction aerosols would constitute a maximum of 80 percent of the dustload in the Trombay air. The remaining 20 percent would be of natural origin, amounting to about 45 μg/M 3 , a value that represents unpolluted atmospheres. (author)

  5. Reactions and mass spectra of complex particles using Aerosol CIMS

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hearn, John D.; Smith, Geoffrey D.

    2006-12-01

    Aerosol chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) is used both on- and off-line for the analysis of complex laboratory-generated and ambient particles. One of the primary advantages of Aerosol CIMS is the low degree of ion fragmentation, making this technique well suited for investigating the reactivity of complex particles. To demonstrate the usefulness of this "soft" ionization, particles generated from meat cooking were reacted with ozone and the composition was monitored as a function of reaction time. Two distinct kinetic regimes were observed with most of the oleic acid in these particles reacting quickly but with 30% appearing to be trapped in the complex mixture. Additionally, detection limits are measured to be sufficiently low (100-200 ng/m3) to detect some of the more abundant constituents in ambient particles, including sulfate, which is measured in real-time at 1.2 [mu]g/m3. To better characterize complex aerosols from a variety of sources, a novel off-line collection method was also developed in which non-volatile and semi-volatile organics are desorbed from particles and concentrated in a cold U-tube. Desorption from the U-tube followed by analysis with Aerosol CIMS revealed significant amounts of nicotine in cigarette smoke and levoglucosan in oak and pine smoke, suggesting that this may be a useful technique for monitoring particle tracer species. Additionally, secondary organic aerosol formed from the reaction of ozone with R-limonene and volatile organics from orange peel were analyzed off-line showing large molecular weight products (m/z > 300 amu) that may indicate the formation of oligomers. Finally, mass spectra of ambient aerosol collected offline reveal a complex mixture of what appears to be highly processed organics, some of which may contain nitrogen.

  6. American Association for Aerosol Research (AAAR) `95

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    NONE

    1995-12-31

    The Fourteenth annual meeting of the American Association for Aerosol Research was held October 9-13, 1995 at Westin William Penn Hotel in Pittsburgh, PA. This volume contains the abstracts of the papers and poster sessions presented at this meeting, grouped by the session in which they were presented as follows: Radiation Effects; Aerosol Deposition; Collision Simulations and Microphysical Behavior; Filtration Theory and Measurements; Materials Synthesis; Radioactive and Nuclear Aerosols; Aerosol Formation, Thermodynamic Properties, and Behavior; Particle Contamination Issues in the Computer Industry; Pharmaceutical Aerosol Technology; Modeling Global/Regional Aerosols; Visibility; Respiratory Deposition; Biomass and Biogenic Aerosols; Aerosol Dynamics; Atmospheric Aerosols.

  7. Seven year satellite observations of the mean structures and variabilities in the regional aerosol distribution over the oceanic areas around the Indian subcontinent

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. K. Nair

    2005-09-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol distribution over the oceanic regions around the Indian subcontinent and its seasonal and interannual variabilities are studied using the aerosol optical depth (AOD derived from NOAA-14 and NOAA-16 AVHRR data for the period of November 1995–December 2003. The air-mass types over this region during the Asian summer monsoon season (June–September are significantly different from those during the Asian dry season (November–April. Hence, the aerosol loading and its properties over these oceanic regions are also distinctly different in these two periods. During the Asian dry season, the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal are dominated by the transport of aerosols from Northern Hemispheric landmasses, mainly the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Arabia. This aerosol transport is rather weak in the early part of the dry season (November–January compared to that in the later period (February–April. Large-scale transport of mineral dust from Arabia and the production of sea-salt aerosols, due to high surface wind speeds, contribute to the high aerosol loading over the Arabian Sea region during the summer monsoon season. As a result, the monthly mean AOD over the Arabian Sea shows a clear annual cycle with the highest values occurring in July. The AOD over the Bay of Bengal and the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean also displays an annual cycle with maxima during March and October, respectively. The amplitude of the annual variation is the largest in coastal Arabia and the least in the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. The interannual variability in AOD is the largest over the Southeast Arabian Sea (seasonal mean AOD varies from 0.19 to 0.42 and the northern Bay of Bengal (seasonal mean AOD varies from 0.24 to 0.39 during the February–April period and is the least over the Southern Hemisphere Indian Ocean. This study also investigates the altitude regions and pathways of dominant aerosol transport by combining the AOD distribution with

  8. Functional group analysis by H NMR/chemical derivatization for the characterization of organic aerosol from the SMOCC field campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Tagliavini

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Water soluble organic compounds (WSOC in aerosol samples collected in the Amazon Basin in a period encompassing the middle/late dry season and the beginning of the wet season, were investigated by H NMR spectroscopy. HiVol filter samples (PM2.5 and PM>2.5 and size-segregated samples from multistage impactor were subjected to H NMR characterization. The H NMR methodology, recently developed for the analysis of organic aerosol samples, has been improved by exploiting chemical methylation of carboxylic groups with diazomethane, which allows the direct determination of the carboxylic acid content of WSOC. The content of carboxylic carbons for the different periods and sizes ranged from 12% to 20% of total measured carbon depending on the season and aerosol size, with higher contents for the fine particles in the transition and wet periods with respect to the dry period. A comprehensive picture is presented of WSOC functional groups in aerosol samples representative of the biomass burning period, as well as of transition and semi-clean atmospheric conditions. A difference in composition between fine (PM2.5 and coarse (PM>2.5 size fractions emerged from the NMR data, the former showing higher alkylic content, the latter being largely dominated by R-O-H (or R-O-R' functional groups. Very small particles (<0.14 μm, however, present higher alkyl-chain content and less oxygenated carbons than larger fine particles (0.42–1.2 μm. More limited variations were found between the average compositions in the different periods of the campaign.

  9. Radon and aerosol release from open-pit uranium mining

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thomas, V.W.; Nielson, K.K.; Mauch, M.L.

    1982-08-01

    The quantity of 222 Rn (hereafter called radon) released per unit of uranium produced from open pit mining has been determined. A secondary objective was to determine the nature and quantity of airborne particles resulting from mine operations. To accomplish these objectives, a comprehensive study of the release rates of radon and aerosol material to the atmosphere was made over a one-year period from April 1979 to May 1980 at the Morton Ranch Mine which was operated by United Nuclear Corporation (UNC) in partnership with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). The mine is now operated for TVA by Silver King Mines. Morton Ranch Mine was one of five open pit uranium mines studied in central Wyoming. Corroborative measurements were made of radon flux and 226 Ra (hereafter called radium) concentrations of various surfaces at three of the other mines in October 1980 and again at these three mines plus a fourth in April of 1981. Three of these mines are located in the Powder River Basin, about 80 kilometers east by northeast of Casper. One is located in the Shirley Basin, about 60 km south of Casper, and the remaining one is located in the Gas Hills, approximately 100 km west of Casper. The one-year intensive study included simultaneous measurement of several parameters: continuous measurement of atmospheric radon concentration near the ground at three locations, monthly 24-hour radon flux measurements from various surfaces, radium analyses of soil samples collected under each of the flux monitoring devices, monthly integrations of aerosols on dichotomous aerosol samplers, analysis of aerosol samplers for total dust loading, aerosol elemental and radiochemical composition, aerosol elemental composition by particle size, wind speed, wind direction, temperature, barometric pressure, and rainfall

  10. Size distributions of aerosols produced from substitute materials by the Laskin cold DOP aerosol generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hinds, W.; Macher, J.; First, M.W.

    1981-01-01

    Test aerosols of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate (DOP) produced by Laskin nozzle aerosol generators are widely used for in-place filter testing and respirator fit testing. Concern for the health effects of this material has led to a search for substitute materials for test aerosols. Aerosols were generated with a Laskin generator and diluted 6000-fold with clean air. Size distributions were measured for DOP, di(2-ethylhexyl)sebecate, polyethylene glycol, mineral oil, and corn oil aerosols with a PMS ASAS-X optical particle counter. Distributions were slightly bimodal with count median diameters from 0.22 to 0.30 μm. Size distributions varied little with aerosol material, operating pressure, or liquid level. Mineral oil and corn oil gave the best agreement with the DOP size distribution

  11. Aged organic aerosol in the Eastern Mediterranean: the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment – 2008

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Hildebrandt

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available Aged organic aerosol (OA was measured at a remote coastal site on the island of Crete, Greece during the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment-2008 (FAME-2008, which was part of the EUCAARI intensive campaign of May 2008. The site at Finokalia is influenced by air masses from different source regions, including long-range transport of pollution from continental Europe. A quadrupole aerosol mass spectrometer (Q-AMS was employed to measure the size-resolved chemical composition of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1, and to estimate the extent of oxidation of the organic aerosol. Factor analysis was used to gain insights into the processes and sources affecting the OA composition. The particles were internally mixed and liquid. The largest fraction of the dry NR-PM1 sampled was ammonium sulfate and ammonium bisulfate, followed by organics and a small amount of nitrate. The variability in OA composition could be explained with two factors of oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA with differing extents of oxidation but similar volatility. Hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA was not detected. There was no statistically significant diurnal variation in the bulk composition of NR-PM1 such as total sulfate or total organic aerosol concentrations. However, the OA composition exhibited statistically significant diurnal variation with more oxidized OA in the afternoon. The organic aerosol was highly oxidized, regardless of the source region. Total OA concentrations also varied little with source region, suggesting that local sources had only a small effect on OA concentrations measured at Finokalia. The aerosol was transported for about one day before arriving at the site, corresponding to an OH exposure of approximately 4×1011 molecules cm−3 s. The constant extent of oxidation suggests that atmospheric aging results in a highly oxidized OA at these OH exposures, regardless of the aerosol source.

  12. Iodine (I-129 and I-127) in aerosols from northern Europe

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Englund, E.; Aldahan, A.; Hou, Xiaolin

    2010-01-01

    Huge amount of 129I has been emitted to the environment during the last decades from a variety of anthropogenic nuclear activities. Aerosols represent a carrier of iodine in the atmosphere in addition to gaseous forms for which data are lacking in Sweden. In this study the first time series...... of iodine isotopes (129I and 127I) in aerosols covering the period of 1983 to 2008 from two sites in Sweden are presented. The results show that both 129I and 127I concentrations are considerably higher in southern compared to northern Sweden. Furthermore there is a significant difference in the relative...

  13. Relating smoking, obesity, insulin resistance and ovarian biomarker changes to the final menstrual period (FMP)

    OpenAIRE

    Sowers, MaryFran R.; McConnell, Daniel; Yosef, Matheos; Jannausch, Mary L.; Harlow, Sioban D.; Randolph, John F.

    2010-01-01

    In order to determine if smoking, obesity, and insulin resistance mediated age at final menstrual period (FMP), we examined anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), inhibin B, and follicle-stimulating hormone as biomarkers of changing follicle status and ovarian aging. We performed a longitudinal data analysis from a cohort of premenopausal women followed to their FMP. Our results found that smokers had an earlier age at FMP (p

  14. Advanced source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols by coupling offline AMS and radiocarbon size-segregated measurements over a nearly 2-year period

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Vlachou

    2018-05-01

    (PM2.5 concentration of 0.79 ± 0.31 µg m−3 (0.24 ± 0.20 µg m−3. The secondary OC was separated into two oxygenated, non-fossil OC factors which were identified based on their seasonal variability (i.e. summer and winter oxygenated organic carbon, OOC and a third anthropogenic OOC factor which correlated with fossil OC mainly peaking in winter and spring, contributing on average 13 % ± 7 % (10 % ± 9 % to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5. The winter OOC was also connected to anthropogenic sources, contributing on average 13 % ± 13 % (6 % ± 6 % to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5. The summer OOC (SOOC, stemming from oxidation of biogenic emissions, was more pronounced in the fine mode, contributing on average 43 % ± 12 % (75 % ± 44 % to the total OC in PM10 (PM2.5. In total the non-fossil OC significantly dominated the fossil OC throughout all seasons, by contributing on average 75 % ± 24 % to the total OC. The results also suggested that during the cold period the prevailing source was residential biomass burning while during the warm period primary biological sources and secondary organic aerosol from the oxidation of biogenic emissions became important. However, SOC was also formed by aged fossil fuel combustion emissions not only in summer but also during the rest of the year.

  15. A case study of highly time-resolved evolution of aerosol chemical composition and optical properties during severe haze pollution in Shanghai, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, W.; Cheng, Z.; Lou, S.

    2017-12-01

    Despite of extensive efforts into characterization of the sources in severe haze pollution periods in the megacity of Shanghai, the study of aerosol composition, mass-size distribution and optical properties to PM1 in the pollution periods remain poorly understood. Here we conducted a 47days real-time measurement of submicron aerosol (PM1) composition and size distribution by a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS), particle light scattering by a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift ALBedo monitor (CAPS-ALB) and Photoacoustic Extinctionmeter (PAX) in Shanghai, China, from November 28, 2016 to January 12, 2017. The average PM1 concentration was 85.9(±14.7) μg/m3 during the pollution period, which was nearly 4 times higher than that of clean period. Increased scattering coefficient during EP was associated with higher secondary inorganic aerosols and organics. We also observed organics mass size distribution for different pollution extents showing different distribution characteristics. There were no obvious differences for ammonium nitrate and ammonium sulfate among the pollution periods, which represented single peak distributions, and peaks ranged at 650-700nm and 700nm, respectively. A strong relationship can be expected between PM1 compounds mass concentration size distribution and scattering coefficient, suggesting that chemical composition, size distribution of the particles and their variations could also contribute to the extinction coefficients. Organics and secondary inorganic species to particle light scattering were quantified. The results showed that organics and ammonium nitrate were the largest contribution to scattering coefficients of PM1. The contribution of (NH4)2SO4 to the light scattering exceeded that of NH4NO3 during clean period due to the enhanced sulfate concentrations. Our results elucidate substantial changes of aerosol composition, formation mechanisms, size distribution and optical properties due to local

  16. Real-time measurement of aerosol particle concentration at high temperatures; Hiukkaspitoisuuden reaaliaikainen mittaaminen korkeassa laempoetilassa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Keskinen, J; Hautanen, J; Laitinen, A [Tampere Univ. of Technology (Finland). Physics

    1997-10-01

    The aim of this project is to develop a new method for continuous aerosol particle concentration measurement at elevated temperatures (up to 800-1000 deg C). The measured property of the aerosol particles is the so called Fuchs surface area. This quantity is relevant for diffusion limited mass transfer to particles. The principle of the method is as follows. First, aerosol particles are charged electrically by diffusion charging process. The charging takes place at high temperature. After the charging, aerosol is diluted and cooled. Finally, aerosol particles are collected and the total charge carried by the aerosol particles is measured. Particle collection and charge measurement take place at low temperature. Benefits of this measurement method are: particles are charged in-situ, charge of the particles is not affected by the temperature and pressure changes after sampling, particle collection and charge measurement are carried out outside the process conditions, and the measured quantity is well defined. The results of this study can be used when the formation of the fly ash particles is studied. Another field of applications is the study and the development of gasification processes. Possibly, the method can also be used for the monitoring the operation of the high temperature particle collection devices. (orig.)

  17. Aerosol climatology and planetary boundary influence at the Jungfraujoch analyzed by synoptic weather types

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Collaud Coen

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Fourteen years of meteorological parameters, aerosol variables (absorption and scattering coefficients, aerosol number concentration and trace gases (CO, NOx, SO2 measured at the Jungfraujoch (JFJ, 3580 m a.s.l. have been analyzed as a function of different synoptic weather types. The Schüepp synoptic weather type of the Alps (SYNALP classification from the Alpine Weather Statistics (AWS was used to define the synoptic meteorology over the whole Swiss region. The seasonal contribution of each synoptic weather type to the aerosol concentration was deduced from the aerosol annual cycles while the planetary boundary layer (PBL influence was estimated by means of the diurnal cycles. Since aerosols are scavenged by precipitation, the diurnal cycle of the CO concentration was also used to identify polluted air masses. SO2 and NOx concentrations were used as precursor tracers for new particle formation and growth, respectively. The aerosol optical parameters and number concentration show elevated loadings during advective weather types during the December–March period and for the convective anticyclonic and convective indifferent weather types during the April–September period. This study confirms the consensus view that the JFJ is mainly influenced by the free troposphere during winter and by injection of air parcels from the PBL during summer. A more detailed picture is, however, drawn where the JFJ is completely influenced by free tropospheric air masses in winter during advective weather types and largely influenced by the PBL also during the night in summer during the subsidence weather type. Between these two extreme situations, the PBL influence at the JFJ depends on both the time of year and the synoptic weather type. The fraction of PBL air transported to the JFJ was estimated by the relative increase of the specific humidity and CO.

  18. Production of Highly Charged Pharmaceutical Aerosols Using a New Aerosol Induction Charger.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Golshahi, Laleh; Longest, P Worth; Holbrook, Landon; Snead, Jessica; Hindle, Michael

    2015-09-01

    Properly charged particles can be used for effective lung targeting of pharmaceutical aerosols. The objective of this study was to characterize the performance of a new induction charger that operates with a mesh nebulizer for the production of highly charged submicrometer aerosols to bypass the mouth-throat and deliver clinically relevant doses of medications to the lungs. Variables of interest included combinations of model drug (albuterol sulfate) and charging excipient (NaCl) as well as strength of the charging field (1-5 kV/cm). Aerosol charge and size were measured using a modified electrical low pressure impactor system combined with high performance liquid chromatography. At the approximate mass median aerodynamic diameter (MMAD) of the aerosol (~0.4 μm), the induction charge on the particles was an order of magnitude above the field and diffusion charge limit. The nebulization rate was 439.3 ± 42.9 μl/min, which with a 0.1% w/v solution delivered 419.5 ± 34.2 μg of medication per minute. A new correlation was developed to predict particle charge produced by the induction charger. The combination of the aerosol induction charger and predictive correlations will allow for the practical generation and control of charged submicrometer aerosols for targeting deposition within the lungs.

  19. Atmospheric acidification of mineral aerosols: a source of bioavailable phosphorus for the oceans

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Nenes

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Primary productivity of continental and marine ecosystems is often limited or co-limited by phosphorus. Deposition of atmospheric aerosols provides the major external source of phosphorus to marine surface waters. However, only a fraction of deposited aerosol phosphorus is water soluble and available for uptake by phytoplankton. We propose that atmospheric acidification of aerosols is a prime mechanism producing soluble phosphorus from soil-derived minerals. Acid mobilization is expected to be pronounced where polluted and dust-laden air masses mix. Our hypothesis is supported by the soluble compositions and reconstructed pH values for atmospheric particulate matter samples collected over a 5-yr period at Finokalia, Crete. In addition, at least tenfold increase in soluble phosphorus was observed when Saharan soil and dust were acidified in laboratory experiments which simulate atmospheric conditions. Aerosol acidification links bioavailable phosphorus supply to anthropogenic and natural acidic gas emissions, and may be a key regulator of ocean biogeochemistry.

  20. Hourly variation of elemental components of urban aerosol in Debrecen

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kertesz, Zs.; Dobos, E.; Szoboszlai, Z.; Borbely-Kiss, I.

    2007-01-01

    Complete text of publication follows. With the use of accelerator based PIXE elemental analysis technique and statistical methods, systematic investigation of aerosol samples have been performed in the Institute of Nuclear Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for 20 years determining the elemental composition, size distribution, seasonal and long term time variation, sources and lung deposition probabilities of atmospheric aerosol characteristic to the east-Hungary region. In continuation of this research we observed the short-term time variation of the elemental components in spring and in autumn 2007, at the end and the beginning of the heating season. We studied the changes in the elemental concentrations, their periodicity, correlation with other elements and meteorological parameters. The sampling was done with a PIXE International streaker sampler, which enables a time-discrete record of fine (PM2.5) and coarse (PM10-2.5) size fractions. Sampling campaigns were carried out in the garden of the Atomki on 10-16 April and 10-19 October. Elemental concentration data (Z > 12) with 2h time resolution were determined on the two size fractions. Statistical evaluation and source determination were carried out with the positive mass factorization method developed for aerosol source characterization by US EPA. Six sources of the urban aerosols were identified: 2 types of soil - loess and sand - biomass burning, sulfate originating form long range transport processes, an unknown source enriched with chlorine and heavy metals originating form traffic. The hourly contribution of some sources for the week 12-19 October is presented on figure 1. In the time trend of soil and heavy metals a periodicity can be observed: the peaks in the morning and in the evening of working days fall together with traffic rush hours. Peaks of biomass burning appear during nights and mornings indicating its origin of domestic heating. Several emission episodes were also detected. Such

  1. Sugars in atmospheric aerosols over the Eastern Mediterranean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Theodosi, Christina; Panagiotopoulos, Christos; Nouara, Amel; Zarmpas, Pavlos; Nicolaou, Panagiota; Violaki, Kalliopi; Kanakidou, Maria; Sempéré, Richard; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2017-04-01

    The role of biomass combustion and primary bio-particles in atmospheric PM10 aerosols in the Eastern Mediterranean over a two-year period was estimated by studying sugar tracers. Sugar concentrations ranged from 6 to 334 ng m-3, while their contributions to the organic carbon (OC) and water soluble organic carbon (WSOC) pools were 3 and 11%, respectively. Over the studied period, glucose and levoglucosan were the two most abundant sugars accounting equally about 25% of the total sugar concentration in PM10 aerosols whereas fructose, sucrose, and mannitol represented 18%, 15% and 10%, respectively. Primary saccharides (glucose, fructose, and sucrose) peaked at the beginning of spring (21, 17 and 15 ng m-3, respectively), indicating significant contributions of bioaerosols to the total organic aerosol mass. On the other hand, higher concentrations of anhydrosugars (burning biomass tracers including levoglucosan, mannosan and galactosan) were recorded in winter (19, 1.4 and 0.2 ng m-3, respectively) than in summer (9.1, 1.1 and 0.5 ng m-3, respectively). Levoglucosan was the dominant monosaccharide in winter (37% of total sugars) with less contribution in summer (19%) probably in relation with enhanced photochemical oxidation reactions by hydroxyl (ṡOH) radicals impacting anhydrosugars. We estimate that atmospheric oxidation by ṡOH decreases levoglucosan levels by 54% during summer. Biomass burning, based on levoglucosan observations, was estimated to contribute up to 13% to the annual average OC measured at Finokalia. Annual OC, WSOC, and carbohydrate dry deposition fluxes for the studied period were estimated to 414, 175, and 9 mg C m-2 y-1, respectively. Glucose and levoglucosan accounted for 34% and 2% of the total sugar fluxes. According to our estimations, atmospheric OC and WSOC inputs account for ˜0.70% of the carbon produced by annual primary production (PP) in the Cretan Sea. Considering the entire Mediterranean, dry deposition of OC could provide at

  2. Improving organic aerosol treatments in CESM/CAM5: Development, application, and evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glotfelty, Timothy; He, Jian; Zhang, Yang

    2017-06-01

    New treatments for organic aerosol (OA) formation have been added to a modified version of the CESM/CAM5 model (CESM-NCSU). These treatments include a volatility basis set treatment for the simulation of primary and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), a simplified treatment for organic aerosol (OA) formation from glyoxal, and a parameterization representing the impact of new particle formation (NPF) of organic gases and sulfuric acid. With the inclusion of these new treatments, the concentration of oxygenated organic aerosol increases by 0.33 µg m-3 and that of primary organic aerosol (POA) decreases by 0.22 µg m-3 on global average. The decrease in POA leads to a reduction in the OA direct effect, while the increased OOA increases the OA indirect effects. Simulations with the new OA treatments show considerable improvement in simulated SOA, oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA), organic carbon (OC), total carbon (TC), and total organic aerosol (TOA), but degradation in the performance of HOA. In simulations of the current climate period, despite some deviations from observations, CESM-NCSU with the new OA treatments significantly improves the magnitude, spatial pattern, seasonal pattern of OC and TC, as well as, the speciation of TOA between POA and OOA. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the inclusion of the organic NPF treatment impacts the OA indirect effects by enhancing cloud properties. The simulated OA level and its impact on the climate system are most sensitive to choices in the enthalpy of vaporization and wet deposition of SVOCs, indicating that accurate representations of these parameters are critical for accurate OA-climate simulations.

  3. Retrieving aerosol in a cloudy environment: aerosol product availability as a function of spatial resolution

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. A. Remer

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available The challenge of using satellite observations to retrieve aerosol properties in a cloudy environment is to prevent contamination of the aerosol signal from clouds, while maintaining sufficient aerosol product yield to satisfy specific applications. We investigate aerosol retrieval availability at different instrument pixel resolutions using the standard MODIS aerosol cloud mask applied to MODIS data and supplemented with a new GOES-R cloud mask applied to GOES data for a domain covering North America and surrounding oceans. Aerosol product availability is not the same as the cloud free fraction and takes into account the techniques used in the MODIS algorithm to avoid clouds, reduce noise and maintain sufficient numbers of aerosol retrievals. The inherent spatial resolution of each instrument, 0.5×0.5 km for MODIS and 1×1 km for GOES, is systematically degraded to 1×1, 2×2, 1×4, 4×4 and 8×8 km resolutions and then analyzed as to how that degradation would affect the availability of an aerosol retrieval, assuming an aerosol product resolution at 8×8 km. The analysis is repeated, separately, for near-nadir pixels and those at larger view angles to investigate the effect of pixel growth at oblique angles on aerosol retrieval availability. The results show that as nominal pixel size increases, availability decreases until at 8×8 km 70% to 85% of the retrievals available at 0.5 km, nadir, have been lost. The effect at oblique angles is to further decrease availability over land but increase availability over ocean, because sun glint is found at near-nadir view angles. Finer resolution sensors (i.e., 1×1, 2×2 or even 1×4 km will retrieve aerosols in partly cloudy scenes significantly more often than sensors with nadir views of 4×4 km or coarser. Large differences in the results of the two cloud masks designed for MODIS aerosol and GOES cloud products strongly reinforce that cloud masks must be developed with specific purposes in mind and

  4. Radiative Importance of Aerosol-Cloud Interaction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsay, Si-Chee

    1999-01-01

    Aerosol particles are input into the troposphere by biomass burning, among other sources. These aerosol palls cover large expanses of the earth's surface. Aerosols may directly scatter solar radiation back to space, thus increasing the earth's albedo and act to cool the earth's surface and atmosphere. Aerosols also contribute to the earth's energy balance indirectly. Hygroscopic aerosol act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and thus affects cloud properties. In 1977, Twomey theorized that additional available CCN would create smaller but more numerous cloud droplets in a cloud with a given amount of liquid water. This in turn would increase the cloud albedo which would scatter additional radiation back to space and create a similar cooling pattern as the direct aerosol effect. Estimates of the magnitude of the aerosol indirect effect on a global scale range from 0.0 to -4.8 W/sq m. Thus the indirect effect can be of comparable magnitude and opposite in sign to the estimates of global greenhouse gas forcing Aerosol-cloud interaction is not a one-way process. Just as aerosols have an influence on clouds through the cloud microphysics, clouds have an influence on aerosols. Cloud droplets are solutions of liquid water and CCN, now dissolved. When the cloud droplet evaporates it leaves behind an aerosol particle. This new particle does not have to have the same properties as the original CCN. In fact, studies show that aerosol particles that result from cloud processing are larger in size than the original CCN. Optical properties of aerosol particles are dependent on the size of the particles. Larger particles have a smaller backscattering fraction, and thus less incoming solar radiation will be backscattered to space if the aerosol particles are larger. Therefore, we see that aerosols and clouds modify each other to influence the radiative balance of the earth. Understanding and quantifying the spatial and seasonal patterns of the aerosol indirect forcing may have

  5. Chapter 3: Evaluating the impacts of carbonaceous aerosols on clouds and climate

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Menon, Surabi; Del Genio, Anthony D.

    2007-09-03

    other models as well (cf. Jacobson, 2002) but the relative impacts on convective and stratiform processes were not separated. Other changes to atmospheric stability and thermodynamical quantities due to aerosol absorption are also known to be important in modifying cloud macro/micro properties. Linkages between convection and boreal biomass burning can also impact the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere, radiation and cloud microphysical properties via transport of tropospheric aerosols to the lower stratosphere during extreme convection (Fromm and Servranckx 2003). Relevant questions regarding the impact of biomass aerosols on convective cloud properties include the effects of vertical transport of aerosols, spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall, vertical shift in latent heat release, phase shift of precipitation, circulation and their impacts on radiation. Over land surfaces, a decrease in surface shortwave radiation ({approx} 3-6 W m{sup -2} per decade) has been observed between 1960 to 1990, whereas, increases of 0.4 K in land temperature during the same period that occurred have resulted in speculations that evaporation and precipitation should also have decreased (Wild et al. 2004). However, precipitation records for the same period over land do not indicate any significant trend (Beck et al. 2005). The changes in precipitation are thought to be related to increased moisture advection from the oceans (Wild et al. 2004), which may well have some contributions from aerosol-radiation-convection coupling that could modify circulation patterns and hence moisture advection in specific regions. Other important aspects of aerosol effects, besides the direct, semi-direct, microphysical and thermodynamical impacts include alteration of surface albedos, especially snow and ice covered surfaces, due to absorbing aerosols. These effects are uncertain (Jacobson, 2004) but may produce as much as 0.3 W m{sup -2} forcing in the Northern hemisphere that could

  6. Unveiling aerosol-cloud interactions - Part 1: Cloud contamination in satellite products enhances the aerosol indirect forcing estimate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Christensen, Matthew W.; Neubauer, David; Poulsen, Caroline A.; Thomas, Gareth E.; McGarragh, Gregory R.; Povey, Adam C.; Proud, Simon R.; Grainger, Roy G.

    2017-11-01

    Increased concentrations of aerosol can enhance the albedo of warm low-level cloud. Accurately quantifying this relationship from space is challenging due in part to contamination of aerosol statistics near clouds. Aerosol retrievals near clouds can be influenced by stray cloud particles in areas assumed to be cloud-free, particle swelling by humidification, shadows and enhanced scattering into the aerosol field from (3-D radiative transfer) clouds. To screen for this contamination we have developed a new cloud-aerosol pairing algorithm (CAPA) to link cloud observations to the nearest aerosol retrieval within the satellite image. The distance between each aerosol retrieval and nearest cloud is also computed in CAPA. Results from two independent satellite imagers, the Advanced Along-Track Scanning Radiometer (AATSR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), show a marked reduction in the strength of the intrinsic aerosol indirect radiative forcing when selecting aerosol pairs that are located farther away from the clouds (-0.28±0.26 W m-2) compared to those including pairs that are within 15 km of the nearest cloud (-0.49±0.18 W m-2). The larger aerosol optical depths in closer proximity to cloud artificially enhance the relationship between aerosol-loading, cloud albedo, and cloud fraction. These results suggest that previous satellite-based radiative forcing estimates represented in key climate reports may be exaggerated due to the inclusion of retrieval artefacts in the aerosol located near clouds.

  7. Chemical and physical characteristics of aerosol particles at a remote coastal location, Mace Head, Ireland, during NAMBLEX

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    H. Coe

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available A suite of aerosol physical and chemical measurements were made at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station, Co. Galway, Ireland, a coastal site on the eastern seaboard of the north Atlantic Ocean during NAMBLEX. The data have been used in this paper to show that over a wide range of aerosol sizes there is no impact of the inter-tidal zone or the surf zone on measurements made at 7 m above ground level or higher. During the measurement period a range of air mass types were observed. During anticyclonic periods and conditions of continental outflow Aitken and accumulation mode were enhanced by a factor of 5 compared to the marine sector, whilst coarse mode particles were enhanced during westerly conditions. Baseline marine conditions were rarely met at Mace Head during NAMBLEX and high wind speeds were observed for brief periods only. The NAMBLEX experiment focussed on a detailed assessment of photochemistry in the marine environment, investigating the linkage between the HOx and the halogen radical cycles. Heterogeneous losses are important in both these cycles. In this paper loss rates of gaseous species to aerosol surfaces were calculated for a range of uptake coefficients. Even when the accommodation coefficient is unity, lifetimes due to heterogeneous loss of less than 10 s were never observed and rarely were they less than 500 s. Diffusional limitation to mass transfer is important in most conditions as the coarse mode is always significant. We calculate a minimum overestimate of 50% in the loss rate if this is neglected and so it should always be considered when calculating loss rates of gaseous species to particle surfaces. HO2 and HOI have accommodation coefficients of around 0.03 and hence we calculate lifetimes due to loss to particle surfaces of 2000 s or greater under the conditions experienced during NAMBLEX. Aerosol composition data collected during this experiment provide representative information on the input aerosol

  8. Potential modulations of pre-monsoon aerosols during El Niño: impact on Indian summer monsoon

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fadnavis, S.; Roy, Chaitri; Sabin, T. P.; Ayantika, D. C.; Ashok, K.

    2017-10-01

    The potential role of aerosol loading on the Indian summer monsoon rainfall during the El Niño years are examined using satellite-derived observations and a state of the art fully interactive aerosol-chemistry-climate model. The Aerosol Index (AI) from TOMS (1978-2005) and Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from MISR spectroradiometer (2000-2010) indicate a higher-than-normal aerosol loading over the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) during the pre-monsoon season with a concurrent El Niño. Sensitivity experiments using ECHAM5-HAMMOZ climate model suggests that this enhanced loading of pre-monsoon absorbing aerosols over the Indo-Gangetic plain can reduce the drought during El Niño years by invoking the `Elevated-Heat-Pump' mechanism through an anomalous aerosol-induced warm core in the atmospheric column. This anomalous heating upshot the relative strengthening of the cross-equatorial moisture inflow associated with the monsoon and eventually reduces the severity of drought during El Niño years. The findings are subject to the usual limitations such as the uncertainties in observations, and limited number of El Niño years (during the study period).

  9. Devices and methods for generating an aerosol

    KAUST Repository

    Bisetti, Fabrizio

    2016-03-03

    Aerosol generators and methods of generating aerosols are provided. The aerosol can be generated at a stagnation interface between a hot, wet stream and a cold, dry stream. The aerosol has the benefit that the properties of the aerosol can be precisely controlled. The stagnation interface can be generated, for example, by the opposed flow of the hot stream and the cold stream. The aerosol generator and the aerosol generation methods are capable of producing aerosols with precise particle sizes and a narrow size distribution. The properties of the aerosol can be controlled by controlling one or more of the stream temperatures, the saturation level of the hot stream, and the flow times of the streams.

  10. The GRAPE aerosol retrieval algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. E. Thomas

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available The aerosol component of the Oxford-Rutherford Aerosol and Cloud (ORAC combined cloud and aerosol retrieval scheme is described and the theoretical performance of the algorithm is analysed. ORAC is an optimal estimation retrieval scheme for deriving cloud and aerosol properties from measurements made by imaging satellite radiometers and, when applied to cloud free radiances, provides estimates of aerosol optical depth at a wavelength of 550 nm, aerosol effective radius and surface reflectance at 550 nm. The aerosol retrieval component of ORAC has several incarnations – this paper addresses the version which operates in conjunction with the cloud retrieval component of ORAC (described by Watts et al., 1998, as applied in producing the Global Retrieval of ATSR Cloud Parameters and Evaluation (GRAPE data-set.

    The algorithm is described in detail and its performance examined. This includes a discussion of errors resulting from the formulation of the forward model, sensitivity of the retrieval to the measurements and a priori constraints, and errors resulting from assumptions made about the atmospheric/surface state.

  11. Aerosol in the containment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanza, S.; Mariotti, P.

    1986-01-01

    The US program LACE (LWR Aerosol Containment Experiments), in which Italy participates together with several European countries, Canada and Japan, aims at evaluating by means of a large scale experimental activity at HEDL the retention in the pipings and primary container of the radioactive aerosol released following severe accidents in light water reactors. At the same time these experiences will make available data through which the codes used to analyse the behaviour of the aerosol in the containment and to verify whether by means of the codes of thermohydraulic computation it is possible to evaluate with sufficient accuracy variable influencing the aerosol behaviour, can be validated. This report shows and compares the results obtained by the participants in the LACE program with the aerosol containment codes NAVA 5 and CONTAIN for the pre-test computations of the test LA 1, in which an accident called containment by pass is simulated

  12. CATS Aerosol Typing and Future Directions

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGill, Matt; Yorks, John; Scott, Stan; Palm, Stephen; Hlavka, Dennis; Hart, William; Nowottnick, Ed; Selmer, Patrick; Kupchock, Andrew; Midzak, Natalie; hide

    2016-01-01

    The Cloud Aerosol Transport System (CATS), launched in January of 2015, is a lidar remote sensing instrument that will provide range-resolved profile measurements of atmospheric aerosols and clouds from the International Space Station (ISS). CATS is intended to operate on-orbit for at least six months, and up to three years. Status of CATS Level 2 and Plans for the Future:Version. 1. Aerosol Typing (ongoing): Mode 1: L1B data released later this summer; L2 data released shortly after; Identify algorithm biases (ex. striping, FOV (field of view) biases). Mode 2: Processed Released Currently working on correcting algorithm issues. Version 2 Aerosol Typing (Fall, 2016): Implementation of version 1 modifications Integrate GEOS-5 aerosols for typing guidance for non spherical aerosols. Version 3 Aerosol Typing (2017): Implementation of 1-D Var Assimilation into GEOS-5 Dynamic lidar ratio that will evolve in conjunction with simulated aerosol mixtures.

  13. Airborne Transmission of Melioidosis to Humans from Environmental Aerosols Contaminated with B. pseudomallei.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Pei-Shih; Chen, Yao-Shen; Lin, Hsi-Hsun; Liu, Pei-Ju; Ni, Wei-Fan; Hsueh, Pei-Tan; Liang, Shih-Hsiung; Chen, Chialin; Chen, Ya-Lei

    2015-06-01

    Melioidosis results from an infection with the soil-borne pathogen Burkholderia pseudomallei, and cases of melioidosis usually cluster after rains or a typhoon. In an endemic area of Taiwan, B. pseudomallei is primarily geographically distributed in cropped fields in the northwest of this area, whereas melioidosis cases are distributed in a densely populated district in the southeast. We hypothesized that contaminated cropped fields generated aerosols contaminated with B. pseudomallei, which were carried by a northwesterly wind to the densely populated southeastern district. We collected soil and aerosol samples from a 72 km2 area of land, including the melioidosis-clustered area and its surroundings. Aerosols that contained B. pseudomallei-specific TTSS (type III secretion system) ORF2 DNA were well distributed in the endemic area but were rare in the surrounding areas during the rainy season. The concentration of this specific DNA in aerosols was positively correlated with the incidence of melioidosis and the appearance of a northwesterly wind. Moreover, the isolation rate in the superficial layers of the contaminated cropped field in the northwest was correlated with PCR positivity for aerosols collected from the southeast over a 2-year period. According to pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analyses, PFGE Type Ia (ST58) was the predominant pattern linking the molecular association among soil, aerosol and human isolates. Thus, the airborne transmission of melioidosis moves from the contaminated soil to aerosols and/or to humans in this endemic area.

  14. Stratospheric Aerosol Measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pueschel, Rudolf, F.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

    1998-01-01

    Stratospheric aerosols affect the atmospheric energy balance by scattering and absorbing solar and terrestrial radiation. They also can alter stratospheric chemical cycles by catalyzing heterogeneous reactions which markedly perturb odd nitrogen, chlorine and ozone levels. Aerosol measurements by satellites began in NASA in 1975 with the Stratospheric Aerosol Measurement (SAM) program, to be followed by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) starting in 1979. Both programs employ the solar occultation, or Earth limb extinction, techniques. Major results of these activities include the discovery of polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) in both hemispheres in winter, illustrations of the impacts of major (El Chichon 1982 and Pinatubo 1991) eruptions, and detection of a negative global trend in lower stratospheric/upper tropospheric aerosol extinction. This latter result can be considered a triumph of successful worldwide sulfur emission controls. The SAGE record will be continued and improved by SAGE III, currently scheduled for multiple launches beginning in 2000 as part of the Earth Observing System (EOS). The satellite program has been supplemented by in situ measurements aboard the ER-2 (20 km ceiling) since 1974, and from the DC-8 (13 km ceiling) aircraft beginning in 1989. Collection by wire impactors and subsequent electron microscopic and X-ray energy-dispersive analyses, and optical particle spectrometry have been the principle techniques. Major findings are: (1) The stratospheric background aerosol consists of dilute sulfuric acid droplets of around 0.1 micrometer modal diameter at concentration of tens to hundreds of monograms per cubic meter; (2) Soot from aircraft amounts to a fraction of one percent of the background total aerosol; (3) Volcanic eruptions perturb the sulfuric acid, but not the soot, aerosol abundance by several orders of magnitude; (4) PSCs contain nitric acid at temperatures below 195K, supporting chemical hypotheses

  15. Season-dependent size distribution of aerosols over the tropical coastal environment of south-west India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aryasree, S.; Nair, Prabha R.

    2018-01-01

    This paper presents the results of a detailed study on the size characteristics of aerosols at the tropical coastal site Thiruvananthapuram based on the in-situ measurements of size resolved aerosol number density using an aerosol spectrometer, covering a period of 28 months from September 2011 to December 2013. The diurnal pattern of aerosol number density is characterized by day time low and a two-fold increase during nighttime and these changes are closely associated with the strong mesoscale features namely the sea breeze and land breeze prevailing at the site. Aerosol Number Size Distribution (NSD) depicts a multi-modal nature with two prominent modes, one ≤0.1 μm and other ∼1 μm. Two other less pronounced modes are also observed in the NSD, one ∼0.3-0.5 μm and other ∼5-8 μm. The NSDs also exhibited strong seasonal changes linked with the synoptic meteorological feature of this region namely the South Asian monsoon. The seasonal NSDs were parameterized and analyzed. In addition to this, the effects of meteorological parameters temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed and airflow patterns on aerosol number density as revealed by partial correlation analysis were found to be aerosol size dependent.

  16. Radioactive aerosols. [In Russian

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Natanson, G L

    1956-01-01

    Tabulations are given presenting various published data on safe atmospheric concentrations of various radioactive and non-radioactive aerosols. Methods of determination of active aerosol concentrations and dispersion as well as the technical applications of labeled aerosols are discussed. The effect of atomic explosions are analyzed considering the nominal atomic bomb based on /sup 235/U and /sup 232/Pu equivalent to 20,000 tons of TNT.

  17. Laboratory Experiments and Instrument Intercomparison Studies of Carbonaceous Aerosol Particles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Davidovits, Paul [Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA (United States)

    2015-10-20

    ) two well-characterized source of soot particles and (b) a flow reactor for controlled OH and/or O3 oxidation of relevant gas phase species to produce well-characterized SOA particles. After formation, the aerosol particles are subjected to physical and chemical processes that simulate aerosol growth and aging. A suite of instruments in our laboratory is used to characterize the physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles before and after processing. The Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS) together with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS) measures particle mass, volume, density, composition (including black carbon content), dynamic shape factor, and fractal dimension. The–ToF-AMS was developed at ARI with Boston College participation. About 120 AMS instruments are now in service (including 5 built for DOE laboratories) performing field and laboratory studies world-wide. Other major instruments include a thermal denuder, two Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMA), a Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter (CCN), a Thermal desorption Aerosol GC/MS (TAG) and the new Soot Particle Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (SP-AMS). Optical instrumentation required for the studies have been brought to our laboratory as part of ongoing and planned collaborative projects with colleagues from DOE, NOAA and university laboratories. Optical instruments that will be utilized include a Photoacoustic Spectrometer (PAS), a Cavity Ring Down Aerosol Extinction Spectrometer (CRD-AES), a Photo Thermal Interferometer (PTI), a new 7-wavelength Aethalometer and a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Extinction Monitor (CAPS). These instruments are providing aerosol absorption, extinction and scattering coefficients at a range of atmospherically relevant wavelengths. During the past two years our work has continued along the lines of our original proposal. We report on 12 completed and/or continuing projects conducted during the period 08/14 to 0814/2015. These projects are described in

  18. Devices and methods for generating an aerosol

    KAUST Repository

    Bisetti, Fabrizio; Scribano, Gianfranco

    2016-01-01

    Aerosol generators and methods of generating aerosols are provided. The aerosol can be generated at a stagnation interface between a hot, wet stream and a cold, dry stream. The aerosol has the benefit that the properties of the aerosol can

  19. Diagnosing causes of extreme aerosol optical depth events

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernstein, D. N.; Sullivan, R.; Crippa, P.; Thota, A.; Pryor, S. C.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosol burdens and optical properties exhibit substantial spatiotemporal variability, and simulation of current and possible future aerosol burdens and characteristics exhibits relatively high uncertainty due to uncertainties in emission estimates and in chemical and physical processes associated with aerosol formation, dynamics and removal. We report research designed to improve understanding of the causes and characteristics of extreme aerosol optical depth (AOD) at the regional scale, and diagnose and attribute model skill in simulating these events. Extreme AOD events over the US Midwest are selected by identifying all dates on which AOD in a MERRA-2 reanalysis grid cell exceeds the local seasonally computed 90th percentile (p90) value during 2004-2016 and then finding the dates on which the highest number of grid cells exceed their local p90. MODIS AOD data are subsequently used to exclude events dominated by wildfires. MERRA-2 data are also analyzed within a synoptic classification to determine in what ways the extreme AOD events are atypical and to identify possible meteorological `finger-prints' that can be detected in regional climate model simulations of future climate states to project possible changes in the occurrence of extreme AOD. Then WRF-Chem v3.6 is applied at 12-km resolution and regridded to the MERRA-2 resolution over eastern North America to quantify model performance, and also evaluated using in situ measurements of columnar AOD (AERONET) and near-surface PM2.5 (US EPA). Finally the sensitivity to (i) spin-up time (including procedure used to spin-up the chemistry), (ii) modal versus sectional aerosol schemes, (iii) meteorological nudging, (iv) chemistry initial and boundary conditions, and (v) anthropogenic emissions is quantified. Despite recent declines in mean AOD, supraregional (> 1000 km) extreme AOD events continue to occur. During these events AOD exceeds 0.6 in many Midwestern grid cells for multiple consecutive days. In all

  20. Characterization and source apportionment of organic aerosol at 260 m on a meteorological tower in Beijing, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Wei; Wang, Qingqing; Zhao, Xiujuan; Xu, Weiqi; Chen, Chen; Du, Wei; Zhao, Jian; Canonaco, Francesco; Prévôt, André S. H.; Fu, Pingqing; Wang, Zifa; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Sun, Yele

    2018-03-01

    Despite extensive efforts toward the characterization of submicron aerosols at ground level in the megacity of Beijing, our understanding of aerosol sources and processes at high altitudes remains low. Here we conducted a 3-month real-time measurement of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) species at a height of 260 m from 10 October 2014 to 18 January 2015 using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor. Our results showed a significant change in aerosol composition from the non-heating period (NHP) to the heating period (HP). Organics and chloride showed clear increases during HP due to coal combustion emissions, while nitrate showed substantial decreases from 28 to 15-18 %. We also found that NR-PM1 species in the heating season can have average mass differences of 30-44 % under similar emission sources yet different meteorological conditions. Multi-linear engine 2 (ME-2) using three primary organic aerosol (OA) factors as constraints, i.e., fossil-fuel-related OA (FFOA) dominantly from coal combustion emissions, cooking OA (COA), and biomass burning OA (BBOA) resolved from ground high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer measurements, was applied to OA mass spectra of ACSM. Two types of secondary OA (SOA) that were well correlated with nitrate and chloride-CO, respectively, were identified. SOA played a dominant role in OA during all periods at 260 m although the contributions were decreased from 72 % during NHP to 58-64 % during HP. The SOA composition also changed significantly from NHP to HP. While the contribution of oxygenated OA (OOA) was decreased from 56-63 to 32-40 %, less oxidized OOA (LO-OOA) showed a large increase from 9-16 to 24-26 %. COA contributed a considerable fraction of OA at high altitude, and the contribution was relatively similar across different periods (10-13 %). In contrast, FFOA showed a large increase during HP due to the influences of coal combustion emissions. We also observed very different OA composition between ground level

  1. A new comprehensive approach to characterizing carbonaceous aerosol with an application to wintertime Fresno, California PM2.5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herckes, P.; Leenheer, J.A.; Collett, J.L.

    2007-01-01

    Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) samples were collected during a three week winter period in Fresno (CA). A composite sample was characterized by isolating several distinct fractions and characterizing them by infrared and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. More than 80% of the organic matter in the aerosol samples was recovered and characterized. Only 35% of the organic matter was water soluble with another third soluble in dichloromethane and the remainder insoluble. Within the isolated water soluble material, hydrophobic acid and hydrophilic acids plus neutrals fractions contained the largest amounts of carbon. The hydrophobic acids fraction appears to contain significant amounts of lignin type structures, spectra of the hydrophilic acids plus neutrals fraction are indicative of carbohydrates and secondary organic material. The dichloromethane soluble fraction contains a variety of organic compound families typical of many previous studies of organic aerosol speciation, including alkanes, alkanols, alkanals and alkanoic acids. Finally the water and solvent insoluble fraction exhibits a strong aromaticity as one would expect from black or elemental carbon like material; however, these spectra also show a substantial amount of aliphaticity consistent with linear side chains on the aromatic structures.

  2. Global modelling of secondary organic aerosol in the troposphere: a sensitivity analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. Tsigaridis

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available A global 3-dimensional chemistry/transport model able to describe O3, NOx, Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC, sulphur and NH3 chemistry has been extended to simulate the temporal and spatial distribution of primary and secondary carbonaceous aerosols in the troposphere focusing on Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA formation. A number of global simulations have been performed to determine a possible range of annual global SOA production and investigate uncertainties associated with the model results. The studied uncertainties in the SOA budget have been evaluated to be in decreasing importance: the potentially irreversible sticking of the semi-volatile compounds on aerosols, the enthalpy of vaporization of these compounds, the partitioning of SOA on non-carbonaceous aerosols, the conversion of aerosols from hydrophobic to hydrophilic, the emissions of primary carbonaceous aerosols, the chemical fate of the first generation products and finally the activity coefficient of the condensable species. The large uncertainties associated with the emissions of VOC and the adopted simplification of chemistry have not been investigated in this study. Although not all sources of uncertainties have been investigated, according to our calculations, the above factors within the experimental range of variations could result to an overall uncertainty of about a factor of 20 in the global SOA budget. The global annual SOA production from biogenic VOC might range from 2.5 to 44.5 Tg of organic matter per year, whereas that from anthropogenic VOC ranges from 0.05 to 2.62 Tg of organic matter per year. These estimates can be considered as a lower limit, since partitioning on coarse particles like nitrate, dust or sea-salt, together with the partitioning and the dissociation of the semi-volatile products in aerosol water has been neglected. Comparison of model results to observations, where available, shows a better agreement for the upper budget estimates than for the

  3. Medicaid program; premiums and cost sharing. Final rule; delay of effective data and reopening of comment period.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2009-01-27

    In accordance with the memorandum of January 20, 2009, from the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff, entitled "Regulatory Review Plan," this action temporarily delays for 60 days the effective date of the final rule entitled "Medicaid Program; Premiums and Cost Sharing" (73 FR 71828). The temporary 60-day delay in effective date is necessary to give Department officials the opportunity for further review and consideration of new regulations. In addition, this action reopens the comment period on the policies set out in the November 25, 2008 final rule.

  4. Three-Dimensional Physical and Optical Characteristics of Aerosols over Central China from Long-Term CALIPSO and HYSPLIT Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xin Lu

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Aerosols greatly influence global and regional atmospheric systems, and human life. However, a comprehensive understanding of the source regions and three-dimensional (3D characteristics of aerosol transport over central China is yet to be achieved. Thus, we investigate the 3D macroscopic, optical, physical, and transport properties of the aerosols over central China based on the March 2007 to February 2016 data obtained from the Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO mission and the hybrid single-particle Lagrangian integrated trajectory (HYSPLIT model. Our results showed that approximately 60% of the aerosols distributed over central China originated from local areas, whereas non-locally produced aerosols constituted approximately 40%. Anthropogenic aerosols constituted the majority of the aerosol pollutants (69% that mainly distributed less than 2.0 km above mean sea level. Natural aerosols, which are mainly composed of dust, accounted for 31% of the total aerosols, and usually existed at an altitude higher than that of anthropogenic aerosols. Aerosol particles distributed in the near surface were smaller and more spherical than those distributed above 2.0 km. Aerosol optical depth (AOD and the particulate depolarization ratio displayed decreasing trends, with a total decrease of 0.11 and 0.016 from March 2007 to February 2016, respectively. These phenomena indicate that during the study period, the extinction properties of aerosols decreased, and the degree of sphericity in aerosol particles increased. Moreover, the annual anthropogenic and natural AOD demonstrated decreasing trends, with a total decrease of 0.07 and 0.04, respectively. This study may benefit the evaluation of the effects of the 3D properties of aerosols on regional climates.

  5. An aerosole generator for production of radioactive aerosoles by evaporating uranium dioxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pusch, W.M.

    1975-01-01

    In the Institut for Biology of the Austrian Research Center at Seibersdorf an experiment is running to study the behaviour of radioactive aerosoles in the organism of miniature swines after inhalation. In the work under discussion the aerosole generator of the equipment used for this inhalation experiments is described by means of which the aerosole-air mixtures are produced. The main part of this generator is a gas burner for evaporating irradiated UO 2 -pellets. (orig.) [de

  6. A study of the attachment of thoron decay products to aerosols using an aerosol centrifuge

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menon, V.B.; Kotrappa, P.; Bhanti, D.P.

    1980-01-01

    An aerosol centrifuge is used for the study of the attachment of thoron decay products to aerosol particles under dynamic flow conditions. The number concentration of aerosols was kept high (10 5 to 10 6 particles cm -3 ) as compared to the number of decay product atoms (10 2 to 10 3 cm -3 ) as is usually the case in a mine atmosphere. The polydispersed aerosols flow in and out of a chamber containing a steady source of thoron and the aerosols tagged with the decay products were separated into different size groups by an aerosol centrifuge (Lovelace Aerosol Particle Separator). The average activity per particle was fitted as a power function of the radius in the form of Asub(p) = aRsup(b). The average value of b was found to be 1.08 +- 0.054 for particles in the radii range 0.25 to 1.35 μm and 1.34 +- 0.12 for particles in the radii range 0.1 to 0.33 μm. (author)

  7. Modification of Local Urban Aerosol Properties by Long-Range Transport of Biomass Burning Aerosol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Iwona S. Stachlewska

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available During August 2016, a quasi-stationary high-pressure system spreading over Central and North-Eastern Europe, caused weather conditions that allowed for 24/7 observations of aerosol optical properties by using a complex multi-wavelength PollyXT lidar system with Raman, polarization and water vapour capabilities, based at the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET network urban site in Warsaw, Poland. During 24–30 August 2016, the lidar-derived products (boundary layer height, aerosol optical depth, Ångström exponent, lidar ratio, depolarization ratio were analysed in terms of air mass transport (HYSPLIT model, aerosol load (CAMS data and type (NAAPS model and confronted with active and passive remote sensing at the ground level (PolandAOD, AERONET, WIOS-AQ networks and aboard satellites (SEVIRI, MODIS, CATS sensors. Optical properties for less than a day-old fresh biomass burning aerosol, advected into Warsaw’s boundary layer from over Ukraine, were compared with the properties of long-range transported 3–5 day-old aged biomass burning aerosol detected in the free troposphere over Warsaw. Analyses of temporal changes of aerosol properties within the boundary layer, revealed an increase of aerosol optical depth and Ångström exponent accompanied by an increase of surface PM10 and PM2.5. Intrusions of advected biomass burning particles into the urban boundary layer seem to affect not only the optical properties observed but also the top height of the boundary layer, by moderating its increase.

  8. AOD Distributions and Trends of Major Aerosol Species over a Selection of the World's Most Populated Cities Based on the 1st Version of NASA's MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provencal, Simon; Kishcha, Pavel; da Silva, Arlindo M.; Elhacham, Emily; Alpert, Pinhas

    2017-01-01

    NASA recently extended the Modern-Era Retrospective Analysis for Research and Application (MERRA) with an atmospheric aerosol reanalysis which includes five particulate species: sulfate, organic matter, black carbon, mineral dust and sea salt. The MERRA Aerosol Reanalysis (MERRAero) is an innovative tool to study air quality issues around the world for its global and constant coverage and its distinction of aerosol speciation expressed in the form of aerosol optical depth (AOD). The purpose of this manuscript is to apply MERRAero to the study of urban air pollution at the global scale by analyzing the AOD over a period of 13 years (2003-2015) and over a selection of 200 of the world's most populated cities in order to assess the impacts of urbanization, industrialization, air quality regulations and regional transport which affect urban aerosol load. Environmental regulations and the recent global economic recession have helped to decrease the AOD and sulfate aerosols in most cities in North America, Europe and Japan. Rapid industrialization in China over the last two decades resulted in Chinese cities having the highest AOD values in the world. China has nevertheless recently implemented emission control measures which are showing early signs of success in many cities of Southern China where AOD has decreased substantially over the last 13 years. The AOD over South American cities, which is dominated by carbonaceous aerosols, has also decreased over the last decade due to an increase in commodity prices which slowed deforestation activities in the Amazon rainforest. At the opposite, recent urbanization and industrialization in India and Bangladesh resulted in a strong increase of AOD, sulfate and carbonaceous aerosols in most cities of these two countries. The AOD over most cities in Northern Africa and Western Asia changed little over the last decade. Emissions of natural aerosols, which cities in these two regions tend to be mostly composed of, don't tend to

  9. Quantification of regional radiative impacts and climate effects of tropical fire aerosols

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tosca, M. G.; Zender, C. S.; Randerson, J. T.

    2011-12-01

    Regionally expansive smoke clouds originating from deforestation fires in Indonesia can modify local precipitation patterns via direct aerosol scattering and absorption of solar radiation (Tosca et al., 2010). Here we quantify the regional climate impacts of fire aerosols for three tropical burning regions that together account for about 70% of global annual fire emissions. We use the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5) coupled to a slab ocean model (SOM) embedded within the Community Earth System Model (CESM). In addition to direct aerosol radiative effects, CAM5 also quantifies indirect, semi-direct and cloud microphysical aerosol effects. Climate impacts are determined using regionally adjusted emissions data that produce realistic aerosol optical depths in CAM5. We first analyzed a single 12-year transient simulation (1996-2007) forced with unadjusted emissions estimates from the Global Fire Emissions Database, version 3 (GFEDv3) and compared the resulting aerosol optical depths (AODs) for 4 different burning regions (equatorial Asia, southern Africa, South America and boreal North America) to observed MISR and MODIS AODs for the same period. Based on this analysis we adjusted emissions for each burning region between 150 and 300% and forced a second simulation with the regionally adjusted emissions. Improved AODs from this simulation are compared to AERONET observations available at 15 stations throughout the tropics. We present here two transient simulations--one with the adjusted fire emissions and one without fires--to quantify the cumulative fire aerosol climate impact for three major tropical burning regions (equatorial Asia, southern Africa and South America). Specifically, we quantify smoke effects on radiation, precipitation, and temperature. References Tosca, M.G., J.T. Randerson, C.S. Zender, M.G. Flanner and P.J. Rasch (2010), Do biomass burning aerosols intensify drought in equatorial Asia during El Nino?, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 10, 3515

  10. Aerosol container-related eye injuries in the United States: 1997-2009.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidman, Carly J; Linakis, James G; Mello, Michael J; Greenberg, Paul B

    2011-06-01

    To quantify and characterize eye injuries related to aerosol container consumer products treated in United States hospital emergency departments (EDs) from 1997 through 2009. Retrospective study. Descriptive analysis of aerosol container-related eye injury data derived from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System, a stratified probability sample of hospital-affiliated United States EDs. Data collected included demographic variables (gender and age), locale, diagnoses, and hospital disposition associated with aerosol container-related eye injuries treated in United States EDs from 1997 through 2009. Products associated with injury and mechanisms of injury also were extracted and analyzed. There were an estimated 10 765 (95% confidence interval [CI], 9842 to 11 688) visits to United States EDs for aerosol container-related eye injuries during the study period; 6756 (95% CI, 5771 to 7742; 63%) patients were male; 5927 (95% CI, 4956 to 6897; 55%) injuries occurred in children (age container-related eye injuries in the United States occur in men and children and that self-inflicted spray to the eye is the most common mechanism of injury. Further research is needed to devise effective prevention strategies for these types of injuries. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  11. Assessment of aerosols optical properties and radiative forcing over an Urban site in North-Western India.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mor, Vikram; Dhankhar, Rajesh; Attri, S D; Soni, V K; Sateesh, M; Taneja, Kanika

    2017-05-01

    The present work is aimed to analyze aerosols optical properties and to estimate aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) from January to December 2013, using sky radiometer data over Rohtak, an urban site in North-Western India. The results reveal strong wavelength dependency of aerosol optical depth (AOD), with high values of AOD at shorter wavelengths and lower values at longer wavelength during the study period. The highest AOD values of 1.07 ± 0.45 at 500 nm were observed during July. A significant decline in Ångström exponent was observed during April-May, which represents the dominance of coarse mode particles due to dust-raising convective activities. Aerosols' size distribution exhibits a bimodal structure with fine mode particles around 0.17 µm and coarse mode particles with a radius around 5.28 µm. Single scattering albedo values were lowest during November-December at all wavelengths, ranging from 0.87 to 0.76, which corresponds to the higher absorption during this period. Aerosols optical properties retrieved during observation period are used as input for SBDART (Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer) to estimate the direct ARF at the surface, in the atmosphere and at the top of the atmosphere (TOA). The ARF at the TOA, surface and in the atmosphere are found to be in the range of -4.98 to -19.35 W m -2 , -8.01 to -57.66 W m -2 and +3.02 to +41.64 W m -2 , respectively. The averaged forcing for the whole period of observations at the TOA is -11.26 W m -2 , while at the surface it is -38.64 W m -2 , leading to atmospheric forcing of 27.38 W m -2 . The highest (1.168 K day -1 ) values of heating rate was estimated during November, whereas the lowest value (0.084 K day -1 ) was estimated for the February.

  12. Aerosol characterization during project POLINAT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hagen, D.E.; Hopkins, A.R.; Paladino, J.D.; Whitefield, P.D. [Missouri Univ., Rolla, MO (United States). Cloud and Aerosol Sciences Lab.; Lilenfeld, H.V. [McDonnell Douglas Aerospace-East, St. Louis, MO (United States)

    1997-12-31

    The objectives of the aerosol/particulate characterization measurements of project POLINAT (POLlution from aircraft emissions In the North ATlantic flight corridor) are: to search for aerosol/particulate signatures of air traffic emissions in the region of the North Atlantic Flight Corridor; to search for the aerosol/particulate component of large scale enhancement (`corridor effects`) of air traffic related species in the North Atlantic region; to determine the effective emission indices for the aerosol/particulate component of engine exhaust in both the near and far field of aircraft exhaust plumes; to measure the dispersion and transformation of the aerosol/particulate component of aircraft emissions as a function of ambient condition; to characterize background levels of aerosol/particulate concentrations in the North Atlantic Region; and to determine effective emission indices for engine exhaust particulates for regimes beyond the jet phase of plume expansion. (author) 10 refs.

  13. Aerosol characterization during project POLINAT

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hagen, D E; Hopkins, A R; Paladino, J D; Whitefield, P D [Missouri Univ., Rolla, MO (United States). Cloud and Aerosol Sciences Lab.; Lilenfeld, H V [McDonnell Douglas Aerospace-East, St. Louis, MO (United States)

    1998-12-31

    The objectives of the aerosol/particulate characterization measurements of project POLINAT (POLlution from aircraft emissions In the North ATlantic flight corridor) are: to search for aerosol/particulate signatures of air traffic emissions in the region of the North Atlantic Flight Corridor; to search for the aerosol/particulate component of large scale enhancement (`corridor effects`) of air traffic related species in the North Atlantic region; to determine the effective emission indices for the aerosol/particulate component of engine exhaust in both the near and far field of aircraft exhaust plumes; to measure the dispersion and transformation of the aerosol/particulate component of aircraft emissions as a function of ambient condition; to characterize background levels of aerosol/particulate concentrations in the North Atlantic Region; and to determine effective emission indices for engine exhaust particulates for regimes beyond the jet phase of plume expansion. (author) 10 refs.

  14. The effects of aerosols on climate

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boucher, O.

    1997-01-01

    Atmospheric aerosols (fine particles suspended in the atmosphere) can play two roles in the Earth’s radiation budget. In cloud-free air, aerosols scatter sunlight, some of which is reflected back to space (direct effect). Aerosols also determine the microphysical and optical properties of clouds (indirect effect). Whereas changes in natural aerosols are probably small during the last 100 years, there has been a large increase in the concentration of anthropogenic aerosols. The magnitude of their radiative effects is still very uncertain but seems to be sufficient to mask part of the global warming expected to stem from anthropogenic greenhouse gases. This paper presents the physical mechanisms of aerosol influence on climate. We then estimate the anthropogenic aerosol radiative effects and assess the climate response to these perturbations. (author) [fr

  15. Measurements of Primary Biogenic Aerosol Particles with an Ultraviolet Aerodynamic Particle Sizer (UVAPS) During AMAZE-08

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wollny, A. G.; Garland, R.; Pöschl, U.

    2008-12-01

    Biogenic aerosols are ubiquitous in the Earth's atmosphere and they influence atmospheric chemistry and physics, the biosphere, climate, and public health. They play an important role in the spread of biological organisms and reproductive materials, and they can cause or enhance human, animal, and plant diseases. Moreover, they influence the Earth's energy budget by scattering and absorbing radiation, and they can initiate the formation of clouds and precipitation as cloud condensation and ice nuclei. The composition, abundance, and origin of biogenic aerosol particles and components are, however, still not well understood and poorly quantified. Prominent examples of primary biogenic aerosol particles, which are directly emitted from the biosphere to the atmosphere, are pollen, bacteria, fungal spores, viruses, and fragments of animals and plants. During the AMazonian Aerosol CharacteriZation Experiment (AMAZE-08) a large number of aerosol and gas-phase measurements were taken on a remote site close to Manaus, Brazil, during a period of five weeks in February and March 2008. The presented study is focused on data from an ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UVAPS, TSI inc.) that has been deployed for the first time in Amazonia. In this instrument, particle counting and aerodynamic sizing over the range of 0.5-20 μm are complemented by the measurement of UV fluorescence at 355 nm (excitation) and 420-575 nm (emission), respectively. Fluorescence at these wavelengths is characteristic for reduced pyridine nucleotides (e.g., NAD(P)H) and for riboflavin, which are specific for living cells. Thus particles exhibiting fluorescence signals can be regarded as 'viable aerosols' or 'fluorescent bioparticles' (FBAP), and their concentration can be considered as lower limit for the actual abundance of primary biogenic aerosol particles. First data analyses show a pronounced peak of FBAP at diameters around 2-3 μm. In this size range the biogenic particle fraction was

  16. Water content of aged aerosol

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. J. Engelhart

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available The composition and physical properties of aged atmospheric aerosol were characterized at a remote sampling site on the northern coast of Crete, Greece during the Finokalia Aerosol Measurement Experiment in May 2008 (FAME-2008. A reduced Dry-Ambient Aerosol Size Spectrometer (DAASS was deployed to measure the aerosol water content and volumetric growth factor of fine particulate matter. The particles remained wet even at relative humidity (RH as low as 20%. The aerosol was acidic during most of the measurement campaign, which likely contributed to the water uptake at low RH. The water content observations were compared to the thermodynamic model E-AIM, neglecting any contribution of the organics to aerosol water content. There was good agreement between the water measurements and the model predictions. Adding the small amount of water associated with the organic aerosol based on monoterpene water absorption did not change the quality of the agreement. These results strongly suggest that the water uptake by aged organic aerosol is relatively small (a few percent of the total water for the conditions during FAME-08 and generally consistent with what has been observed in laboratory experiments. The water concentration measured by a Q-AMS was well correlated with the DAASS measurements and in good agreement with the predicted values for the RH of the Q-AMS inlet. This suggests that, at least for the conditions of the study, the Q-AMS can provide valuable information about the aerosol water concentrations if the sample is not dried.

  17. Interdecadal changes of summer aerosol pollution in the Yangtze River Basin of China, the relative influence of meteorological conditions and the relation to climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Jizhi; Zhang, Xiaoye; Li, Duo; Yang, Yuanqin; Zhong, Junting; Wang, Yaqiang; Che, Haochi; Che, Huizheng; Zhang, Yangmei

    2018-07-15

    Winter is a season of much concern for aerosol pollution in China, but less concern for pollution in the summertime. There are even less concern and larger uncertainty about interdecadal changes in summer aerosol pollution, relative influence of meteorological conditions, and their links to climate change. Here we try to reveal the relation among interdecadal changes in summer's most important circulation system affecting China (East Asian Summer Monsoon-EASM), an index of meteorological conditions (called PLAM, Parameter Linking Air Quality and Meteorological Elements, which is almost linearly related with aerosol pollution), and aerosol optical depth (AOD) in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River (M-LYR) in central eastern China during summertime since the 1960's. During the weak monsoon years, the aerosol pollution load was heavier in the M-LYR and opposite in the strong monsoon years mainly influenced by EASM and associated maintenance position of the anti-Hadley cell around 115°E. The interdecadal changes in meteorological conditions and their associated aerosol pollution in the context of such climate change have experienced four periods since the 1960's, which were a relatively large decreased period from 1961 to 1980, a large rise between 1980 and 1999, a period of slow rise or maintenance from 1999 to 2006, and a relatively rapid rise between 2006 and 2014. Among later three pollution increased periods, about 51%, 25% and 60% of the aerosol pollution change respectively come from the contribution of worsening weather conditions, which are found to be greatly affected by changes in EASM. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  18. Aerosol study and transformations over the Marseille/Fos-Berre region: ESCOMPTE experiment; Etude de l'aerosol et de ses transformations dans la region de Marseille Fos-Berre: experience escompte

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aulagnier, F.

    2003-12-01

    The importance of particulate pollution in urban and suburban zones is getting more and more obvious worldwide. Any policy abatement in relation with the aerosol impact relies on an accurate knowledge of their physico-chemical properties: size, chemical composition and number concentrations. As part of the ESCOMPTE experiment (http://medias.obs-mip.fr:8000/escompte/) which aims to estimate the photochemical pollution in the Marseille Fos/Berre region, this work presents an extensive study of the atmospheric particulate phase and documents its transformations. Interestingly in this region, three intense aerosol sources (urban, industrial and biogenic) produce important particle concentration levels in the whole domain of the study. The aerosol exhaustive characterization has shown an anthropogenic and differentiated signature with important amounts of particulate carbon, sulfate and nitrate. On the other hand, the influence of the marine source is not significant. The most original result is the evidence of secondary aerosol formation on a regional scale which is much more important than those usually observed at these latitudes since two thirds of the particulate mass collected off source zones was generated during transport. It appears thus of high importance to consider the formation pathways of these secondary particles in order to set up an appropriate strategy for the abatement of atmospheric particle concentrations. Finally, this study brings innovative hypotheses for the first modelling tests of aerosol concentrations and their radiative impact. (author)

  19. Rapid and gradual modes of aerosol trace metal dissolution in seawater

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katherine Rose Marie Mackey

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric deposition is a major source of trace metals in marine surface waters and supplies vital micronutrients to phytoplankton, yet measured aerosol trace metal solubility values are operationally defined and there are relatively few multi-element studies on aerosol-metal solubility in seawater. Here we measure the solubility of aluminum (Al, cadmium (Cd, cobalt (Co, copper (Cu, iron (Fe, manganese (Mn, nickel (Ni, lead (Pb, and zinc (Zn from natural aerosol samples in seawater over a 7 day period to (1 evaluate the role of extraction time in trace metal dissolution behavior and (2 explore how the individual dissolution patterns could influence biota. Dissolution behavior occurs over a continuum ranging from rapid dissolution, in which the majority of soluble metal dissolved immediately upon seawater exposure (Cd and Co in our samples, to gradual dissolution, where metals dissolved slowly over time (Zn, Mn, Cu, and Al in our samples. Additionally, dissolution affected by interactions with particles was observed in which a decline in soluble metal concentration over time occurred (Fe and Pb in our samples. Natural variability in aerosol chemistry between samples can cause metals to display different dissolution kinetics in different samples, and this was particularly evident for Ni, for which samples showed a broad range of dissolution rates. The elemental molar ratio of metals in the bulk aerosols was 23,189Fe: 22,651Al: 445Mn: 348Zn: 71Cu: 48Ni: 23Pb: 9Co: 1Cd, whereas the seawater soluble molar ratio after 7 days of leaching was 11Fe: 620Al: 205Mn: 240Zn: 20Cu: 14Ni: 9Pb: 2Co: 1Cd. The different kinetics and ratios of aerosol metal dissolution have implications for phytoplankton nutrition, and highlight the need for unified extraction protocols that simulate aerosol metal dissolution in the surface ocean.

  20. AEROSOL VARIABILITY OBSERVED WITH RPAS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    B. Altstädter

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available To observe the origin, vertical and horizontal distribution and variability of aerosol particles, and especially ultrafine particles recently formed, we plan to employ the remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS Carolo-P360 "ALADINA" of TU Braunschweig. The goal of the presented project is to investigate the vertical and horizontal distribution, transport and small-scale variability of aerosol particles in the atmospheric boundary layer using RPAS. Two additional RPAS of type MASC of Tübingen University equipped with turbulence instrumentation add the opportunity to study the interaction of the aerosol concentration with turbulent transport and exchange processes of the surface and the atmosphere. The combination of different flight patterns of the three RPAS allows new insights in atmospheric boundary layer processes. Currently, the different aerosol sensors are miniaturized at the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research, Leipzig and together with the TU Braunschweig adapted to fit into the RPAS. Moreover, an additional meteorological payload for measuring temperature, humidity and turbulence properties is constructed by Tübingen University. Two condensation particle counters determine the total aerosol number with a different lower detection threshold in order to investigate the horizontal and vertical aerosol variability and new particle formation (aerosol particles of some nm diameter. Further the aerosol size distribution in the range from about 0.300 to ~5 μm is given by an optical particle counter.

  1. Aerosols from biomass combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nussbaumer, T

    2001-07-01

    This report is the proceedings of a seminar on biomass combustion and aerosol production organised jointly by the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Task 32 on bio energy and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). This collection of 16 papers discusses the production of aerosols and fine particles by the burning of biomass and their effects. Expert knowledge on the environmental impact of aerosols, formation mechanisms, measurement technologies, methods of analysis and measures to be taken to reduce such emissions is presented. The seminar, visited by 50 participants from 11 countries, shows, according to the authors, that the reduction of aerosol emissions resulting from biomass combustion will remain a challenge for the future.

  2. Aerosols from biomass combustion

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Nussbaumer, T.

    2001-07-01

    This report is the proceedings of a seminar on biomass combustion and aerosol production organised jointly by the International Energy Agency's (IEA) Task 32 on bio energy and the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE). This collection of 16 papers discusses the production of aerosols and fine particles by the burning of biomass and their effects. Expert knowledge on the environmental impact of aerosols, formation mechanisms, measurement technologies, methods of analysis and measures to be taken to reduce such emissions is presented. The seminar, visited by 50 participants from 11 countries, shows, according to the authors, that the reduction of aerosol emissions resulting from biomass combustion will remain a challenge for the future.

  3. Global simulations of aerosol processing in clouds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. Hoose

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available An explicit and detailed representation of in-droplet and in-crystal aerosol particles in stratiform clouds has been introduced in the global aerosol-climate model ECHAM5-HAM. The new scheme allows an evaluation of the cloud cycling of aerosols and an estimation of the relative contributions of nucleation and collision scavenging, as opposed to evaporation of hydrometeors in the global aerosol processing by clouds. On average an aerosol particle is cycled through stratiform clouds 0.5 times. The new scheme leads to important changes in the simulated fraction of aerosol scavenged in clouds, and consequently in the aerosol wet deposition. In general, less aerosol is scavenged into clouds with the new prognostic treatment than what is prescribed in standard ECHAM5-HAM. Aerosol concentrations, size distributions, scavenged fractions and cloud droplet concentrations are evaluated and compared to different observations. While the scavenged fraction and the aerosol number concentrations in the marine boundary layer are well represented in the new model, aerosol optical thickness, cloud droplet number concentrations in the marine boundary layer and the aerosol volume in the accumulation and coarse modes over the oceans are overestimated. Sensitivity studies suggest that a better representation of below-cloud scavenging, higher in-cloud collision coefficients, or a reduced water uptake by seasalt aerosols could reduce these biases.

  4. Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems (HI-SCALE) Science Plan

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Fast, JD [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory; Berg, LK [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

    2015-12-01

    Cumulus convection is an important component in the atmospheric radiation budget and hydrologic cycle over the Southern Great Plains and over many regions of the world, particularly during the summertime growing season when intense turbulence induced by surface radiation couples the land surface to clouds. Current convective cloud parameterizations contain uncertainties resulting in part from insufficient coincident data that couples cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties to inhomogeneities in boundary layer and aerosol properties. The Holistic Interactions of Shallow Clouds, Aerosols, and Land-Ecosystems (HI-SCALE) campaign is designed to provide a detailed set of measurements that are needed to obtain a more complete understanding of the life cycle of shallow clouds by coupling cloud macrophysical and microphysical properties to land surface properties, ecosystems, and aerosols. HI-SCALE consists of 2, 4-week intensive observational periods, one in the spring and the other in the late summer, to take advantage of different stages and distribution of “greenness” for various types of vegetation in the vicinity of the Atmospheric Radiation and Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Southern Great Plains (SGP) site as well as aerosol properties that vary during the growing season. Most of the proposed instrumentation will be deployed on the ARM Aerial Facility (AAF) Gulfstream 1 (G-1) aircraft, including those that measure atmospheric turbulence, cloud water content and drop size distributions, aerosol precursor gases, aerosol chemical composition and size distributions, and cloud condensation nuclei concentrations. Routine ARM aerosol measurements made at the surface will be supplemented with aerosol microphysical properties measurements. The G-1 aircraft will complete transects over the SGP Central Facility at multiple altitudes within the boundary layer, within clouds, and above clouds.

  5. Carbonaceous aerosol characteristics over Delhi in Northern India: Seasonal variability and possible sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Srivastava, Atul Kumar; Bisht, Ds; Tiwari, S.

    Carbonaceous aerosols have been the focus of extensive studies during the last decade due to its significant impacts on human health, visibility and climate change. As per Asian regions are concerned, aerosols in south-Asia are gaining considerable importance because of their potential impacts on regional climate, yet their possible sources are poorly understood. Semi-continuous measurements of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) and continuous measurements of black carbon (BC) aerosols were conducted simultaneously at Delhi during the period from January 2011 to May 2012. Delhi is the capital city of India and one of the densely populated and industrialized urban megacities in Asia, located at the Ganga basin in the northern part of India. Being highly polluted region, mass concentrations of OC, EC and BC over Delhi were found to vary from about 6-92 mug m (-3) (mean: 23±16 mug m (-3) ), 3-38 mug m (-3) (mean: 11±7 mug m (-3) ) and 1-24 mug m (-3) (mean: 7±5 mug m (-3) ), respectively during the entire measurement period, with about two times higher concentration during winter as compared to summer. A significant correlation between OC and EC (R=0.95, n=232) and relatively lower OC/EC ratio (range: 1.0-3.6; mean: 2.2±0.5) suggest fossil fuel emission as a dominant source of carbonaceous aerosols over the station. The average mass concentration of EC was found about 38% higher than BC during the study period, which is interestingly different as reported at other locations over Ganga basin. We also determined the associated optical properties of carbonaceous species (e.g. absorption coefficient and mass absorption efficiency) over the station. Significant loading of carbonaceous species over such regions emphasize an urgent need to focus on air quality management and proper impact assessment on health perspective.

  6. Evaluation of atmospheric aerosol and tropospheric ozone effects on global terrestrial ecosystem carbon dynamics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Min

    The increasing human activities have produced large amounts of air pollutants ejected into the atmosphere, in which atmospheric aerosols and tropospheric ozone are considered to be especially important because of their negative impacts on human health and their impacts on global climate through either their direct radiative effect or indirect effect on land-atmosphere CO2 exchange. This dissertation dedicates to quantifying and evaluating the aerosol and tropospheric ozone effects on global terrestrial ecosystem dynamics using a modeling approach. An ecosystem model, the integrated Terrestrial Ecosystem Model (iTem), is developed to simulate biophysical and biogeochemical processes in terrestrial ecosystems. A two-broad-band atmospheric radiative transfer model together with the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) measured atmospheric parameters are used to well estimate global downward solar radiation and the direct and diffuse components in comparison with observations. The atmospheric radiative transfer modeling framework were used to quantify the aerosol direct radiative effect, showing that aerosol loadings cause 18.7 and 12.8 W m -2 decrease of direct-beam Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) and Near Infrared Radiation (NIR) respectively, and 5.2 and 4.4 W m -2 increase of diffuse PAR and NIR, respectively, leading to a total 21.9 W m-2 decrease of total downward solar radiation over the global land surface during the period of 2003-2010. The results also suggested that the aerosol effect may be overwhelmed by clouds because of the stronger extinction and scattering ability of clouds. Applications of the iTem with solar radiation data and with or without considering the aerosol loadings shows that aerosol loading enhances the terrestrial productions [Gross Primary Production (GPP), Net Primary Production (NPP) and Net Ecosystem Production (NEP)] and carbon emissions through plant respiration (RA) in global terrestrial ecosystems over the

  7. Two years of near real-time chemical composition of submicron aerosols in the region of Paris using an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) and a multi-wavelength Aethalometer

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petit, J.-E.; Favez, O.; Sciare, J.; Crenn, V.; Sarda-Estève, R.; Bonnaire, N.; Močnik, G.; Dupont, J.-C.; Haeffelin, M.; Leoz-Garziandia, E.

    2015-03-01

    Aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements have been successfully used towards a better understanding of non-refractory submicron (PM1) aerosol chemical properties based on short-term campaigns. The recently developed Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) has been designed to deliver quite similar artifact-free chemical information but for low cost, and to perform robust monitoring over long-term periods. When deployed in parallel with real-time black carbon (BC) measurements, the combined data set allows for a quasi-comprehensive description of the whole PM1 fraction in near real time. Here we present 2-year long ACSM and BC data sets, between mid-2011 and mid-2013, obtained at the French atmospheric SIRTA supersite that is representative of background PM levels of the region of Paris. This large data set shows intense and time-limited (a few hours) pollution events observed during wintertime in the region of Paris, pointing to local carbonaceous emissions (mainly combustion sources). A non-parametric wind regression analysis was performed on this 2-year data set for the major PM1 constituents (organic matter, nitrate, sulfate and source apportioned BC) and ammonia in order to better refine their geographical origins and assess local/regional/advected contributions whose information is mandatory for efficient mitigation strategies. While ammonium sulfate typically shows a clear advected pattern, ammonium nitrate partially displays a similar feature, but, less expectedly, it also exhibits a significant contribution of regional and local emissions. The contribution of regional background organic aerosols (OA) is significant in spring and summer, while a more pronounced local origin is evidenced during wintertime, whose pattern is also observed for BC originating from domestic wood burning. Using time-resolved ACSM and BC information, seasonally differentiated weekly diurnal profiles of these constituents were investigated and helped to identify the main

  8. Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014/15: Transmission Electron Microscopy Analysis of Aerosol Particles Field Campaign Report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Buseck, Peter [Arizona State Univ., Tempe, AZ (United States)

    2016-03-01

    During two Intensive Operational Periods (IOP), we collected samples at 3-hour intervals for transmission electron microscopy analysis. The resulting transmission electron microscopy images and compositions were analyzed for the samples of interest. Further analysis will be done especially for the plume of interest. We found solid spherical organic particles from rebounded samples collected with Professor Scot Martin’s group (Harvard University). Approximately 30% of the rebounded particles at 95% relative humidity were spherical organic particles. Their sources and formation process are not known, but such spherical particles could be solid and will have heterogeneous chemical reactions. We observed many organic particles that are internally mixed with inorganic elements such as potassium and nitrogen. They are either homogeneously mixed or have inorganic cores with organic aerosol coatings. Samples collected from the Manaus, Brazil, pollution plume included many nano-size soot particles mixed with organic material and sulfate. Aerosol particles from clean periods included organic aerosol particles, sulfate, sea salt, dust, and primary biogenic aerosol particles. There was more dust, primary biogenic aerosol, and tar balls in samples taken during IOP1 than those taken during IOP2. Many dust particles were found between March 2 and 3.

  9. Relationship between aerosol and lightning over Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), India

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lal, D. M.; Ghude, Sachin D.; Mahakur, M.; Waghmare, R. T.; Tiwari, S.; Srivastava, Manoj K.; Meena, G. S.; Chate, D. M.

    2017-08-01

    The relationship between aerosol and lightning over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), India has been evaluated by utilising aerosol optical depth (AOD), cloud droplet effective radius and cloud fraction from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer. Lightning flashes have been observed by the lightning Imaging sensor on the board of Tropical Rainfall and Measuring Mission and humidity from modern-era retrospective-analysis for research and applications for the period of 2001-2012. In this study, the role of aerosol in lightning generation over the north-west sector of IGP has been revealed. It is found that lightning activity increases (decreases) with increasing aerosols during normal (deficient) monsoon rainfall years. However, lightning increases with increasing aerosol during deficient rainfall years when the average value of AOD is less than 0.88. We have found that during deficient rainfall years the moisture content of the atmosphere and cloud fraction is smaller than that during the years with normal or excess monsoon rainfall over the north-west IGP. Over the north-east Bay of Bengal and its adjoining region the variations of moisture and cloud fraction between the deficient and normal rainfall years are minimal. We have found that the occurrence of the lightning over this region is primarily due to its topography and localised circulation. The warm-dry air approaching from north-west converges with moist air emanating from the Bay of Bengal causing instability that creates an environment for deep convective cloud and lightning. The relationship between lightning and aerosol is stronger over the north-west sector of IGP than the north-east, whereas it is moderate over the central IGP. We conclude that aerosol is playing a major role in lightning activity over the north-west sector of IGP, but, local meteorological conditions such as convergences of dry and moist air is the principal cause of lightning over the north-east sector of IGP. In addition

  10. Lessons learnt from the first EMEP intensive measurement periods

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    W. Aas

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The first EMEP intensive measurement periods were held in June 2006 and January 2007. The measurements aimed to characterize the aerosol chemical compositions, including the gas/aerosol partitioning of inorganic compounds. The measurement program during these periods included daily or hourly measurements of the secondary inorganic components, with additional measurements of elemental- and organic carbon (EC and OC and mineral dust in PM1, PM2.5 and PM10. These measurements have provided extended knowledge regarding the composition of particulate matter and the temporal and spatial variability of PM, as well as an extended database for the assessment of chemical transport models. This paper summarise the first experiences of making use of measurements from the first EMEP intensive measurement periods along with EMEP model results from the updated model version to characterise aerosol composition. We investigated how the PM chemical composition varies between the summer and the winter month and geographically.

    The observation and model data are in general agreement regarding the main features of PM10 and PM2.5 composition and the relative contribution of different components, though the EMEP model tends to give slightly lower estimates of PM10 and PM2.5 compared to measurements. The intensive measurement data has identified areas where improvements are needed. Hourly concurrent measurements of gaseous and particulate components for the first time facilitated testing of modelled diurnal variability of the gas/aerosol partitioning of nitrogen species. In general, the modelled diurnal cycles of nitrate and ammonium aerosols are in fair agreement with the measurements, but the diurnal variability of ammonia is not well captured. The largest differences between model and observations of aerosol mass are seen in Italy during winter, which to a large extent may be

  11. Mechanical desorption of immobilized proteins using carbon dioxide aerosols for reusable biosensors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Renu; Hong, Seongkyeol [School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798 (Korea, Republic of); Jang, Jaesung, E-mail: jjang@unist.ac.kr [School of Mechanical and Nuclear Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798 (Korea, Republic of); Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798 (Korea, Republic of); School of Materials Science and Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), Ulsan 689-798 (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Immobilized proteins were removed using carbon dioxide aerosols. • We observed high removal efficiencies due to the aerosol treatment. • We confirmed the removal with FTIR and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. • This CO{sub 2} aerosol treatment did not undermine re-functionalization. • This technique is a fast and damage-free method to reuse a sensor surface. - Abstract: Reusability of a biosensor has recently received considerable attention, and it is closely related with the effective desorption of probe molecules. We present a novel mechanical desorption technique to reuse biosensors by using periodic jets of carbon dioxide (CO{sub 2}) aerosols (a mixture of solid and gaseous CO{sub 2}), and demonstrate its feasibility by removing physically adsorbed and covalently bonded fluorescent proteins i.e., Escherichia coli fluorescein isothiocyanate antibody and bovine serum albumin (E. coli FITC–Ab and FITC–BSA) from silicon chips. The proteins on the chip surfaces were measured by fluorescent images before and after applying the aerosols. The removal efficiency of the aerosol treatment was measured for various concentrations (1–20 μg mL{sup −1}) of E. coli FITC–Ab and FITC–BSA with two different removal cycles (5 and 11 cycles; each cycle: 8 s). We observed high removal efficiencies (>93.5% for physically adsorbed Ab and >84.6% for covalently bonded Ab) at 11 cycle aerosol treatment. This CO{sub 2} aerosol treatment did not undermine re-functionalization, which was confirmed by the fluorescent images of FITC–Abs for fresh and reused chips. Desorption of the immobilized layers was validated by Fourier transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses. We also conducted an experiment on the regeneration of E. coli sensing chips using this aerosol treatment, and the chips were re-used 5 times successfully. This mechanical desorption technique is a highly effective and novel strategy for reusable biosensors.

  12. The physico-chemical evolution of atmospheric aerosols and the gas-particle partitioning of inorganic aerosol during KORUS-AQ

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, T.; Park, T.; Lee, J. B.; Lim, Y. J.; Ahn, J.; Park, J. S.; Soo, C. J.; Desyaterik, Y.; Collett, J. L., Jr.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosols influence climate change directly by scattering and absorption and indirectly by acting as cloud condensation nuclei and some of the effects of aerosols are reduction in visibility, deterioration of human health, and deposition of pollutants to ecosystems. Urban area is large source of aerosols and aerosol precursors. Aerosol sources are both local and from long-range transport. Long-range transport processed aerosol are often dominant sources of aerosol pollution in Korea. To improve our knowledge of aerosol chemistry, Korea and U.S-Air Quality (KORUS-AQ) of Aircraft-based aerosol measurement took place in and around Seoul, Korea during May and June 2016. KORUS-AQ campaigns were conducted to study the chemical characterization and processes of pollutants in the Seoul Metropolitan area to regional scales of Korean peninsula. Aerodyne High Resolution Time of Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) was deployed on aircraft platforms on-board DC-8 (NASA) aircraft. We characterized aerosol chemical properties and mass concentrations of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium and organics in polluted air plumes and investigate the spatial and vertical distribution of the species. The results of studies show that organics is predominant in Aerosol and a significant fraction of the organics is oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) at the high altitude. Both Nitrate and sulfate can partition between the gas and particle phases. The ratios for HNO3/(N(V) (=gaseous HNO3 + particulate Nitrate) and SO2/(SO2+Sulfate) were found to exhibit quite different distributions between the particles and gas phase for the locations during KORUS-AQ campaign, representing potential for formation of additional particulate nitrate and sulfate. The results of those studies can provide highly resolved temporal and spatial air pollutant, which are valuable for air quality model input parameters for aerosol behaviour.

  13. Polyhexamethylene guanidine phosphate aerosol particles induce pulmonary inflammatory and fibrotic responses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Ha Ryong; Lee, Kyuhong; Park, Chang We; Song, Jeong Ah; Shin, Da Young; Park, Yong Joo; Chung, Kyu Hyuck

    2016-03-01

    Polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) phosphate was used as a disinfectant for the prevention of microorganism growth in humidifiers, without recognizing that a change of exposure route might cause significant health effects. Epidemiological studies reported that the use of humidifier disinfectant containing PHMG-phosphate can provoke pulmonary fibrosis. However, the pulmonary toxicity of PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles is unknown yet. This study aimed to elucidate the toxicological relationship between PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles and pulmonary fibrosis. An in vivo nose-only exposure system and an in vitro air-liquid interface (ALI) co-culture model were applied to confirm whether PHMG-phosphate induces inflammatory and fibrotic responses in the respiratory tract. Seven-week-old male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles for 3 weeks and recovered for 3 weeks in a nose-only exposure chamber. In addition, three human lung cells (Calu-3, differentiated THP-1 and HMC-1 cells) were cultured at ALI condition for 12 days and were treated with PHMG-phosphate at set concentrations and times. The reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation, airway barrier injuries and inflammatory and fibrotic responses were evaluated in vivo and in vitro. The rats exposed to PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles in nanometer size showed pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis including inflammatory cytokines and fibronectin mRNA increase, as well as histopathological changes. In addition, PHMG-phosphate triggered the ROS generation, airway barrier injuries and inflammatory responses in a bronchial ALI co-culture model. Those results demonstrated that PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles cause pulmonary inflammatory and fibrotic responses. All features of fibrogenesis by PHMG-phosphate aerosol particles closely resembled the pathology of fibrosis that was reported in epidemiological studies. Finally, we expected that PHMG-phosphate infiltrated into the lungs in the form of

  14. MATRIX (Multiconfiguration Aerosol TRacker of mIXing state: an aerosol microphysical module for global atmospheric models

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. E. Bauer

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available A new aerosol microphysical module MATRIX, the Multiconfiguration Aerosol TRacker of mIXing state, and its application in the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS climate model (ModelE are described. This module, which is based on the quadrature method of moments (QMOM, represents nucleation, condensation, coagulation, internal and external mixing, and cloud-drop activation and provides aerosol particle mass and number concentration and particle size information for up to 16 mixed-mode aerosol populations. Internal and external mixing among aerosol components sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, carbonaceous aerosols, dust and sea-salt particles are represented. The solubility of each aerosol population, which is explicitly calculated based on its soluble and insoluble components, enables calculation of the dependence of cloud drop activation on the microphysical characterization of multiple soluble aerosol populations.

    A detailed model description and results of box-model simulations of various aerosol population configurations are presented. The box model experiments demonstrate the dependence of cloud activating aerosol number concentration on the aerosol population configuration; comparisons to sectional models are quite favorable. MATRIX is incorporated into the GISS climate model and simulations are carried out primarily to assess its performance/efficiency for global-scale atmospheric model application. Simulation results were compared with aircraft and station measurements of aerosol mass and number concentration and particle size to assess the ability of the new method to yield data suitable for such comparison. The model accurately captures the observed size distributions in the Aitken and accumulation modes up to particle diameter 1 μm, in which sulfate, nitrate, black and organic carbon are predominantly located; however the model underestimates coarse-mode number concentration and size, especially in the marine environment

  15. Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions Triggered by Strong Aerosol Emissions in the Arctic

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, H.; Kravitz, B.; Rasch, P. J.; Morrison, H.; Solomon, A.

    2014-12-01

    Previous process-oriented modeling studies have highlighted the dependence of effectiveness of cloud brightening by aerosols on cloud regimes in warm marine boundary layer. Cloud microphysical processes in clouds that contain ice, and hence the mechanisms that drive aerosol-cloud interactions, are more complicated than in warm clouds. Interactions between ice particles and liquid drops add additional levels of complexity to aerosol effects. A cloud-resolving model is used to study aerosol-cloud interactions in the Arctic triggered by strong aerosol emissions, through either geoengineering injection or concentrated sources such as shipping and fires. An updated cloud microphysical scheme with prognostic aerosol and cloud particle numbers is employed. Model simulations are performed in pure super-cooled liquid and mixed-phase clouds, separately, with or without an injection of aerosols into either a clean or a more polluted Arctic boundary layer. Vertical mixing and cloud scavenging of particles injected from the surface is still quite efficient in the less turbulent cold environment. Overall, the injection of aerosols into the Arctic boundary layer can delay the collapse of the boundary layer and increase low-cloud albedo. The pure liquid clouds are more susceptible to the increase in aerosol number concentration than the mixed-phase clouds. Rain production processes are more effectively suppressed by aerosol injection, whereas ice precipitation (snow) is affected less; thus the effectiveness of brightening mixed-phase clouds is lower than for liquid-only clouds. Aerosol injection into a clean boundary layer results in a greater cloud albedo increase than injection into a polluted one, consistent with current knowledge about aerosol-cloud interactions. Unlike previous studies investigating warm clouds, the impact of dynamical feedback due to precipitation changes is small. According to these results, which are dependent upon the representation of ice nucleation

  16. Improving organic aerosol treatments in CESM/CAM5: Development, application, and evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glotfelty, Timothy; He, Jian

    2017-01-01

    Abstract New treatments for organic aerosol (OA) formation have been added to a modified version of the CESM/CAM5 model (CESM‐NCSU). These treatments include a volatility basis set treatment for the simulation of primary and secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), a simplified treatment for organic aerosol (OA) formation from glyoxal, and a parameterization representing the impact of new particle formation (NPF) of organic gases and sulfuric acid. With the inclusion of these new treatments, the concentration of oxygenated organic aerosol increases by 0.33 µg m−3 and that of primary organic aerosol (POA) decreases by 0.22 µg m−3 on global average. The decrease in POA leads to a reduction in the OA direct effect, while the increased OOA increases the OA indirect effects. Simulations with the new OA treatments show considerable improvement in simulated SOA, oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA), organic carbon (OC), total carbon (TC), and total organic aerosol (TOA), but degradation in the performance of HOA. In simulations of the current climate period, despite some deviations from observations, CESM‐NCSU with the new OA treatments significantly improves the magnitude, spatial pattern, seasonal pattern of OC and TC, as well as, the speciation of TOA between POA and OOA. Sensitivity analysis reveals that the inclusion of the organic NPF treatment impacts the OA indirect effects by enhancing cloud properties. The simulated OA level and its impact on the climate system are most sensitive to choices in the enthalpy of vaporization and wet deposition of SVOCs, indicating that accurate representations of these parameters are critical for accurate OA‐climate simulations. PMID:29104733

  17. Development and first application of an Aerosol Collection Module (ACM) for quasi online compound specific aerosol measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hohaus, Thorsten; Kiendler-Scharr, Astrid; Trimborn, Dagmar; Jayne, John; Wahner, Andreas; Worsnop, Doug

    2010-05-01

    Atmospheric aerosols influence climate and human health on regional and global scales (IPCC, 2007). In many environments organics are a major fraction of the aerosol influencing its properties. Due to the huge variety of organic compounds present in atmospheric aerosol current measurement techniques are far from providing a full speciation of organic aerosol (Hallquist et al., 2009). The development of new techniques for compound specific measurements with high time resolution is a timely issue in organic aerosol research. Here we present first laboratory characterisations of an aerosol collection module (ACM) which was developed to allow for the sampling and transfer of atmospheric PM1 aerosol. The system consists of an aerodynamic lens system focussing particles on a beam. This beam is directed to a 3.4 mm in diameter surface which is cooled to -30 °C with liquid nitrogen. After collection the aerosol sample can be evaporated from the surface by heating it to up to 270 °C. The sample is transferred through a 60cm long line with a carrier gas. In order to test the ACM for linearity and sensitivity we combined it with a GC-MS system. The tests were performed with octadecane aerosol. The octadecane mass as measured with the ACM-GC-MS was compared versus the mass as calculated from SMPS derived total volume. The data correlate well (R2 0.99, slope of linear fit 1.1) indicating 100 % collection efficiency. From 150 °C to 270 °C no effect of desorption temperature on transfer efficiency could be observed. The ACM-GC-MS system was proven to be linear over the mass range 2-100 ng and has a detection limit of ~ 2 ng. First experiments applying the ACM-GC-MS system were conducted at the Jülich Aerosol Chamber. Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) was formed from ozonolysis of 600 ppbv of b-pinene. The major oxidation product nopinone was detected in the aerosol and could be shown to decrease from 2 % of the total aerosol to 0.5 % of the aerosol over the 48 hours of

  18. Tibetan Plateau glacier and hydrological change under stratospheric aerosol injection

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ji, D.

    2017-12-01

    As an important inland freshwater resource, mountain glaciers are highly related to human life, they provide water for many large rivers and play a very important role in regional water cycles. The response of mountain glaciers to future climate change is a topic of concern especially to the many people who rely on glacier-fed rivers for purposes such as irrigation. Geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol injection is a method of offsetting the global temperature rise from greenhouse gases. How the geoengineering by stratospheric aerosol injection affects the mass balance of mountain glaciers and adjacent river discharge is little understood. In this study, we use regional climate model WRF and catchment-based river model CaMa-Flood to study the impacts of stratospheric aerosol injection to Tibetan Plateau glacier mass balance and adjacent river discharge. To facilitate mountain glacier mass balance study, we improve the description of mountain glacier in the land surface scheme of WRF. The improvements include: (1) a fine mesh nested in WRF horizontal grid to match the highly non-uniform spatial distribution of the mountain glaciers, (2) revising the radiation flux at the glacier surface considering the surrounding terrain. We use the projections of five Earth system models for CMIP5 rcp45 and GeoMIP G4 scenarios to drive the WRF and CaMa-Flood models. The G4 scenario, which uses stratospheric aerosols to reduce the incoming shortwave while applying the rcp4.5 greenhouse gas forcing, starts stratospheric sulfate aerosol injection at a rate of 5 Tg per year over the period 2020-2069. The ensemble projections suggest relatively slower glacier mass loss rates and reduced river discharge at Tibetan Plateau and adjacent regions under geoengineering scenario by stratospheric aerosol injection.

  19. Process for retention of iodine and aerosols during containment venting

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eckardt, B.; Betz, R.; Greger, G.U.; Werner, K.D.

    1990-05-01

    A process for retention of the majority of aerosols and iodine during containment venting was optimized. For this purpose, sections of a two-stage process comprising a venturi scrubber and a metal-fiber filter demister were tested under containment venting conditions assumed to prevail during a hypothetical core - melt accident and optimized with a view to achieving high decontamination factors and loading capacity while minimizing the size of the process. The loading and retention tests performed in a scrubber operating pressure range between 1 and 10 bar, at temperatures from 50 to 200degC (also boiling pools) and in air and steam atmospheres. Under these unfavorable conditions for aerosol retention, the retention efficiencies were determined at various flow rates with soluble and non-soluble aerosols as well as gaseous iodine. The retention efficiencies for BaSO 4 , uranine and SnO 2 aerosols were determined to be 99.95% to 99.99% for venturi scrubbers with metal-fiber filter demister. The retention efficiency for elemental iodine was determined to be ≥99% including revolatization effects over a 24-hour operating period. The high loading capacity of the venturi scrubber unit was verified after process modifications with various aerosols. The use of full-scale process section together with the best possible simulation of containment venting conditions by the test parameters ensured that the results can be transferred to real venting equipment. The aim of ensuring the retention of the majority of the aerosol-borne activity and of elemental iodine activity and minimizing the process size was clearly achieved and verified by means of this optimized venting equipment under an extremely wide range of hypothetical core-melt accident conditions. (orig.) With 17 refs., 3 tabs., 35 annexes [de

  20. Temporal consistency of lidar observations during aerosol transport events in the framework of the ChArMEx/ADRIMED campaign at Minorca in June 2013

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    P. Chazette

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available We performed synergetic daytime and nighttime active and passive remote-sensing observations at Minorca (Balearic Islands, Spain, over more than 3 weeks during the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment/Aerosol Direct Radiative Effect in the Mediterranean (ChArMEx/ADRIMED special observation period (SOP 1a, June–July 2013. We characterized the aerosol optical properties and type in the low and middle troposphere using an automated procedure combining Rayleigh–Mie–Raman lidar (355, 387 and 407 nm with depolarization (355 nm and AERONET Cimel® sun-photometer data. Results show a high variability due to varying dynamical forcing. The mean column-averaged lidar backscatter-to-extinction ratio (BER was close to 0.024 sr−1 (lidar ratio of  ∼ 41.7 sr, with a large dispersion of ±33 % over the whole observation period due to changing atmospheric transport regimes and aerosol sources. The ground-based remote-sensing measurements, coupled with satellite observations, allowed the documentation of (i dust particles up to 5 km (above sea level in altitude originating from Morocco and Algeria from 15 to 18 June with a peak in aerosol optical thickness (AOT of 0.25 ± 0.05 at 355 nm, (ii a long-range transport of biomass burning aerosol (AOT  =  0.18 ± 0.16 related to North American forest fires detected from 26 to 28 June 2013 by the lidar between 2 and 7 km and (iii mixture of local sources including marine aerosol particles and pollution from Spain. During the biomass burning event, the high value of the particle depolarization ratio (8–14 % may imply the presence of dust-like particles mixed with the biomass burning aerosols in the mid-troposphere. For the field campaign period, we also show linearity with SEVIRI retrievals of the aerosol optical thickness despite 35 % relative bias, which is discussed as a function of aerosol type.

  1. Aerosol and rainfall variability over the Indian monsoon region: distributions, trends and coupling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Gautam

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Aerosol solar absorption over the Indian monsoon region has a potential role of modulating the monsoon circulation and rainfall distribution as suggested by recent studies based on model simulations. Prior to the onset of the monsoon, northern India is influenced by significant dust transport that constitutes the bulk of the regional aerosol loading over the Gangetic-Himalayan region. In this paper, a multi-sensor characterization of the increasing pre-monsoon aerosol loading over northern India, in terms of their spatial, temporal and vertical distribution is presented. Aerosol transport from the northwestern arid regions into the Indo-Gangetic Plains and over the foothills of the Himalayas is found to be vertically extended to elevated altitudes (up to 5 km as observed from the space-borne lidar measurements (CALIPSO. In relation with the enhanced pre-monsoon aerosol loading and the associated solar absorption effects on tropospheric temperature anomalies, this paper investigates the monsoon rainfall variability over India in recent past decades from an observational viewpoint. It is found that the early summer monsoon rainfall over India is on the rise since 1950s, as indicated by historical rainfall data, with over 20% increase for the period 1950–2004. This large sustained increase in the early summer rainfall is led by the observed strengthening of the pre-monsoon tropospheric land-sea thermal gradient over the Indian monsoon region as indicated by microwave satellite measurements (MSU of tropospheric temperatures from 1979–2007. Combined analysis of changes in tropospheric temperatures and summer monsoon rainfall in the past three decades, suggest a future possibility of an emerging rainfall pattern of a wetter monsoon over South Asia in early summer followed by a drier period.

  2. Aerosol science: theory and practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Williams, M.M.R.; Loyalka, S.K.

    1991-01-01

    The purpose of this book is twofold. First, it is intended to give a thorough treatment of the fundamentals of aerosol behavior with rigorous proofs and detailed derivations of the basic equations and removal mechanisms. Second, it is intended to provide practical examples with special attention to radioactive particles and their distribution in size following a radioactive release arising from an accident with a nuclear system. We start with a brief introduction to the applications of aerosol science and the characteristics of aerosols in Chapter 1. In Chapter 2, we devote considerable attention to single and two particle motion with respect to both translation and rotation. Chapter 3 contains extensive discussion of the aerosol general dynamical equation and the dependences of aerosol distributions on size, shape, space, composition, radioactivity, and charge. Important particle rate processes of coagulation, condensation, and deposition/resuspension are discussed in the chapters 4, 6 and 7, respectively. In Chapter 5, we provide a thorough treatment of the analytical and numerical methods used in solving the various forms of the aerosol dynamical equation. We discuss the importance and applications of aerosol science to nuclear technology and, in particular, the nuclear source term in Chapter 8. Our focus in this chapter is on discussions of nuclear accidents that can potentially release large amount of radioactivity to environment. We also discuss the progress that has been made in understanding the natural and engineered aerosol processes that limit or affect such releases. (author)

  3. Insight into Chemistry on Cloud/Aerosol Water Surfaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Jie; Kumar, Manoj; Francisco, Joseph S; Zeng, Xiao Cheng

    2018-05-15

    , whereas on a water surface, the HNO 3 -mediated stepwise hydration of anti-CH 3 CHOO is dominantly observed. The high surface/volume ratio of interfacial water molecules at the aerosol water surface can significantly lower the energy barriers for the proton transfer reactions in the atmosphere. Such catalysis by the aerosol water surface is shown to cause the barrier-less formation of ammonium bisulfate from hydrated NH 3 and SO 3 molecules rather than from the reaction of H 2 SO 4 with NH 3 . Finally, an aerosol water droplet is a polar solvent, which would favorably interact with high polarity substrates. This can accelerate interconversion of different conformers (e.g., anti and syn) of atmospheric species, such as glyoxal, depending on their polarity. The results discussed here enable an improved understanding of atmospheric processes on the aerosol water surface.

  4. Clouds and aerosols in Puerto Rico - a new evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allan, J. D.; Baumgardner, D.; Raga, G. B.; Mayol-Bracero, O. L.; Morales-García, F.; García-García, F.; Montero-Martínez, G.; Borrmann, S.; Schneider, J.; Mertes, S.; Walter, S.; Gysel, M.; Dusek, U.; Frank, G. P.; Krämer, M.

    2008-03-01

    The influence of aerosols, both natural and anthropogenic, remains a major area of uncertainty when predicting the properties and behaviour of clouds and their influence on climate. In an attempt to better understand warm cloud formation in a tropical marine environment, a period of intensive measurements took place in December 2004 in Puerto Rico, using some of the latest developments in online instrumentation such as aerosol mass spectrometers, cloud condensation nuclei counters and a hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyser. Simultaneous online measurements of aerosol size distributions, composition, hygroscopicity and optical properties were made near the lighthouse of Cape San Juan in the north-eastern corner of the island and at the top of East Peak mountain (1040 m a.s.l.), the two sites separated by 17 km. Additional measurements of the cloud droplet residual and interstitial aerosol properties were made at the mountain site, accompanied by measurements of cloud droplet size distributions, liquid water content and the chemical composition of cloud and rain water samples. Both aerosol composition and cloud properties were found to be sensitive to wind sector. Air from the east-northeast (ENE) was mostly free of anthropogenic influences, the submicron fraction being mainly composed of non-sea salt sulphate, while that from the east-southeast (ESE) was found to be moderately influenced by populated islands upwind, adding smaller (residual particles and concentrations of cloudwater nitrate, sulphate and insoluble material increased during polluted conditions. Previous studies in Puerto Rico had reported the presence of a significant non-anthropogenic organic fraction in the aerosols measured and concluded that this was a factor controlling the in situ cloud properties. However, this was not observed in our case. In contrast to the 1.00±0.14 μg m-3 of organic carbon measured in 1992 and 1995, the organic matter measured in the current study of 0

  5. Meteorological support for aerosol radiometers: special aerosol sources

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Belkina, S.K.; Zalmanzon, Yu.E.; Kuznetsov, Yu.V.; Fertman, D.E.

    1988-07-01

    A new method is described for transfer of the measure of unit volume activity of radioactive aerosols from the state special standard to the working instruments in the stage of regular operation. The differences from existing methods are examined. The principal distinction of the new method is the possibility of direct (rather than through the conversion factor) determination and subsequent testing of the fundamental meteorological characteristics of the instrument by means of special aerosol sources, which fosters a significant reduction in individual components of the indicated errors.

  6. Biomass burning and its effects on fine aerosol acidity, water content and nitrogen partitioning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bougiatioti, Aikaterini; Nenes, Athanasios; Paraskevopoulou, Despina; Fourtziou, Luciana; Stavroulas, Iasonas; Liakakou, Eleni; Myriokefalitakis, Stelios; Daskalakis, Nikos; Weber, Rodney; Kanakidou, Maria; Gerasopoulos, Evangelos; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos

    2017-04-01

    Finokalia, Crete. During cleaner days submicron aerosol was found to be more acidic, regardless of the season (winter or summer). This reduced acidity is attributed to the presence of non-volatile cations, such as non-sea salt potassium and the significant excess of ammonium compared to sulfates. The lower pH values leads to the partitioning of the majority of nitrate and chloride to the aerosol phase, which can explain the good correlation found in biomass burning influenced environments between BB tracers and both these species. Finally, we show that these acidity effects of biomass burning can be also seen in regional and global scales, which can have important implications for public health, climate and ecosystems.

  7. Potential climatic effects of anthropogenic aerosols

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pueschel, R.F.

    1993-01-01

    Aerosols act as part of the climate system through their influence on solar and terrestrial radiation. The effect of anthropogenic aerosols on the reduction of visibility is explored in this chapter. Elemental carbon has been identified as the most effective visibility-reducing species. Most of the visibility reduction is due to particles with diameter smaller than 2.5 μm. Studies indicate that sulfate is also a very important aerosol species that results in low visibility and high turbidity. Radiative properties such as aerosol single-scattering albedo values and absorption-to-backscatter ratios purported to produce warming or cooling effects of aerosols are discussed. It is concluded that aerosol clouds have a tendency to cool when they are over a low-albedo surface and have a tendency to warm when they are over high-albedo surfaces such as snow. Anthropogenic aerosols have a tendency to warm the earth's atmospheric system, based on calculations and assumed aerosol optical properties. However, this effect is somewhat offset by the absorption and re-emission into space of infrared terrestrial radiation. The net effect depends on the ratio of the absorption coefficients in the visible and infrared and also on the surface albedo. The effects on infrared radiation are documented for two anthropogenic aerosol sources in the United States, the Denver metropolitan area and power plant plumes in New Mexico, through calculations and measurements. Measured cooling rates within an aerosol plume are not sufficient to offset the warming rate due to absorption of short-wave radiation. Research indicates that anthropogenic aerosols can possibly cause local-scale warming of the atmosphere, but global-scale climatic effects remain an open question

  8. Spatiotemporal variability and contribution of different aerosol types to the aerosol optical depth over the Eastern Mediterranean

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Georgoulias

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available This study characterizes the spatiotemporal variability and relative contribution of different types of aerosols to the aerosol optical depth (AOD over the Eastern Mediterranean as derived from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer Terra (March 2000–December 2012 and Aqua (July 2002–December 2012 satellite instruments. For this purpose, a 0.1° × 0.1° gridded MODIS dataset was compiled and validated against sun photometric observations from the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET. The high spatial resolution and long temporal coverage of the dataset allows for the determination of local hot spots like megacities, medium-sized cities, industrial zones and power plant complexes, seasonal variabilities and decadal averages. The average AOD at 550 nm (AOD550 for the entire region is ∼ 0.22 ± 0.19, with maximum values in summer and seasonal variabilities that can be attributed to precipitation, photochemical production of secondary organic aerosols, transport of pollution and smoke from biomass burning in central and eastern Europe and transport of dust from the Sahara and the Middle East. The MODIS data were analyzed together with data from other satellite sensors, reanalysis projects and a chemistry–aerosol-transport model using an optimized algorithm tailored for the region and capable of estimating the contribution of different aerosol types to the total AOD550. The spatial and temporal variability of anthropogenic, dust and fine-mode natural aerosols over land and anthropogenic, dust and marine aerosols over the sea is examined. The relative contribution of the different aerosol types to the total AOD550 exhibits a low/high seasonal variability over land/sea areas, respectively. Overall, anthropogenic aerosols, dust and fine-mode natural aerosols account for ∼ 51, ∼ 34 and ∼ 15 % of the total AOD550 over land, while, anthropogenic aerosols, dust and marine aerosols account ∼ 40, ∼ 34

  9. Topics in current aerosol research

    CERN Document Server

    Hidy, G M

    1971-01-01

    Topics in Current Aerosol Research deals with the fundamental aspects of aerosol science, with emphasis on experiment and theory describing highly dispersed aerosols (HDAs) as well as the dynamics of charged suspensions. Topics covered range from the basic properties of HDAs to their formation and methods of generation; sources of electric charges; interactions between fluid and aerosol particles; and one-dimensional motion of charged cloud of particles. This volume is comprised of 13 chapters and begins with an introduction to the basic properties of HDAs, followed by a discussion on the form

  10. Inorganic markers, carbonaceous components and stable carbon isotope from biomass burning aerosols in northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, F.; Zhang, Y.; Kawamura, K.

    2015-12-01

    To better characterize the sources of fine particulate matter (i.e. PM2.5) in Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China, aerosol chemical composition such total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and inorganic ions were studied as well as stable carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of TC. Intensively open biomass burning episodes were identified from late September to early October by satellite fire and aerosol optical depth maps. During the biomass burning episodes, concentrations of PM2.5, OC, EC, and WSOC increased by a factor of 4-12 compared to non-biomass-burning periods. Non-sea-salt potassium is strongly correlated with PM2.5, OC, EC and WSOC, suggesting an important contribution of biomass burning emission. The enrichment in both the non-sea-salt potassium and chlorine is significantly larger than other inorganic species, indicating that biomass burning aerosols in Sanjiang Plain is mostly fresh and less aged. In addition, WSOC to OC ratio is relatively lower compared to that reported in biomass burning aerosols in tropical regions, supporting that biomass burning aerosols in Sanjiang Plain is mostly primary and secondary organic aerosols is not significant. A lower average δ13C value (-26.2‰) is found for the biomass-burning aerosols, suggesting a dominant contribution from combustion of C3 plants in the studied region.

  11. Molecular characterization of free tropospheric aerosol collected at the Pico Mountain Observatory: a case study with a long-range transported biomass burning plume

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dzepina, K.; Mazzoleni, C.; Fialho, P.; China, S.; Zhang, B.; Owen, R. C.; Helmig, D.; Hueber, J.; Kumar, S.; Perlinger, J. A.; Kramer, L. J.; Dziobak, M. P.; Ampadu, M. T.; Olsen, S.; Wuebbles, D. J.; Mazzoleni, L. R.

    2015-05-01

    Free tropospheric aerosol was sampled at the Pico Mountain Observatory located at 2225 m above mean sea level on Pico Island of the Azores archipelago in the North Atlantic. The observatory is located ~ 3900 km east and downwind of North America, which enables studies of free tropospheric air transported over long distances. Aerosol samples collected on filters from June to October 2012 were analyzed to characterize organic carbon, elemental carbon, and inorganic ions. The average ambient concentration of aerosol was 0.9 ± 0.7 μg m-3. On average, organic aerosol components represent the largest mass fraction of the total measured aerosol (60 ± 51%), followed by sulfate (23 ± 28%), nitrate (13 ± 10%), chloride (2 ± 3%), and elemental carbon (2 ± 2%). Water-soluble organic matter (WSOM) extracted from two aerosol samples (9/24 and 9/25) collected consecutively during a pollution event were analyzed using ultrahigh-resolution electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry. Approximately 4000 molecular formulas were assigned to each of the mass spectra in the range of m/z 100-1000. The majority of the assigned molecular formulas had unsaturated structures with CHO and CHNO elemental compositions. FLEXPART retroplume analyses showed the sampled air masses were very aged (average plume age > 12 days). These aged aerosol WSOM compounds had an average O/C ratio of ~ 0.45, which is relatively low compared to O/C ratios of other aged aerosol. The increase in aerosol loading during the measurement period of 9/24 was linked to biomass burning emissions from North America by FLEXPART retroplume analysis and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) fire counts. This was confirmed with biomass burning markers detected in the WSOM and with the morphology and mixing state of particles as determined by scanning electron microscopy. The presence of markers characteristic of aqueous-phase reactions of phenolic species suggests

  12. MATRIX-VBS (v1.0): Implementing an Evolving Organic Aerosol Volatility in an Aerosol Microphysics Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Chloe Y.; Tsigaridis, Kostas; Bauer, Susanne E.

    2017-01-01

    The gas-particle partitioning and chemical aging of semi-volatile organic aerosol are presented in a newly developed box model scheme, where its effect on the growth, composition, and mixing state of particles is examined. The volatility-basis set (VBS) framework is implemented into the aerosol microphysical scheme MATRIX (Multiconfiguration Aerosol TRacker of mIXing state), which resolves mass and number aerosol concentrations and in multiple mixing-state classes. The new scheme, MATRIX-VBS, has the potential to significantly advance the representation of organic aerosols in Earth system models by improving upon the conventional representation as non-volatile particulate organic matter, often also with an assumed fixed size distribution. We present results from idealized cases representing Beijing, Mexico City, a Finnish forest, and a southeastern US forest, and investigate the evolution of mass concentrations and volatility distributions for organic species across the gas and particle phases, as well as assessing their mixing state among aerosol populations. Emitted semi-volatile primary organic aerosols evaporate almost completely in the intermediate-volatility range, while they remain in the particle phase in the low-volatility range. Their volatility distribution at any point in time depends on the applied emission factors, oxidation by OH radicals, and temperature. We also compare against parallel simulations with the original scheme, which represented only the particulate and non-volatile component of the organic aerosol, examining how differently the condensed-phase organic matter is distributed across the mixing states in the model. The results demonstrate the importance of representing organic aerosol as a semi-volatile aerosol, and explicitly calculating the partitioning of organic species between the gas and particulate phases.

  13. Aerosol generation and delivery in medical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soni, P.S.; Raghunath, B.

    1998-01-01

    It is well established that radioaerosol lung technique by inhalation is a very versatile technique in the evaluation of health effects and medical diagnostic applications, especially to detect chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, their defence mechanism permeability and many others. Most important part of aerosol technology is to generate reproducibly stable diagnostic radioaerosols of known characteristics. Many compressed air atomisers are commercially available for generating aerosols but they have limited utility in aerosol inhalation, either because of large droplet size, low aerosol output or high airflow rates. There is clearly a need for a versatile and economical aerosol generation/inhalation system that can produce dry labelled aerosol particles with high deep lung delivery efficiency suitable for clinical studies. BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) has developed a dry aerosol generation/delivery system which operates on compressed air and generates dry polydisperse aerosols. This system is described along with an assessment of the aerosol characteristics and efficiency for diagnosis of various respiratory disorders

  14. Rapid Measurements of Aerosol Size Distribution and Hygroscopic Growth via Image Processing with a Fast Integrated Mobility Spectrometer (FIMS)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Y.; Pinterich, T.; Spielman, S. R.; Hering, S. V.; Wang, J.

    2017-12-01

    Aerosol size distribution and hygroscopicity are among key parameters in determining the impact of atmospheric aerosols on global radiation and climate change. In situ submicron aerosol size distribution measurements commonly involve a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS). The SMPS scanning time is in the scale of minutes, which is often too slow to capture the variation of aerosol size distribution, such as for aerosols formed via nucleation processes or measurements onboard research aircraft. To solve this problem, a Fast Integrated Mobility Spectrometer (FIMS) based on image processing was developed for rapid measurements of aerosol size distributions from 10 to 500 nm. The FIMS consists of a parallel plate classifier, a condenser, and a CCD detector array. Inside the classifier an electric field separates charged aerosols based on electrical mobilities. Upon exiting the classifier, the aerosols pass through a three stage growth channel (Pinterich et al. 2017; Spielman et al. 2017), where aerosols as small as 7 nm are enlarged to above 1 μm through water or heptanol condensation. Finally, the grown aerosols are illuminated by a laser sheet and imaged onto a CCD array. The images provide both aerosol concentration and position, which directly relate to the aerosol size distribution. By this simultaneous measurement of aerosols with different sizes, the FIMS provides aerosol size spectra nearly 100 times faster than the SMPS. Recent deployment onboard research aircraft demonstrated that the FIMS is capable of measuring aerosol size distributions in 1s (Figure), thereby offering a great advantage in applications requiring high time resolution (Wang et al. 2016). In addition, the coupling of the FIMS with other conventional aerosol instruments provides orders of magnitude more rapid characterization of aerosol optical and microphysical properties. For example, the combination of a differential mobility analyzer, a relative humidity control unit, and a FIMS was

  15. Overview and preliminary results of the Surface Ocean Aerosol Production (SOAP campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C. S. Law

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Establishing the relationship between marine boundary layer (MBL aerosols and surface water biogeochemistry is required to understand aerosol and cloud production processes over the remote ocean and represent them more accurately in earth system models and global climate projections. This was addressed by the SOAP (Surface Ocean Aerosol Production campaign, which examined air–sea interaction over biologically productive frontal waters east of New Zealand. This overview details the objectives, regional context, sampling strategy and provisional findings of a pilot study, PreSOAP, in austral summer 2011 and the following SOAP voyage in late austral summer 2012. Both voyages characterized surface water and MBL composition in three phytoplankton blooms of differing species composition and biogeochemistry, with significant regional correlation observed between chlorophyll a and DMSsw. Surface seawater dimethylsulfide (DMSsw and associated air–sea DMS flux showed spatial variation during the SOAP voyage, with maxima of 25 nmol L−1 and 100 µmol m−2 d−1, respectively, recorded in a dinoflagellate bloom. Inclusion of SOAP data in a regional DMSsw compilation indicates that the current climatological mean is an underestimate for this region of the southwest Pacific. Estimation of the DMS gas transfer velocity (kDMS by independent techniques of eddy covariance and gradient flux showed good agreement, although both exhibited periodic deviations from model estimates. Flux anomalies were related to surface warming and sea surface microlayer enrichment and also reflected the heterogeneous distribution of DMSsw and the associated flux footprint. Other aerosol precursors measured included the halides and various volatile organic carbon compounds, with first measurements of the short-lived gases glyoxal and methylglyoxal in pristine Southern Ocean marine air indicating an unidentified local source. The application of a real-time clean sector

  16. Drift Compression and Final Focus for Intense Heavy Ion Beams with Non-periodic, Time-dependent Lattice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hong Qin; Davidson, Ronald C.; Barnard, John J.; Lee, Edward P.

    2005-01-01

    In the currently envisioned configurations for heavy ion fusion, it is necessary to longitudinally compress the beam bunches by a large factor after the acceleration phase. Because the space-charge force increases as the beam is compressed, the beam size in the transverse direction will increase in a periodic quadrupole lattice. If an active control of the beam size is desired, a larger focusing force is needed to confine the beam in the transverse direction, and a non-periodic quadrupole lattice along the beam path is necessary. In this paper, we describe the design of such a focusing lattice using the transverse envelope equations. A drift compression and final focus lattice should focus the entire beam pulse onto the same focal spot on the target. This is difficult with a fixed lattice, because different slices of the beam may have different perveance and emittance. Four time-dependent magnets are introduced in the upstream of drift compression to focus the entire pulse onto the sam e focal spot. Drift compression and final focusing schemes are developed for a typical heavy ion fusion driver and for the Integrated Beam Experiment (IBX) being designed by the Heavy Ion Fusion Virtual National Laboratory

  17. Regional and global atmospheric aerosol studies using the ''Gent'' stacked filter unit sampler and other aerosol collectors, with multi-elemental analysis of the samples by nuclear-related analytical techniques

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maenhaut, W.; Francois, F.; Salma, I.; Cafmeyer, J.; Gilot, C.

    1994-01-01

    The ''Gent'' staked filter unit sampler and other collection devices are used in regional and global scale studies on the tropospheric atmospheric aerosols, its composition, sources and fate. The aerosol samples are analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission analysis, instrumental neutron activation analysis, ion chromatography, a light reflectance technique (for determining black carbon), and gravimetry (for measuring the particular mass). In evaluating the data, use is made of receptor modelling techniques, transport models and wind sector analysis, and also of air mass trajectories and other meteorological information. Preliminary results from a long-term study in southern Norway are presented. It is suggested that the anthropogenic and soil dust aerosol components are mainly adverted to southern Norway by long-range transport and that the major fraction of the submicrometer particle mass is from anthropogenic origin. Preliminary results are also presented for an intensive study in southern Africa. On the basis of the data for two sites (about 40 km apart) in the Kruger National Park it was concluded that regionally representative aerosol samples were collected and that the biomass burning products account for more than 50% of the fine particle mass. Finally, our plans for future work are given. (author). 70 refs, 4 figs, 1 tab

  18. On the radiative impact of aerosols on photolysis rates: comparison of simulations and observations in the Lampedusa island during the ChArMEx/ADRIMED campaign

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Mailler

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The Mediterranean basin is characterized by large concentrations of aerosols from both natural and anthropogenic sources. These aerosols affect tropospheric photochemistry by modulating the photolytic rates. Three simulations of the atmospheric composition at basin scale have been performed with the CHIMERE chemistry-transport model for the period from 6 June to 15 July 2013 covered by the ADRIMED campaign, a campaign of intense measurements in the western Mediterranean basin. One simulation takes into account the radiative effect of the aerosols on photochemistry, the second one does not, and the third one is designed to quantify the model sensitivity to a bias in the ozone column. These simulations are compared to satellite and ground-based measurements, with a particular focus on the area of Lampedusa. Values of the aerosol optical depth (AOD are obtained from the MODIS instrument on the AQUA and TERRA satellites as well as from stations in the AERONET network and from the MFRSR sun photometer deployed at Lampedusa. Additional measurements from instruments deployed at Lampedusa either permanently or exceptionally are used for other variables: MFRSR sun photometer for AOD, diode array spectrometer for actinic fluxes, LIDAR for the aerosol backscatter, sequential sampler for speciation of aerosol and Brewer spectrophotometer for the total ozone column. It is shown that CHIMERE has a significant ability to reproduce observed peaks in the AOD, which in Lampedusa are mainly due to dust outbreaks during the ADRIMED period, and that taking into account the radiative effect of the aerosols in CHIMERE considerably improves the ability of the model to reproduce the observed day-to-day variations of the photolysis rate of ozone to O2 and O(1D, J(O1D, and that of NO2 to NO and O(3P, J(NO2. While in the case of J(O1D other variation factors such as the stratospheric ozone column are very important in representing correctly the day-to-day variations

  19. Reduced anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing caused by biogenic new particle formation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Hamish; Sengupta, Kamalika; Rap, Alexandru; Duplissy, Jonathan; Frege, Carla; Williamson, Christina; Heinritzi, Martin; Simon, Mario; Yan, Chao; Almeida, João; Tröstl, Jasmin; Nieminen, Tuomo; Ortega, Ismael K.; Wagner, Robert; Dunne, Eimear M.; Adamov, Alexey; Amorim, Antonio; Bernhammer, Anne-Kathrin; Bianchi, Federico; Breitenlechner, Martin; Brilke, Sophia; Chen, Xuemeng; Craven, Jill S.; Dias, Antonio; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Fischer, Lukas; Flagan, Richard C.; Franchin, Alessandro; Fuchs, Claudia; Guida, Roberto; Hakala, Jani; Hoyle, Christopher R.; Jokinen, Tuija; Junninen, Heikki; Kangasluoma, Juha; Kim, Jaeseok; Kirkby, Jasper; Krapf, Manuel; Kürten, Andreas; Laaksonen, Ari; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Molteni, Ugo; Monks, Sarah A.; Onnela, Antti; Peräkylä, Otso; Piel, Felix; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud P.; Pringle, Kirsty J.; Richards, Nigel A. D.; Rissanen, Matti P.; Rondo, Linda; Sarnela, Nina; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Scott, Catherine E.; Seinfeld, John H.; Sharma, Sangeeta; Sipilä, Mikko; Steiner, Gerhard; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Vogel, Alexander Lucas; Wagner, Andrea C.; Wagner, Paul E.; Weingartner, Ernest; Wimmer, Daniela; Winkler, Paul M.; Ye, Penglin; Zhang, Xuan; Hansel, Armin; Dommen, Josef; Donahue, Neil M.; Worsnop, Douglas R.; Baltensperger, Urs; Kulmala, Markku; Curtius, Joachim; Carslaw, Kenneth S.

    2016-10-01

    The magnitude of aerosol radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions depends on the baseline state of the atmosphere under pristine preindustrial conditions. Measurements show that particle formation in atmospheric conditions can occur solely from biogenic vapors. Here, we evaluate the potential effect of this source of particles on preindustrial cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and aerosol-cloud radiative forcing over the industrial period. Model simulations show that the pure biogenic particle formation mechanism has a much larger relative effect on CCN concentrations in the preindustrial atmosphere than in the present atmosphere because of the lower aerosol concentrations. Consequently, preindustrial cloud albedo is increased more than under present day conditions, and therefore the cooling forcing of anthropogenic aerosols is reduced. The mechanism increases CCN concentrations by 20-100% over a large fraction of the preindustrial lower atmosphere, and the magnitude of annual global mean radiative forcing caused by changes of cloud albedo since 1750 is reduced by 0.22 W m-2 (27%) to -0.60 W m-2. Model uncertainties, relatively slow formation rates, and limited available ambient measurements make it difficult to establish the significance of a mechanism that has its dominant effect under preindustrial conditions. Our simulations predict more particle formation in the Amazon than is observed. However, the first observation of pure organic nucleation has now been reported for the free troposphere. Given the potentially significant effect on anthropogenic forcing, effort should be made to better understand such naturally driven aerosol processes.

  20. Reduced anthropogenic aerosol radiative forcing caused by biogenic new particle formation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gordon, Hamish; Sengupta, Kamalika; Rap, Alexandru; Duplissy, Jonathan; Frege, Carla; Williamson, Christina; Heinritzi, Martin; Simon, Mario; Yan, Chao; Almeida, João; Tröstl, Jasmin; Nieminen, Tuomo; Ortega, Ismael K; Wagner, Robert; Dunne, Eimear M; Adamov, Alexey; Amorim, Antonio; Bernhammer, Anne-Kathrin; Bianchi, Federico; Breitenlechner, Martin; Brilke, Sophia; Chen, Xuemeng; Craven, Jill S; Dias, Antonio; Ehrhart, Sebastian; Fischer, Lukas; Flagan, Richard C; Franchin, Alessandro; Fuchs, Claudia; Guida, Roberto; Hakala, Jani; Hoyle, Christopher R; Jokinen, Tuija; Junninen, Heikki; Kangasluoma, Juha; Kim, Jaeseok; Kirkby, Jasper; Krapf, Manuel; Kürten, Andreas; Laaksonen, Ari; Lehtipalo, Katrianne; Makhmutov, Vladimir; Mathot, Serge; Molteni, Ugo; Monks, Sarah A; Onnela, Antti; Peräkylä, Otso; Piel, Felix; Petäjä, Tuukka; Praplan, Arnaud P; Pringle, Kirsty J; Richards, Nigel A D; Rissanen, Matti P; Rondo, Linda; Sarnela, Nina; Schobesberger, Siegfried; Scott, Catherine E; Seinfeld, John H; Sharma, Sangeeta; Sipilä, Mikko; Steiner, Gerhard; Stozhkov, Yuri; Stratmann, Frank; Tomé, Antonio; Virtanen, Annele; Vogel, Alexander Lucas; Wagner, Andrea C; Wagner, Paul E; Weingartner, Ernest; Wimmer, Daniela; Winkler, Paul M; Ye, Penglin; Zhang, Xuan; Hansel, Armin; Dommen, Josef; Donahue, Neil M; Worsnop, Douglas R; Baltensperger, Urs; Kulmala, Markku; Curtius, Joachim; Carslaw, Kenneth S

    2016-10-25

    The magnitude of aerosol radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions depends on the baseline state of the atmosphere under pristine preindustrial conditions. Measurements show that particle formation in atmospheric conditions can occur solely from biogenic vapors. Here, we evaluate the potential effect of this source of particles on preindustrial cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and aerosol-cloud radiative forcing over the industrial period. Model simulations show that the pure biogenic particle formation mechanism has a much larger relative effect on CCN concentrations in the preindustrial atmosphere than in the present atmosphere because of the lower aerosol concentrations. Consequently, preindustrial cloud albedo is increased more than under present day conditions, and therefore the cooling forcing of anthropogenic aerosols is reduced. The mechanism increases CCN concentrations by 20-100% over a large fraction of the preindustrial lower atmosphere, and the magnitude of annual global mean radiative forcing caused by changes of cloud albedo since 1750 is reduced by [Formula: see text] (27%) to [Formula: see text] Model uncertainties, relatively slow formation rates, and limited available ambient measurements make it difficult to establish the significance of a mechanism that has its dominant effect under preindustrial conditions. Our simulations predict more particle formation in the Amazon than is observed. However, the first observation of pure organic nucleation has now been reported for the free troposphere. Given the potentially significant effect on anthropogenic forcing, effort should be made to better understand such naturally driven aerosol processes.