Search results for "CONDENSATION NUCLEI"

2013

Abstract. As part of the CLACE-6 campaign we performed size-resolved CCN measurements for a~supersaturation range of S = 0.079 % to 0.66% at the high-alpine research station Jungfraujoch, Switzerland, in March~2007. The derived effective hygroscopicity parameter κ describing the influence of particle composition on CCN activity was on average 0.23–0.30 for Aitken (50–100 nm) and 0.32–0.43 for accumulation mode particles (100–200 nm). The campaign average value of κ = 0.3 is similar to the average value of κ for other continental locations. When air masses came from southeasterly directions crossing the Po Valley in Italy, particles were much more hygroscopic (κ ≈ 0.42) due to…

Size Matters More Than Chemistry for Cloud-Nucleating Ability of Aerosol Particles

2006

Size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra measured for various aerosol types at a non-urban site in Germany showed that CCN concentrations are mainly determined by the aerosol number size distribution. Distinct variations of CCN activation with particle chemical composition were observed but played a secondary role. When the temporal variation of chemical effects on CCN activation is neglected, variation in the size distribution alone explains 84 to 96% of the variation in CCN concentrations. Understanding that particles' ability to act as CCN is largely controlled by aerosol size rather than composition greatly facilitates the treatment of aerosol effects on cloud physics in re…

Chemie von Aerosolen

2007

Atmospharische Aerosolpartikel sind keine chemisch inerten Teilchen, deren Bildungsmechanismen, Verweildauer oder Funktion in der Atmosphare lediglich von mechanischen oder physikalischen Prozessen abhangen. Sowohl bei der Bildung von Aerosolpartikeln als auch im Verlauf ihres Verbleibs in der Atmosphare spielen chemische Reaktionen eine wesentliche Rolle. Chemische Reaktionen laufen an der Oberflache und im Inneren von Aerosolpartikeln ab und konnen sowohl die atmospharische Gasphasenchemie beeinflussen, z.B. indem sie sowohl als Reaktionsmedium fur ansonsten langsam verlaufende Gasphasenreaktionen dienen, als auch die Eigenschaften der Partikel, beispielsweise ihre Funktion als Kondensati…

Impact of Manaus City on the Amazon Green Ocean atmosphere: Ozone production, precursor sensitivity and aerosol load

2010

As a contribution to the Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia – Cooperative LBA Airborne Regional Experiment (LBA-CLAIRE-2001) field campaign in the heart of the Amazon Basin, we analyzed the temporal and spatial dynamics of the urban plume of Manaus City during the wet-to-dry season transition period in July 2001. During the flights, we performed vertical stacks of crosswind transects in the urban outflow downwind of Manaus City, measuring a comprehensive set of trace constituents including O3, NO, NO2, CO, VOC, CO2, and H2O. Aerosol loads were characterized by concentrations of total aerosol number (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and by light scattering proper…

Thermodynamic properties and cloud droplet activation of a series of oxo-acids

2010

Abstract. We have investigated the thermodynamic properties of four aliphatic oxo-dicarboyxlic acids identified or thought to be present in atmospheric particulate matter: oxosuccinic acid, 2-oxoglutaric acid, 3-oxoglutaric acid, and 4-oxopimelic acid. The compounds were characterized in terms of their cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, vapor pressure, density, and tendency to decarboxylate in aqueous solution. We deployed a variety of experimental techniques and instruments: a CCN counter, a Tandem Differential Mobililty Analyzer (TDMA) coupled with a laminar flow-tube, and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS). The presence of the oxo functional group in the α-position ca…

The Amazonian boundary layer and mesoscale circulations

2009

Numerous biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) species are released into the atmosphere from tropical forests. Measuring all those which are relevant for atmospheric chemistry or for the carbon budget is challenging. Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere (LBA) Experiment field campaigns substantially increased the number of field studies of isoprene and monoterpene emissions, as well as of the exchange of several other VOC species. This chapter reports about the progress made within LBA from primary emission measurements at the plant species level up to discussions of the oxidative capacity of the atmosphere and formation of secondary organic aerosol particles and cloud condensation nuclei f…

Quantification of Coastal New Ultra-Fine Particles Formation from In situ and Chamber Measurements during the BIOFLUX Campaign

2005

Environmental Context. Secondary processes leading to the production of ultra-fine particles by nucle- ation are still poorly understood. A fraction of new particles formed can grow into radiatively active sizes, where they can directly scatter incoming solar radiation and, if partly water soluble, contribute to the cloud condensation nuclei population. New particle formation events have been frequently observed at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station (western Ireland), under low tide and sunny conditions, leading to the hypothesis that new particles are formed from iodo-species emitted from macroalgae. Abstract. New particle formation processes were studied during the BIOFLUX campaig…

New particle formation inside ice clouds: In-situ observations in the tropical tropopause layer of the 2017 Asian Monsoon Anticyclone

2021

Abstract. From 27 July to 10 August 2017 the airborne StratoClim mission took place in Kathmandu, Nepal where eight mission flights were conducted with the M-55 Geophysica up to altitudes of 20 km. New Particle Formation (NPF) was identified by the abundant presence of ultrafine aerosols, with particle diameters dp smaller than 15 nm, which were in-situ detected by means of condensation nuclei counting techniques. NPF fields in clear-skies as well as in the presence of cloud ice particles (dp > 3 µm) were encountered at upper troposphere/lowermost stratosphere (UT/LS) levels and within the Asian Monsoon Anticyclone (AMA). NPF-generated ultrafine particles in elevated concentrations (Nuf)…

Modelling molecular iodine emissions in a coastal marine environment: The link to new particle formation

2006

International audience; A model of iodine chemistry in the marine boundary layer (MBL) has been used to investigate the impact of daytime coastal emissions of molecular iodine (I2). The model contains a full treatment of gas-phase iodine chemistry, combined with a description of the nucleation and growth, by condensation and coagulation, of iodine oxide nano-particles. In-situ measurements of coastal emissions of I2 made by the broadband cavity ring-down spectroscopy (BBCRDS) and inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP/MS) techniques are presented and compared to long path differential optical absorption spectroscopy (DOAS) observations of I2 at Mace Head, Ireland. Simultaneous me…