Characterization of urban aerosol in Cork City (Ireland) using aerosol mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2012-11-01

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 1 200 000 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 also characterized using a High Resolution Time-Of-Flight Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and was also found to comprise organic matter as the most abundant species (62%), followed by nitrate (15%), sulphate (9%) and ammonium (9%), and then 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 19% of the mass, "Oxygenated low volatility" Organic Aerosols (LV-OOA) comprised 19%, "Biomass wood 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%. Despite wood, cool 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 aerosols mass and non refractory PM1, respectively).

Apportionment of urban aerosol sources in Chongqing (China) using synergistic on-line techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yang; Yang, Fumo

2016-04-01

The sources of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) during wintertime at a background urban location in Chongqing (southwestern China) have been determined. Aerosol chemical composition analyses were performed using multiple on-line techniques, such as single particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS) for single particle chemical composition, on-line elemental carbon-organic carbon analyzer (on-line OC-EC), on-line X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for elements, and in-situ Gas and Aerosol Compositions monitor (IGAC) for water-soluble ions in PM2.5. All the datasets from these techniques have been adjusted to a 1-h time resolution for receptor model input. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) has been used for resolving aerosol sources. At least six sources, including domestic coal burning, biomass burning, dust, traffic, industrial and secondary/aged factors have been resolved and interpreted. The synergistic on-line techniques were helpful for identifying aerosol sources more clearly than when only employing the results from the individual techniques. This results are useful for better understanding of aerosol sources and atmospheric processes.

Vertical and horizontal variability of PM10 source contributions in Barcelona during SAPUSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brines, Mariola; Dall'Osto, Manuel; Amato, Fulvio; Cruz Minguillón, María; Karanasiou, Angeliki; Alastuey, Andrés; Querol, Xavier

2016-06-01

During the SAPUSS campaign (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies) PM10 samples at 12-hour resolution were simultaneously collected at four monitoring sites located in the urban agglomerate of Barcelona (Spain). A total of 221 samples were collected from 20 September to 20 October 2010. The Road Site (RS) site and the Urban Background (UB) site were located at street level, whereas the Torre Mapfre (TM) and the Torre Collserola (TC) sites were located at 150 m a.s.l. by the sea side within the urban area and at 415 m a.s.l. 8 km inland, respectively. For the first time, we are able to report simultaneous PM10 aerosol measurements, allowing us to study aerosol gradients at both horizontal and vertical levels. The complete chemical composition of PM10 was determined on the 221 samples, and factor analysis (positive matrix factorisation, PMF) was applied. This resulted in eight factors which were attributed to eight main aerosol sources affecting PM10 concentrations in the studied urban environment: (1) vehicle exhaust and wear (2-9 µg m-3, 10-27 % of PM10 mass on average), (2) road dust (2-4 µg m-3, 8-12 %), (3) mineral dust (5 µg m-3, 13-26 %), (4) aged marine (3-5 µg m-3, 13-20 %), (5) heavy oil (0.4-0.6 µg m-3, 2 %), (6) industrial (1 µg m-3, 3-5 %), (7) sulfate (3-4 µg m-3, 11-17 %) and (8) nitrate (4-6 µg m-3, 17-21 %). Three aerosol sources were found to be enhanced at the ground levels (confined within the urban ground levels of the city) relative to the upper levels: (1) vehicle exhaust and wear (2.8 higher), (2) road dust (1.8 higher) and (3) local urban industries/crafts workshops (1.6 higher). Surprisingly, the other aerosol sources were relatively homogeneous at both horizontal and vertical levels. However, air mass origin and meteorological parameters also played a key role in influencing the variability of the factor concentrations. The mineral dust and aged marine factors were found to be a mixture of natural and anthropogenic components and were thus further investigated. Overall, three types of dust were identified to affect the urban study area: road dust (35 % of the mineral dust load, 2-4 µg m-3 on average), Saharan dust (28 %, 2.1 µg m-3) and background mineral dust (37 %, 2.8 µg m-3). Our results evidence that although the city of Barcelona broadly shows a homogeneous distribution of PM10 pollution sources, non-exhaust traffic, exhaust traffic and local urban industrial activities are major coarse PM10 aerosol sources.

Vertical and horizontal variability of PM10 source contributions in Barcelona during SAPUSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brines, M.; Dall'Osto, M.; Amato, F.; Minguillón, M. C.; Karanasiou, A.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.

2015-11-01

During the SAPUSS campaign (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies) PM10 samples at twelve hours resolution were simultaneously collected at four monitoring sites located in the urban agglomerate of Barcelona (Spain). A total of 221 samples were collected from 20 September to 20 October 2010. The Road Site (RS) site and the Urban Background (UB) site were located at street level, whereas the Torre Mapfre (TM) and the Torre Collserola (TC) sites were located at 150 m a.s.l. by the sea side within the urban area and at 415 m a.s.l. 8 km inland, respectively. For the first time, we are able to report simultaneous PM10 aerosol measurements allowing us to study aerosol gradients at both horizontal and vertical levels. The complete chemical composition of PM10 was determined on the 221 samples, and factor analysis (Positive Matrix Factorisation, PMF) was applied. This resulted in eight factors which were attributed to eight main aerosol sources affecting PM10 concentrations in the studied urban environment: (1) vehicle exhaust and wear (2-9 μg m-3, 10-27 % of PM10 mass on average), (2) road dust (2-4 μg m-3, 8-12 %), (3) mineral dust (5 μg m-3, 13-26 %), (4) aged marine (3-5 μg m-3, 13-20 %), (5) heavy oil (0.4-0.6 μg m-3, 2 %), (6) industrial (1 μg m-3, 3-5 %), (7) sulphate (3-4 μg m-3, 11-17 %) and (8) nitrate (4-6 μg m-3, 17-21 %). Three aerosol sources were found enhanced at the ground levels (confined within the urban ground levels of the city) relative to the upper levels: (1) vehicle exhaust and wear (2.8 higher), (2) road dust (1.8 higher) and (3) local urban industries/crafts workshops (1.6 higher). Surprisingly, the other aerosol sources were relatively homogeneous at both horizontal and vertical levels. However, air mass origin and meteorological parameters also played a key role in influencing the variability of the factors concentrations. The mineral dust and aged marine factors were found to be a mixture of natural and anthropogenic components and were thus further investigated. Overall, three types of dust were identified to affect the urban study area: road dust (35 % of the mineral dust load, 2-4 μg m-3 on average), Saharan dust (28 %, 2.1 μg m-3) and background mineral dust (37 %, 2.8 μg m-3). Our results evidence that although the city of Barcelona broadly shows a homogeneous distribution of PM10 pollution sources, non-exhaust traffic, exhaust traffic and local urban industrial activities are major coarse PM10 aerosol sources.

Properties of aerosols and formation mechanisms over southern China during the monsoon season

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Weihua; Wang, Xuemei; Blake Cohen, Jason; Zhou, Shengzhen; Zhang, Zhisheng; Chang, Ming; Chan, Chuen-Yu

2016-10-01

Measurements of size-resolved aerosols from 0.25 to 18 µm were conducted at three sites (urban, suburban and background sites) and used in tandem with an atmospheric transport model to study the size distribution and formation of atmospheric aerosols in southern China during the monsoon season (May-June) in 2010. The mass distribution showed the majority of chemical components were found in the smaller size bins (< 2.5 µm). Sulfate was found to be strongly correlated with aerosol water and anticorrelated with atmospheric SO2, hinting at aqueous-phase reactions being the main formation pathway. Nitrate was the only major species that showed a bimodal distribution at the urban site and was dominated by the coarse mode in the other two sites, suggesting that an important component of nitrate formation is chloride depletion of sea salt transported from the South China Sea. In addition to these aqueous-phase reactions and interactions with sea salt aerosols, new particle formation, chemical aging, and long-range transport from upwind urban or biomass burning regions was also found to be important in at least some of the sites on some of the days. This work therefore summarizes the different mechanisms that significantly impact the aerosol chemical composition during the monsoon over southern China.

Improvement of Aerosol Optical Depth Retrieval over Hong Kong from a Geostationary Meteorological Satellite Using Critical Reflectance with Background Optical Depth Correction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kim, Mijin; Kim, Jhoon; Wong, Man Sing; Yoon, Jongmin; Lee, Jaehwa; Wu, Dong L.; Chan, P.W.; Nichol, Janet E.; Chung, Chu-Yong; Ou, Mi-Lim

2014-01-01

Despite continuous efforts to retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD) using a conventional 5-channelmeteorological imager in geostationary orbit, the accuracy in urban areas has been poorer than other areas primarily due to complex urban surface properties and mixed aerosol types from different emission sources. The two largest error sources in aerosol retrieval have been aerosol type selection and surface reflectance. In selecting the aerosol type from a single visible channel, the season-dependent aerosol optical properties were adopted from longterm measurements of Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sun-photometers. With the aerosol optical properties obtained fromthe AERONET inversion data, look-up tableswere calculated by using a radiative transfer code: the Second Simulation of the Satellite Signal in the Solar Spectrum (6S). Surface reflectance was estimated using the clear sky composite method, awidely used technique for geostationary retrievals. Over East Asia, the AOD retrieved from the Meteorological Imager showed good agreement, although the values were affected by cloud contamination errors. However, the conventional retrieval of the AOD over Hong Kong was largely underestimated due to the lack of information on the aerosol type and surface properties. To detect spatial and temporal variation of aerosol type over the area, the critical reflectance method, a technique to retrieve single scattering albedo (SSA), was applied. Additionally, the background aerosol effect was corrected to improve the accuracy of the surface reflectance over Hong Kong. The AOD retrieved froma modified algorithmwas compared to the collocated data measured by AERONET in Hong Kong. The comparison showed that the new aerosol type selection using the critical reflectance and the corrected surface reflectance significantly improved the accuracy of AODs in Hong Kong areas,with a correlation coefficient increase from0.65 to 0.76 and a regression line change from tMI [basic algorithm] = 0.41tAERONET + 0.16 to tMI [new algorithm] = 0.70tAERONET + 0.01.

Identification of aerosol types over an urban site based on air-mass trajectory classification

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pawar, G. V.; Devara, P. C. S.; Aher, G. R.

2015-10-01

Columnar aerosol properties retrieved from MICROTOPS II Sun Photometer measurements during 2010-2013 over Pune (18°32‧N; 73°49‧E, 559 m amsl), a tropical urban station in India, are analyzed to identify aerosol types in the atmospheric column. Identification/classification is carried out on the basis of dominant airflow patterns, and the method of discrimination of aerosol types on the basis of relation between aerosol optical depth (AOD500 nm) and Ångström exponent (AE, α). Five potential advection pathways viz., NW/N, SW/S, N, SE/E and L have been identified over the observing site by employing the NOAA-HYSPLIT air mass back trajectory analysis. Based on AE against AOD500 nm scatter plot and advection pathways followed five major aerosol types viz., continental average (CA), marine continental average (MCA), urban/industrial and biomass burning (UB), desert dust (DD) and indeterminate or mixed type (MT) have been identified. In winter, sector SE/E, a representative of air masses traversed over Bay of Bengal and Eastern continental Indian region has relatively small AOD (τpλ = 0.43 ± 0.13) and high AE (α = 1.19 ± 0.15). These values imply the presence of accumulation/sub-micron size anthropogenic aerosols. During pre-monsoon, aerosols from the NW/N sector have high AOD (τpλ = 0.61 ± 0.21), and low AE (α = 0.54 ± 0.14) indicating an increase in the loading of coarse-mode particles over Pune. Dominance of UB type in winter season for all the years (i.e. 2010-2013) may be attributed to both local/transported aerosols. During pre-monsoon seasons, MT is the dominant aerosol type followed by UB and DD, while the background aerosols are insignificant.

On the spatial distribution and evolution of ultrafine particles in Barcelona

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dall'Osto, M.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; O'Dowd, C.; Harrison, R. M.; Wenger, J.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.

2013-01-01

Sources and evolution of ultrafine particles were investigated both horizontally and vertically in the large urban agglomerate of Barcelona, Spain. Within the SAPUSS project (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies), a large number of instruments was deployed simultaneously at different monitoring sites (road, two urban background, regional background, urban tower 150 m a.s.l., urban background tower site 80 m a.s.l.) during a 4 week period in September-October 2010. Particle number concentrations (N>5 nm) are highly correlated with black carbon (BC) at all sites only under strong vehicular traffic influences. By contrast, under cleaner atmospheric conditions (low condensation sink, CS) such correlation diverges towards much higher N/BC ratios at all sites, indicating additional sources of particles including secondary production of freshly nucleated particles. Size-resolved aerosol distributions (N10-500) as well as particle number concentrations (N>5 nm) allow us to identify three types of nucleation and growth events: (1) a regional type event originating in the whole study region and impacting almost simultaneously the urban city of Barcelona and the surrounding urban background area; (2) a regional type event impacting only the regional background area but not the urban agglomerate; (3) an urban type event which originates only within the city centre but whose growth continues while transported away from the city to the regional background. Furthermore, during these clean air days, higher N are found at tower level than at ground level only in the city centre whereas such a difference is not so pronounced at the remote urban background tower. In other words, this study suggests that the column of air above the city ground level possesses the optimal combination between low CS and high vapour source, hence enhancing the concentrations of freshly nucleated particles. By contrast, within stagnant polluted atmospheric conditions, higher N and BC concentrations are always measured at ground level relative to tower level at all sites. Our study suggests that the city centre of Barcelona is a source of non-volatile traffic primary particles (29-39% of N>5 nm), but other sources, including secondary freshly nucleated particles contribute up to 61-71% of particle number (N>5 nm) at all sites. We suggest that organic compounds evaporating from freshly emitted traffic particles are a possible candidate for new particle formation within the city and urban plume.

Carbonaceous content of atmospheric aerosols in Lisbon urban atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirante, Fátima; Oliveira, C.; Martins, N.; Pio, C.; Caseiro, A.; Cerqueira, M.; Alves, C.; Oliveira, C.; Oliveira, J.; Camões, F.; Matos, M.; Silva, H.

2010-05-01

Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal with about 565,000 residents and a population density of 6,600 inhabitants per square kilometre. The town is surrounded by satellite cities, forming together a region known as "Lisbon Metropolitan Area" with about 3 million inhabitants. It is estimated that more than one million citizens come into the Lisbon area every day from the outskirts, leading to elevated traffic densities and intense traffic jams. Airborne particulate matter limit values are frequently exceeded, with important consequences on air pollution levels and obvious negative impacts on human health. Atmospheric aerosols are known to have in their structure significant amounts of carbonaceous material. The knowledge of the aerosols carbon content, particularly on their several carbon forms (as TC, EC and OC, meaning respectively Total, Elemental and Organic carbon) is often required to provide information for source attribution. In order to assess the vehicles PM input, two sampling campaigns (summer and winter periods) were carried out in 2008 in Lisbon in two contrasting sites, a roadside and an urban background site. Particulate matter was collected in two fractions on quartz fibre filters using Hi-Vol samplers (coarse fraction, 2.5µm

Sources and geographical origins of fine aerosols in Paris (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bressi, M.; Sciare, J.; Ghersi, V.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Petit, J.-E.; Nicolas, J. B.; Moukhtar, S.; Rosso, A.; Féron, A.; Bonnaire, N.; Poulakis, E.; Theodosi, C.

2013-12-01

The present study aims at identifying and apportioning the major sources of fine aerosols in Paris (France) - the second largest megacity in Europe -, and determining their geographical origins. It is based on the daily chemical composition of PM2.5 characterised during one year at an urban background site of Paris (Bressi et al., 2013). Positive Matrix Factorization (EPA PMF3.0) was used to identify and apportion the sources of fine aerosols; bootstrapping was performed to determine the adequate number of PMF factors, and statistics (root mean square error, coefficient of determination, etc.) were examined to better model PM2.5 mass and chemical components. Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) and Conditional Probability Function (CPF) allowed the geographical origins of the sources to be assessed; special attention was paid to implement suitable weighting functions. Seven factors named ammonium sulfate (A.S.) rich factor, ammonium nitrate (A.N.) rich factor, heavy oil combustion, road traffic, biomass burning, marine aerosols and metals industry were identified; a detailed discussion of their chemical characteristics is reported. They respectively contribute 27, 24, 17, 14, 12, 6 and 1% of PM2.5 mass (14.7 μg m-3) on the annual average; their seasonal variability is discussed. The A.S. and A.N. rich factors have undergone north-eastward mid- or long-range transport from Continental Europe, heavy oil combustion mainly stems from northern France and the English Channel, whereas road traffic and biomass burning are primarily locally emitted. Therefore, on average more than half of PM2.5 mass measured in the city of Paris is due to mid- or long-range transport of secondary aerosols stemming from continental Europe, whereas local sources only contribute a quarter of the annual averaged mass. These results imply that fine aerosols abatement policies conducted at the local scale may not be sufficient to notably reduce PM2.5 levels at urban background sites in Paris, suggesting instead more coordinated strategies amongst neighbouring countries. Similar conclusions might be drawn in other continental urban background sites given the transboundary nature of PM2.5 pollution.

A study on the relationship between mass concentrations, chemistry and number size distribution of urban fine aerosols in Milan, Barcelona and London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, S.; van Dingenen, R.; Putaud, J.-P.; Dell'Acqua, A.; Pey, J.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Chenery, S.; Ho, K.-F.; Harrison, R. M.; Tardivo, R.; Scarnato, B.; Gianelle, V.

2007-01-01

A physicochemical characterization of the urban fine aerosol (aerosol number size distribution, chemical composition and mass concentrations) in Milan, Barcelona and London is presented in this article. The objective is to obtain a comprehensive picture on the involvement of the microphysical processes of the aerosol dynamic in the: 1) regular evolution of the urban aerosol (daily, weekly and seasonal basis) and in the day-to-day variations (from clean-air to pollution-events), and 2) link between "aerosol chemistry and mass concentrations" with the "number size distribution". The mass concentrations of the fine PM2.5 aerosol exhibit a high correlation with the number concentration of particles >100 nm (which only accounts for <20% of the total number concentration N of fine aerosols) and do not correlate with the number of particles <100 nm ("ultrafine particles", which accounts for >80% of fine particles). Organic matter (OM) and black-carbon (BC) are the only aerosol components showing a significant correlation with ultrafine particles (attributed to vehicles emissions), whereas ammonium-nitrate, ammonium-sulphate and also OM and BC correlate with N>100(nm) (attributed to gas-to-particle transformation mechanisms and some primary emissions). Time series of the aerosol DpN diameter (dN/dlogD mode), mass PM2.5 concentrations and number N>100(nm) concentrations, exhibit correlated day-to-day variations which point to a significant involvement of condensation of semi-volatile compounds during urban pollution events. This agrees with the fact that ammonium-nitrate is the component exhibiting the highest increases from mid-to-high pollution episodes, when the highest DpN increases are observed. The results indicates that "fine PM2.5 particles urban pollution events" tend to occur when condensation processes have made particles grow enough to produce significant concentrations of N>100(nm). In contrast, because the low contribution of ultrafine particles to the fine aerosol mass concentrations, high "ultrafine particles N<100(nm) events" frequently occurs under low PM2.5 conditions. The data of this study point that vehicles emissions are strongly involved in this ultrafine particles aerosol pollution (for example, the "morning-rush-hours to nocturnal-background" concentrations ratio is 1.5-2.5 for "particles 10-100 nm" and <1.5 for both "particle >100 nm and PM2.5").

Long-term observations of tropospheric particle number size distributions and equivalent black carbon mass concentrations in the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birmili, W.; Weinhold, K.; Merkel, M.; Rasch, F.; Sonntag, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Bastian, S.; Schladitz, A.; Löschau, G.; Cyrys, J.; Pitz, M.; Gu, J.; Kusch, T.; Flentje, H.; Quass, U.; Kaminski, H.; Kuhlbusch, T. A. J.; Meinhardt, F.; Schwerin, A.; Bath, O.; Ries, L.; Wirtz, K.; Fiebig, M.

2015-11-01

The German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) is a cooperative atmospheric observation network, which aims at improving the scientific understanding of aerosol-related effects in the troposphere. The network addresses research questions dedicated to both, climate and health related effects. GUAN's core activity has been the continuous collection of tropospheric particle number size distributions and black carbon mass concentrations at seventeen observation sites in Germany. These sites cover various environmental settings including urban traffic, urban background, rural background, and Alpine mountains. In association with partner projects, GUAN has implemented a high degree of harmonisation of instrumentation, operating procedures, and data evaluation procedures. The quality of the measurement data is assured by laboratory intercomparisons as well as on-site comparisons with reference instruments. This paper describes the measurement sites, instrumentation, quality assurance and data evaluation procedures in the network as well as the EBAS repository, where the data sets can be obtained (doi:10.5072/guan).

Long-term observations of tropospheric particle number size distributions and equivalent black carbon mass concentrations in the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Birmili, Wolfram; Weinhold, Kay; Rasch, Fabian; Sonntag, André; Sun, Jia; Merkel, Maik; Wiedensohler, Alfred; Bastian, Susanne; Schladitz, Alexander; Löschau, Gunter; Cyrys, Josef; Pitz, Mike; Gu, Jianwei; Kusch, Thomas; Flentje, Harald; Quass, Ulrich; Kaminski, Heinz; Kuhlbusch, Thomas A. J.; Meinhardt, Frank; Schwerin, Andreas; Bath, Olaf; Ries, Ludwig; Gerwig, Holger; Wirtz, Klaus; Fiebig, Markus

2016-08-01

The German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) is a cooperative atmospheric observation network, which aims at improving the scientific understanding of aerosol-related effects in the troposphere. The network addresses research questions dedicated to both climate- and health-related effects. GUAN's core activity has been the continuous collection of tropospheric particle number size distributions and black carbon mass concentrations at 17 observation sites in Germany. These sites cover various environmental settings including urban traffic, urban background, rural background, and Alpine mountains. In association with partner projects, GUAN has implemented a high degree of harmonisation of instrumentation, operating procedures, and data evaluation procedures. The quality of the measurement data is assured by laboratory intercomparisons as well as on-site comparisons with reference instruments. This paper describes the measurement sites, instrumentation, quality assurance, and data evaluation procedures in the network as well as the EBAS repository, where the data sets can be obtained (doi:10.5072/guan).

Presenting SAPUSS: Solving Aerosol Problem by Using Synergistic Strategies in Barcelona, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dall'Osto, M.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Minguillon, M. C.; Alier, M.; Amato, F.; Brines, M.; Cusack, M.; Grimalt, J. O.; Karanasiou, A.; Moreno, T.; Pandolfi, M.; Pey, J.; Reche, C.; Ripoll, A.; Tauler, R.; Van Drooge, B. L.; Viana, M.; Harrison, R. M.; Gietl, J.; Beddows, D.; Bloss, W.; O'Dowd, C.; Ceburnis, D.; Martucci, G.; Ng, N. L.; Worsnop, D.; Wenger, J.; Mc Gillicuddy, E.; Sodeau, J.; Healy, R.; Lucarelli, F.; Nava, S.; Jimenez, J. L.; Gomez Moreno, F.; Artinano, B.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Pfaffenberger, L.; Frey, S.; Wilsenack, F.; Casabona, D.; Jiménez-Guerrero, P.; Gross, D.; Cots, N.

2013-09-01

This paper presents the summary of the key objectives, instrumentation and logistic details, goals, and initial scientific findings of the European Marie Curie Action SAPUSS project carried out in the western Mediterranean Basin (WMB) during September-October in autumn 2010. The key SAPUSS objective is to deduce aerosol source characteristics and to understand the atmospheric processes responsible for their generations and transformations - both horizontally and vertically in the Mediterranean urban environment. In order to achieve so, the unique approach of SAPUSS is the concurrent measurements of aerosols with multiple techniques occurring simultaneously in six monitoring sites around the city of Barcelona (NE Spain): a main road traffic site, two urban background sites, a regional background site and two urban tower sites (150 m and 545 m above sea level, 150 m and 80 m above ground, respectively). SAPUSS allows us to advance our knowledge sensibly of the atmospheric chemistry and physics of the urban Mediterranean environment. This is well achieved only because of both the three dimensional spatial scale and the high sampling time resolution used. During SAPUSS different meteorological regimes were encountered, including warm Saharan, cold Atlantic, wet European and stagnant regional ones. The different meteorology of such regimes is herein described. Additionally, we report the trends of the parameters regulated by air quality purposes (both gaseous and aerosol mass concentrations); and we also compare the six monitoring sites. High levels of traffic-related gaseous pollutants were measured at the urban ground level monitoring sites, whereas layers of tropospheric ozone were recorded at tower levels. Particularly, tower level night-time average ozone concentrations (80 ± 25 μg m-3) were up to double compared to ground level ones. The examination of the vertical profiles clearly shows the predominant influence of NOx on ozone concentrations, and a source of ozone aloft. Analysis of the particulate matter (PM) mass concentrations shows an enhancement of coarse particles (PM2.5-10) at the urban ground level (+64%, average 11.7 μg m-3) but of fine ones (PM1) at urban tower level (+28%, average 14.4 μg m-3). These results show complex dynamics of the size-resolved PM mass at both horizontal and vertical levels of the study area. Preliminary modelling findings reveal an underestimation of the fine accumulation aerosols. In summary, this paper lays the foundation of SAPUSS, an integrated study of relevance to many other similar urban Mediterranean coastal environment sites.

Mexico City Aerosol Analysis during MILAGRO using High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometry at the Urban Supersite (T0). Part 2: Analysis of the Biomass Burning Contribution and the Modern Carbon Fraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aiken, Allison; de Foy, B.; Wiedinmyer, Christine

2010-06-16

Submicron aerosol was analyzed during the MILAGRO field campaign in March 2006 at the T0 urban supersite in Mexico City with a High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and complementary instrumentation. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) of high resolution AMS spectra identified a biomass burning OA (BBOA) component, which includes several large plumes that appear to be from forest fires within the region. Here, we show that the AMS BBOA concentration at T0 correlates with fire counts in the vicinity of Mexico City and that most of the BBOA variability is captured when the FLEXPART model is used for the dispersion ofmore » fire emissions as estimated from satellite fire counts. The resulting FLEXPART fire impact index correlates well with the observed BBOA, CH3CN, levoglucosan, and potassium, indicating that wildfires in the region surrounding Mexico City are the dominant source of BBOA at T0 during MILAGRO. The impact of distant BB sources such as the Yucatan is very small during this period. All fire tracers are correlated, with BBOA and levoglucosan showing little background, acetonitrile having a well-known tropospheric background of ~100-150 ppt, and PM2.5 potassium having a background of ~160 ng m-3 (two-thirds of its average concentration), which does not appear to be related to BB sources.« less

Fluxes of Submicron Organic Aerosol above London Measured by Eddy Covariance using the Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Phillips, G. J.; di Marco, C. F.; Farmer, D.; Kimmel, J. R.; Jimenez, J. L.; Nemitz, E.

2009-12-01

Urban centres are large sources of sub-micron particles. The myriad of emission sources combined with the complex interaction between regional aerosol and the particulate and gaseous photochemistry make for a complex system. It is evident that particulate emissions from cities will affect the regional atmosphere as well as the environment within the urban area. Aerosol particles have been associated with respiratory and cardio-vascular disease and are also linked with the climate through scattering of radiation and indirect effects such as cloud formation. The Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) provides a powerful tool to elucidate the sources and processing of organic aerosol in the urban atmosphere. Normally this is done through concentration measurements, by statistical analysis of the organic mass spectra, e.g. using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Recently the quadrupole based AMS (Q-AMS) has been used for the micrometeorological measurement of organic aerosol fluxes above several cities, based on high frequency measurements of individual masses (m/z) representative of different organic mass fractions. While providing a major step forward towards quantification of urban organic aerosol emissions and processing, the interpretation of Q-AMS flux data requires assumptions to scale up signals on individual m/z to total organic mass fluxes. In this paper we present chemically-speciated and size-segregated number aerosol fluxes measured using the next generation eddy covariance flux system based on the Aerodyne HR-ToF-AMS, now capable of recording fast-response eddy-covariance time-series of all m/z simultaneously. This allows organic mass fluxes to be calculated more quantitatively and provides 'flux mass spectra' in addition to concentration mass spectra, which produces novel information on the local emission and processing of organic aerosols in the urban environment, while concentration analysis includes the regional background. The measurements were made from the 190 m tall BT Tower in central London, UK, during the REPARTEE-2/CityFlux experiment in autumn 2007 and are interpreted in conjunction with simultaneous measurements of fluxes of CO and CO2 as well as size-segregated particle number fluxes between 60 and 1000 nm using an ultra-high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer, UHSAS (Particle Measurement Systems, now Droplet Measurement Technologies, Boulder, US).

Changes in the physico-chemical properties of Amazonian aerosols from background conditions due to urban impacts in Central Amazonia.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Artaxo, P.; Barbosa, H. M.; Brito, J.; Carbone, S.; Fiorese, C.; Andre, B.; Rizzo, L. V.; Ditas, F.; Pöhlker, C.; Pöhlker, M. L.; Saturno, J.; Holanda, B. A.; Wang, J.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Machado, L.; Andreae, M. O.; Martin, S. T.

2016-12-01

The GoAmazon 2014/15 experiment (Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon) was a great opportunity to study how urbanization can change aerosol properties under pristine conditions in a tropical rain forest. The experiment took place from January 2014 to December 2015 in the vicinity of Manaus, Brazil, where several sampling stations were operated. Natural biogenic aerosol properties were studied in 3 sampling stations upwind of Manaus (ATTO (T0a), ZF2 (T0z) and EMBRAPA (T0e)). Urban impacted aerosols were analysed in two downwind sampling stations at Tiwa (T2) and Manacapuru (T3). Properties analysed were size distribution, scattering and absorption, composition, vertical profiles and others. Remote sensing measurements were done using AERONET and MODIS, while extensive ground based measurements were done in all sampling stations. Remote sensing measurements shows important changes in aerosol optical depth (AOD), especially in the aerosol absorption component. It was also observed a reduction in cloud droplet size downwind of Manaus for liquid phase clouds. Changes in particle number and size were also very significant, that reflected in changes in the aerosol radiative forcing (RF) before and after Manaus plume. In the dry season, an average RF of -24 w/m² was observed upwind, while -17 w/m² was observed downwind, due to large scale biomass burning aerosols. Single scattering albedo (SSA) at 550 nm changed from a high value of 0.96 upwind to 0.84 downwind due to the increase in absorbing aerosols in the wet season. In the dry season, SSA at 550nm changed from 0.95 to 0.87. Aerosol composition showed a large dominance of organic aerosols for all sites, accounting for 65-75% of PM1 non refractory aerosol. Most of these were secondary organic aerosol (SOA), with very low sulfate and nitrate concentrations. The influence of the Manaus plume on aerosol properties was more intense during the wet season, because in the dry season a significant amount of large scale biomass burning aerosol was observed for all GoAmazon 2014/15 sites.

Organic compounds in aerosols from selected European sites - Biogenic versus anthropogenic sources

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alves, Célia; Vicente, Ana; Pio, Casimiro; Kiss, Gyula; Hoffer, Andras; Decesari, Stefano; Prevôt, André S. H.; Minguillón, María Cruz; Querol, Xavier; Hillamo, Risto; Spindler, Gerald; Swietlicki, Erik

2012-11-01

Atmospheric aerosol samples from a boreal forest (Hyytiälä, April 2007), a rural site in Hungary (K-puszta, summer 2008), a polluted rural area in Italy (San Pietro Capofiume, Po Valley, April 2008), a moderately polluted rural site in Germany located on a meadow (Melpitz, May 2008), a natural park in Spain (Montseny, March 2009) and two urban background locations (Zurich, December 2008, and Barcelona, February/March 2009) were collected. Aliphatics, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, carbonyls, sterols, n-alkanols, acids, phenolic compounds and anhydrosugars in aerosols were chemically characterised by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, along with source attribution based on the carbon preference index (CPI), the ratios between the unresolved and the chromatographically resolved aliphatics, the contribution of wax n-alkanes, n-alkanols and n-alkanoic acids from plants, diagnostic ratios of individual target compounds and source-specific markers to organic carbon ratios. In spite of transboundary pollution episodes, Hyytiälä registered the lowest levels among all locations. CPI values close to 1 for the aliphatic fraction of the Montseny aerosol suggest that the anthropogenic input may be associated with the transport of aged air masses from the surrounding industrial/urban areas, which superimpose the locally originated hydrocarbons with biogenic origin. Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in samples from San Pietro Capofiume reveal that fossil fuel combustion is a major source influencing the diel pattern of concentrations. This source contributed to 25-45% of the ambient organic carbon (OC) at the Po Valley site. Aerosols from the German meadow presented variable contributions from both biogenic and anthropogenic sources. The highest levels of vegetation wax components and biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) products were observed at K-puszta, while anthropogenic SOA compounds predominated in Barcelona. The primary vehicular emissions in the Spanish city accounted for around 25-30% of the OC in aerosols. Besides the traffic input (10% of OC), residential wood burning was found to be another dominant emission source contributing to the atmospheric aerosol (up to 38% of OC) at the Swiss urban location. It was estimated that around 10% of the OC mass in the urban sites originates from cooking emissions. Aerosols from the urban area of Zurich presented a much higher PAH content, and benzo(a)pyrene equivalent concentrations sometimes exceeding the mandatory limit.

Aerosol optical extinction during the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) 2014 summertime field campaign, Colorado, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dingle, Justin H.; Vu, Kennedy; Bahreini, Roya; Apel, Eric C.; Campos, Teresa L.; Flocke, Frank; Fried, Alan; Herndon, Scott; Hills, Alan J.; Hornbrook, Rebecca S.; Huey, Greg; Kaser, Lisa; Montzka, Denise D.; Nowak, John B.; Reeves, Mike; Richter, Dirk; Roscioli, Joseph R.; Shertz, Stephen; Stell, Meghan; Tanner, David; Tyndall, Geoff; Walega, James; Weibring, Petter; Weinheimer, Andrew

2016-09-01

Summertime aerosol optical extinction (βext) was measured in the Colorado Front Range and Denver metropolitan area as part of the Front Range Air Pollution and Photochemistry Éxperiment (FRAPPÉ) campaign during July-August 2014. An Aerodyne cavity attenuated phase shift particle light extinction monitor (CAPS-PMex) was deployed to measure βext (at average relative humidity of 20 ± 7 %) of submicron aerosols at λ = 632 nm at 1 Hz. Data from a suite of gas-phase instrumentation were used to interpret βext behavior in various categories of air masses and sources. Extinction enhancement ratios relative to CO (Δβext / ΔCO) were higher in aged urban air masses compared to fresh air masses by ˜ 50 %. The resulting increase in Δβext / ΔCO for highly aged air masses was accompanied by formation of secondary organic aerosols (SOAs). In addition, the impacts of aerosol composition on βext in air masses under the influence of urban, natural oil and gas operations (O&G), and agriculture and livestock operations were evaluated. Estimated non-refractory mass extinction efficiency (MEE) values for different air mass types ranged from 1.51 to 2.27 m2 g-1, with the minimum and maximum values observed in urban and agriculture-influenced air masses, respectively. The mass distribution for organic, nitrate, and sulfate aerosols presented distinct profiles in different air mass types. During 11-12 August, regional influence of a biomass burning event was observed, increasing the background βext and estimated MEE values in the Front Range.

Assessing the role of anthropogenic and biogenic sources on PM1 over southern West Africa using aircraft measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brito, Joel; Freney, Evelyn; Dominutti, Pamela; Borbon, Agnes; Haslett, Sophie L.; Batenburg, Anneke M.; Colomb, Aurelie; Dupuy, Regis; Denjean, Cyrielle; Burnet, Frederic; Bourriane, Thierry; Deroubaix, Adrien; Sellegri, Karine; Borrmann, Stephan; Coe, Hugh; Flamant, Cyrille; Knippertz, Peter; Schwarzenboeck, Alfons

2018-01-01

As part of the Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) project, an airborne campaign was designed to measure a large range of atmospheric constituents, focusing on the effect of anthropogenic emissions on regional climate. The presented study details results of the French ATR42 research aircraft, which aimed to characterize gas-phase, aerosol and cloud properties in the region during the field campaign carried out in June/July 2016 in combination with the German Falcon 20 and the British Twin Otter aircraft. The aircraft flight paths covered large areas of Benin, Togo, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire, focusing on emissions from large urban conurbations such as Abidjan, Accra and Lomé, as well as remote continental areas and the Gulf of Guinea. This paper focuses on aerosol particle measurements within the boundary layer (< 2000 m), in particular their sources and chemical composition in view of the complex mix of both biogenic and anthropogenic emissions, based on measurements from a compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (C-ToF-AMS) and ancillary instrumentation. Background concentrations (i.e. outside urban plumes) observed from the ATR42 indicate a fairly polluted region during the time of the campaign, with average concentrations of carbon monoxide of 131 ppb, ozone of 32 ppb, and aerosol particle number concentration ( > 15 nm) of 735 cm-3 stp. Regarding submicron aerosol composition (considering non-refractory species and black carbon, BC), organic aerosol (OA) is the most abundant species contributing 53 %, followed by SO4 (27 %), NH4 (11 %), BC (6 %), NO3 (2 %) and minor contribution of Cl (< 0.5 %). Average background PM1 in the region was 5.9 µg m-3 stp. During measurements of urban pollution plumes, mainly focusing on the outflow of Abidjan, Accra and Lomé, pollutants are significantly enhanced (e.g. average concentration of CO of 176 ppb, and aerosol particle number concentration of 6500 cm-3 stp), as well as PM1 concentration (11.9 µg m-3 stp). Two classes of organic aerosols were estimated based on C-ToF-AMS: particulate organic nitrates (pONs) and isoprene epoxydiols secondary organic aerosols (IEPOX-SOA). Both classes are usually associated with the formation of particulate matter through complex interactions of anthropogenic and biogenic sources. During DACCIWA, pONs have a fairly small contribution to OA (around 5 %) and are more associated with long-range transport from central Africa than local formation. Conversely, IEPOX-SOA provides a significant contribution to OA (around 24 and 28 % under background and in-plume conditions). Furthermore, the fractional contribution of IEPOX-SOA is largely unaffected by changes in the aerosol composition (particularly the SO4 concentration), which suggests that IEPOX-SOA concentration is mainly driven by pre-existing aerosol surface, instead of aerosol chemical properties. At times of large in-plume SO4 enhancements (above 5 µg m-3), the fractional contribution of IEPOX-SOA to OA increases above 50 %, suggesting only then a change in the IEPOX-SOA-controlling mechanism. It is important to note that IEPOX-SOA constitutes a lower limit to the contribution of biogenic OA, given that other processes (e.g. non-IEPOX isoprene, monoterpene SOA) are likely in the region. Given the significant contribution to aerosol concentration, it is crucial that such complex biogenic-anthropogenic interactions are taken into account in both present-day and future scenario models of this fast-changing, highly sensitive region.

Spectral solar attenuation due to aerosol loading over an urban area in India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latha, K. Madhavi; Badarinath, K. V. S.

2005-06-01

Anthropogenic activities in urban areas are sources for atmospheric aerosols and are increasing due to population explosion and migration. Many large cities in the developing world are presently plagued by high levels of atmospheric pollution and long-term effect of urban aerosol on climate is an important topic. In the present study, ground-based measurements of solar irradiance, aerosol loading and black carbon (BC) aerosol concentration have been analyzed during different aerosol loading conditions during 2003 over an urban environment. BC aerosols concentration has been observed to be enhanced during high aerosol optical depth day suggesting influence of local anthropogenic activities. The analysis of wind fields over the study area during the measurement period is from north with continental air mass prevailing over the region. Spectral measurements of solar irradiance exhibited variations based on aerosol loading in urban atmosphere. Relative attenuations caused by aerosols have been found to be of the order of 21% and 17% on the irradiance on visible and near infrared respectively.

Aerosol optical properties and types over the tropical urban region of Hyderabad, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kharol, Shailesh Kumar; Kaskaoutis, D. G.; Rani Sharma, Anu; Kvs, Badarinath; Kambezidis, H. D.

India is densely populated, industrialized and in the recent years has witnessed an impressive economic development. Aerosols over and around India not only affect the Indian monsoon but also the global climate. The growing population coupled with revolution in industry has resulted in higher demands for energy and transport. With more and more urbanization the usage pattern of fossil and bio-fuels are leading to changes in aerosol properties, which may cause changes in precipitation and can decelerate the hydrological cycle. Over urban areas of India aerosol emissions from fossil fuels such as coal, petrol and diesel oil dominate. Further-more, the Indian subcontinent exhibits different land characteristics ranging from vegetated areas and forests to semiarid and arid environments and tall mountains. India experiences large seasonal climatic variations, which result in extreme temperatures, rainfall and relative humidity. These meteorological and climatic features introduce large variabilities in aerosol op-tical and physico-chemical characteristics at spatial and temporal scales. In the present study, seasonal variations in aerosol properties and types were analysed over tropical urban region of Hyderabad, India during October 2007-September 2008 using MICROTOPS II sun photometer measurements. Higher aerosol optical depth (AOD) values are observed in premonsoon, while the variability of the ˚ngstrüm exponent (α) seems to be more pronounced with higher values A in winter and premonsoon and lower in the monsoon periods. The AOD at 500 nm (AOD500 ) is very large over Hyderabad, varying from 0.46±0.17 in postmonsoon to 0.65±0.22 in premon-soon periods. A discrimination of the different aerosol types over Hyderabad is also attempted using values of AOD500 and α380-870. Such discrimination is rather difficult to interpret since a single aerosol type can partly be identified only under specific conditions (e.g. anthropogenic emissions, biomass burning or dust outbreaks), while the presence of mixed aerosols, without dominance of the coarse or accumulation mode is the usual situation. According to the analysis the three individual components of differing origin, composition and optical characteristics are, a) an urban/industrial aerosol type composed of aerosols produced locally and all year round by combustion activities in the city or long-range transported (mainly in spring) biomass burning, b) an aerosol type of mineral origin raised by the wind in the deserts (mainly in premonsoon) or constitutes coarse-mode aerosols under high relative humidity conditions mainly in the monsoon period, and c) an aerosol type with a marine influence under background conditions occurred in monsoon and postmonsoon periods. Nevertheless, the mixed or undetermined aerosol type dominates with percentages varying from 44.3% (premonsoon) to 72.9% (postmonsoon). Spec-tral AOD and α data are analyzed to obtain information about the adequacy of the simple use of the ˚ngstrüm exponent for characterizing the aerosols. This is achieved by taking advantage A of the spectral variation of lnAOD vs lnλ, the so-called curvature. The results show that the spectral curvature can be effectively used as a tool for aerosol types discrimination, since the fine-mode aerosols exhibit negative curvature, while the coarse-mode particles positive. The present study is among the first over Hyderabad focusing on the seasonal pattern of aerosol properties and types and aiming at associating them with local emissions, regional climatology and long-range transport. Keywords: AOD, aerosol types; sun photometer; back trajectories; Hyderabad; India

Can Aerosol Offset Urban Heat Island Effect?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jin, M. S.; Shepherd, J. M.

2009-12-01

The Urban Heat Island effect (UHI) refers to urban skin or air temperature exceeding the temperatures in surrounding non-urban regions. In a warming climate, the UHI may intensify extreme heat waves and consequently cause significant health and energy problems. Aerosols reduce surface insolation via the direct effect, namely, scattering and absorbing sunlight in the atmosphere. Combining the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) AERONET (AErosol RObotic NETwork) observations over large cities together with Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) simulations, we find that the aerosol direct reduction of surface insolation range from 40-100 Wm-2, depending on seasonality and aerosol loads. As a result, surface skin temperature can be reduced by 1-2C while 2-m surface air temperature by 0.5-1C. This study suggests that the aerosol direct effect is a competing mechanism for the urban heat island effect (UHI). More importantly, both aerosol and urban land cover effects must be adequately represented in meteorological and climate modeling systems in order to properly characterize urban surface energy budgets and UHI.

Biology of the Coarse Aerosol Mode: Insights Into Urban Aerosol Ecology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dueker, E.; O'Mullan, G. D.; Montero, A.

2015-12-01

Microbial aerosols have been understudied, despite implications for climate studies, public health, and biogeochemical cycling. Because viable bacterial aerosols are often associated with coarse aerosol particles, our limited understanding of the coarse aerosol mode further impedes our ability to develop models of viable bacterial aerosol production, transport, and fate in the outdoor environment, particularly in crowded urban centers. To address this knowledge gap, we studied aerosol particle biology and size distributions in a broad range of urban and rural settings. Our previously published findings suggest a link between microbial viability and local production of coarse aerosols from waterways, waste treatment facilities, and terrestrial systems in urban and rural environments. Both in coastal Maine and in New York Harbor, coarse aerosols and viable bacterial aerosols increased with increasing wind speeds above 4 m s-1, a dynamic that was observed over time scales ranging from minutes to hours. At a New York City superfund-designated waterway regularly contaminated with raw sewage, aeration remediation efforts resulted in significant increases of coarse aerosols and bacterial aerosols above that waterway. Our current research indicates that bacterial communities in aerosols at this superfund site have a greater similarity to bacterial communities in the contaminated waterway with wind speeds above 4 m s-1. Size-fractionated sampling of viable microbial aerosols along the urban waterfront has also revealed significant shifts in bacterial aerosols, and specifically bacteria associated with coarse aerosols, when wind direction changes from onshore to offshore. This research highlights the key connections between bacterial aerosol viability and the coarse aerosol fraction, which is important in assessments of production, transport, and fate of bacterial contamination in the urban environment.

Determinants of aerosol lung-deposited surface area variation in an urban environment.

PubMed

Reche, Cristina; Viana, Mar; Brines, Mariola; Pérez, Noemí; Beddows, David; Alastuey, Andrés; Querol, Xavier

2015-06-01

Ultrafine particles are characterized by a high surface area per mass. Particle surface has been reported to play a significant role in determining the toxicological activity of ultrafine particles. In light of this potential role, the time variation of lung deposited surface area (LDSA) concentrations in the alveolar region was studied at the urban background environment of Barcelona (Spain), aiming to asses which processes and sources govern this parameter. Simultaneous data on Black Carbon (BC), total particle number (N) and particle number size distribution were correlated with LDSA. Average LDSA concentrations in Barcelona were 37 ± 26 μm(2)cm(-3), levels which seem to be characteristic for urban environments under traffic influence across Europe. Results confirm the comparability between LDSA data provided by the online monitor and those calculated based on particle size distributions (by SMPS), and reveal that LDSA concentrations are mainly influenced by particles in the size range 50-200 nm. A set of representative daily cycles for LDSA concentrations was obtained by means of a k-means cluster technique. The contribution of traffic emissions to daily patterns was evidenced in all the clusters, but was quantitatively different. Traffic events under stable atmospheric conditions increased mean hourly background LDSA concentrations up to 6 times, attaining levels higher than 200 μm(2)cm(-3). However, under warm and relatively clean atmospheric conditions, the traffic rush hour contribution to the daily LDSA mean appeared to be lower and the contribution of new urban particle formation events (by photochemically induced nucleation) was detected. These nucleation events were calculated to increase average background LDSA concentrations by 15-35% (maximum LDSA levels=45-50 μm(2)cm(-3)). Thereby, it may be concluded that in the urban background of Barcelona road traffic is the main source increasing the aerosol surface area which can deposit on critical regions of the human lung, followed by nucleation episodes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban light pollution - The effect of atmospheric aerosols on astronomical observations at night

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Joseph, J. H.; Kaufman, Y. J.; Mekler, Y.

1991-07-01

The transfer of diffuse city light from a localized source through a dust-laden atmosphere with optical depth less than 0.5 has been analyzed in the source-observer plane on the basis of an approximate treatment. The effect on several types of astronomical observation at night has been studied, considering different size distributions and amounts as well as particle shapes of the aerosols. The analysis is made in terms of the signal-to-noise ratios for a given amount of aerosol. The model is applied to conditions at the Wise Astronomical Observatory in the Negev desert, and limiting backgrounds for spectroscopy, photometry, and photography of stars and extended objects have been calculated for a variety of signal-to-noise ratios. Applications to observations with different equipment at various distances from an urban area of any size are possible. Due to the use of signal-to-noise ratios, the conclusions are different for the different experimental techniques used in astronomy.

Urban light pollution - The effect of atmospheric aerosols on astronomical observations at night

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Joseph, Joachim H.; Mekler, Yuri; Kaufman, Yoram J.

1991-01-01

The transfer of diffuse city light from a localized source through a dust-laden atmosphere with optical depth less than 0.5 has been analyzed in the source-observer plane on the basis of an approximate treatment. The effect on several types of astronomical observation at night has been studied, considering different size distributions and amounts as well as particle shapes of the aerosols. The analysis is made in terms of the signal-to-noise ratios for a given amount of aerosol. The model is applied to conditions at the Wise Astronomical Observatory in the Negev desert, and limiting backgrounds for spectroscopy, photometry, and photography of stars and extended objects have been calculated for a variety of signal-to-noise ratios. Applications to observations with different equipment at various distances from an urban area of any size are possible. Due to the use of signal-to-noise ratios, the conclusions are different for the different experimental techniques used in astronomy.

An operational MODIS aerosol retrieval algorithm at high spatial resolution, and its application over a complex urban region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Man Sing; Nichol, Janet E.; Lee, Kwon Ho

2011-03-01

Aerosol retrieval algorithms for the MODerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) have been developed to estimate aerosol and microphysical properties of the atmosphere, which help to address aerosol climatic issues at global scale. However, higher spatial resolution aerosol products for urban areas have not been well-researched mainly due to the difficulty of differentiating aerosols from bright surfaces in urban areas. Here, an aerosol retrieval algorithm using the MODIS 500-m resolution bands is described, to retrieve aerosol properties over Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta region. The rationale of our technique is to first estimate the aerosol reflectances by decomposing the top-of-atmosphere reflectances from surface reflectances and Rayleigh path reflectances. For the determination of surface reflectances, a Minimum Reflectance Technique (MRT) is used, and MRT images are computed for different seasons. For conversion of aerosol reflectance to aerosol optical thickness (AOT), comprehensive Look Up Tables specific to the local region are constructed, which consider aerosol properties and sun-viewing geometry in the radiative transfer calculations. Four local aerosol types, namely coastal urban, polluted urban, dust, and heavy pollution, were derived using cluster analysis on 3 years of AERONET measurements in Hong Kong. The resulting 500 m AOT images were found to be highly correlated with ground measurements from the AERONET (r2 = 0.767) and Microtops II sunphotometers (r2 = 0.760) in Hong Kong. This study further demonstrates the application of the fine resolution AOT images for monitoring inter-urban and intra-urban aerosol distributions and the influence of trans-boundary flows. These applications include characterization of spatial patterns of AOT within the city, and detection of regional biomass burning sources.

Modeling and measurements of urban aerosol processes on the neighborhood scale in Rotterdam, Oslo and Helsinki

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karl, Matthias; Kukkonen, Jaakko; Keuken, Menno P.; Lützenkirchen, Susanne; Pirjola, Liisa; Hussein, Tareq

2016-04-01

This study evaluates the influence of aerosol processes on the particle number (PN) concentrations in three major European cities on the temporal scale of 1 h, i.e., on the neighborhood and city scales. We have used selected measured data of particle size distributions from previous campaigns in the cities of Helsinki, Oslo and Rotterdam. The aerosol transformation processes were evaluated using the aerosol dynamics model MAFOR, combined with a simplified treatment of roadside and urban atmospheric dispersion. We have compared the model predictions of particle number size distributions with the measured data, and conducted sensitivity analyses regarding the influence of various model input variables. We also present a simplified parameterization for aerosol processes, which is based on the more complex aerosol process computations; this simple model can easily be implemented to both Gaussian and Eulerian urban dispersion models. Aerosol processes considered in this study were (i) the coagulation of particles, (ii) the condensation and evaporation of two organic vapors, and (iii) dry deposition. The chemical transformation of gas-phase compounds was not taken into account. By choosing concentrations and particle size distributions at roadside as starting point of the computations, nucleation of gas-phase vapors from the exhaust has been regarded as post tail-pipe emission, avoiding the need to include nucleation in the process analysis. Dry deposition and coagulation of particles were identified to be the most important aerosol dynamic processes that control the evolution and removal of particles. The error of the contribution from dry deposition to PN losses due to the uncertainty of measured deposition velocities ranges from -76 to +64 %. The removal of nanoparticles by coagulation enhanced considerably when considering the fractal nature of soot aggregates and the combined effect of van der Waals and viscous interactions. The effect of condensation and evaporation of organic vapors emitted by vehicles on particle numbers and on particle size distributions was examined. Under inefficient dispersion conditions, the model predicts that condensational growth contributes to the evolution of PN from roadside to the neighborhood scale. The simplified parameterization of aerosol processes predicts the change in particle number concentrations between roadside and urban background within 10 % of that predicted by the fully size-resolved MAFOR model.

Contribution of bacteria-like particles to PM2.5 aerosol in urban and rural environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wolf, R.; El-Haddad, I.; Slowik, J. G.; Dällenbach, K.; Bruns, E.; Vasilescu, J.; Baltensperger, U.; Prévôt, A. S. H.

2017-07-01

We report highly time-resolved estimates of airborne bacteria-like particle concentrations in ambient aerosol using an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). AMS measurements with a newly developed PM2.5 and the standard (PM1) aerodynamic lens were performed at an urban background site (Zurich) and at a rural site (Payerne) in Switzerland. Positive matrix factorization using the multilinear engine (ME-2) implementation was used to estimate the contribution of bacteria-like particles to non-refractory organic aerosol. The success of the method was evaluated by a size-resolved analysis of the organic mass and the analysis of single particle mass spectra, which were detected with a light scattering system integrated into the AMS. Use of the PM2.5 aerodynamic lens increased measured bacteria-like concentrations, supporting the analysis method. However, at all sites, the low concentrations of this component suggest that airborne bacteria constitute a minor fraction of non-refractory PM2.5 organic aerosol mass. Estimated average mass concentrations were below 0.1 μg/m3 and relative contributions were lower than 2% at both sites. During rainfall periods, concentrations of the bacteria-like component increased considerably reaching a short-time maximum of approximately 2 μg/m3 at the Payerne site in summer.

Seasonality of major aerosol species and their transformations in Cairo megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Favez, Olivier; Cachier, Hélène; Sciare, Jean; Alfaro, Stéphane C.; El-Araby, Tarek M.; Harhash, Maha A.; Abdelwahab, Magdy M.

Bulk aerosols sampled on 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 μg m -3) all year long. Within these particles, about 40% on average of Ca 2+ was found to be associated with SO 42-, NO 3- and/or Cl -, pointing out "dust anthropization" processes and their subsequent climatic impact on 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 μg m -3 in autumn and winter, and of 60 μg m -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 from 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 (˜1/3) were obtained all the year long, calling for more investigation on the water-solubility of organic aerosols originating from the burning of agricultural waste, and on that of secondary organic aerosols formed in dry urban atmospheres.

Source appointment of fine particle number and volume concentration during severe haze pollution in Beijing in January 2013.

PubMed

Liu, Zirui; Wang, Yuesi; Hu, Bo; Ji, Dongsheng; Zhang, Junke; Wu, Fangkun; Wan, Xin; Wang, Yonghong

2016-04-01

Extreme haze episodes repeatedly shrouded Beijing during the winter of 2012-2013, causing major environmental and health problems. To better understand these extreme events, particle number size distribution (PNSD) and particle chemical composition (PCC) data collected in an intensive winter campaign in an urban site of Beijing were used to investigate the sources of ambient fine particles. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis resolved a total of eight factors: two traffic factors, combustion factors, secondary aerosol, two accumulation mode aerosol factors, road dust, and long-range transported (LRT) dust. Traffic emissions (54%) and combustion aerosol (27%) were found to be the most important sources for particle number concentration, whereas combustion aerosol (33%) and accumulation mode aerosol (37%) dominated particle volume concentrations. Chemical compositions and sources of fine particles changed dynamically in the haze episodes. An enhanced role of secondary inorganic species was observed in the formation of haze pollution. Regional transport played an important role for high particles, contribution of which was on average up to 24-49% during the haze episodes. Secondary aerosols from urban background presented the largest contributions (45%) for the rapid increase of fine particles in the severest haze episode. In addition, the invasion of LRT dust aerosols further elevated the fine particles during the extreme haze episode. Our results showed a clear impact of regional transport on the local air pollution, suggesting the importance of regional-scale emission control measures in the local air quality management of Beijing.

Local and regional components of aerosol in a heavily trafficked street canyon in central London derived from PMF and cluster analysis of single-particle ATOFMS spectra.

PubMed

Giorio, Chiara; Tapparo, Andrea; Dall'Osto, Manuel; Beddows, David C S; Esser-Gietl, Johanna K; Healy, Robert M; Harrison, Roy M

2015-03-17

Positive matrix factorization (PMF) has been applied to single particle ATOFMS spectra collected on a six lane heavily trafficked road in central London (Marylebone Road), which well represents an urban street canyon. PMF analysis successfully extracted 11 factors from mass spectra of about 700,000 particles as a complement to information on particle types (from K-means cluster analysis). The factors were associated with specific sources and represent the contribution of different traffic related components (i.e., lubricating oils, fresh elemental carbon, organonitrogen and aromatic compounds), secondary aerosol locally produced (i.e., nitrate, oxidized organic aerosol and oxidized organonitrogen compounds), urban background together with regional transport (aged elemental carbon and ammonium) and fresh sea spray. An important result from this study is the evidence that rapid chemical processes occur in the street canyon with production of secondary particles from road traffic emissions. These locally generated particles, together with aging processes, dramatically affected aerosol composition producing internally mixed particles. These processes may become important with stagnant air conditions and in countries where gasoline vehicles are predominant and need to be considered when quantifying the impact of traffic emissions.

Aerosol Models for the CALIPSO Lidar Inversion Algorithms

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Omar, Ali H.; Winker, David M.; Won, Jae-Gwang

2003-01-01

We use measurements and models to develop aerosol models for use in the inversion algorithms for the Cloud Aerosol Lidar and Imager Pathfinder Spaceborne Observations (CALIPSO). Radiance measurements and inversions of the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET1, 2) are used to group global atmospheric aerosols using optical and microphysical parameters. This study uses more than 105 records of radiance measurements, aerosol size distributions, and complex refractive indices to generate the optical properties of the aerosol at more 200 sites worldwide. These properties together with the radiance measurements are then classified using classical clustering methods to group the sites according to the type of aerosol with the greatest frequency of occurrence at each site. Six significant clusters are identified: desert dust, biomass burning, urban industrial pollution, rural background, marine, and dirty pollution. Three of these are used in the CALIPSO aerosol models to characterize desert dust, biomass burning, and polluted continental aerosols. The CALIPSO aerosol model also uses the coarse mode of desert dust and the fine mode of biomass burning to build a polluted dust model. For marine aerosol, the CALIPSO aerosol model uses measurements from the SEAS experiment 3. In addition to categorizing the aerosol types, the cluster analysis provides all the column optical and microphysical properties for each cluster.

Statistical analysis and parameterization of the hygroscopic growth of the sub-micrometer urban background aerosol in Beijing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yu; Wu, Zhijun; Ma, Nan; Wu, Yusheng; Zeng, Limin; Zhao, Chunsheng; Wiedensohler, Alfred

2018-02-01

The take-up of water of aerosol particles plays an important role in heavy haze formation over North China Plain, since it is related with particle mass concentration, visibility degradation, and particle chemistry. In the present study, we investigated the size-resolved hygroscopic growth factor (HGF) of sub-micrometer aerosol particles (smaller than 350 nm) on a basis of 9-month Hygroscopicity-Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer measurement in the urban background atmosphere of Beijing. The mean hygroscopicity parameter (κ) values derived from averaging over the entire sampling period for particles of 50 nm, 75 nm, 100 nm, 150 nm, 250 nm, and 350 nm in diameters were 0.14 ± 0.07, 0.17 ± 0.05, 0.18 ± 0.06, 0.20 ± 0.07, 0.21 ± 0.09, and 0.23 ± 0.12, respectively, indicating the dominance of organics in the sub-micrometer urban aerosols. In the spring, summer, and autumn, the number fraction of hydrophilic particles increased with increasing particle size, resulting in an increasing trend of overall particle hygroscopicity with enhanced particle size. Differently, the overall mean κ values peaked in the range of 75-150 nm and decreased for particles larger than 150 nm in diameter during wintertime. Such size-dependency of κ in winter was related to the strong primary particle emissions from coal combustion during domestic heating period. The number fraction of hydrophobic particles such as freshly emitted soot decreased with increasing PM2.5 mass concentration, indicating aged and internal mixed particles were dominant in the severe particulate matter pollution. Parameterization schemes of the HGF as a function of relative humidity (RH) and particle size between 50 and 350 nm were determined for different seasons and pollution levels. The HGFs calculated from the parameterizations agree well with the measured HGFs at 20-90% RH. The parameterizations can be applied to determine the hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles at ambient conditions for the area of Beijing (ultrafine and fine particles) and the North China plain (fine particles).

Improved MODIS aerosol retrieval in urban areas using a land classification approach and empirical orthogonal functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levitan, Nathaniel; Gross, Barry

2016-10-01

New, high-resolution aerosol products are required in urban areas to improve the spatial coverage of the products, in terms of both resolution and retrieval frequency. These new products will improve our understanding of the spatial variability of aerosols in urban areas and will be useful in the detection of localized aerosol emissions. Urban aerosol retrieval is challenging for existing algorithms because of the high spatial variability of the surface reflectance, indicating the need for improved urban surface reflectance models. This problem can be stated in the language of novelty detection as the problem of selecting aerosol parameters whose effective surface reflectance spectrum is not an outlier in some space. In this paper, empirical orthogonal functions, a reconstruction-based novelty detection technique, is used to perform single-pixel aerosol retrieval using the single angular and temporal sample provided by the MODIS sensor. The empirical orthogonal basis functions are trained for different land classes using the MODIS BRDF MCD43 product. Existing land classification products are used in training and aerosol retrieval. The retrieval is compared against the existing operational MODIS 3 KM Dark Target (DT) aerosol product and co-located AERONET data. Based on the comparison, our method allows for a significant increase in retrieval frequency and a moderate decrease in the known biases of MODIS urban aerosol retrievals.

Effects of the Urban Heat Island on Aerosol pH

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battaglia, M., Jr.; Douglas, S.; Hennigan, C. J.

2017-12-01

The urban heat island (UHI) is a widely observed phenomenon whereby urban environments have higher temperature (T) and lower relative humidity (RH) than surrounding suburban and rural areas. Both of these factors affect the partitioning of semi-volatile species found in the atmosphere, such as nitric acid and ammonia. These species are inherently tied to aerosol pH, which is a key parameter driving some atmospheric chemical processes and environmental effects of aerosols. In this study, we characterized the effect of the UHI on aerosol pH in Baltimore, MD and Chicago, IL. These cities were selected based on differences in climatology, source influences, and atmospheric composition. Meteorological and atmospheric composition data from the urban centers and surrounding rural locations were used as inputs to the ISORROPIA-II aerosol thermodynamic model to compute gas/particle partitioning, aerosol liquid water content, and aerosol pH. Dramatic differences in aerosol liquid water (ALW) content were found in both cities and were attributable to the T and RH differences (UHI effect). The urban-rural differences in ALW result in urban aerosol pH that is systematically lower (more acidic) than rural aerosol pH for identical atmospheric composition. The UHI in Baltimore is most intense during the summer and at night, with differences of up to 1 pH unit predicted during these times. Similarly, the UHI in Chicago is most intense during the summer and at night; however, the atmospheric composition in Chicago shows a mediating effect, with differences of up to 0.65 pH units predicted during these times. These results are likely to have broad implications for chemistry occurring in and around urban atmospheres globally, although the magnitude of the effect may differ based on the UHI characteristic of each urban environment.

Chemical, optical and radiative characteristics of aerosols during haze episodes of winter in the North China Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ding, Jing; Zhang, Yufen; Han, Suqin; Xiao, Zhimei; Wang, Jiao; Feng, Yinchang

2018-05-01

Aerosol and water vapor radiative forcings, shortwave atmospheric heating rates and longwave atmospheric cooling rates were determined based on in situ physical and chemical measurements of aerosol, associated with the Mie theory and a radiative transfer model, LOWTRAN7, during the two haze episodes in the winter of 2013 in Tianjin, China. The aerosol types considered in LOWTRAN7 included rural, urban, marine, desert and custom aerosols. The default ratio of the absorption coefficient to the extinction coefficient for urban aerosol in LOWTRAN7 was approximately double of those found in this work, implying the weaker absorption ability of aerosols in the North China Plain (NCP). Moreover, the aerosol is assumed to be evenly distributed below 1 km of planetary boundary layer (PBL) on hazy days in LOWTRAN7. If the default urban aerosol optical properties and extinction profile in LOWTRAN7 is employed directly, a larger energy imbalance between the atmosphere and surface is generated and the warming effect of the aerosol is magnified. Hence, modified urban aerosol optical properties were established to replace the corresponding parameters' database in LOWTRAN7. The aerosol extinction profiles were obtained based on a 255-m meteorological tower and observed results from the studies about Tianjin. In the NCP, the aerosol had little impact on atmospheric counter radiation. The water vapor is the crucial factor that affects atmospheric counter radiation. Both modified high shortwave heating rates and longwave cooling rates occur near the surface due to the abundance of aerosol and water vapor. The modified net atmospheric heating rate near the surface is 1.2 K d-1 on hazy days and 0.3 K d-1 on non-hazy days. Compared with the default urban aerosol optical properties and its vertical distribution in LOWTRAN7, the feedback effect of the modified urban aerosol on the boundary layer may not necessarily result in a stable lower atmosphere, but depends on the aerosol light absorption ability and its vertical distribution.

Preliminary results of the aerosol optical depth retrieval in Johor, Malaysia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lim, H. Q.; Kanniah, K. D.; Lau, A. M. S.

2014-02-01

Monitoring of atmospheric aerosols over the urban area is important as tremendous amounts of pollutants are released by industrial activities and heavy traffic flow. Air quality monitoring by satellite observation provides better spatial coverage, however, detailed aerosol properties retrieval remains a challenge. This is due to the limitation of aerosol retrieval algorithm on high reflectance (bright surface) areas. The aim of this study is to retrieve aerosol optical depth over urban areas of Iskandar Malaysia; the main southern development zone in Johor state, using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 500 m resolution data. One of the important steps is the aerosol optical depth retrieval is to characterise different types of aerosols in the study area. This information will be used to construct a Look Up Table containing the simulated aerosol reflectance and corresponding aerosol optical depth. Thus, in this study we have characterised different aerosol types in the study area using Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) data. These data were processed using cluster analysis and the preliminary results show that the area is consisting of coastal urban (65%), polluted urban (27.5%), dust particles (6%) and heavy pollution (1.5%) aerosols.

Atmospheric oxalic acid and related secondary organic aerosols in Qinghai Lake, a continental background site in Tibet Plateau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Jingjing; Wang, Gehui; Li, Jianjun; Cheng, Chunlei; Cao, Junji

2013-11-01

Summertime PM2.5 aerosols collected from Qinghai Lake (3200 m a.s.l.), a remote continental site in the northeastern part of Tibetan Plateau, were analyzed for dicarboxylic acids (C2-C11), ketocarboxylic acids and α-dicarbonyals. Oxalic acid (C2) is the dominant dicarboxylic acid in the samples, followed by malonic, succinic and azelaic acids. Total dicarboxylic acids (231 ± 119 ng m-3), ketocarboxylic acids (8.4 ± 4.3 ng m-3), and α-dicarbonyls (2.7 ± 2.1 ng m-3) at the Tibetan background site are 2-5 times less than those detected in lowland areas such as 14 Chinese megacities. Compared to those in other urban and marine areas enhancements in relative abundances of C2/total diacids and diacids-C/WSOC of the PM2.5 samples suggest that organic aerosols in the region are more oxidized due to strong solar radiation. Molecular compositions and air mass trajectories demonstrate that the above secondary organic aerosols in the Qinghai Lake atmosphere are largely derived from long-range transport. Ratios of oxalic acid, glyoxal and methylglyoxal to levoglucosan in PM2.5 aerosols emitted from household burning of yak dung, a major energy source for Tibetan in the region, are 30-400 times lower than those in the ambient air, which further indicates that primary emission from biomass burning is a negligible source of atmospheric oxalic acid and α-dicarbonyls at this background site.

Connecting Water Quality With Air Quality Through Microbial Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dueker, M. Elias

Aerosol production from surface waters results in the transfer of aquatic materials (including nutrients and bacteria) to air. These materials can then be transported by onshore winds to land, representing a biogeochemical connection between aquatic and terrestrial systems not normally considered. In urban waterfront environments, this transfer could result in emissions of pathogenic bacteria from contaminated waters. Despite the potential importance of this link, sources, near-shore deposition, identity and viability of microbial aerosols are largely uncharacterized. This dissertation focuses on the environmental and biological mechanisms that define this water-air connection, as a means to build our understanding of the biogeochemical, biogeographical, and public health implications of the transfer of surface water materials to the near-shore environment in both urban and non-urban environments. The effects of tidal height, wind speed and fog on coastal aerosols and microbial content were first quantified on a non-urban coast of Maine, USA. Culture-based, culture-independent, and molecular methods were used to simultaneously sample microbial aerosols while monitoring meteorological parameters. Aerosols at this site displayed clear marine influence and high concentrations of ecologically-relevant nutrients. Coarse aerosol concentrations significantly increased with tidal height, onshore wind speed, and fog presence. Tidal height and fog presence did not significantly influence total microbial aerosol concentrations, but did have a significant effect on culturable microbial aerosol fallout. Molecular analyses of the microbes settling out of near-shore aerosols provided further evidence of local ocean to terrestrial transport of microbes. Aerosol and surface ocean bacterial communities shared species and in general were dominated by organisms previously sampled in marine environments. Fog presence strengthened the microbial connection between water and land through air by increasing microbial aerosol settling rates and enhancing viability of aerosolized marine microbes. Using methods developed for the non-urban site, the role of local environment and winds in mediating water-air connections was further investigated in the urban environment. The local environment, including water surfaces, was an important source of microbial aerosols at urban sites. Large portions of the urban waterfront microbial aerosol communities were aquatic and, at a highly polluted Superfund waterfront, were closely related to bacteria previously described in environments contaminated with hydrocarbons, heavy metals, sewage and other industrial waste. Culturable urban aerosols and surface waters contained bacterial genera known to include human pathogens and asthma agents. High onshore winds strengthened this water-air connection by playing both a transport and production role. The microbial connection between water and air quality outlined by this dissertation highlights the need for information on the mechanisms that deliver surface water materials to terrestrial systems on a much larger scale. Moving from point measurements to landscape-level analyses will allow for the quantitative assessment of implications for this microbial water-air-land transfer in both urban and non-urban arenas.

Using Smart Planning to Mitigate Drought in Urban Areas: A Seasonal Simulation of the Impact of Urbanization on Precipitation in the Indianapolis Region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmid, P. E.; Niyogi, D.

2012-12-01

The Indianapolis region exhibits a precipitation distribution indicative of urban weather modification: negative bias upwind and positive bias downwind. The causes for such a distribution within an urban area arise from a combination of land-surface heterogeneity and urban aerosol-cloud interaction. This study investigates the causes of the precipitation distribution with a 120-day simulation using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System (RAMS) coupled with the Town Energy Budget (TEB) model. Using a nested grid with a maximum resolution of 500m, a seasonal simulation of May through August, 2008 is conducted. Land surface conditions are varied, removing, expanding, and intensifying the Indianapolis urban area. Aerosol conditions are scaled by a three-dimensional combination of MODIS and CALIPSO observations, and varied in concentration and plume extent. Results from the study demonstrate the paradigm of urban precipitation modification on a seasonal time scale. The boundary between the rural and urban land surfaces weakens approaching systems upwind, decreasing precipitation in the city center. A larger urban extent diminishes the systems further. The aerosol plume downwind increases cloud lifetimes via cloud-nucleating aerosol, then invigorates precipitation via large drizzle-invigorating aerosols. The overall effect reproduces the observed negative precipitation bias upwind and positive bias downwind of the urban center. A lower concentration of aerosols leads to a higher proportion of stratiform rain over a larger area, whereas a higher concentration of aerosols leads to more convective rain and heavy rain events. This manifests in a weekly cycle of precipitation with rain most likely on weekends, and with less frequent but heavier rain events most likely during midweek, when aerosol concentrations are the highest. More intense urbanization, via both land surface and aerosol effects, creates more frequent heavy rainfall events and exacerbates dry-periods, potentially leading to premature drought onset. The wetter than average May, June, and July received more total rainfall from the heavy rainfall events, while the dry August became drier due to lack of stratiform precipitation. Smart planning solutions can partially mitigate the urban precipitation problem. In a simulation where a more intense urban Indianapolis is surrounded by a greenbelt and green roofs are implemented in the city, the urban precipitation bias becomes less significant. Upwind, the greenbelt provides surface moisture and mitigates how much precipitation systems weaken. Downwind, the greenbelt slows the transport of drizzle-invigorating aerosol, reducing the heavy rain events. The green roofs reduce the urban-rural gradient and slow the initial weakening of systems.

Human-Induced Climate Variations Linked to Urbanization: From Observations to Modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall; Jin, Menglin

2004-01-01

The goal of this session is to bring together scientists from interdisciplinary backgrounds to discuss the data, scientific approaches and recent results focusing on the impact of urbanization on the climate. The discussion will highlight current observational and modeling capabilities being employed for investigating the urban environment and its linkage to the change in the Earth's climate system. The goal of the session is to identify our current stand and the future direction on the topic. Urbanization is one of the extreme cases of land use change. Most of population of the world has moved to urban areas. By 1995, more than 70% of population of North America and Europe were living in cities. By 2025, the United Nations estimates that 60% of the worlds population will live in cities. Although currently only 1.2% of the land is urban, better understanding of how the atmosphere-ocean-land-biosphere components interact as a coupled system and the influence of human activities on this system is critical. Our understanding of urbanization effect is incomplete, partly because human activities induce new changes on climate in addition to the original natural variations, and partly because previously few data available for study urban effect globally. Urban construction changes surface roughness, albedo, heat capacity and vegetation coverage. Traffic and industry increase atmospheric aerosol. It is suggested that urbanization may modify rainfall processes through aerosol-cloud interactions or dynamic feedbacks. Because urbanization effect on climate is determined by many factors including land cover, the city's microscale features, population density, and human lifestyle patterns, it is necessary to study urban areas over globe.

Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol at an urban background and a road site in Barcelona (Spain) during SAPUSS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alier, M.; van Drooge, B. L.; Dall'Osto, M.; Querol, X.; Grimalt, J. O.; Tauler, R.

2013-10-01

This study investigates the contribution of potential sources to the submicron (PM1) organic aerosol (OA) simultaneously detected at an urban background (UB) and a road site (RS) in Barcelona during the 30 days of the intensive field campaign of SAPUSS (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies, September-October 2010). A total of 103 filters at 12 h sampling time resolution were collected at both sites. Thirty-six neutral and polar organic compounds of known emission sources and photo-chemical transformation processes were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations of the trace chemical compounds analyzed are herein presented and discussed. Additionally, OA source apportionment was performed by multivariate curve resolution-alternating least squares (MCR-ALS) and six OA components were identified at both sites: two were of primary anthropogenic OA origin and three of secondary OA origin, while a sixth one was not clearly defined. Primary organics from emissions of local anthropogenic activities (urban primary organic aerosol, or POA Urban), mainly traffic emissions but also cigarette smoke, contributed 43% (1.5 μg OC m-3) and 18% (0.4 μg OC m-3) to OA at RS and UB, respectively. A secondary primary source - biomass burning (BBOA) - was found in all the samples (average values 7% RS; 12% UB; 0.3 μg OC m-3), but this component was substantially contributing to OA only when the sampling sites were under influence of regional air mass circulation (REG.). Three secondary organic aerosol (SOA) components (describing overall 60% of the variance) were observed in the urban ambient PM1. Products of isoprene oxidation (SOA ISO) - i.e. 2-methylglyceric acid, C5 alkene triols and 2-methyltetrols - showed the highest abundance at both sites when the city was under influence of inland air masses. The overall concentrations of SOA ISO were similar at both sites (0.4 and 0.3 μg m-3, or 16% and 7%, at UB and RS, respectively). By contrast, a SOA biogenic component attributed to α-pinene oxidation (SOA BIO PIN) presented average concentrations of 0.5 μg m-3 at UB (24% of OA) and 0.2 μg m-3 at RS (7%), respectively, suggesting that this SOA component did not impact the two monitoring sites at the same level. A clear anti-correlation was observed between SOA ISO and SOA PIN during nucleation days, surprisingly suggesting that some of the growth of urban freshly nucleating particles may be driven by biogenic α-pinene oxidation products but inhibited by isoprene organic compounds. A third SOA component was formed by a mixture of aged anthropogenic and biogenic secondary organic compounds (SOA Aged) that accumulated under stagnant atmospheric conditions, contributing for 12% to OA at RS (0.4 μg OC m-3) and for 18% at UB (0.4 μg OC m-3). A sixth component, formed by C7-C9 dicarboxylic acids and detected especially during daytime, was called "urban oxygenated organic aerosol" (OOA Urban) due to its high abundance at urban RS (23%; 0.8 μg OCm-3) vs. UB (10%; 0.2 μg OCm-3), with a well-defined daytime maximum. This temporal trend and geographical differentiation suggests that local anthropogenic sources were determining this component. However, the changes of these organic molecules were also influenced by the air mass trajectories, indicating that atmospheric conditions have an influence on this component, although the specific origin on this component remains unclear. It points to a secondary organic component driven by primary urban sources including cooking and traffic (mainly gasoline) activities.

Source apportionment of submicron organic aerosol at an urban background and a road site in Barcelona, Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alier, M.; van Drooge, B. L.; Dall'Osto, M.; Querol, X.; Grimalt, J. O.; Tauler, R.

2013-04-01

This study investigates the contribution of potential sources to the sub-micron (PM1) organic aerosol (OA) simultaneously detected at an urban background (UB) and a road site (RS) in Barcelona during the 30 days of the intensive field campaign of SAPUSS (Solving Aerosol Problems by Using Synergistic Strategies, September-October 2010). 103 filters at 12 h sampling time resolution were collected at both sites. Thirty-six neutral and polar organic compounds of known emission sources and photo-chemical transformation processes were analyzed by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The concentrations of the trace chemical compounds analyzed are herein presented and discussed. Additionally, OA source apportionment was performed by Multivariate Curve Resolution-Alternating Least Squares (MCR-ALS) and six OA components were identified at both sites: two were of primary anthropogenic OA origin, three of secondary OA origin while a sixth one was not clearly defined. Primary organics from emissions of local anthropogenic activities (Urban primary organic aerosol, Urban POA) contributed for 43% (1.5 μg OC m-3) and 18% (0.4 μg OC m-3) to OA in RS and UB, respectively. A secondary primary source - biomass burning (BBOA) - was found in all the samples (average values 7% RS; 12% UB; 0.3 μg OC m-3), but this component was substantially contributing to OA only when the sampling sites were under influence of regional air mass circulation. Three Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA) components (describing overall 60% of the variance) were observed in the urban ambient PM1. Products of isoprene oxidation (SOA ISO), i.e. 2-methylglyceric acid, C5 alkene triols and 2-methyltetrols, showed the highest abundance at both sites when the city was under influence of inland air masses. The overall concentrations of SOA ISO were similar at both sites (0.4 and 0.3 μg m-3, 16% and 7%, at UB and RS, respectively). By contrast, a SOA biogenic component attributed to α-pinene oxidation (SOA BIO PIN) presented average concentrations of 0.5 μg m-3 at UB (24% of OA) and 0.2 μg m-3 at RS (7%), respectively, suggesting that this SOA component did not impact the two monitoring site at the same level. A clear anti correlation was observed between SOA ISO and SOA PIN during nucleation days, surprisingly suggesting that some of the growth of urban freshly nucleating particles may be driven by biogenic α-pinene oxidation products but inhibited by isoprene organic compounds. A third SOA component was formed by a mixture of aged anthropogenic and biogenic secondary organic compounds (Aged SOA) that accumulated under stagnant atmospheric conditions, contributing for 12% to OA at RS (0.4 μg OC m-3) and for 18% at UB (0.4 μg OC m-3). A sixth component, formed by C7-C9 dicarboxylic acids and detected especially during daytime, was called "urban oxygenated organic aerosol" (Urban OOA) due to its high abundance in urban RS (23%; 0.8 μg OC m-3) vs. UB (10%; 0.2 μg OC m-3), with a well-defined daytime maximum. This temporal trend and geographical differentiation suggests that local anthropogenic sources were determining this component. However, the changes of these organic molecules were also influenced by the air mass trajectories, indicating that atmospheric conditions had an influence on this component although the specific origin on this component remains unclear. It points to a secondary organic component driven by primary urban sources including cooking and traffic (mainly gasoline) activities.

Persistence of urban organic aerosols composition: Decoding their structural complexity and seasonal variability.

PubMed

Matos, João T V; Duarte, Regina M B O; Lopes, Sónia P; Silva, Artur M S; Duarte, Armando C

2017-12-01

Organic Aerosols (OAs) are typically defined as highly complex matrices whose composition changes in time and space. Focusing on time vector, this work uses two-dimensional nuclear magnetic resonance (2D NMR) techniques to examine the structural features of water-soluble (WSOM) and alkaline-soluble organic matter (ASOM) sequentially extracted from fine atmospheric aerosols collected in an urban setting during cold and warm seasons. This study reveals molecular signatures not previously decoded in NMR-related studies of OAs as meaningful source markers. Although the ASOM is less hydrophilic and structurally diverse than its WSOM counterpart, both fractions feature a core with heteroatom-rich branched aliphatics from both primary (natural and anthropogenic) and secondary origin, aromatic secondary organics originated from anthropogenic aromatic precursors, as well as primary saccharides and amino sugar derivatives from biogenic emissions. These common structures represent those 2D NMR spectral signatures that are present in both seasons and can thus be seen as an "annual background" profile of the structural composition of OAs at the urban location. Lignin-derived structures, nitroaromatics, disaccharides, and anhydrosaccharides signatures were also identified in the WSOM samples only from periods identified as smoke impacted, which reflects the influence of biomass-burning sources. The NMR dataset on the H-C molecules backbone was also used to propose a semi-quantitative structural model of urban WSOM, which will aid efforts for more realistic studies relating the chemical properties of OAs with their atmospheric behavior. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Investigating the annual behaviour of submicron secondary inorganic and organic aerosols in London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, D. E.; Allan, J. D.; Williams, P. I.; Green, D. C.; Flynn, M. J.; Harrison, R. M.; Yin, J.; Gallagher, M. W.; Coe, H.

2014-07-01

For the first time, the behaviour of non-refractory inorganic and organic submicron particulate through an entire annual cycle is investigated using measurements from an Aerodyne compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (cToF-AMS) located at a UK urban background site in North Kensington, London. We show secondary aerosols account for a significant fraction of the submicron aerosol burden and that high concentration events are governed by different factors depending on season. Furthermore, we demonstrate that on an annual basis there is no variability in the extent of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) oxidation, as defined by the oxygen content, irrespective of amount. This result is surprising given the changes in precursor emissions and contributions as well as photochemical activity throughout the year; however it may make the characterisation of SOA in urban environments more straightforward than previously supposed. Organic species, nitrate, sulphate, ammonium, and chloride were measured during 2012 with average concentrations (±one standard deviation) of 4.32 (±4.42), 2.74 (±5.00), 1.39 (±1.34), 1.30 (±1.52) and 0.15 (±0.24) μg m-3, contributing 43, 28, 14, 13 and 2% to the total submicron mass, respectively. Components of the organic aerosol fraction are determined using positive matrix factorisation (PMF) where five factors are identified and attributed as hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), solid fuel OA (SFOA), type 1 oxygenated OA (OOA1), and type 2 oxygenated OA (OOA2). OOA1 and OOA2 represent more and less oxygenated OA with average concentrations of 1.27 (±1.49) and 0.14 (±0.29) μg m-3, respectively, where OOA1 dominates the SOA fraction (90%). Diurnal, monthly, and seasonal trends are observed in all organic and inorganic species, due to meteorological conditions, specific nature of the aerosols, and availability of precursors. Regional and transboundary pollution as well as other individual pollution events influence London's total submicron aerosol burden. High concentrations of non-refractory submicron aerosols in London are governed by particulate emissions in winter, especially nitrate and SFOA, whereas SOA formation drives the high concentrations during the summer. The findings from this work could have significant implications for modelling of urban air pollution as well as for the effects of atmospheric aerosols on health and climate.

Evidencing lead deposition at the urban scale using "short-lived" isotopic signatures of the source term (Pb-Zn refinery)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franssens, Matthias; Flament, Pascal; Deboudt, Karine; Weis, Dominique; Perdrix, Espéranza

2004-09-01

To demonstrate the ability of the lead isotope signature technique to evidence the spatial extent of an industrial Pb deposition plume at a local scale, dry deposition of lead in the urban environment of a Pb-Zn refinery was investigated, as a study case, using transient ("short-lived") isotopic signatures of the industrial source. Sampling campaigns were achieved in representative weather conditions, on an 8-h basis. Dry deposition rates measured downwind from refinery emissions (≈102-103 μg Pb m-2 h-1), cross-sectionally in a 3-5 km radius area around the plant, represent 10-100 times the urban background dry fallout, measured upwind, as well as fallout measured near other potential sources of anthropogenic Pb. The Pb-Zn refinery isotopic signature (approx. 1.100<206Pb/207Pb<1.135) is made identifiable, using the same set of Pb and Zn ores for 2 days before sampling and during field experiments, by agreement with the executive staff of the plant. This source signature is less radiogenic than signatures of urban background Pb aerosols (1.155<206Pb/207Pb<1.165) and minor sources of Pb aerosols (1.147<206Pb/207Pb<1.165). By a simple binary mixing model calculation, we established the extension of the industrial Pb deposition plume. Fifty to eighty percents of total lead settled by the dry deposition mode, 3-4 km away from the refinery, still have an industrial origin. That represents from 40 to 80 μg Pb m-2 h-1, in an area where the blood lead level exceeds 100 μg Pb l-1 for 30% of men and 12% of women living there. We demonstrate here that stable Pb isotope analysis is able to evidence the Pb dry deposition plume in stabilised aerodynamic conditions, using a short-lived source term, suggesting that this methodology is able to furnish valuable data to validate industrial Pb aerosols dispersion models, at the urban scale.

Seasonal variability of aerosols and their characteristics in urban and rural locations of Delhi-NCR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhardwaj, Purnima; Pandey, Alok Kumar; Kumar, Krishan; Jain, V. K.

2017-10-01

Present study shows the seasonal variation of the Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and aerosols characteristics in an urban and rural environment over Delhi-NCR. Aerosol sampling was carried out using a Mini-Volume sampler at an urban and rural location in Delhi-NCR. A relatively higher PM2.5 (particulate matter of size < 2.5 μm) concentrations were observed at the urban sampling site than the rural one in the summer as well as winter season. PM2.5 samples were further analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDX) in order to understand the morphology and elemental composition of the PM2.5 aerosols. Summer SEM results showed the dominance of fluffy agglomerate (soot) in urban area whereas the rural area was relatively clean. The winter season SEM results showed the presence of aggregates of smaller particles at urban site whereas flaky, round and irregular shaped particles were observed at the rural site. EDX analysis showed the presence of elements such as C, Cu, Zn, Ga and Fe (representative elements) in varying concentrations at both the urban and rural sampling locations. NASA's Aqua satellite MODIS sensor AOD data for summer and winter seasons have been used to study the spatial distributions of aerosols over the study region. AOD was found to be relatively higher in urban area as compared to the rural area in both the summer and winter seasons indicating the contribution of high amount of anthropogenic aerosols in the urban atmosphere.

Characterization of the wintertime particulate (PM1) pollution at an urban background site of Nicosia, Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pikridas, Michael; Sciare, Jean; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Oikonomou, Konstantina; Merabet, Hamza; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Yassaa, Nouredine; Savvides, Chrysanthos

2016-04-01

As part of MISTRALS-ChArMEx (Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment, http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr/), and MISTRALS-ENVI-Med "CyAr" (Cyprus Aerosols and gas precursors) programs, a 1-month intensive field campaign has been performed in December 2014 at an urban background site of Nicosia (Cyprus) - a typical European city of the Eastern Mediterranean - with the objective to document the major (local versus imported) sources responsible for wintertime particulate (PM1) pollution. Several near real-time analyzers were deployed for that purpose (TEOM 1400, OPC Grimm 1.108, Q-ACSM, Aethalometer AE31) allowing to investigate in near-real time the major chemical components of submicron aerosols (Black Carbon, Organics, Sulphate, Nitrate, Ammonium). Quality control of Q-ACSM and Aethalometer datasets was performed through closure studies (using co-located TEOM / OPC Grimm). Comparisons were also performed with other on-line / off-line measurements performed by the local Air quality network (DLI) at other locations in Nicosia with the objective to check the consistency and representativeness of our observations. Very high levels of Black Carbon and OA were systematically observed every night (with maximum concentrations around 22:00 local time) pointing to local combustion sources most probably related to domestic heating. Source apportionment of organic aerosols (OA) was performed using the SourceFinder software (SoFi, http://www.psi.ch/acsm-stations/me-2) allowing the distinction between various primary/secondary OA sources and helped us to better characterize the combustion sources being responsible for the observed elevated nighttime PM1 levels. Acknowledgements: This campaign has been funded by MISTRALS (ChArMEx et ENVI-Med CyAr programs), CNRS-INSU, CEA, CyI, DLI, CDER and ECPL.

A dense Black Carbon network in the region of Paris, France: Implementation, objectives, and first results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sciare, Jean; Petit, Jean-Eudes; Sarda-Esteve, Roland; Bonnaire, Nicolas; Gros, Valérie; Pernot, Pierre; Ghersi, Véronique; Ampe, Christophe; Songeur, Charlotte; Brugge, Benjamin; Debert, Christophe; Favez, Olivier; Le Priol, Tiphaine; Mocnik, Grisa

2013-04-01

Motivations. Road traffic and domestic wood burning emissions are two major contributors of particulate pollution in our cities. These two sources emit ultra-fine, soot containing, particles in the atmosphere, affecting health adversely, increasing morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular and respiratory conditions and casing lung cancer. A better characterization of soot containing aerosol sources in our major cities provides useful information for policy makers for assessment, implementation and monitoring of strategies to tackle air pollution issues affecting human health with additional benefits for climate change. Objectives. This study on local sources of primary Particulate Matter (PM) in the megacity of Paris is a follow-up of several programs (incl. EU-FP7-MEGAPOLI) that have shown that fine PM - in the Paris background atmosphere - is mostly secondary and imported. A network of 14 stations of Black Carbon has been implemented in the larger region of Paris to provide highly spatially resolved long term survey of local combustion aerosols. To our best knowledge, this is the first time that such densely BC network is operating over a large urban area, providing novel information on the spatial/temporal distribution of combustion aerosols within a post-industrialized megacity. Experimental. As part of the PRIMEQUAL "PREQUALIF" project, a dense Black Carbon network (of 14 stations) has been installed over the city of Paris beginning of 2012 in order to produce spatially resolved Equivalent Black Carbon (EBC) concentration maps with high time resolution through modeling and data assimilation. This network is composed of various real-time instruments (Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer, MAAP by THERMO; Multi-wavelength Aethalometers by MAGEE Scientific) implemented in contrasted sites (rural background, urban background, traffic) complementing the regulated measurements (PM, NOx) in the local air quality network AIRPARIF (http://www.airparif.asso.fr/). Contribution of imported versus local EBC is calculated using the "Lenschow" methodology (Lenschow et al., 2001), whereas the influence of domestic wood burning EBC (vs traffic) over the region of Paris is evaluated using the Aethalometer model developed by Sandradewi et al. (2008). Results and discussion. First results of this BC network are presented here including the temporal variations of EBC from wood burning (domestic heating) and fossil fuel (traffic) for the various sites (1-year observation for rural background and traffic sites; 4-year observations for urban background). The local versus imported contributions of EBC are also presented and discussed for these 2 sources. References. Lenschow, P., et al., Some ideas about the sources of PM10, Atmospheric Environment 35 Supplement No. 1 (2001) S23-S33 Sandradewi, J., et al., Using aerosol light absorption measurements for the quantitative determination of wood burning and traffic emission contributions to particulate matter, Environ. Sci. Technol., 42, 3316-3323, 2008

Large contribution of fossil fuel derived secondary organic carbon to water soluble organic aerosols in winter haze in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yan-Lin; El-Haddad, Imad; Huang, Ru-Jin; Ho, Kin-Fai; Cao, Jun-Ji; Han, Yongming; Zotter, Peter; Bozzetti, Carlo; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Slowik, Jay G.; Salazar, Gary; Prévôt, André S. H.; Szidat, Sönke

2018-03-01

Water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) is a large fraction of organic aerosols (OA) globally and has significant impacts on climate and human health. The sources of WSOC remain very uncertain in polluted regions. Here we present a quantitative source apportionment of WSOC, isolated from aerosols in China using radiocarbon (14C) and offline high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer measurements. Fossil emissions on average accounted for 32-47 % of WSOC. Secondary organic carbon (SOC) dominated both the non-fossil and fossil derived WSOC, highlighting the importance of secondary formation to WSOC in severe winter haze episodes. Contributions from fossil emissions to SOC were 61 ± 4 and 50 ± 9 % in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively, significantly larger than those in Guangzhou (36 ± 9 %) and Xi'an (26 ± 9 %). The most important primary sources were biomass burning emissions, contributing 17-26 % of WSOC. The remaining primary sources such as coal combustion, cooking and traffic were generally very small but not negligible contributors, as coal combustion contribution could exceed 10 %. Taken together with earlier 14C source apportionment studies in urban, rural, semi-urban and background regions in Asia, Europe and the USA, we demonstrated a dominant contribution of non-fossil emissions (i.e., 75 ± 11 %) to WSOC aerosols in the Northern Hemisphere; however, the fossil fraction is substantially larger in aerosols from East Asia and the eastern Asian pollution outflow, especially during winter, due to increasing coal combustion. Inclusion of our findings can improve a modelling of effects of WSOC aerosols on climate, atmospheric chemistry and public health.

An inter-comparison of PM2.5 at urban and urban background sites: Chemical characterization and source apportionment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cesari, D.; Donateo, A.; Conte, M.; Merico, E.; Giangreco, A.; Giangreco, F.; Contini, D.

2016-06-01

A measurement campaign was performed between 04/03/2013 and 17/07/2013 for simultaneous collection of PM2.5 samples in two nearby sites in southeastern Italy: an urban site and an urban background site. PM2.5 at the two sites were similar; however, the chemical composition and the contributions of the main sources were significantly different. The coefficients of divergence (CODs) showed spatial heterogeneity of EC (higher at the urban site because of traffic emissions) and of all metals. Major ions (NH4+, Na+, and SO42 -) and OC had low CODs, suggesting a homogeneous distribution of sea spray, secondary sulfate, and secondary organic matter (SOM = 1.6*OCsec, where OCsec is the secondary OC). The strong correlations between Na+ and Cl-, and the low Cl-/Na+ ratios, suggested the presence of aged sea spray with chloride depletion (about 79% of Cl-) and formation of sodium nitrate at both sites. In both sites, the non-sea-salt sulfate was about 97% of sulfate, and the strong correlation between SO42 - and NH4+ indicated that ammonium was present as ammonium sulfate. However, during advection of Saharan Dust, calcium sulfate was present rather than ammonium sulfate. The source apportionment was performed using the Positive Matrix Factorization comparing outputs of model EPA PMF 3.0 and 5.0 version. Six aerosol sources were identified at both sites: traffic, biomass burning, crustal-resuspended dust, secondary nitrate, marine aerosol, and secondary sulfate. The PMF3.0 model was not completely able, in these sites, to separate marine contribution from secondary nitrate and secondary sulfate from OC, underestimating the marine contribution and overestimating the secondary sulfate with respect to stoichiometric calculations. The application of specific constraints on PMF5.0 provided cleaner profiles, improving the comparison with stoichiometric calculations. The seasonal trends revealed larger biomass burning contributions during the cold period at both sites due to domestic heating emissions added to those of agricultural practices. Secondary aerosol represented about 50% of PM2.5 at both sites (about 1/3 due to SOM), with a slight increase during the cold season, probably due to the formation of secondary OC via gas-to-particle conversion. Secondary inorganic aerosol (nitrate plus sulfate) did not show seasonal trend because the reduction of nitrate due to thermal instability during the warm season was compensated by an almost equivalent increase of sulfate.

Metagenomic analysis of the airborne environment in urban spaces.

PubMed

Be, Nicholas A; Thissen, James B; Fofanov, Viacheslav Y; Allen, Jonathan E; Rojas, Mark; Golovko, George; Fofanov, Yuriy; Koshinsky, Heather; Jaing, Crystal J

2015-02-01

The organisms in aerosol microenvironments, especially densely populated urban areas, are relevant to maintenance of public health and detection of potential epidemic or biothreat agents. To examine aerosolized microorganisms in this environment, we performed sequencing on the material from an urban aerosol surveillance program. Whole metagenome sequencing was applied to DNA extracted from air filters obtained during periods from each of the four seasons. The composition of bacteria, plants, fungi, invertebrates, and viruses demonstrated distinct temporal shifts. Bacillus thuringiensis serovar kurstaki was detected in samples known to be exposed to aerosolized spores, illustrating the potential utility of this approach for identification of intentionally introduced microbial agents. Together, these data demonstrate the temporally dependent metagenomic complexity of urban aerosols and the potential of genomic analytical techniques for biosurveillance and monitoring of threats to public health.

Impact of particle emissions of new laser printers on modeled office room

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koivisto, Antti J.; Hussein, Tareq; Niemelä, Raimo; Tuomi, Timo; Hämeri, Kaarle

2010-06-01

In this study, we present how an indoor aerosol model can be used to characterize particle emitter and predict influence of the source on indoor air quality. Particle size-resolved emission rates were quantified and the source's influence on indoor air quality was estimated by using office model simulations. We measured particle emissions from three modern laser printers in a flow-through chamber. Measured parameters were used as input parameters for an indoor aerosol model, which we then used to quantify the particle emission rates. The same indoor aerosol model was used to simulate the effect of the particle emission source inside an office model. The office model consists of a mechanically ventilated empty room and the particle source. The aerosol from the ventilation air was a filtered urban background aerosol. The effect of the ventilation rate was studied using three different ventilation ratios 1, 2 and 3 h -1. According to the model, peak emission rates of the printers exceeded 7.0 × 10 8 s -1 (2.5 × 10 12 h -1), and emitted mainly ultrafine particles (diameter less than 100 nm). The office model simulation results indicate that a print job increases ultrafine particle concentration to a maximum of 2.6 × 10 5 cm -3. Printer-emitted particles increased 6-h averaged particle concentration over eleven times compared to the background particle concentration.

Aerosol Seasonal Variations over Urban-Industrial Regions in Ukraine According to AERONET and POLDER Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Milinevsky, G.; Danylevsky, V.; Bovchaliuk, V.; Bovchaliuk, A.; Goloub, Ph.; Dubovik, O.; Kabashnikov, V.; Chaikovsky, A.; Miatselskaya, N.; Mishchenko, M.;

Local environmental pollution strongly influences culturable bacterial aerosols at an urban aquatic superfund site.

PubMed

Dueker, M Elias; O'Mullan, Gregory D; Juhl, Andrew R; Weathers, Kathleen C; Uriarte, Maria

2012-10-16

In polluted environments, when microbial aerosols originate locally, species composition of the aerosols should reflect the polluted source. To test the connection between local environmental pollution and microbial aerosols near an urban waterfront, we characterized bacterial aerosols at Newtown Creek (NTC), a public waterway and Superfund site in a densely populated area of New York, NY, USA. Culturable bacterial aerosol fallout rate and surface water bacterial concentrations were at least an order of magnitude greater at NTC than at a neighboring, less polluted waterfront and a nonurban coastal site in Maine. The NTC culturable bacterial aerosol community was significantly different in taxonomic structure from previous urban and coastal aerosol studies, particularly in relative abundances of Actinobacteria and Proteobacteria. Twenty-four percent of the operational taxonomic units in the NTC overall (air + water) bacterial isolate library were most similar to bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences previously described in terrestrial or aquatic environments contaminated with sewage, hydrocarbons, heavy metals, and other industrial waste. This study is the first to examine the community composition and local deposition of bacterial aerosols from an aquatic Superfund site. The findings have important implications for the use of aeration remediation in polluted aquatic environments and suggest a novel pathway of microbial exposure in densely populated urban communities containing contaminated soil and water.

Characteristics, sources and evolution of fine aerosol (PM1) at urban, coastal and forest background sites in Lithuania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Masalaite, A.; Holzinger, R.; Remeikis, V.; Röckmann, T.; Dusek, U.

2017-01-01

The chemical and isotopic composition of organic aerosol (OA) samples collected on PM1 filters was determined as a function of desorption temperature to investigate the main sources of organic carbon and the effects of photochemical processing on atmospheric aerosol. The filter samples were collected at an urban (54°38‧ N, 25°18‧ E), coastal (55°55‧ N, 21°00‧ E) and forest (55°27‧ N, 26°00' E) site in Lithuania in March 2013. They can be interpreted as winter-time samples because the monthly averaged temperature was -4 °C. The detailed chemical composition of organic compounds was analysed with a thermal desorption PTR-MS. The mass concentration of organic aerosol at the forest site was roughly by a factor of 30 lower than at the urban and coastal site. This fact could be an indication that in this cold month the biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation was very low. Moreover, the organic aerosol collected at the forest site was more refractory and contained a larger fraction of heavy molecules with m/z > 200. The isotopic composition of the aerosol was used to differentiate the two main sources of organic aerosol in winter, i.e. biomass burning (BB) and fossil fuel (FF) combustion. Organic aerosol from biomass burning is enriched in 13C compared to OA from fossil fuel emissions. δ13COC values of the OA samples showed a positive correlation with the mass fraction of several individual organic compounds. Most of these organic compounds contained nitrogen indicating that organic nitrogen compounds formed during the combustion of biomass may be indicative of BB. Other compounds that showed negative correlations with δ13COC were possibly indicative of FF. These compounds included heavy hydrocarbons and were on the average less oxidized than the bulk organic carbon. The correlation of δ13COC and the O/C ratio was positive at low but negative at high desorption temperatures at the forest site. We propose that this might be due to photochemical processing of OA. This processing can lead to accumulation of carbon in the more refractory organic fraction that is depleted in 13C compared with the less refractory organic fraction. Detailed laboratory experiments are necessary to further investigate the aging of aerosol particles before firm conclusions can be drawn.

Investigating the annual behaviour of submicron secondary inorganic and organic aerosols in London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Young, D. E.; Allan, J. D.; Williams, P. I.; Green, D. C.; Flynn, M. J.; Harrison, R. M.; Yin, J.; Gallagher, M. W.; Coe, H.

2015-06-01

For the first time, the behaviour of non-refractory inorganic and organic submicron particulate through an entire annual cycle is investigated using measurements from an Aerodyne compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (cToF-AMS) located at a UK urban background site in North Kensington, London. We show that secondary aerosols account for a significant fraction of the submicron aerosol burden and that high concentration events are governed by different factors depending on season. Furthermore, we demonstrate that on an annual basis there is no variability in the extent of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) oxidation, as defined by the oxygen content, irrespective of amount. This result is surprising given the changes in precursor emissions and contributions as well as photochemical activity throughout the year; however it may make the characterisation of SOA in urban environments more straightforward than previously supposed. Organic species, nitrate, sulphate, ammonium, and chloride were measured during 2012 with average concentrations (±1 standard deviation) of 4.32 (±4.42), 2.74 (±5.00), 1.39 (±1.34), 1.30 (±1.52), and 0.15 (±0.24) μg m-3, contributing 44, 28, 14, 13, and 2 % to the total non-refractory submicron mass (NR-PM1) respectively. Components of the organic aerosol fraction are determined using positive matrix factorisation (PMF), in which five factors are identified and attributed as hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), cooking OA (COA), solid fuel OA (SFOA), type 1 oxygenated OA (OOA1), and type 2 oxygenated OA (OOA2). OOA1 and OOA2 represent more and less oxygenated OA with average concentrations of 1.27 (±1.49) and 0.14 (±0.29) μg m-3 respectively, where OOA1 dominates the SOA fraction (90%). Diurnal, monthly, and seasonal trends are observed in all organic and inorganic species due to meteorological conditions, specific nature of the aerosols, and availability of precursors. Regional and transboundary pollution as well as other individual pollution events influence London's total submicron aerosol burden. High concentrations of non-refractory submicron aerosols in London are governed by particulate emissions in winter, especially nitrate and SFOA, whereas SOA formation drives the high concentrations during the summer. The findings from this work could have significant implications for modelling of urban air pollution as well as for the effects of atmospheric aerosols on health and climate.

Primary sources and secondary formation of organic aerosols in Beijing, China.

PubMed

Guo, Song; Hu, Min; Guo, Qingfeng; Zhang, Xin; Zheng, Mei; Zheng, Jun; Chang, Chih Chung; Schauer, James J; Zhang, Renyi

2012-09-18

Ambient aerosol samples were collected at an urban site and an upwind rural site of Beijing during the CAREBEIJING-2008 (Campaigns of Air quality REsearch in BEIJING and surrounding region) summer field campaign. Contributions of primary particles and secondary organic aerosols (SOA) were estimated by chemical mass balance (CMB) modeling and tracer-yield method. The apportioned primary and secondary sources explain 73.8% ± 9.7% and 79.6% ± 10.1% of the measured OC at the urban and rural sites, respectively. Secondary organic carbon (SOC) contributes to 32.5 ± 15.9% of the organic carbon (OC) at the urban site, with 17.4 ± 7.6% from toluene, 9.7 ± 5.4% from isoprene, 5.1 ± 2.0% from α-pinene, and 2.3 ± 1.7% from β-caryophyllene. At the rural site, the secondary sources are responsible for 38.4 ± 14.4% of the OC, with the contributions of 17.3 ± 6.9%, 13.9 ± 9.1%, 5.6 ± 1.9%, and 1.7 ± 1.0% from toluene, isoprene, α-pinene, and β-caryophyllene, respectively. Compared with other regions in the world, SOA in Beijing is less aged, but the concentrations are much higher; between the sites, SOA is more aged and affected by regional transport at the urban site. The high SOA loading in Beijing is probably attributed to the high regional SOC background (~2 μg m(-3)). The toluene SOC concentration is high and comparable at the two sites, implying that some anthropogenic components, at least toluene SOA, are widespread in Beijing and represents a major factor in affecting the regional air quality. The aerosol gaseous precursor concentrations and temperature correlate well with SOA, both affecting SOA formation. The significant SOA enhancement with increasing water uptake and acidification indicates that the aqueous-phase reactions are largely responsible SOA formation in Beijing.

IS THE SIZE DISTRIBUTION OF URBAN AEROSOLS DETERMINED BY THERMODYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM? (R826371C005)

EPA Science Inventory

A size-resolved equilibrium model, SELIQUID, is presented and used to simulate the size–composition distribution of semi-volatile inorganic aerosol in an urban environment. The model uses the efflorescence branch of aerosol behavior to predict the equilibrium partitioni...

Contribution of Isoprene Epoxydiol to Urban Organic Aerosol: Evidence from Modeling and Measurements

EPA Science Inventory

In a region heavily influenced by anthropogenic and biogenic atmospheric emissions, recent field measurements have attributed one third of urban organic aerosol by mass to isoprene epoxydiols (IEPOX). These aerosols arise from the gas phase oxidation of isoprene, the formation of...

Air quality modelling over the Eastern Mediterranean using the WRF/Chem model: Comparison of gas-phase chemistry and aerosol mechanisms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Georgiou, George K.; Christoudias, Theodoros; Proestos, Yiannis; Kushta, Jonilda; Hadjinicolaou, Panos; Lelieveld, Jos

2017-04-01

A comprehensive analysis of the performance of three coupled gas-phase chemistry and aerosol mechanisms included in the WRF/Chem model has been performed over the Eastern Mediterranean focusing on Cyprus during the CYPHEX campaign in 2014, using high temporal and spatial resolution. The model performance was evaluated by comparing calculations to measurements of gas phase species (O3, CO, NOx, SO2) and aerosols (PM10, PM2.5) from 13 ground stations. Initial results indicate that the calculated day-to-day and diurnal variations of the aforementioned species show good agreement with observations. The model was set up with three nested grids, downscaling to 4km over Cyprus. The meteorological boundary conditions were updated every 3 hours throughout the simulation using the Global Forecast System (GFS), while chemical boundary conditions were updated every 6 hours using the MOZART global chemical transport model. Biogenic emissions were calculated online by the the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature version 2.1 (MEGAN2.1). Anthropogenic emissions were based on the EDGAR HTAP v2 global emission inventory, provided on a horizontal grid resolution of 0.1o × 0.1o. Three simulations were performed employing different chemistry and aerosol mechanisms; i) RADM2 chemical mechanism and MADE/SORGAM aerosols, ii) CBMZ chemical mechanism and MOSAIC aerosols, iii) MOZART chemical mechanism and MOSAIC aerosols. Results show that the WRF/Chem model satisfactorily estimates the trace gases relative concentrations at the background sites but not at the urban and traffic sites, while some differences appear between the simulated concentrations by the three mechanisms. The resulting discrepancies between the model outcome and measurements, especially at the urban and traffic sites, suggest that a higher resolution anthropogenic emission inventory might help improve fine resolution, regional air quality modelling. Differences in the simulated concentrations by the three chemical mechanisms are attributed to the different chemical species and reaction rate constants used.

Urban increments of gaseous and aerosol pollutants and their sources using mobile aerosol mass spectrometry measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elser, Miriam; Bozzetti, Carlo; El-Haddad, Imad; Maasikmets, Marek; Teinemaa, Erik; Richter, Rene; Wolf, Robert; Slowik, Jay G.; Baltensperger, Urs; Prévôt, André S. H.

2016-06-01

Air pollution is one of the main environmental concerns in urban areas, where anthropogenic emissions strongly affect air quality. This work presents the first spatially resolved detailed characterization of PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic equivalent diameter daero ≤ 2.5 µm) in two major Estonian cities, Tallinn and Tartu. The measurements were performed in March 2014 using a mobile platform. In both cities, the non-refractory (NR)-PM2.5 was characterized by a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) using a recently developed lens which increases the transmission of super-micron particles. Equivalent black carbon (eBC) and several trace gases including carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4) were also measured. The chemical composition of PM2.5 was found to be very similar in the two cities. Organic aerosol (OA) constituted the largest fraction, explaining on average about 52 to 60 % of the PM2.5 mass. Four sources of OA were identified using positive matrix factorization (PMF): hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA, from traffic emissions), biomass burning OA (BBOA, from biomass combustion), residential influenced OA (RIOA, probably mostly from cooking processes with possible contributions from waste and coal burning), and oxygenated OA (OOA, related to secondary aerosol formation). OOA was the major OA source during nighttime, explaining on average half of the OA mass, while during daytime mobile measurements the OA was affected by point sources and dominated by the primary fraction. A strong increase in the secondary organic and inorganic components was observed during periods with transport of air masses from northern Germany, while the primary local emissions accumulated during periods with temperature inversions. Mobile measurements offered the identification of different source regions within the urban areas and the assessment of the extent to which pollutants concentrations exceeded regional background levels (urban increments). HOA, eBC, CO2, and CO showed stronger enhancements on busy roads during the morning and evening traffic rush hours; BBOA had its maximum enhancement in the residential areas during the evening hours and RIOA was enhanced in both the city center (emissions from restaurants) and in the residential areas (emissions from residential cooking). In contrast, secondary components (OOA, sulfate (SO4), nitrate (NO3), ammonium (NH4), and chloride (Cl)) had very homogeneous distributions in time and space. We were able to determine a total PM2.5 urban increment in Tartu of 6.0 µg m-3 over a regional background concentration of 4.0 µg m-3 (i.e., a factor of 2.5 increase). Traffic exhaust emissions were identified as the most important source of this increase, with eBC and HOA explaining on average 53.3 and 20.5 % of the total increment, respectively.

Urbanization-induced urban heat island and aerosol effects on climate extremes in the Yangtze River Delta region of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhong, Shi; Qian, Yun; Zhao, Chun; Leung, Ruby; Wang, Hailong; Yang, Ben; Fan, Jiwen; Yan, Huiping; Yang, Xiu-Qun; Liu, Dongqing

2017-04-01

The WRF-Chem model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM) is integrated for 5 years at convection-permitting scale to investigate the individual and combined impacts of urbanization-induced changes in land cover and pollutant emissions on regional climate in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in eastern China. Simulations with the urbanization effects reasonably reproduced the observed features of temperature and precipitation in the YRD region. Urbanization over the YRD induces an urban heat island (UHI) effect, which increases the surface temperature by 0.53 °C in summer and increases the annual heat wave days at a rate of 3.7 d yr-1 in the major megacities in the YRD, accompanied by intensified heat stress. In winter, the near-surface air temperature increases by approximately 0.7 °C over commercial areas in the cities but decreases in the surrounding areas. Radiative effects of aerosols tend to cool the surface air by reducing net shortwave radiation at the surface. Compared to the more localized UHI effect, aerosol effects on solar radiation and temperature influence a much larger area, especially downwind of the city cluster in the YRD. Results also show that the UHI increases the frequency of extreme summer precipitation by strengthening the convergence and updrafts over urbanized areas in the afternoon, which favor the development of deep convection. In contrast, the radiative forcing of aerosols results in a surface cooling and upper-atmospheric heating, which enhances atmospheric stability and suppresses convection. The combined effects of the UHI and aerosols on precipitation depend on synoptic conditions. Two rainfall events under two typical but different synoptic weather patterns are further analyzed. It is shown that the impact of urban land cover and aerosols on precipitation is not only determined by their influence on local convergence but also modulated by large-scale weather systems. For the case with a strong synoptic forcing associated with stronger winds and larger spatial convergence, the UHI and aerosol effects are relatively weak. When the synoptic forcing is weak, however, the UHI and aerosol effects on local convergence dominate. This suggests that synoptic forcing plays a significant role in modulating the urbanization-induced land-cover and aerosol effects on individual rainfall event. Hence precipitation changes due to urbanization effects may offset each other under different synoptic conditions, resulting in little changes in mean precipitation at longer timescales.

Urbanization-induced urban heat island and aerosol effects on climate extremes in the Yangtze River Delta region of China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, Shi; Qian, Yun; Zhao, Chun

The WRF-Chem model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM) is integrated for 5 years at convection-permitting scale to investigate the individual and combined impacts of urbanization-induced changes in land cover and pollutant emissions on regional climate in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in eastern China. Simulations with the urbanization effects reasonably reproduced the observed features of temperature and precipitation in the YRD region. Urbanization over the YRD induces an urban heat island (UHI) effect, which increases the surface temperature by 0.53 °C in summer and increases the annual heat wave days at a rate of 3.7 d yr −1 in themore » major megacities in the YRD, accompanied by intensified heat stress. In winter, the near-surface air temperature increases by approximately 0.7 °C over commercial areas in the cities but decreases in the surrounding areas. Radiative effects of aerosols tend to cool the surface air by reducing net shortwave radiation at the surface. Compared to the more localized UHI effect, aerosol effects on solar radiation and temperature influence a much larger area, especially downwind of the city cluster in the YRD. Results also show that the UHI increases the frequency of extreme summer precipitation by strengthening the convergence and updrafts over urbanized areas in the afternoon, which favor the development of deep convection. In contrast, the radiative forcing of aerosols results in a surface cooling and upper-atmospheric heating, which enhances atmospheric stability and suppresses convection. The combined effects of the UHI and aerosols on precipitation depend on synoptic conditions. Two rainfall events under two typical but different synoptic weather patterns are further analyzed. It is shown that the impact of urban land cover and aerosols on precipitation is not only determined by their influence on local convergence but also modulated by large-scale weather systems. For the case with a strong synoptic forcing associated with stronger winds and larger spatial convergence, the UHI and aerosol effects are relatively weak. When the synoptic forcing is weak, however, the UHI and aerosol effects on local convergence dominate. This suggests that synoptic forcing plays a significant role in modulating the urbanization-induced land-cover and aerosol effects on individual rainfall event. Hence precipitation changes due to urbanization effects may offset each other under different synoptic conditions, resulting in little changes in mean precipitation at longer timescales.« less

Urbanization-induced urban heat island and aerosol effects on climate extremes in the Yangtze River Delta region of China

DOE PAGES

Zhong, Shi; Qian, Yun; Zhao, Chun; ...

2017-04-27

The WRF-Chem model coupled with a single-layer urban canopy model (UCM) is integrated for 5 years at convection-permitting scale to investigate the individual and combined impacts of urbanization-induced changes in land cover and pollutant emissions on regional climate in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region in eastern China. Simulations with the urbanization effects reasonably reproduced the observed features of temperature and precipitation in the YRD region. Urbanization over the YRD induces an urban heat island (UHI) effect, which increases the surface temperature by 0.53 °C in summer and increases the annual heat wave days at a rate of 3.7 d yr −1 in themore » major megacities in the YRD, accompanied by intensified heat stress. In winter, the near-surface air temperature increases by approximately 0.7 °C over commercial areas in the cities but decreases in the surrounding areas. Radiative effects of aerosols tend to cool the surface air by reducing net shortwave radiation at the surface. Compared to the more localized UHI effect, aerosol effects on solar radiation and temperature influence a much larger area, especially downwind of the city cluster in the YRD. Results also show that the UHI increases the frequency of extreme summer precipitation by strengthening the convergence and updrafts over urbanized areas in the afternoon, which favor the development of deep convection. In contrast, the radiative forcing of aerosols results in a surface cooling and upper-atmospheric heating, which enhances atmospheric stability and suppresses convection. The combined effects of the UHI and aerosols on precipitation depend on synoptic conditions. Two rainfall events under two typical but different synoptic weather patterns are further analyzed. It is shown that the impact of urban land cover and aerosols on precipitation is not only determined by their influence on local convergence but also modulated by large-scale weather systems. For the case with a strong synoptic forcing associated with stronger winds and larger spatial convergence, the UHI and aerosol effects are relatively weak. When the synoptic forcing is weak, however, the UHI and aerosol effects on local convergence dominate. This suggests that synoptic forcing plays a significant role in modulating the urbanization-induced land-cover and aerosol effects on individual rainfall event. Hence precipitation changes due to urbanization effects may offset each other under different synoptic conditions, resulting in little changes in mean precipitation at longer timescales.« less

Development of a remote sensing algorithm to retrieve atmospheric aerosol properties using multiwavelength and multipixel information

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hashimoto, Makiko; Nakajima, Teruyuki

2017-06-01

We developed a satellite remote sensing algorithm to retrieve the aerosol optical properties using satellite-received radiances for multiple wavelengths and pixels. Our algorithm utilizes spatial inhomogeneity of surface reflectance to retrieve aerosol properties, and the main target is urban aerosols. This algorithm can simultaneously retrieve aerosol optical thicknesses (AOT) for fine- and coarse-mode aerosols, soot volume fraction in fine-mode aerosols (SF), and surface reflectance over heterogeneous surfaces such as urban areas that are difficult to obtain by conventional pixel-by-pixel methods. We applied this algorithm to radiances measured by the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite/Thermal and Near Infrared Sensor for Carbon Observations-Cloud and Aerosol Image (GOSAT/TANSO-CAI) at four wavelengths and were able to retrieve the aerosol parameters in several urban regions and other surface types. A comparison of the retrieved AOTs with those from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) indicated retrieval accuracy within ±0.077 on average. It was also found that the column-averaged SF and the aerosol single scattering albedo (SSA) underwent seasonal changes as consistent with the ground surface measurements of SSA and black carbon at Beijing, China.

Clear Sky Column Closure Studies of Urban-Marine and Mineral-Dust Aerosols Using Aircraft, Ship, Satellite and Ground-Based Measurements in ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schmid, Beat; Russell, Philip B.; Livingston, John M.; Gasso, Santiago; Hegg, Dean A.; Collins, Donald R.; Flagan, Richard C.; Seinfeld, John H.; Oestroem, Elisabeth; Noone, Kevin J.;

Atmospheric aerosol compositions and sources at two national background sites in northern and southern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Qiao; He, Ling-Yan; Huang, Xiao-Feng; Cao, Li-Ming; Gong, Zhao-Heng; Wang, Chuan; Zhuang, Xin; Hu, Min

2016-08-01

Although China's severe air pollution has become a focus in the field of atmospheric chemistry and the mechanisms of urban air pollution there have been researched extensively, few field sampling campaigns have been conducted at remote background sites in China, where air pollution characteristics on a larger scale are highlighted. In this study, an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), together with an Aethalometer, was deployed at two of China's national background sites in northern (Lake Hongze site; 33.23° N, 118.33° E; altitude 21 m) and southern (Mount Wuzhi site; 18.84° N, 109.49° E; altitude 958 m) China in the spring seasons in 2011 and 2015, respectively, in order to characterize submicron aerosol composition and sources. The campaign-average PM1 concentration was 36.8 ± 19.8 µg m-3 at the northern China background (NCB) site, which was far higher than that at the southern China background (SCB) site (10.9 ± 7.8 µg m-3). Organic aerosol (OA) (27.2 %), nitrate (26.7 %), and sulfate (22.0 %) contributed the most to the PM1 mass at NCB, while OA (43.5 %) and sulfate (30.5 %) were the most abundant components of the PM1 mass at SCB, where nitrate only constituted a small fraction (4.7 %) and might have contained a significant amount of organic nitrates (5-11 %). The aerosol size distributions and organic aerosol elemental compositions all indicated very aged aerosol particles at both sites. The OA at SCB was more oxidized with a higher average oxygen to carbon (O / C) ratio (0.98) than that at NCB (0.67). Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis was used to classify OA into three components, including a hydrocarbon-like component (HOA, attributed to fossil fuel combustion) and two oxygenated components (OOA1 and OOA2, attributed to secondary organic aerosols from different source areas) at NCB. PMF analysis at SCB identified a semi-volatile oxygenated component (SV-OOA) and a low-volatility oxygenated component (LV-OOA), both of which were found to be secondary species and could be formed from precursors co-emitted with BC. Using the total potential source contribution function model, the likely source areas of the major PM1 components at both sites were a on large regional scale in East Asia. The possible sources may include not only emissions from the Chinese mainland but also emissions from ocean-going cargo ships and biomass burning in neighboring countries.

Physical and chemical characterization of urban winter-time aerosols by mobile measurements in Helsinki, Finland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pirjola, Liisa; Niemi, Jarkko V.; Saarikoski, Sanna; Aurela, Minna; Enroth, Joonas; Carbone, Samara; Saarnio, Karri; Kuuluvainen, Heino; Kousa, Anu; Rönkkö, Topi; Hillamo, Risto

2017-06-01

A two-week measurement campaign by a mobile laboratory van was performed in urban environments in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Finland, in winter 2012, to obtain a comprehensive view on aerosol properties and sources. The abundances and physico-chemical properties of particles varied strongly in time and space, depending on the main sources of aerosols. Four major types of winter aerosol were recognized: 1) clean background aerosol with low particle number (Ntot) and lung deposited surface area (LDSA) concentrations due to marine air flows from the Atlantic Ocean; 2) long-range transported (LRT) pollution aerosol due to air flows from eastern Europe where the particles were characterized by the high contribution of oxygenated organic aerosol (OOA) and inorganic species, particularly sulphate, but low BC contribution, and their size distribution possessed an additional accumulation mode; 3) fresh smoke plumes from residential wood combustion in suburban small houses, these particles were characterized by high biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) and black carbon (BC) concentrations; and 4) fresh emissions from traffic while driving on busy streets in the city centre and on the highways during morning rush hours. This aerosol was characterized by high concentration of Ntot, LDSA, small particles in the nucleation mode, as well as high hydrocarbon-like organic aerosol (HOA) and BC concentrations. In general, secondary components (OOA, NO3, NH4, and SO4) dominated the PM1 chemical composition during the LRT episode accounting for 70-80% of the PM1 mass, whereas fresh primary emissions (BC, HOA and BBOA) dominated the local traffic and wood burning emissions. The major individual particle types observed with electron microscopy analysis (TEM/EDX) were mainly related to residential wood combustion (K/S/C-rich, soot, other C-rich particles), traffic (soot, Si/Al-rich, Fe-rich), heavy fuel oil combustion in heat plants or ships (S with V-Ni-Fe), LRT pollutants (S/C-rich secondary particles) and sea salt (Na/Cl-rich). Tar balls from wood combustion were also observed, especially (∼5%) during the LRT pollution episode.

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across two years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied USA, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and onboard two aircraft to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over themore » city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Herein, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

Spatial and seasonal patterns in urban influence on regional concentrations of speciated aerosols across the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hand, J. L.; Schichtel, B. A.; Malm, W. C.; Pitchford, M.; Frank, N. H.

2014-11-01

Monthly, seasonal, and annual mean estimates of urban influence on regional concentrations of major aerosol species were computed using speciated aerosol data from the rural IMPROVE network (Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments) and the United States Environmental Protection Agency's urban Chemical Speciation Network for the 2008 through 2011 period. Aggregated for sites across the continental United States, the annual mean and one standard error in urban excess (defined as the ratio of urban to nearby rural concentrations) was highest for elemental carbon (3.3 ± 0.2), followed by ammonium nitrate (2.5 ± 0.2), particulate organic matter (1.78 ± 0.08), and ammonium sulfate (1.23 ± 0.03). The seasonal variability in urban excess was significant for carbonaceous aerosols and ammonium nitrate in the West, in contrast to the low seasonal variability in the urban influence of ammonium sulfate. Generally for all species, higher excess values in the West were associated with localized urban sources while in the East excess was more regional in extent. In addition, higher excess values in the western United States in winter were likely influenced not only by differences in sources but also by combined meteorological and topographic effects. This work has implications for understanding the spatial heterogeneity of major aerosol species near the interface of urban and rural regions and therefore for designing appropriate air quality management strategies. In addition, the spatial patterns in speciated mass concentrations provide constraints for regional and global models.

Surface aerosol and rehabilitation properties of ground-level atmosphere in the mountains of the North Caucasus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reps, Valentina; Efimenko, Natalia; Povolotskaya, Nina; Abramtsova, Anna; Ischenko, Dmitriy; Senik, Irina; Slepikh, Victor

2017-04-01

The rehabilitative properties (RP) of ground-level atmosphere (GA) of Russian resorts are considered as natural healing resources and received state legal protection [1]. Due to global urbanization the chemical composition and particle size distribution of the surface aerosol are changing rapidly. However, the influence of surface aerosol on the RP of GA has been insufficiently studied. At the resort region of the North Caucasus complex monitoring (aerosol, trace gases NOx, CO, O3, CH4; periodically - heavy metals) is performed at two high levels (860 masl - a park zone of a large mountain resort, 2070 masl - alpine grassland, the net station). The results of the measurements are used in programs of bioclimatic, landscape and medical monitoring to specify the influence of aerosol on rehabilitation properties of the environment and human adaptative reserves. The aerosol particles of size range 500-1000 nm are used as a marker of the pathogenic effect of aerosol [2]. In the conditions of regional urbanization and complicated mountain atmospheric circulation the influence of aerosol on RP of GA and the variability of heart rhythm with the volunteers at different heights were investigated. At the height of 860 masl (urbanized resort) there have been noticed aerosol variations in the range of 0,04-0,35 particles/cm3 (slightly aerosol polluted), in mountain conditions - background pollution aerosol level. The difference of bioclimatic conditions at the specified high-rise levels has been referred to the category of contrasts. The natural aero ionization ∑(N+)+(N-) varied from 960 ion/cm3 to 1460 ion/cm3 in the resort park (860 m); from 1295 ion/cm3 to 4850 ion/cm3 on the Alpine meadow (2070 m); from 1128 ion/cm3 to 3420 ion/cm3 - on the tested site near the edge of the pinewood (1720 m). In the group of volunteers the trip from low-hill terrain zone (860 m) to the lower zone of highlands (2070 m) caused the activation of neuro and humoral regulation, vegetative and central parts of nervous system, psychoemotional status, normalization of frequency spectrum of brain activity and organism adaptation level. The researches are still being conducted. References: 1. The federal law "About Natural Medical Resources, Medical and Improving Areas and Resorts" from 23.02.1995 № 26-fl. 2. The technique of balneological assessment of forest-park landscapes of mountain territories for the purposes of climate-landscape therapy in case of resort treatment of the contingent subject to FMBA of Russia: Handbook for doctors//Registration number 82-15 from 17.12.2015 - Pyatigorsk:MHRF:FMBA of Russia, 2015. -26 p.

Aerosol and Urban Land Use Effect on Rainfall Around Cities in Indo-Gangetic Basin From Observations and Cloud Resolving Model Simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarangi, Chandan; Tripathi, S. N.; Qian, Yun; Kumar, Shailendra; Ruby Leung, L.

2018-04-01

Coupling of urban land use land cover (LULC) and aerosol loading on rainfall around cities in the Gangetic Basin (GB) is examined here. Long-term observations illustrate more rainfall at urban core and climatological downwind regions compared to the upwind regions of Kanpur, a metropolitan area located in central GB. In addition, analysis of a 15 day cloud resolving simulation using the Weather Research and Forecasting model also illustrated similar rainfall pattern around other major cities in the GB. Interestingly, the enhancement of downwind rainfall was greater than that over urban regions, and it was positively associated with both the urban area of the city and ambient aerosol loading during the propagating storm. Further, to gain a process-level understanding, a typical storm that propagated northwestward across Kanpur was simulated using Weather Research and Forecasting under three different scenarios. Case 1 has realistic LULC representation of Kanpur, while the grids representing the Kanpur urban region were replaced by cropland LULC pattern in Case 2. Comparison illustrated that urban heat island effect caused convergence of winds and moisture in the lower troposphere, which enhances convection over urban region and induced more rainfall over the urban core compared to upwind regions. Case 3 is similar to Case 1 but lower aerosol concentration (by a factor of 100) over the storm region. Analysis shows that aerosol-induced microphysical changes delay the initiation of warm rain (over the upwind region) but enhance ice phase particle formation in latter stages (over the urban and downwind regions) resulting in increase in downwind rainfall.

The MUMBA campaign: measurements of urban, marine and biogenic air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paton-Walsh, Clare; Guérette, Élise-Andrée; Kubistin, Dagmar; Humphries, Ruhi; Wilson, Stephen R.; Dominick, Doreena; Galbally, Ian; Buchholz, Rebecca; Bhujel, Mahendra; Chambers, Scott; Cheng, Min; Cope, Martin; Davy, Perry; Emmerson, Kathryn; Griffith, David W. T.; Griffiths, Alan; Keywood, Melita; Lawson, Sarah; Molloy, Suzie; Rea, Géraldine; Selleck, Paul; Shi, Xue; Simmons, Jack; Velazco, Voltaire

2017-06-01

The Measurements of Urban, Marine and Biogenic Air (MUMBA) campaign took place in Wollongong, New South Wales (a small coastal city approximately 80 km south of Sydney, Australia) from 21 December 2012 to 15 February 2013. Like many Australian cities, Wollongong is surrounded by dense eucalyptus forest, so the urban airshed is heavily influenced by biogenic emissions. Instruments were deployed during MUMBA to measure the gaseous and aerosol composition of the atmosphere with the aim of providing a detailed characterisation of the complex environment of the ocean-forest-urban interface that could be used to test the skill of atmospheric models. The gases measured included ozone, oxides of nitrogen, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane and many of the most abundant volatile organic compounds. The aerosol characterisation included total particle counts above 3 nm, total cloud condensation nuclei counts, mass concentration, number concentration size distribution, aerosol chemical analyses and elemental analysis.The campaign captured varied meteorological conditions, including two extreme heat events, providing a potentially valuable test for models of future air quality in a warmer climate. There was also an episode when the site sampled clean marine air for many hours, providing a useful additional measure of the background concentrations of these trace gases within this poorly sampled region of the globe. In this paper we describe the campaign, the meteorology and the resulting observations of atmospheric composition in general terms in order to equip the reader with a sufficient understanding of the Wollongong regional influences to use the MUMBA datasets as a case study for testing a chemical transport model. The data are available from PANGAEA (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.871982).

Aerosol Airmass Type Mapping Over the Urban Mexico City Region From Space-based Multi-angle Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Patadia, F.; Kahn, R. A.; Limbacher, J. A.; Burton, S. P.; Ferrare, R. A.; Hostetler, C. A.; Hair, J. W.

2013-01-01

Using Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and sub-orbital measurements from the 2006 INTEX-B/MILAGRO field campaign, in this study we explore MISR's ability to map different aerosol air mass types over the Mexico City metropolitan area. The aerosol air mass distinctions are based on shape, size and single scattering albedo retrievals from the MISR Research Aerosol Retrieval algorithm. In this region, the research algorithm identifies dust-dominated aerosol mixtures based on non-spherical particle shape, whereas spherical biomass burning and urban pollution particles are distinguished by particle size. Two distinct aerosol air mass types based on retrieved particle microphysical properties, and four spatially distributed aerosol air masses, are identified in the MISR data on 6 March 2006. The aerosol air mass type identification results are supported by coincident, airborne high-spectral-resolution lidar (HSRL) measurements. Aerosol optical depth (AOD) gradients are also consistent between the MISR and sub-orbital measurements, but particles having single-scattering albedo of approx. 0.7 at 558 nm must be included in the retrieval algorithm to produce good absolute AOD comparisons over pollution-dominated aerosol air masses. The MISR standard V22 AOD product, at 17.6 km resolution, captures the observed AOD gradients qualitatively, but retrievals at this coarse spatial scale and with limited spherical absorbing particle options underestimate AOD and do not retrieve particle properties adequately over this complex urban region. However, we demonstrate how AOD and aerosol type mapping can be accomplished with MISR data over complex urban regions, provided the retrieval is performed at sufficiently high spatial resolution, and with a rich enough set of aerosol components and mixtures.

Enviro-HIRLAM in Studies of Urban and Aerosol Impacts on Metropolitan Areas: Science-Education Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahura, Alexander; Nuterman, Roman; Mazeikis, Adomas; Gonzalez-Aparicio, Iratxe; Ivanov, Sergey; Palamarchuk, Julia

2014-05-01

To attract more perspective young scientists (and especially, MSc and PhD students) for advanced research and development of complex and modern modelling systems, a specific approach is required. It should allow within a short period of time to evaluate personal background levels, skills, capabilities, etc. To learn more about new potential science-oriented developers of the models, it is often not enough to look into the personal resume. Thus, a special event such as Young Scientist Summer School (YSSS) can be organized, where young researchers could have an opportunity to attend not only relevant lectures, but also participate in practical exercises allowing to solidify lecture materials. Here, the practical exercises are presented as independent small-scale (having duration of up to a week) research projects or studies oriented on specific topics of YSSS. Developed approach was tested and realized during 2008 and 2011 YSSS events held and organized in Zelenogorsk, Russia (by NetFAM et al.; http://netfam.fmi.fi/YSSS08) and Odessa, Ukraine (by MUSCATEN et al.; http://atmos.physic.ut.ee/~muscaten/YSSS/1info.html), respectively. It has been refined for the new YSSS (Jul 2014) to be organized by the COST Action EuMetChem. The main focus of all these YSSSs was/is on the integrated modelling of meteorological and chemical transport processes and impact of chemical weather on numerical weather prediction and climate modelling. During previous YSSSs some of such projects - "URBAN: The Influence of Metropolitan Areas on Meteorology", "AEROSOL: The Impact of Aerosols Effects on Meteorology", and "COASTAL: The Coastal & Cities Effects on Meteorology" - were focused on evaluation of influence of metropolitan areas on formation of meteorological and chemical fields above urban areas (such as Paris, France; Copenhagen, Denmark, and Bilbao, Spain) and surroundings. The Environment - HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model (Enviro-HIRLAM) was used and modifications were made taking into account urban (anthropogenic heat flux, roughness, buildings and their characteristics), chemical species/ aerosol (feedback mechanisms) effects with further analysis of temporal and spatial variability of diurnal cycle for meteorological variables of key importance. Main items of listed above YSSS small-scale research projects include the following: • Introduction with background discussions (with brainstorming to outline research and technical tasks planned including main goal, specific objectives, etc.) in groups; • Analysis of meteorological situations (selecting specific cases/ dates using surface maps, diagrams of vertical sounding, and surface meteorological measurements); • Learning practical technical steps (in order to make necessary changes in the model and implementing urban and aerosol effects, compiling executables, making test runs); • Performing model runs/simulations at different options (dates, control vs. modified urban and aerosol runs, forecast lengths, spatial and temporal resolutions, etc.); • Visualization/ plotting of results obtained (in a form of graphs, tables, animations); • Evaluation of possible impact on urban areas (estimating differences between the control and modified runs through temporal and spatial variability of simulated meteorological (air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity, sensible and latent heat fluxes, etc.) and chemical pollutants (concentration and deposition) fields/ patterns; • Team's oral presentation of the project about results and findings and following guidelines (including aim and specific objectives, methodology and approaches, results and discussions with examples, conclusions, acknowledgements, references). Outline and detailed description of the developed approach, key items of the research projects and their schedules, preparatory steps including team of students' familiarization with general information on planned exercises and literature list (composed of required, recommended, and additional readings), requirements for successful completion and defense of the project, team independent work as well as under supervision are presented and discussed.

Determination of mixing state and sources of wintertime organic aerosol in Paris using single particle mass spectrometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Healy, R. M.; Sciare, J.; Poulain, L.; Wiedensohler, A.; Jeong, C.; McGuire, M.; Evans, G. J.; McGillicuddy, E.; O'Connor, I. P.; Sodeau, J. R.; Wenger, J.

2012-12-01

The size-resolved chemical composition of single particles at an urban background site in Paris, France, was determined using an Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) as part of the MEGAPOLI winter campaign in January/February 2010. A variety of mixing states were identified for organic aerosol by mass spectral clustering and apportioned to both fossil fuel and biomass burning sources. The ATOFMS data were scaled in order to produce mass concentration estimates for each organic aerosol particle type identified. Potassium-containing organic aerosol internally mixed with nitrate, associated with local wood burning, was observed to dominate during periods characterised by marine air masses. Sulfate-rich potassium-containing organic aerosol, associated with transboundary transport of biomass burning emissions, dominated during periods influenced by continental air masses. The scaled total mass concentration for potassium-containing particles was well correlated (R2 = 0.79) with concurrent measurements of potassium mass concentration measured with a Particle-Into-Liquid-Sampler (PILS). Another organic particle type, also containing potassium but rich in trimethylamine and sulfate, was detected exclusively during continental air mass events. These particles are postulated to have accumulated gas phase trimethylamine through heterogeneous reaction before arriving at the sampling site. Potential source regions for transboundary organic aerosols have been investigated using the potential source contribution function (PSCF). Comparison with aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements will also be discussed.

Urban organic aerosols measured by single particle mass spectrometry in the megacity of London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dall'Osto, M.; Harrison, R. M.

2011-02-01

During the month of October 2006, as part of the REPARTEE-I experiment (Regent's Park and Tower Environmental Experiment) an Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) was deployed at an urban background location in the city of London, UK. Fifteen particle types were classified, some of which were accompanied by Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) quantitative aerosol mass loading measurements (Dall'Osto et al., 2009a, b). In this manuscript the origins and properties of four particle types associated with locally generated aerosols, independent of the air mass type advected into London, are examined. One particle type, originating from lubricating oil (referred to as Ca-EC), was associated with morning rush hour traffic emissions. A second particle type, composed of both inorganic and organic species (called Na-EC-OC), was found enhanced in particle number concentration during evening time periods, and is likely to originate from a source operating at this time of day, or more probably from condensation of semi-volatile species, and contains both primary and secondary components. A third class, internally mixed with organic carbon and sulphate (called OC), was found to spike both in the morning and evenings. The fourth class (SOA-PAH) exhibited maximum frequency during the warmest part of the day, and a number of factors point towards secondary production from traffic-related volatile aromatic compounds. Single particle mass spectra of this particle type showed an oxidized polycyclic aromatic compound signature. Finally, a comparison of ATOFMS particle class data is made with factors obtained by Positive Matrix Factorization from AMS data.. Both the Ca-EC and OC particle types correlate with the AMS HOA primary organic fraction (R2 = 0.65 and 0.50 respectively), and Na-EC-OC, but not SOA-PAH, which correlates weakly with the AMS OOA secondary organic aerosol factor (R2 = 0.35). A detailed analysis was conducted to identify ATOFMS particle type(s) representative of the AMS COA cooking aerosol factor, but no convincing associations were found.

Characterization of the wintertime particulate (PM1) pollution at an urban background site of Nicosia, Cyprus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sciare, Jean; Kleanthous, Savvas; Pikridas, Michael; Vrekoussis, Mihalis; Oikonomou, Konstantina; Merabet, Hamza; Mihalopoulos, Nikos; Yassaa, Noureddine

2015-04-01

A 1-month intensive campaign was performed during December 2014 at Nicosia, Cyprus, a city of 240,000 inhabitants, representative of E. Mediterranean medium sized cities. This is the first of a series of intensive campaigns, part of the MISTRALS-ENVI-Med "CyAr" project (Cyprus Aerosols and gas precursors) and MISTRALS-ChArMEx program (Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment, http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr/), and , with the objective to distinguish between local and transported sources responsible for wintertime particulate pollution. The mass and composition of the major chemical constituents of submicron aerosols (PM1) was monitored at an urban background station located at the city's suburbs with a suite of real-time analyzers (TEOM 1400, OPC Grimm 1.108, Q-ACSM, Aethalometer AE31). Quality control of Q-ACSM and Aethalometer datasets was performed through closure studies (using co-located TEOM / OPC Grimm). The consistency of the dataset was further validated using the integrated (off-line) and real-time measurements performed by the local air quality network at other locations in the same city. Very high levels of Black Carbon and organics were systematically observed every night, typically maximizing at 22:00 local time, pointing to local combustion sources most probably related to domestic heating. Similar pattern has been observed in other cities in the Eastern Mediterranean (Pikridas et al., 2013) and partly has been attributed to the economic crisis (Vrekoussis et al., 2013). Source apportionment of organic aerosols (OA) was performed using the SourceFinder software (SoFi, http://www.psi.ch/acsm-stations/me-2) allowing the distinction between various primary/secondary OA sources that allowed us to better characterize the combustion sources responsible for the observed elevated nighttime PM1 levels. Acknowledgements: This campaign has been funded by MISTRALS (ENVI-Med CyAr & ChArMEx), CNRS-INSU, CEA, CyI, DLI, CDER and ECPL.

Aerosol optical, microphysical and radiative properties at regional background insular sites in the western Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sicard, Michaël; Barragan, Rubén; Dulac, François; Alados-Arboledas, Lucas; Mallet, Marc

2016-09-01

In the framework of the ChArMEx (the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment; http://charmex.lsce.ipsl.fr/) program, the seasonal variability of the aerosol optical, microphysical and radiative properties derived from AERONET (Aerosol Robotic Network; http://aeronet.gsfc.nasa.gov/) is examined in two regional background insular sites in the western Mediterranean Basin: Ersa (Corsica Island, France) and Palma de Mallorca (Mallorca Island, Spain). A third site, Alborán (Alborán Island, Spain), with only a few months of data is considered for examining possible northeast-southwest (NE-SW) gradients of the aforementioned aerosol properties. The AERONET dataset is exclusively composed of level 2.0 inversion products available during the 5-year period 2011-2015. AERONET solar radiative fluxes are compared with ground- and satellite-based flux measurements. To the best of our knowledge this is the first time that AERONET fluxes are compared with measurements at the top of the atmosphere. Strong events (with an aerosol optical depth at 440 nm greater than 0.4) of long-range transport aerosols, one of the main drivers of the observed annual cycles and NE-SW gradients, are (1) mineral dust outbreaks predominant in spring and summer in the north and in summer in the south and (2) European pollution episodes predominant in autumn. A NE-SW gradient exists in the western Mediterranean Basin for the aerosol optical depth and especially its coarse-mode fraction, which all together produces a similar gradient for the aerosol direct radiative forcing. The aerosol fine mode is rather homogeneously distributed. Absorption properties are quite variable because of the many and different sources of anthropogenic particles in and around the western Mediterranean Basin: North African and European urban areas, the Iberian and Italian peninsulas, most forest fires and ship emissions. As a result, the aerosol direct forcing efficiency, more dependent to absorption than the absolute forcing, has no marked gradient.

Evolution of Multispectral Aerosol Absorption Properties in a Biogenically-Influenced Urban Environment during the CARES Campaign

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyawali, Madhu; Arnott, W.; Zaveri, Rahul

We present the evolution of multispectral optical properties as urban aerosols aged and interacted with biogenic emissions resulting in stronger short wavelength absorption and formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols. Ground-based aerosol measurements were made during June 2010 within the Sacramento urban area (site T0) and at a 40-km downwind location (site T1) in the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Data on black carbon and non-refractory aerosol mass and composition were collected at both sites. In addition, photoacoustic (PA) instruments with integrating nephelometers were used to measure spectral absorption and scattering coefficients for wavelengths ranging from 355 to 870more » nm. The daytime absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) indicated a modest wavelength-dependent enhancement of absorption at both sites throughout the study. From the 22nd to the 28th of June, secondary organic aerosol mass increased significantly at both sites due to increased biogenic emissions coupled with intense photochemical activity and air mass recirculation in the area. During this period, the median BC mass-normalized absorption cross-section (MAC) values for 405 nm and 532 nm at T1 increased by ~23% and ~35%, respectively, compared to the relatively less aged urban emissions at the T0 site. In contrast, the average MAC values for the 870 nm wavelength were similar for both sites. These results suggest formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols in biogenically-influenced urban air.« less

Evolution of Multispectral Aerosol Absorption Properties in a Biogenically-Influenced Urban Environment during the CARES Campaign

DOE PAGES

Gyawali, Madhu; Arnott, W.; Zaveri, Rahul; ...

2017-11-13

We present the evolution of multispectral optical properties through urban aerosols that have aged and interacted with biogenic emissions, resulting in stronger short wavelength absorption and the formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols. Ground-based aerosol measurements were made in June 2010 within the Sacramento urban area (site T0) and at a 40-km downwind location (site T1) in the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Data on black carbon (BC) and non-refractory aerosol mass and composition were collected at both sites. In addition, photoacoustic (PA) instruments with integrating nephelometers were used to measure spectral absorption and scattering coefficients for wavelengths rangingmore » from 355 to 870 nm. The daytime absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) indicated a modest wavelength-dependent enhancement of absorption at both sites throughout the study. From 22 to 28 June 2010, secondary organic aerosol mass increased significantly at both sites, which was due to increased biogenic emissions coupled with intense photochemical activity and air mass recirculation in the area. During this period, the median BC mass-normalized absorption cross-section (MAC) values for 405 nm and 532 nm at T1 increased by ~23% and ~35%, respectively, compared with the relatively less aged urban emissions at the T0 site. In contrast, the average MAC values for the 870 nm wavelength were similar for both sites. These results suggest the formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols in biogenically-influenced urban air.« less

Evolution of Multispectral Aerosol Absorption Properties in a Biogenically-Influenced Urban Environment during the CARES Campaign

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gyawali, Madhu; Arnott, W.; Zaveri, Rahul

We present the evolution of multispectral optical properties through urban aerosols that have aged and interacted with biogenic emissions, resulting in stronger short wavelength absorption and the formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols. Ground-based aerosol measurements were made in June 2010 within the Sacramento urban area (site T0) and at a 40-km downwind location (site T1) in the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area. Data on black carbon (BC) and non-refractory aerosol mass and composition were collected at both sites. In addition, photoacoustic (PA) instruments with integrating nephelometers were used to measure spectral absorption and scattering coefficients for wavelengths rangingmore » from 355 to 870 nm. The daytime absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) indicated a modest wavelength-dependent enhancement of absorption at both sites throughout the study. From 22 to 28 June 2010, secondary organic aerosol mass increased significantly at both sites, which was due to increased biogenic emissions coupled with intense photochemical activity and air mass recirculation in the area. During this period, the median BC mass-normalized absorption cross-section (MAC) values for 405 nm and 532 nm at T1 increased by ~23% and ~35%, respectively, compared with the relatively less aged urban emissions at the T0 site. In contrast, the average MAC values for the 870 nm wavelength were similar for both sites. These results suggest the formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols in biogenically-influenced urban air.« less

Aerosol optical properties observation and its relationship to meteorological conditions and emission during the Chinese National Day and Spring Festival holiday in Beijing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, Yu; Che, Huizheng; Zhao, Tianliang; Zhao, Hujia; Gui, Ke; Sun, Tianze; An, Linchang; Yu, Jie; Liu, Chong; Jiang, Yongcheng; Zhang, Lei; Wang, Hong; Wang, Yaqiang; Zhang, Xiaoye

2017-11-01

The reduction of traffic flow in downtown areas during the Chinese National Day holiday and the fireworks during the Spring Festival provide a unique opportunity for investigating the impact of urban anthropogenic activities on aerosol optical properties during these important Chinese festivals in Beijing. The National Day in 2014 and 2015 and Spring Festival in 2015 and 2016 were selected as study periods. The aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 440 nm increased over the all holiday periods and the average AODs during the 2015 National Day, 2015 Spring Festival and 2016 Spring Festival were about 81%, 21% and 36% higher than the background levels, respectively. The average AOD in 2014 National Day holiday was lower than background level partly influenced by precipitation event. The absorption AOD (AAOD) at 440 nm showed consistent variations with the AOD and the average AAODs during the 2015 National Day, 2015 Spring Festival and 2016 Spring Festival holidays were about 75%, 19% and 23% higher than the background level, respectively. The mean values of single scattering albedo were greater than the background level during the Spring Festival holidays, whereas the values during the National Day holiday in 2015 were lower partly due to the reduction of vehicular emissions in downtown areas. Fine- and coarse-mode particle volumes during pollution periods in holidays were 0.04-0.25 μm3 and 0.03-0.15 μm3 larger than background level, respectively. The results of potential source contribution function and concentration-weighted trajectory analyses identified the areas south of Beijing as the main source regions of PM2.5 and were responsible for the extremely high PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing during the holiday periods. The findings of this study may aid understanding the effects of human activities on aerosol optical properties over Beijing area and contribute to improving regional air quality.

Seasonal variation of organic aerosol in PM2.5 at Anmyeondo, a background site in Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lee, J.; Kim, E. S.; Kim, Y. P.; Jung, C. H.; Lee, J.

2016-12-01

Routine measurements of PM2.5 and chemical speciation for 100 individual organic compounds were carried out to understand seasonal variation of organic compounds at a background area in Korea between 2015 and 2016. Organic compounds analyzed in this study were classified into five groups, n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), fatty acids (FA), dicarboxylic acids (DCAs), and sugar. Further, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and Humic Like Substance-Carbon (HULIS-C) in PM2.5 were simultaneously analyzed to make mass balance of carbonaceous aerosol in PM2.5 at a background site in Korea. PAHs concentrations at this site was lower than that at Seoul, a representative urban site in Korea. PAHs and n-Alkanes concentrations showed clear seasonal variation with summer minimum and winter maximum, while, seasonal variation of DCAs and Sugars were different with PAHs and n-Alkanes.WSOC concentrations were highly correlated with SOC (Secondary Organic Carbon) concentrations which were estimated by the EC tracer method. The results indicate the formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) is major factor for the determination of WSOC concentrations in this region. HULIS-C as known one of brown carbon was major component of WSOC which accounts for 39 to 99% in WSOC. The average concentrations of HULIS-C was 2.02±1.42 and the highest concentration was observed in fall.

Is there an aerosol signature of aqueous processing?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ervens, B.; Sorooshian, A.

2017-12-01

The formation of aerosol mass in cloud water has been recognized as a substantial source of atmospheric aerosol mass. While sulfate formation can be relatively well constrained, the formation of secondary organic aerosol mass in the aqueous phase (aqSOA) is much more complex due to the multitude of precursors and variety in chemical processes. Aqueous phase processing adds aerosol mass to the droplet mode, which is formed due to mass addition to activated particles in clouds. In addition, it has been shown that aqSOA mass has specific characteristics in terms of oxidation state and hygroscopicity that might help to distinguish it from other SOA sources. Many models do not include detailed chemical mechanisms of sulfate and aqSOA formation and also lack details on the mass distribution of newly formed mass. Mass addition inside and outside clouds modifies different parts of an aerosol population and consequently affects predictions of properties and lifetime of particles. Using a combination of field data analysis and model studies for a variety of air masses, we will show which chemical and physical aerosol properties can be used, in order to identify an `aqueous phase signature' in processed aerosol populations. We will discuss differences in this signature in clean (e.g., background), moderately polluted (e.g., urban) and highly polluted (e.g., biomass burning) air masses and suggest air-mass-specific chemical and/or physical properties that will help to quantify the aqueous-phase derived aerosol mass.

Characterization of aerosol particles from grass mowing by joint deployment of ToF-AMS and ATOFMS instruments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Drewnick, Frank; Dall'Osto, Manuel; Harrison, Roy

During a measurement campaign at a semi-urban/industrial site a grass-cutting event was observed, when the lawn in the immediate surrounding of the measurement site was mowed. Using a wide variety of state-of-the-art aerosol measurement technology allowed a broad characterization of the aerosol generated by the lawn mowing. The instrumentation included two on-line aerosol mass spectrometers: an Aerodyne Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ToF-AMS) and a TSI Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS); in addition, a selection of on-line aerosol concentration and size distribution instruments (OPC, APS, SMPS, CPC, FDMS-TEOM, MAAP) was deployed. From comparison of background aerosol measurements during most of the day with the aerosol measured during the lawn mowing, the grass cutting was found to generate mainly two different types of aerosol particles: an intense ultrafine particle mode (1 h average: 4 μg m -3) of almost pure hydrocarbon-like organics and a distinct particle mode in the upper sub-micrometer size range containing particles with potassium and nitrogen-organic compounds. The ultrafine particles are probably lubricating oil particles from the lawn mower exhaust; the larger particles are swirled-up plant debris particles from the mowing process. While these particle types were identified in the data from the two mass spectrometers, the on-line aerosol concentration and size distribution data support these findings. The results presented here show that the combination of quantitative aerosol particle ensemble mass spectrometry (ToF-AMS) and single particle mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) provides much deeper insights into the nature of the aerosol properties than each of the instruments could do alone. Therefore a combined deployment of both types of instruments is strongly recommended.

Hygroscopic growth of size-resolved, emission-source classified, aerosol particles sampled across the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shingler, T.; Crosbie, E. C.; Ziemba, L. D.; Anderson, B. E.; Campuzano Jost, P.; Jimenez, J. L.; Mikoviny, T.; Wisthaler, A.; Sorooshian, A.

2014-12-01

The hygroscopic growth of atmospheric aerosol particles is a key air quality parameter, impacting the radiation budget, visibility, and cloud formation. During the DC3 and SEAC4RS field campaigns (>300 total flight hours), measurements were made over 32 US states, Canada, the Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico, between the surface and 41,000 feet ASL. The aircraft research payloads included a suite of in-situ aerosol and gas phase instruments. The Differential Aerosol Sizing and Hygroscopicity Spectrometer Probe (DASH-SP) and the Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE) humidified nephelometer instrument applied different techniques to measure water uptake by aerosol particles at prescribed relative humidity values. Size-resolved growth factor (GF ≡ Dp,wet/Dp,dry) measurements by the DASH-SP are compared to bulk scattering measurements (f(RH) ≡ σscat,wet/σscat,dry) by the LARGE instrument. Spatial location and volatile organic compound tracers such as isoprene and acetonitrile are used to classify the origin of distinct air masses, including: forest fires, biogenic-emitting forests, agricultural use lands, marine boundary layer, urban, and rural background. Analyses of GF results by air mass origin are reported and results are compared with f(RH) measurements. A parameterization between the f(RH) and GF measurements and its potential uses are discussed.

Time-series MODIS satellite and in-situ data for spatio-temporal distribution of aerosol pollution assessment over Bucharest metropolitan area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoran, Maria A.; Savastru, Roxana S.; Savastru, Dan M.

2015-10-01

With the increasing industrialization and urbanization, especially in the metropolis regions, aerosol pollution has highly negative effects on environment. Urbanization is responsible of three major changes that may have impact on the urban atmosphere: replacement of the natural surfaces with buildings and impermeable pavements, heat of anthropogenic origin and air pollution. The importance of aerosols for radiative and atmospheric chemical processes is widely recognized. They can scatter and/or absorb solar radiation leading to changes of the radiation budget. Also, the so-called indirect effect of aerosols describes the cloud-aerosol interactions, which can modify the chemical and physical processes in the atmosphere. Their high spatial variability and short lifetime make spaceborne sensors especially well suited for their observation. Remote sensing is a key application in global-change science and urban climatology. Since the launch of the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) there is detailed global aerosol information available, both over land and oceans The aerosol parameters can be measured directly in situ or derived from satellite remote sensing observations. All these methods are important and complementary. The objective of this work was to document the seasonal and inter-annual patterns of the aerosol pollution particulate matter in two size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) loading and air quality index (AQI) over Bucharest metropolitan area in Romania based on in-situ and MODIS (Terra-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectoradiometer) satellite time series data over 2010-2012 period. Accurate information of urban air pollution is required for environmental and health policy, but also to act as a basis for designing and stratifying future monitoring networks.

Mexico city aerosol analysis during MILAGRO using high resolution aerosol mass spectrometry at the urban supersite (T0) - Part 2: Analysis of the biomass burning contribution and the non-fossil carbon fraction

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aiken, A.C.; Wang, J.; de Foy, B.

2010-06-16

Submicron aerosol was analyzed during the MILAGRO field campaign in March 2006 at the T0 urban supersite in Mexico City with a High-Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) and complementary instrumentation. Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) of high resolution AMS spectra identified a biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) component, which includes several large plumes that appear to be from forest fires within the region. Here, we show that the AMS BBOA concentration at T0 correlates with fire counts in the vicinity of Mexico City and that most of the BBOA variability is captured when the FLEXPART model is used for the dispersionmore » of fire emissions as estimated from satellite fire counts. The resulting FLEXPART fire impact factor (FIF) correlates well with the observed BBOA, acetonitrile (CH3CN), levoglucosan, and potassium, indicating that wildfires in the region surrounding Mexico City are the dominant source of BBOA at T0 during MILAGRO. The impact of distant BB sources such as the Yucatan is small during this period. All fire tracers are correlated, with BBOA and levoglucosan showing little background, acetonitrile having a well-known tropospheric background of {approx}100-150 pptv, and PM2.5 potassium having a background of {approx}160 ng m3 (two-thirds of its average concentration), which does not appear to be related to BB sources. We define two high fire periods based on satellite fire counts and FLEXPART-predicted FIFs. We then compare these periods with a low fire period when the impact of regional fires is about a factor of 5 smaller. Fire tracers are very elevated in the high fire periods whereas tracers of urban pollution do not change between these periods. Dust is also elevated during the high BB period but this appears to be coincidental due to the drier conditions and not driven by direct dust emission from the fires. The AMS oxygenated organic aerosol (OA) factor (OOA, mostly secondary OA or SOA) does not show an increase during the fire periods or a correlation with fire counts, FLEXPART-predicted FIFs or fire tracers, indicating that it is dominated by urban and/or regional sources and not by the fires near the MCMA. A new 14C aerosol dataset is presented. Both this new and a previously published dataset of 14C analysis suggest a similar BBOA contribution as the AMS and chemical mass balance (CMB), resulting in 13% higher non-fossil carbon during the high vs. low regional fire periods. The new dataset has {approx}15% more fossil carbon on average than the previously published one, and possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed. During the low regional fire period, 38% of organic carbon (OC) and 28% total carbon (TC) are from non-fossil sources, suggesting the importance of urban and regional non-fossil carbon sources other than the fires, such as food cooking and regional biogenic SOA. The ambient BBOA/CH3CN ratio is much higher in the afternoon when the wildfires are most intense than during the rest of the day. Also, there are large differences in the contributions of the different OA components to the surface concentrations vs. the integrated column amounts. Both facts may explain some apparent disagreements between BB impacts estimated from afternoon aircraft flights vs. those from 24-h ground measurements. We show that by properly accounting for the non-BB sources of K, all of the BB PM estimates from MILAGRO can be reconciled. Overall, the fires from the region near the MCMA are estimated to contribute 15-23% of the OA and 7-9% of the fine PM at T0 during MILAGRO, and 2-3% of the fine PM as an annual average. The 2006 MCMA emissions inventory contains a substantially lower impact of the forest fire emissions, although a fraction of these emissions occur just outside of the MCMA inventory area.« less

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE PAGES

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.; ...

2017-05-15

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014–2015 (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across 2 years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied temperate regions of Earth. GoAmazon2014/5, a cooperative project of Brazil, Germany, and the United States, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and on board two aircraftmore » to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over the city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Here in this paper, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

The Green Ocean Amazon Experiment (GoAmazon2014/5) Observes Pollution Affecting Gases, Aerosols, Clouds, and Rainfall over the Rain Forest

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.; Machado, L.

The Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon 2014–2015 (GoAmazon2014/5) experiment took place around the urban region of Manaus in central Amazonia across 2 years. The urban pollution plume was used to study the susceptibility of gases, aerosols, clouds, and rainfall to human activities in a tropical environment. Many aspects of air quality, weather, terrestrial ecosystems, and climate work differently in the tropics than in the more thoroughly studied temperate regions of Earth. GoAmazon2014/5, a cooperative project of Brazil, Germany, and the United States, employed an unparalleled suite of measurements at nine ground sites and on board two aircraftmore » to investigate the flow of background air into Manaus, the emissions into the air over the city, and the advection of the pollution downwind of the city. Here in this paper, to visualize this train of processes and its effects, observations aboard a low-flying aircraft are presented. Comparative measurements within and adjacent to the plume followed the emissions of biogenic volatile organic carbon compounds (BVOCs) from the tropical forest, their transformations by the atmospheric oxidant cycle, alterations of this cycle by the influence of the pollutants, transformations of the chemical products into aerosol particles, the relationship of these particles to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, and the differences in cloud properties and rainfall for background compared to polluted conditions. The observations of the GoAmazon2014/5 experiment illustrate how the hydrologic cycle, radiation balance, and carbon recycling may be affected by present-day as well as future economic development and pollution over the Amazonian tropical forest.« less

Externally mixed aerosol : simulation of ice nucleation in a parcel model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anquetil-Deck, Candy; Hoose, Corinna; Conolly, Paul

2014-05-01

The effect of different aerosol (mineral dust, bacteria and soot) acting as immersion ice nuclei is investigated using ACPIM (AerosolCloud Precipitation Interaction Model) [1]. ACPIM is a powerful tool which can be used in two different ways. This box model can be, either, driven by experimental data (experiments carried out at the AIDA cloud chamber facility) or used as an air parcel in order to examine different ice nucleation parameterizations under specific conditions. This adiabatic air parcel model was employed for the simulation of a convective cloud. The study consists here in the investigation of how two externally mixed aerosols interact with one another. The initial study concentrates on mineral dust aerosol and biological aerosol without any background in order to fully understand the interaction between the different types of aerosol. Immersion freezing is described for the mineral dust aerosol by Niemand et al. 's parameterization [2], which was derived from laboratory studies in AIDA and is an extension of surface site density approach suggested by Connolly et al. [1]. Regarding bioaerosol, we introduce Hummel et al. 's parameterization [3] : f(in) = f(max)(1 - exp(- Ap *n(s)(T))) With an empirically fitted ice nucleation active site density n s based on AIDA measurements of Pseudomonas syringae bacteria [4]. This initial study is conducted for different proportion of each aerosol (the total number of aerosol being constant throughout all the simulation runs) at different vertical velocities. We then extented this study with different backgrounds (urban, marine, rural) in order to get a full picture. We found that there is not only a CCN competition but an IN competition as well. References : [1] Connolly, P. J., Möhler O., Field P. R., Saathoff H., Burgess, R., Choularton, T. and Gallagher, M., Atmos. Chem. Phys 9, 2805-2824 (2009). [2] Niemand, M., Möhler, O., Vogel B., Vogel, H., Hoose, C., Connolly, P., Klein, H., Bingemer, H., DeMott,P., Skrotzki, J. and Leisner T., J. Atmos. Sci. 69, 3077-3092 (2012). [3] Hummel, M. et al., In preparation, (2014). [4] Oehm, C. et al., In preparation, (2014).

Aerosol composition and microstructure in the smoky atmosphere of Moscow during the August 2010 extreme wildfires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Popovicheva, O. B.; Kistler, M.; Kireeva, E. D.; Persiantseva, N. M.; Timofeev, M. A.; Shoniya, N. K.; Kopeikin, V. M.

2017-01-01

This is a comprehensive study of the physicochemical characterization of multicomponent aerosols in the smoky atmosphere of Moscow during the extreme wildfires of August 2010 and against the background atmosphere of August 2011. Thermal-optical analysis, liquid and ion chromatography, IR spectroscopy, and electron microscopy were used to determine the organic content (OC) and elemental content (EC) of carbon, organic/inorganic and ionic compounds, and biomass burning markers (anhydrosaccharides and the potassium ion) and study the morphology and elemental composition of individual particles. It has been shown that the fires are characterized by an increased OC/EC ratio and high concentrations of ammonium, potassium, and sulfate ions in correlation with an increased content of levoglucosan as a marker of biomass burning. The organic compounds containing carbonyl groups point to the process of photochemical aging and the formation of secondary organic aerosols in the urban atmosphere when aerosols are emitted from forest fires. A cluster analysis of individual particles has indicated that when the smokiest atmosphere is characterized by prevailing soot/tar ball particles, which are smoke-emission micromarkers.

Real-Time Characterization of Aerosol Particle Composition above the Urban Canopy in Beijing: Insights into the Interactions between the Atmospheric Boundary Layer and Aerosol Chemistry.

PubMed

Sun, Yele; Du, Wei; Wang, Qingqing; Zhang, Qi; Chen, Chen; Chen, Yong; Chen, Zhenyi; Fu, Pingqing; Wang, Zifa; Gao, Zhiqiu; Worsnop, Douglas R

2015-10-06

Despite extensive efforts into the characterization of air pollution during the past decade, real-time characterization of aerosol particle composition above the urban canopy in the megacity Beijing has never been performed to date. Here we conducted the first simultaneous real-time measurements of aerosol composition at two different heights at the same location in urban Beijing from December 19, 2013 to January 2, 2014. The nonrefractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) species were measured in situ by a high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometer at near-ground level and an aerosol chemical speciation monitor at 260 m on a 325 m meteorological tower in Beijing. Secondary aerosol showed similar temporal variations between ground level and 260 m, whereas much weaker correlations were found for the primary aerosol. The diurnal evolution of the ratios and correlations of aerosol species between 260 m and the ground level further illustrated a complex interaction between vertical mixing processes and local source emissions on aerosol chemistry in the atmospheric boundary layer. As a result, the aerosol compositions at the two heights were substantially different. Organic aerosol (OA), mainly composed of primary OA (62%), at the ground level showed a higher contribution to NR-PM1 (65%) than at 260 m (54%), whereas a higher concentration and contribution (15%) of nitrate was observed at 260 m, probably due to the favorable gas-particle partitioning under lower temperature conditions. In addition, two different boundary layer structures were observed, each interacting differently with the evolution processes of aerosol chemistry.

Chemical characterization of organosulfates in secondary organic aerosol derived from the photooxidation of alkanes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Riva, Matthieu; Da Silva Barbosa, Thais; Lin, Ying-Hsuan; Stone, Elizabeth A.; Gold, Avram; Surratt, Jason D.

2016-09-01

We report the formation of aliphatic organosulfates (OSs) in secondary organic aerosol (SOA) from the photooxidation of C10-C12 alkanes. The results complement those from our laboratories reporting the formation of OSs and sulfonates from gas-phase oxidation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Both studies strongly support the formation of OSs from the gas-phase oxidation of anthropogenic precursors, as hypothesized on the basis of recent field studies in which aromatic and aliphatic OSs were detected in fine aerosol collected from several major urban locations. In this study, dodecane, cyclodecane and decalin, considered to be important SOA precursors in urban areas, were photochemically oxidized in an outdoor smog chamber in the presence of either non-acidified or acidified ammonium sulfate seed aerosol. Effects of acidity and relative humidity on OS formation were examined. Aerosols collected from all experiments were characterized by ultra performance liquid chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization high-resolution quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC/ESI-HR-QTOFMS). Most of the OSs identified could be explained by formation of gaseous epoxide precursors with subsequent acid-catalyzed reactive uptake onto sulfate aerosol and/or heterogeneous reactions of hydroperoxides. The OSs identified here were also observed and quantified in fine urban aerosol samples collected in Lahore, Pakistan, and Pasadena, CA, USA. Several OSs identified from the photooxidation of decalin and cyclodecane are isobars of known monoterpene organosulfates, and thus care must be taken in the analysis of alkane-derived organosulfates in urban aerosol.

Source apportionment of organic compounds in Berlin using positive matrix factorization - assessing the impact of biogenic aerosol and biomass burning on urban particulate matter.

PubMed

Wagener, Sandra; Langner, Marcel; Hansen, Ute; Moriske, Heinz-Jörn; Endlicher, Wilfried R

2012-10-01

Source apportionment of 13 organic compounds, elemental carbon and organic carbon of ambient PM(10) and PM(1) was performed with positive matrix factorization (PMF). Samples were collected at three sites characterized by different vegetation influences in Berlin, Germany in 2010. The aim was to determine organic, mainly biogenic sources and their impact on urban aerosol collected in a densely populated region. A 6-factor solution provided the best data fit for both PM-fractions, allowing the sources isoprene- and α-pinene-derived secondary organic aerosol (SOA), bio primary, primarily attributable to fungal spores, bio/urban primary including plant fragments in PM(10) and cooking and traffic emissions in PM(1), biomass burning and combustion fossil to be identified. With mean concentrations up to 2.6 μg Cm(-3), biomass burning dominated the organic fraction in cooler months. Concentrations for α-pinene-derived SOA exceeded isoprene-derived concentrations. Estimated secondary organic carbon contributions to total organic carbon (OC) were between 7% and 42% in PM(10) and between 11% and 60% in PM(1), which is slightly lower than observed for US- or Asian cities. Primary biogenic emissions reached up to 33% of OC in the PM(10)-fraction in the late summer and autumn months. Temperature-dependence was found for both SOA-factors, correlations with ozone and mix depth only for the α-pinene-derived SOA-factor. Latter indicated input of α-pinene from the borders, highlighting differences in the origin of the precursors of both factors. Most factors were regionally distributed. High regional distribution was found to be associated with stronger influence of ambient parameters and higher concentrations at the background station. A significant contribution of biogenic emissions and biomass burning to urban organic aerosol could be stated. This indicates a considerable impact on PM concentrations also in cities in a densely populated area, and should draw the attention concerning health aspects not only to cardio-vascular diseases but also to allergy issues. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Urban aerosol hygroscopicity and CCN activity measured during the MAPS-Seoul 2016 campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, N.; Park, M.; Yum, S. S.; Kim, D. S.

2016-12-01

While submicron aerosols in atmosphere and their effects on air quality and climate are a rising issue in atmospheric sciences, scientific understanding of them is still limited due to the lack of comprehensive observations. In particular, studies for hygroscopic properties of aerosols, closely related to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity, are essential to aerosol-cloud-interaction study as aerosols can act as CCN, which crucially influence cloud microphysical and radiative properties. Urban aerosol properties were measured at Olympic Park in Seoul, a typical megacity with various anthropogenic sources, during the Megacity Air Pollution Studies (MAPS-Seoul 2016) campaign (9 May- 12 June 2016) for understanding diverse aspects of air quality problem in Korea. Physical properties of aerosols, including aerosol and CCN number concentration, aerosol size distribution and growth factor were measured by CPC, CCNC, SMPS and H-TDMA, respectively. Simultaneously, size-resolved chemical component of aerosol and water-soluble aerosol mass concentration were measured by AMS and PILS-IC. These measurement data are used for comprehensive analysis. A main focus will be on the relationship between overall properties of aerosols and their CCN activity in urban area. Results from MAPS-Seoul 2015 will also be used as reference for comparison with measurements in 2016 campaign. For example, aerosol number concentrations peaked at 0800, 1500 and 2000 LT due to traffic at rush hours and photochemical reaction in the afternoon. This is slightly different from the results of MAPS-Seoul 2015 campaign that showed two dominant peaks in the morning and afternoon.

Biomass burning contributions to urban aerosols in a coastal Mediterranean city.

PubMed

Reche, C; Viana, M; Amato, F; Alastuey, A; Moreno, T; Hillamo, R; Teinilä, K; Saarnio, K; Seco, R; Peñuelas, J; Mohr, C; Prévôt, A S H; Querol, X

2012-06-15

Mean annual biomass burning contributions to the bulk particulate matter (PM(X)) load were quantified in a southern-European urban environment (Barcelona, Spain) with special attention to typical Mediterranean winter and summer conditions. In spite of the complexity of the local air pollution cocktail and the expected low contribution of biomass burning emissions to PM levels in Southern Europe, the impact of these emissions was detected at an urban background site by means of tracers such as levoglucosan, K(+) and organic carbon (OC). The significant correlation between levoglucosan and OC (r(2)=0.77) and K(+) (r(2)=0.65), as well as a marked day/night variability of the levoglucosan levels and levoglucosan/OC ratios was indicative of the contribution from regional scale biomass burning emissions during night-time transported by land breezes. In addition, on specific days (21-22 March), the contribution from long-range transported biomass burning aerosols was detected. Quantification of the contribution of biomass burning aerosols to PM levels on an annual basis was possible by means of the Multilinear Engine (ME). Biomass burning emissions accounted for 3% of PM(10) and PM(2.5) (annual mean), while this percentage increased up to 5% of PM(1). During the winter period, regional-scale biomass burning emissions (agricultural waste burning) were estimated to contribute with 7±4% of PM(2.5) aerosols during night-time (period when emissions were clearly detected). Long-range transported biomass burning aerosols (possibly from forest fires and/or agricultural waste burning) accounted for 5±2% of PM(2.5) during specific episodes. Annually, biomass burning emissions accounted for 19%-21% of OC levels in PM(10), PM(2.5) and PM(1). The contribution of this source to K(+) ranged between 48% for PM(10) and 97% for PM(1) (annual mean). Results for K(+) from biomass burning evidenced that this tracer is mostly emitted in the fine fraction, and thus coarse K(+) could not be taken as an appropriate tracer of biomass burning. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization of particle number size distribution and new particle formation in Southern China.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaofeng; Wang, Chuan; Peng, Jianfei; He, Lingyan; Cao, Liming; Zhu, Qiao; Cui, Jie; Wu, Zhijun; Hu, Min

2017-01-01

Knowledge of particle number size distribution (PND) and new particle formation (NPF) events in Southern China is essential for mitigation strategies related to submicron particles and their effects on regional air quality, haze, and human health. In this study, seven field measurement campaigns were conducted from December 2013 to May 2015 using a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS) at four sites in Southern China, including three urban sites and one background site. Particles were measured in the size range of 15-615nm, and the median particle number concentrations (PNCs) were found to vary in the range of 0.3×10 4 -2.2×10 4 cm -3 at the urban sites and were approximately 0.2×10 4 cm -3 at the background site. The peak diameters at the different sites varied largely from 22 to 102nm. The PNCs in the Aitken mode (25-100nm) at the urban sites were up to 10 times higher than they were at the background site, indicating large primary emissions from traffic at the urban sites. The diurnal variations of PNCs were significantly influenced by both rush hour traffic at the urban sites and NPF events. The frequencies of NPF events at the different sites were 0%-30%, with the highest frequency occurring at an urban site during autumn. With higher SO 2 concentrations and higher ambient temperatures being necessary, NPF at the urban site was found to be more influenced by atmospheric oxidizing capability, while NPF at the background site was limited by the condensation sink. This study provides a unique dataset of particle number and size information in various environments in Southern China, which can help understand the sources, formation, and the climate forcing of aerosols in this quickly developing region, as well as help constrain and validate NPF modeling. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Partitioning of magnetic particles in PM10, PM2.5 and PM1 aerosols in the urban atmosphere of Barcelona (Spain).

PubMed

Revuelta, María Aránzazu; McIntosh, Gregg; Pey, Jorge; Pérez, Noemi; Querol, Xavier; Alastuey, Andrés

2014-05-01

A combined magnetic-chemical study of 15 daily, simultaneous PM10-PM2.5-PM1 urban background aerosol samples has been carried out. The magnetic properties are dominated by non-stoichiometric magnetite, with highest concentrations seen in PM10. Low temperature magnetic analyses showed that the superparamagnetic fraction is more abundant when coarse, multidomain particles are present, confirming that they may occur as an oxidized outer shell around coarser grains. A strong association of the magnetic parameters with a vehicular PM10 source has been identified. Strong correlations found with Cu and Sb suggests that this association is related to brake abrasion emissions rather than exhaust emissions. For PM1 the magnetic remanence parameters are more strongly associated with crustal sources. Two crustal sources are identified in PM1, one of which is of North African origin. The magnetic particles are related to this source and so may be used to distinguish North African dust from other sources in PM1. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Characterization of urban aerosol using aerosol mass spectrometry and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

The Use of Principal Component Analysis for Source Identification of PM2.5 from Selected Urban and Regional Background Sites in Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Błaszczak, Barbara

2018-01-01

The paper reports the results of the measurements of water-soluble ions and carbonaceous matter content in the fine particulate matter (PM2.5), as well as the contributions of major sources in PM2.5. Daily PM2.5 samples were collected during heating and non-heating season of the year 2013 in three different locations in Poland: Szczecin (urban background), Trzebinia (urban background) and Złoty Potok (regional background). The concentrations of PM2.5, and its related components, exhibited clear spatiotemporal variability with higher levels during the heating period. The share of the total carbon (TC) in PM2.5 exceeded 40% and was primarily determined by fluctuations in the share of OC. Sulfates (SO42-), nitrates (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) dominated in the ionic composition of PM2.5 and accounted together 34% (Szczecin), 30% (Trzebinia) and 18% (Złoty Potok) of PM2.5 mass. Source apportionment analysis, performed by PCA-MLRA model (Principal Component Analysis - Multilinear Regression Analysis), revealed that secondary aerosol, whose presence is related to oxidation of gaseous precursors emitted from fuel combustion and biomass burning, had the largest contribution in observed PM2.5 concentrations. In addition, the contribution of traffic sources together with road dust resuspension, was observed. The share of natural sources (sea spray, crustal dust) was generally lower.

A study on the relationship between mass concentrations, chemistry and number size distribution of urban fine aerosols in Milan, Barcelona and London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rodríguez, S.; van Dingenen, R.; Putaud, J.-P.; Dell'Acqua, A.; Pey, J.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Chenery, S.; Ho, K.-F.; Harrison, R.; Tardivo, R.; Scarnato, B.; Gemelli, V.

2007-05-01

A physicochemical characterization, including aerosol number size distribution, chemical composition and mass concentrations, of the urban fine aerosol captured in MILAN, BARCELONA and LONDON is presented in this article. The objective is to obtain a comprehensive picture of the microphysical processes involved in aerosol dynamics during the: 1) regular evolution of the urban aerosol (daily, weekly and seasonal basis) and in the day-to-day variations (from clean-air to pollution-events), and 2) the link between "aerosol chemistry and mass concentrations" with the "number size distribution". The mass concentrations of the fine PM2.5 aerosol exhibit a high correlation with the number concentration of >100 nm particles N>100 (nm) ("accumulation mode particles") which only account for <20% of the total number concentration N of fine aerosols; but do not correlate with the number of <100 nm particles ("ultrafine particles"), which accounts for >80% of fine particles number concentration. Organic matter and black-carbon are the only aerosol components showing a significant correlation with the ultrafine particles, attributed to vehicles exhausts emissions; whereas ammonium-nitrate, ammonium-sulphate and also organic matter and black-carbon correlate with N>100 (nm) and attributed to condensation mechanisms, other particle growth processes and some primary emissions. Time series of the aerosol DpN diameter (dN/dlogD mode), mass PM2.5 concentrations and number N>100 (nm) concentrations exhibit correlated day-to-day variations, which point to a significant involvement of condensation of semi-volatile compounds during urban pollution events. This agrees with the observation that ammonium-nitrate is the component exhibiting the highest increases from mid-to-high pollution episodes, when the highest DpN increases are observed. The results indicates that "fine PM2.5 particles urban pollution events" tend to occur when condensation processes have made particles grow large enough to produce significant number concentrations of N>100 (nm) ("accumulation mode particles"). In contrast, because the low contribution of ultrafine particles to the fine aerosol mass concentrations, high "ultrafine particles N<100(nm) events" frequently occurs under low PM2.5 conditions. The results of this study demonstrate that vehicles exhausts emissions are strongly involved in this ultrafine particles aerosol pollution.

Incremental Reactivity Effects on Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation in Urban Atmospheres with and without Biogenic Influence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kacarab, Mary; Li, Lijie; Carter, William P. L.; Cocker, David R., III

2016-04-01

Two different surrogate mixtures of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were developed to study secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation at atmospheric reactivities similar to urban regions with varying biogenic influence levels. Environmental chamber simulations were designed to enable the study of the incremental aerosol formation from select anthropogenic (m-Xylene, 1,2,4-Trimethylbenzene, and 1-Methylnaphthalene) and biogenic (α-pinene) precursors under the chemical reactivity set by the two different surrogate mixtures. The surrogate reactive organic gas (ROG) mixtures were based on that used to develop the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) factors for evaluation of O3 forming potential. Multiple incremental aerosol formation experiments were performed in the University of California Riverside (UCR) College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Technology (CE-CERT) dual 90m3 environmental chambers. Incremental aerosol yields were determined for each of the VOCs studied and compared to yields found from single precursor studies. Aerosol physical properties of density, volatility, and hygroscopicity were monitored throughout experiments. Bulk elemental chemical composition from high-resolution time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) data will also be presented. Incremental yields and SOA chemical and physical characteristics will be compared with data from previous single VOC studies conducted for these aerosol precursors following traditional VOC/NOx chamber experiments. Evaluation of the incremental effects of VOCs on SOA formation and properties are paramount in evaluating how to best extrapolate environmental chamber observations to the ambient atmosphere and provides useful insights into current SOA formation models. Further, the comparison of incremental SOA from VOCs in varying surrogate urban atmospheres (with and without strong biogenic influence) allows for a unique perspective on the impacts different compounds have on aerosol formation in different urban regions.

Evolution of wavelength-dependent mass absorption cross sections of carbonaceous aerosols during the 2010 DOE CARES campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Flowers, B. A.; Dubey, M. K.; Subramanian, R.; Sedlacek, A. J.; Kelley, P.; Luke, W. T.; Jobson, B. T.; Zaveri, R. A.

2011-12-01

Predictions of aerosol radiative forcing require process level optical property models that are built on precise and accurate field observations. Evolution of aerosol optical properties for urban influenced carbonaceous aerosol undergoing transport and mixing with rural air masses was a focal point of the DOE Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects (CARES) campaign near Sacramento, CA in summer 2010. Urban aerosol was transported from Sacramento, CA (T0) to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains to a rural site located near Cool, CA (T1). Aerosol absorption and scattering coefficients were measured at the T0 and T1 sites using integrated photoacoustic acoustic/nephelometer instruments (PASS-3 and PASS-UV) at 781, 532, 405, and 375 nm. Single particle soot photometry (SP2) instrumentation was used to monitor black carbon (BC) mass at both sites. Combining data from these sensors allows estimate of the wavelength-dependent mass absorption coefficient (MAC(λ)) and partitioning of MAC(λ) into contributions from the BC core and from enhancements from coating of BC cores. MAC(λ) measured in this way is free of artifacts associated with filter-based aerosol absorption measurements and takes advantage of the single particle sensitivity of the SP2 instrument, allowing observation of MAC(λ) on 10 minute and faster time scales. Coating was observed to enhance MAC(λ) by 20 - 30 % and different wavelength dependence for MAC(λ) was observed for urban and biomass burning aerosol. Further, T0 - T1 evolution of MAC(λ) was correlated with separately measured NO/NOy ratios and CO/CO2 ratios to understand the effects of aging & transport on MAC(λ) and the implications of aerosol processing that links air quality to radiative forcing on a regional scale. Aircraft observations made from the Gulfstream-1 during CARES are also analyzed to enhance process level understanding of the optical properties of fresh and aged carbonaceous aerosol in the urban-rural interface.

A study of impact of Asian dusts and their transport pathways to Hong Kong using multiple AERONET data, trajectory, and in-situ measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wong, Man Sing; Nichol, Janet Elizabeth; Lee, Kwon Ho

2010-10-01

Hong Kong, a commercial and financial city located in south-east China has suffered serious air pollution for the last decade due largely to rapid urban and industrial expansion of the cities of mainland China. However, the potential sources and pathways of aerosols transported to Hong Kong have not been well researched due to the lack of air quality monitoring stations in southern China. Here, an integrated method combining the AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) data, trajectory and Potential Source Contribution Function (PSCF) modeling is used to identify the potential transport pathways and contribution of sources from four characteristic aerosol types. Four characteristic aerosol types were defined using a total of 730 AERONET data measurements between 2005 and 2008. They are coastal urban, polluted urban, dust (likely to be long distance desert dust), and heavy pollution. Results show that the sources of polluted urban and heavy pollution are associated with industrial emissions in southern China, whereas coastal urban aerosols have been affected both from natural marine aerosol and emissions. The PSCF map of dust shows a wide range of pathways followed by east- and south-eastwards trajectories from northwest China to Hong Kong. Although the contribution from dust sources is small compared to the anthropogenic aerosols, a serious recent dust outbreak has been observed in Hong Kong with an elevation of the Air Pollution Index to 500, compared with 50-100 on normal days. Therefore, the combined use of clustered AERONET data, trajectory and the PSCF models can help to resolve the longstanding issue about source regions and characteristics of pollutants carried to Hong Kong.

Compound Specific Isotope Analysis of Fatty Acids in Southern African Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Billmark, K. A.; Macko, S. A.; Swap, R. J.

2003-12-01

This study, conducted as a part of the Southern African Regional Science Initiative (SAFARI 2000), applied compound specific isotope analysis to describe aerosols at source regions and rural locations. Stable carbon isotopic compositions of individual fatty acids were determined for aerosol samples collected at four sites throughout southern Africa. Mongu, Zambia and Skukuza, South Africa were chosen for their location within intense seasonal Miombo woodland savanna and bushveld savanna biomass burning source regions, respectively. Urban aerosols were collected at Johannesburg, South Africa and rural samples were collected at Sua Pan, Botswana. Fatty acid isotopic compositions varied temporally. Urban aerosols showed significant isotopic enrichment of selected short chain fatty acids (C < 20) compared to aerosols produced during biomass combustion. Sua Pan short chain fatty acid signatures were significantly different from the other non-urban sites, which suggests that sources other than biomass combustion products, such as organic eolian material, impact the Sua Pan aerosol profile. However, a high degree of correlation between Sua Pan and Skukuza long chain fatty acid δ 13C values confirm atmospheric linkages between the two areas and that isotopic signatures of combusted fatty acids are unaltered during atmospheric transport highlighting their potential for use as a conservative tracer.

CCN activity of thermodenuded aerosol particles downwind of the Sacramento area urban plume

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hiranuma, N.; Cziczo, D. J.; Nelson, D.; Zhang, Q.; Setyan, A.; Song, C.; Shrivastava, M.; Shilling, J. E.

2010-12-01

This study focuses on the characterization of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) properties of aerosol particles measured during the Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) near Sacramento, CA in June 2010. Supersaturation-dependant CCN activity (0.07 - 0.5% supersaturation) was measured with DMT CCN counters at two locations; one near the city center (T0) and the other in Cool, CA, a small town located ~40 kilometers downwind of the urban plume in the Sierra Nevada foothills (T1). The T1 CCN counter was operated behind a thermodenuder to study volatility-dependant CCN activity of the urban aerosol plume as it was transported into the biogenically influenced foothills. Preliminary analysis indicated that activated fraction was inversely proportional to the thermodenuder temperature, suggesting that the more-volatile fraction of the aerosol might have played an important role in the CCN activity of the aerosol. The relationship between the chemical composition and CCN activity of the aerosol will be discussed. The physical and chemical transformations of particles aged in the foothills as well as the diurnal profiles of CCN both at T0 and T1 will also be discussed for the transport event of 15 June 2010.

In-depth discrimination of aerosol types using multiple clustering techniques over four locations in Indo-Gangetic plains

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bibi, Humera; Alam, Khan; Bibi, Samina

2016-11-01

Discrimination of aerosol types is essential over the Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) because several aerosol types originate from different sources having different atmospheric impacts. In this paper, we analyzed a seasonal discrimination of aerosol types by multiple clustering techniques using AERosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET) datasets for the period 2007-2013 over Karachi, Lahore, Jaipur and Kanpur. We discriminated the aerosols into three major types; dust, biomass burning and urban/industrial. The discrimination was carried out by analyzing different aerosol optical properties such as Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD), Angstrom Exponent (AE), Extinction Angstrom Exponent (EAE), Abortion Angstrom Exponent (AAE), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and Real Refractive Index (RRI) and their interrelationship to investigate the dominant aerosol types and to examine the variation in their seasonal distribution. The results revealed that during summer and pre-monsoon, dust aerosols were dominant while during winter and post-monsoon prevailing aerosols were biomass burning and urban industrial, and the mixed type of aerosols were present in all seasons. These types of aerosol discriminated from AERONET were in good agreement with CALIPSO (the Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) measurement.

A Case Study of Urbanization Impact on Summer Precipitation in the Greater Beijing Metropolitan Area. Urban Heat Island Versus Aerosol Effects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhong, Shi; Qian, Yun; Zhao, Chun

Convection-resolving ensemble simulations using the WRF-Chem model coupled with a single-layer Urban Canopy Model (UCM) are conducted to investigate the individual and combined impacts of land use and anthropogenic pollutant emissions from urbanization on a heavy rainfall event in the Greater Beijing Metropolitan Area (GBMA) in China. The simulation with the urbanization effect included generally captures the spatial pattern and temporal variation of the rainfall event. An improvement of precipitation is found in the experiment including aerosol effect on both clouds and radiation. The expanded urban land cover and increased aerosols have an opposite effect on precipitation processes, with themore » latter playing a more dominant role, leading to suppressed convection and rainfall over the upstream (northwest) area, and enhanced convection and more precipitation in the downstream (southeast) region of the GBMA. In addition, the influence of aerosol indirect effect is found to overwhelm that of direct effect on precipitation in this rainfall event. Increased aerosols induce more cloud droplets with smaller size, which favors evaporative cooling and reduce updrafts and suppress convection over the upstream (northwest) region in the early stage of the rainfall event. As the rainfall system propagates southeastward, more latent heat is released due to the freezing of larger number of smaller cloud drops that are lofted above the freezing level, which is responsible for the increased updraft strength and convective invigoration over the downstream (southeast) area.« less

SEMI-VOLATILE SECONDARY AEROSOLS IN URBAN ATMOSPHERES: MEETING A MEASURED CHALLENGE

EPA Science Inventory

This presentation compares the results from various particle measurement methods as they relate to semi-volatile secondary aerosols in urban atmospheres. The methods include the PM2.5 Federal Reference Method; Particle Concentrator - BYU Organic Sampling System (PC-BOSS); the Re...

Aerosol Radiative Forcing in Asian Continental Outflow

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pueschel, R.; Kinne, S.; Redemann, J.; Gore, Warren J. (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

Aerosols in elevated layers were sampled with FSSP-probes and wire impactors over the Pacific ocean aboard the NASA DC-8 aircraft. Analyses of particle size and morphology identifies two distinctly different aerosol types for cases when the mid-visible extinctions exceed 0.2/km. Smaller sizes (effective radii of 0.2 um) and moderate absorption (mid-visible single scattering albedo of.935) are typical for urban-industrial pollution. Larger sizes (effective radii of 0.7 um) and weak absorption (mid-visible single scattering albedo of 0.985) identify dust. This aerosol classification is in agreement with its origin as determined by airmass back trajectory analysis. Based on lidar vertical profiling, aerosol dominated by dust and urban-industrial pollution above 3km were assigned mid-visible optical depths of 0.50 and 0.27, respectively. Radiative transfer simulations, considering a 50% cloud-cover below the aerosol layers, suggest (on a daily tP C)C> basis) small reductions (-4W/m2) to the energy budget at the top of the atmosphere for both aerosol types. For c' 0 dust, more backscattering of sunlight (weaker solar absorption) is compensated by a stronger greenhouse effect due to larger sizes. Forced reductions to the energy budget at the surface are 12W/m2 for both aerosol types. In contrast, impacts on heating rates within the aerosol layers are quite different: While urban-industrial aerosol warms the layer (at +0.6K/day as solar heating dominates), dust cools (at -0.5K/day as infrared cooling dominates). Sensitivity tests show the dependence of the aerosol climatic impact on the optical depth, particle size, absorptivity, and altitude of the layers, as well as clouds and surface properties. Climatic cooling can be eliminated (1) for the urban-industrial aerosol if absorption is increased to yield a mid-visible single scattering albedo of 0.89, or if the ocean is replaced by a land surface; (2) for the dust aerosol if the effective radius is increased from 0.7 to 1.2 um. The removal of low-level clouds doubles the cooling at the top of the atmosphere to about -8W/m2.

Identification and characterisation of local aerosol sources using high temporal resolution measurements.

PubMed

Contini, D; Donateo, A; Cesari, D; Belosi, F; Francioso, S

2010-09-01

Aerosol and gaseous pollution measurements were carried out at an urban background site in the south of Italy located near an industrial complex. Collection of 24 h samples of PM10 and PM2.5 and successive chemical quantification of metals were performed. Data were compared with measurements taken at a suburban background site, located at 25 km distance. The comparison showed the presence of an industrial contribution with a well defined chemical emission profile, similar, in terms of metals content, to urban emissions. As this made difficult the quantitative characterisation of the contribution of the two sources to atmospheric PM, a statistical method based on the treatment of data arising from high temporal resolution measurements was developed. Data were taken with a micrometeorological station based on an integrating nephelometer (Mie pDR-1200) for optical detection of PM2.5 concentration, with successive evaluation of vertical turbulent fluxes using the eddy-correlation method. Results show that the contribution from the two sources (urban emissions and industrial releases) have a very different behaviour, with the industrial contribution being present at high wind velocity with short concentration peaks (average duration 4 min) associated to strong positive and negative vertical fluxes. The estimated contribution to PM2.5 is 2.3% over long-term averages. The urban emissions are mainly present at low wind velocity, with longer concentration peaks in the morning and late evening hours, generally associated to small positive vertical fluxes. The characterisation of the contribution was performed using deposition velocity V(d) that is on average -3.5 mm s(-1) and has a diurnal pattern, with negligible values during the night and a minimum value of around -9 mm s(-1) late in the afternoon. Results show a correlation between V(d), friction velocity and wind velocity that could be the basis for a parameterisation of V(d) to be used in dispersion codes.

Variations in time and space of trace metal aerosol concentrations in urban areas and their surroundings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, T.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Reche, C.; Cusack, M.; Amato, F.; Pandolfi, M.; Pey, J.; Richard, A.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Furger, M.; Gibbons, W.

2011-05-01

Using an unprecedentedly large geochemical database, we compare temporal and spatial variations in inhalable trace metal background concentrations in a major city (Barcelona, Spain) and at a nearby mountainous site (Montseny) affected by the urban plume. Both sites are contaminated by technogenic metals, with V, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, Sn, Bi, Sb and Cd all showing upper continental crust (UCC) normalised values >1 in broadly increasing order. The highest metal concentrations usually occur during winter at Barcelona and summer in Montseny. This seasonal difference was especially marked at the remote mountain site in several elements such as Ti and Rare Earth Elements, which recorded campaign maxima, exceeding PM10 concentrations seen in Barcelona. The most common metals were Zn, Ti, Cu, Mn, Pb and V. Both V and Ni show highest concentrations in summer, and preferentially fractionate into the finest PM sizes (PM1/PM10 > 0.5) especially in Barcelona, this being attributed to regionally dispersed contamination from fuel oil combustion point sources. Within the city, hourly metal concentrations are controlled either by traffic (rush hour double peak for Cu, Sb, Sn, Ba) or industrial plumes (morning peak of Ni, Mn, Cr generated outside the city overnight), whereas at Montseny metal concentrations rise during the morning to a single, prolonged afternoon peak as contaminated air transported by the sea breeze moves into the mountains. Our exceptional database, which includes hourly measurements of chemical concentrations, demonstrates in more detail than previous studies the spatial and temporal variability of urban pollution by trace metals in a given city. Technogenic metalliferous aerosols are commonly fine in size and therefore potentially bioavailable, emphasising the case for basing urban background PM characterisation not only on physical parameters such as mass but also on sample chemistry and with special emphasis on trace metal content.

Variations in time and space of trace metal aerosol concentrations in urban areas and their surroundings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, T.; Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Reche, C.; Cusack, M.; Amato, F.; Pandolfi, M.; Pey, J.; Richard, A.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Furger, M.; Gibbons, W.

2011-09-01

Using an unprecedentedly large geochemical database, we compare temporal and spatial variations in inhalable trace metal background concentrations in a major city (Barcelona, Spain) and at a nearby mountainous site (Montseny) affected by the urban plume. Both sites are contaminated by technogenic metals, with V, Pb, Cu, Zn, Mn, Sn, Bi, Sb and Cd all showing upper continental crust (UCC) normalised values >1 in broadly increasing order. The highest metal concentrations usually occur during winter at Barcelona and summer in Montseny. This seasonal difference was especially marked at the remote mountain site in several elements such as Ti and Rare Earth Elements, which recorded campaign maxima, exceeding PM10 concentrations seen in Barcelona. The most common metals were Zn, Ti, Cu, Mn, Pb and V. Both V and Ni show highest concentrations in summer, and preferentially fractionate into the finest PM sizes (PM1/PM10 > 0.5) especially in Barcelona, this being attributed to regionally dispersed contamination from fuel oil combustion point sources. Within the city, hourly metal concentrations are controlled either by traffic (rush hour double peak for Cu, Sb, Sn, Ba) or industrial plumes (morning peak of Ni, Mn, Cr generated outside the city overnight), whereas at Montseny metal concentrations rise during the morning to a single, prolonged afternoon peak as contaminated air transported by the sea breeze moves into the mountains. Our exceptional database, which includes hourly measurements of chemical concentrations, demonstrates in more detail than previous studies the spatial and temporal variability of urban pollution by trace metals in a given city. Technogenic metalliferous aerosols are commonly fine in size and therefore potentially bioavailable, emphasising the case for basing urban background PM characterisation not only on physical parameters such as mass but also on sample chemistry and with special emphasis on trace metal content.

Urban organic aerosols measured by single particle mass spectrometry in the megacity of London

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dall'Osto, M.; Harrison, R. M.

2012-05-01

During the month of October 2006, as part of the REPARTEE-I experiment (Regent's Park and Tower Environmental Experiment) an Aerosol Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer (ATOFMS) was deployed at an urban background location in the city of London, UK. Fifteen particle types were classified, some of which were already discussed (Dall'Osto et al., 2009a,b; Harrison et al., 2012). In this manuscript the origins and properties of four unreported particle types postulated to be due to locally generated aerosols, independent of the air mass type advected into London, are examined. One particle type, originating from lubricating oil (referred to as Ca-EC), was associated with morning rush hour traffic emissions. A second particle type, composed of both inorganic and organic species (called Na-EC-OC), was found enhanced in particle number concentration during evening time periods, and is likely to originate from a source operating at this time of day, or more probably from condensation of semi-volatile species. A third class, internally mixed with organic carbon and sulphate (called OC), was found to spike both in the morning and evenings although it could not unambiguously associated with a specific source or atmospheric process. The fourth class (Secondary Organic Aerosols - Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon; SOA-PAH) exhibited maximum frequency during the warmest part of the day, and a number of factors point towards secondary aerosol production from traffic-related volatile aromatic compounds. Single particle mass spectra of this particle type showed an oxidized polycyclic aromatic compound signature. A comparison of ATOFMS particle class data is then made with factors obtained by Positive Matrix Factorization and PAH signatures obtained from Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) data (Allan et al., 2010). Both the Ca-EC and OC particle types correlate with primary Hydrocarbon-like Organic Aerosol (HOA, R2 = 0.65 and 0.50 respectively), and Na-EC-OC correlates weakly with the AMS secondary Oxygenated Organic Aerosol (OOA), (R2 = 0.35). Cluster SOA-PAH was found not to correlate with any AMS signal. A detailed analysis was conducted to identify ATOFMS particle type(s) representative of the AMS cooking aerosol factor (COA), but no convincing associations were found. The combined ATOFMS and AMS results of this REPARTEE study do not always provide an entirely coherent interpretation.

Field Studies for Secondary Organic Aerosol in the Transboundary Air

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Irei, S.; Takami, A.; Sadanaga, Y.; Nozoe, S.; Hayashi, M.; Hara, K.; Arakaki, T.; Hatakeyama, S.; Miyoshi, T.; Yokouchi, Y.; Bandow, H.

2014-12-01

To study formation of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the air outflowed from the Chinese continent and its fraction in an urban city located in downwind, we have conducted field studies at two background sites and one urban site in the western Japan: the Cape Hedo Aerosol and Atmospheric Monitoring Station (26.9˚N, 128.3˚E), the Fukue Atmospheric Monitoring Station (32.8˚N, 128.7˚E), and Fukuoka University (33.6˚N, 130.4˚E), respectively. During the studies, stable carbon isotope ratio (δ13C) of low-volatile water-soluble organic carbon (LV-WSOC) was measured in 24 h collected filter samples of total suspended particulate matter. Concentration of fine organic aerosol and the proportion of the signal at m/z 44 (ions from the carboxyl group) in the organic mass spectra (f44) were also measured by Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers. Limited to the Fukue site only, mixing ratios of trace gas species, such as aromatic hydrocarbons, NOx, and NOy, were also measured using GC-FID and NOx and NOyanalyzers for estimation of photochemical age (t[OH]). A case study in December 2010 showed that plots of δ13C versus f44 showed systematic variations at Hedo and Fukue. However, their trends were opposite. At Fukue the trend was consistent in the plot of δ13C of LV-WSOC versus t[OH] estimated by the NOx/NOy or the hydrocarbon ratios, indicating influence of SOA. The systematic trends aforementioned qualitatively agreed with a binary mixture model of SOA with background LV-WSOC having the f44 of ~0.06 and the δ13C of -17‰ or higher, implication of some influence of primary emission associated with C4plants. Given that the LV-WSOC at the urban Fukuoka site was a binary mixture, a mass balance for δ13C was constructed below. In the equation, δ13CMix, δ13CLocal, δ13CTrans, and FLocal are δ13C of binary LV-WSOC mixture, δ13C of LV-WSOC from local emission origin, δ13C of LV-WSOC from transboundary pollution origin, and a fraction of LV-WSOC from local emission origin in the mixture, respectively. We applied d13C values at Fukuoka and Fukue to δ13CMix and δ13CTrans, respectively, and δ13C of -27‰ for vehicular emission to δ13CLocal. The preliminary results demonstrated that, except some negative FLocal, the majority of calculated FLocal ranged from 4% to 86% and the lower FLocal, the higher LV-WSOC concentration.

Study on Dicarboxylic Acids in Aerosol Samples with Capillary Electrophoresis

PubMed Central

Adler, Heidi; Sirén, Heli

2014-01-01

The research was performed to study the simultaneous detection of a homologous series of α, ω-dicarboxylic acids (C2–C10), oxalic, malonic, succinic, glutaric, adipic, pimelic, suberic, azelaic, and sebacic acids, with capillary electrophoresis using indirect UV detection. Good separation efficiency in 2,6-pyridinedicarboxylic acid as background electrolyte modified with myristyl trimethyl ammonium bromide was obtained. The dicarboxylic acids were ionised and separated within five minutes. For the study, authentic samples were collected onto dry cellulose membrane filters of a cascade impactor (12 stages) from outdoor spring aerosols in an urban area. Hot water and ultrasonication extraction methods were used to isolate the acids from membrane filters. Due to the low concentrations of acids in the aerosols, the extracts were concentrated with solid-phase extraction (SPE) before determination. The enrichment of the carboxylic acids was between 86 and 134% with sample pretreatment followed by 100-time increase by preparation of the sample to 50 μL. Inaccuracy was optimised for all the sample processing steps. The aerosols contained dicarboxylic acids C2–C10. Then, mostly they contained C2, C5, and C10. Only one sample contained succinic acid. In the study, the concentrations of the acids in aerosols were lower than 10 ng/m3. PMID:24729915

Molecular Markers of Secondary Organic Aerosol in Mumbai, India.

PubMed

Fu, Pingqing; Aggarwal, Shankar G; Chen, Jing; Li, Jie; Sun, Yele; Wang, Zifa; Chen, Huansheng; Liao, Hong; Ding, Aijun; Umarji, G S; Patil, R S; Chen, Qi; Kawamura, Kimitaka

2016-05-03

Biogenic secondary organic aerosols (SOA) are generally considered to be more abundant in summer than in winter. Here, polar organic marker compounds in urban background aerosols from Mumbai were measured using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Surprisingly, we found that concentrations of biogenic SOA tracers at Mumbai were several times lower in summer (8-14 June 2006; wet season; n = 14) than in winter (13-18 February 2007; dry season; n = 10). Although samples from less than 10% of the season are extrapolated to the full season, such seasonality may be explained by the predominance of the southwest summer monsoon, which brings clean marine air masses to Mumbai. While heavy rains are an important contributor to aerosol removal during the monsoon season, meteorological data (relative humidity and T) suggest no heavy rains occurred during our sampling period. However, in winter, high levels of SOA and their day/night differences suggest significant contributions of continental aerosols through long-range transport together with local sources. The winter/summer pattern of SOA loadings was further supported by results from chemical transport models (NAQPMS and GEOS-Chem). Furthermore, our study suggests that monoterpene- and sesquiterpene-derived secondary organic carbon (SOC) were more significant than those of isoprene- and toluene-SOC at Mumbai.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Simulating secondary organic aerosol from missing diesel-related intermediate-volatility organic compound emissions during the Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ots, Riinu; Young, Dominique E.; Vieno, Massimo; Xu, Lu; Dunmore, Rachel E.; Allan, James D.; Coe, Hugh; Williams, Leah R.; Herndon, Scott C.; Ng, Nga L.; Hamilton, Jacqueline F.; Bergström, Robert; Di Marco, Chiara; Nemitz, Eiko; Mackenzie, Ian A.; Kuenen, Jeroen J. P.; Green, David C.; Reis, Stefan; Heal, Mathew R.

2016-05-01

We present high-resolution (5 km × 5 km) atmospheric chemical transport model (ACTM) simulations of the impact of newly estimated traffic-related emissions on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation over the UK for 2012. Our simulations include additional diesel-related intermediate-volatility organic compound (IVOC) emissions derived directly from comprehensive field measurements at an urban background site in London during the 2012 Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) campaign. Our IVOC emissions are added proportionally to VOC emissions, as opposed to proportionally to primary organic aerosol (POA) as has been done by previous ACTM studies seeking to simulate the effects of these missing emissions. Modelled concentrations are evaluated against hourly and daily measurements of organic aerosol (OA) components derived from aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements also made during the ClearfLo campaign at three sites in the London area. According to the model simulations, diesel-related IVOCs can explain on average ˜ 30 % of the annual SOA in and around London. Furthermore, the 90th percentile of modelled daily SOA concentrations for the whole year is 3.8 µg m-3, constituting a notable addition to total particulate matter. More measurements of these precursors (currently not included in official emissions inventories) is recommended. During the period of concurrent measurements, SOA concentrations at the Detling rural background location east of London were greater than at the central London location. The model shows that this was caused by an intense pollution plume with a strong gradient of imported SOA passing over the rural location. This demonstrates the value of modelling for supporting the interpretation of measurements taken at different sites or for short durations.

Aerosol Chemistry over a High Altitude Station at Northeastern Himalayas, India

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Abhijit; Adak, Anandamay; Singh, Ajay K.; Srivastava, Manoj K.; Ghosh, Sanjay K.; Tiwari, Suresh; Devara, Panuganti C. S.; Raha, Sibaji

2010-01-01

Background There is an urgent need for an improved understanding of the sources, distributions and properties of atmospheric aerosol in order to control the atmospheric pollution over northeastern Himalayas where rising anthropogenic interferences from rapid urbanization and development is becoming an increasing concern. Methodology/Principal Findings An extensive aerosol sampling program was conducted in Darjeeling (altitude ∼2200 meter above sea level (masl), latitude 27°01′N and longitude 88°15′E), a high altitude station in northeastern Himalayas, during January–December 2005. Samples were collected using a respirable dust sampler and a fine dust sampler simultaneously. Ion chromatograph was used to analyze the water soluble ionic species of aerosol. The average concentrations of fine and coarse mode aerosol were found to be 29.5±20.8 µg m−3 and 19.6±11.1 µg m−3 respectively. Fine mode aerosol dominated during dry seasons and coarse mode aerosol dominated during monsoon. Nitrate existed as NH4NO3 in fine mode aerosol during winter and as NaNO3 in coarse mode aerosol during monsoon. Gas phase photochemical oxidation of SO2 during premonsoon and aqueous phase oxidation during winter and postmonsoon were the major pathways for the formation of SO4 2− in the atmosphere. Long range transport of dust aerosol from arid regions of western India was observed during premonsoon. The acidity of fine mode aerosol was higher in dry seasons compared to monsoon whereas the coarse mode acidity was higher in monsoon compared to dry seasons. Biomass burning, vehicular emissions and dust particles were the major types of aerosol from local and continental regions whereas sea salt particles were the major types of aerosol from marine source regions. Conclusions/Significance The year-long data presented in this paper provide substantial improvements to the heretofore poor knowledge regarding aerosol chemistry over northeastern Himalayas, and should be useful to policy makers in making control strategies. PMID:20585397

Spectral Absorption Properties of Aerosol Particles from 350-2500nm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Martins, J. Vanderlei; Artaxo, Paulo; Kaufman, Yoram J.; Castanho, Andrea D.; Remer, Lorraine A.

2009-01-01

The aerosol spectral absorption efficiency (alpha (sub a) in square meters per gram) is measured over an extended wavelength range (350 2500 nm) using an improved calibrated and validated reflectance technique and applied to urban aerosol samples from Sao Paulo, Brazil and from a site in Virginia, Eastern US, that experiences transported urban/industrial aerosol. The average alpha (sub a) values (approximately 3 square meters per gram at 550 nm) for Sao Paulo samples are 10 times larger than alpha (sub a) values obtained for aerosols in Virginia. Sao Paulo aerosols also show evidence of enhanced UV absorption in selected samples, probably associated with organic aerosol components. This extra UV absorption can double the absorption efficiency observed from black carbon alone, therefore reducing by up to 50% the surface UV fluxes, with important implications for climate, UV photolysis rates, and remote sensing from space.

Characterization of traffic-related ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in an Asian city: Environmental and health implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhi-Hui; Khlystov, Andrey; Norford, Leslie K.; Tan, Zhen-Kang; Balasubramanian, Rajasekhar

2017-07-01

Vehicular traffic emission is an important source of particulate pollution in most urban areas. The detailed chemical speciation of traffic-related PM2.5 (fine particles) is relatively sparse in the literature, especially in Asian cities. To fill this knowledge gap, we carried out an intensive field study in Singapore from November 2015 to February 2016. PM2.5 samples were collected concurrently at a typical roadside microenvironment and at an urban background site. A detailed chemical speciation of PM2.5 samples was conducted to gain insights into the emission characteristics of traffic-related fine aerosols. Analyses of diagnostic ratios and molecular markers of selected chemical species were explored for source attribution of different classes of chemical constituents in traffic-related PM2.5. The human health risk due to inhalation of the particulate-bound PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) and toxic trace elements was estimated for both adults and children. The overall results of the study indicate that gasoline-powered vehicles make a higher contribution to traffic-related fine aerosol components such as organic carbon (OC), particle-bound PAHs and particulate ammonium than that of diesel-powered vehicles. However, both types of vehicles contribute to traffic-related EC emissions significantly. The combustion of petroleum fuels and lubricating oil make significant contributions to the emission of n-alkanes and hopanes into the urban atmosphere, respectively. The study further reveals that some toxic trace elements are emitted from non-exhaust sources and that aromatic acids represent an important component of secondary organic aerosols. The emission of toxic trace elements from non-exhaust sources is of particular concern as they could pose a higher carcinogenic risk to both adults and children than other chemical species.

Modeling of Aerosol Vertical Profiles Using GIS and Remote Sensing

PubMed Central

Wong, Man Sing; Nichol, Janet E.; Lee, Kwon Ho

2009-01-01

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) by climatologists, environmentalists and urban planners for three dimensional modeling and visualization of the landscape is well established. However no previous study has implemented these techniques for 3D modeling of atmospheric aerosols because air quality data is traditionally measured at ground points, or from satellite images, with no vertical dimension. This study presents a prototype for modeling and visualizing aerosol vertical profiles over a 3D urban landscape in Hong Kong. The method uses a newly developed technique for the derivation of aerosol vertical profiles from AERONET sunphotometer measurements and surface visibility data, and links these to a 3D urban model. This permits automated modeling and visualization of aerosol concentrations at different atmospheric levels over the urban landscape in near-real time. Since the GIS platform permits presentation of the aerosol vertical distribution in 3D, it can be related to the built environment of the city. Examples are given of the applications of the model, including diagnosis of the relative contribution of vehicle emissions to pollution levels in the city, based on increased near-surface concentrations around weekday rush-hour times. The ability to model changes in air quality and visibility from ground level to the top of tall buildings is also demonstrated, and this has implications for energy use and environmental policies for the tall mega-cities of the future. PMID:22408531

Modeling of Aerosol Vertical Profiles Using GIS and Remote Sensing.

PubMed

Wong, Man Sing; Nichol, Janet E; Lee, Kwon Ho

2009-01-01

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Remote Sensing (RS) by climatologists, environmentalists and urban planners for three dimensional modeling and visualization of the landscape is well established. However no previous study has implemented these techniques for 3D modeling of atmospheric aerosols because air quality data is traditionally measured at ground points, or from satellite images, with no vertical dimension. This study presents a prototype for modeling and visualizing aerosol vertical profiles over a 3D urban landscape in Hong Kong. The method uses a newly developed technique for the derivation of aerosol vertical profiles from AERONET sunphotometer measurements and surface visibility data, and links these to a 3D urban model. This permits automated modeling and visualization of aerosol concentrations at different atmospheric levels over the urban landscape in near-real time. Since the GIS platform permits presentation of the aerosol vertical distribution in 3D, it can be related to the built environment of the city. Examples are given of the applications of the model, including diagnosis of the relative contribution of vehicle emissions to pollution levels in the city, based on increased near-surface concentrations around weekday rush-hour times. The ability to model changes in air quality and visibility from ground level to the top of tall buildings is also demonstrated, and this has implications for energy use and environmental policies for the tall mega-cities of the future.

Optoacoustic Spectroscopy to Detect Hydrazine Fuels.

DTIC Science & Technology

1981-07-01

signals in noise. Proc IEEE 58:610 (1970). 303. Rosen, H., A. D. Hansen, L. Gundel, and T. Novakov . Photoacoustic investigation of urban aerosol...Appl Phys 40:5404 (1969). 383. Yasa, Z., N. M. Amer, H. Rosen, A. D. Hansen, and T. Novakov . Photoacous- tic investigation of urban aerosol particles

Chemical composition and mass closure of ambient coarse particles at traffic and urban-background sites in Thessaloniki, Greece.

PubMed

Grigoratos, Theodoros; Samara, Constantini; Voutsa, Dimitra; Manoli, Evangelia; Kouras, Athanasios

2014-06-01

Concentrations and chemical composition of the coarse particle fraction (PMc) were investigated at two urban sites in the city of Thessaloniki, Greece, through concurrent sampling of PM10 and PM2.5 during the warm and the cold months of the year. PMc levels at the urban-traffic site (UT) were among the highest found in literature worldwide exhibiting higher values in the cold period. PMc levels at the urban-background site (UB) were significantly lower exhibiting a reverse seasonal trend. Concentration levels of minerals and most trace metals were also higher at the UT site suggesting a stronger impact from traffic-related sources (road dust resuspension, brake and tire abrasion, road wear). According to the chemical mass closure obtained, minerals (oxides of Si, Al, Ca, Mg, Fe, Ti, and K) dominated the PMc profile, regardless of the site and the period, with organic matter and secondary inorganic aerosols (mainly nitrate) also contributing considerably to the PMc mass, particularly in the warm period. The influence of wind speed to dilution and/or resuspension of coarse particles was investigated. The source of origin of coarse particles was also investigated using surface wind data and atmospheric back-trajectory modeling. Finally, the contribution of resuspension to PMc levels was estimated for air quality management perspectives.

Regional evaluation of particulate matter composition in an Atlantic coastal area (Cantabria region, northern Spain): Spatial variations in different urban and rural environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arruti, A.; Fernández-Olmo, I.; Irabien, A.

2011-07-01

The aim of this study was to determine the major components (Na, Ca, K, Mg, Fe, Al, NH 4+, SO 42-, NO 3-, Cl - and TC) and trace-metal levels (As, Ni, Cd, Pb, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Cu, Mo, Rh and Hg) in PM 10 and PM 2.5 at an Atlantic coastal city (Santander, Cantabria region, Northern Spain). Additional samples were collected in other urban sites of the Cantabria region to assess the metal content found in different urban environments within the region. To control for the mass attributed to inland regional background particulate matter, samples were also collected in Los Tojos village. The spatial variability of the major PM components shows that PM origins are different at inland and coastal sites. In the coastal city of Santander, the most important contributors are (i) the marine aerosol and (ii) the secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) and the total carbon (TC) in PM 10 and PM 2.5, respectively. Additionally, the influence of the coastal location on the ionic balance of PM is also studied. The trace metal spatial variability is studied using the coefficient of divergence (COD), which shows that the levels of trace metals at the three studied urban sites are mainly influenced by local emission sources. The main local tracers are identified as follows: Mn in the Santander area; Mo, Cr and Pb at Reinosa; and Ni and V at Castro Urdiales. A more detailed source apportionment study of the local trace metals at Santander is conducted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Positive Matrix Factorisation (PMF); these two receptor models report complementary information. From these statistical analyses, the identified sources of trace metals in PM 10 are urban background sources, industrial sources and traffic. The industrial factor was dominated by Mn, Cu and Pb, which are trace metals used in steel production and manganese-ferroalloy production plant. With respect to PM 2.5, the identified emission sources of trace metals are combustion processes as well as traffic and industrial sources.

Observations of enhanced aerosol longwave radiative forcing over an urban environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Panicker, A. S.; Pandithurai, G.; Safai, P. D.; Kewat, S.

2008-02-01

Collocated measurements of sun/sky radiance, aerosol chemical composition and radiative fluxes have been utilized to estimate longwave aerosol radiative forcing over Pune, an Indian urban site during dry winter [Dec2004 to Feb2005] by two methods. Hybrid method which uses observed downwelling and modeled upwelling longwave fluxes for different aerosol loadings yielded a surface forcing of 9.4 Wm-2. Model approach includes utilization of skyradiometer derived spectral aerosol optical properties in the visible and near infra-red wavelengths, modeled aerosol properties in 1.2-40 μm using observed soot and chemical composition data, MODIS water vapor and TOMS column ozone in a radiative transfer model. Estimates from model method showed longwave enhancement of 6.5 and 8.2 Wm-2 at the surface with tropical model atmosphere and temporally varying profiles of temperature and humidity, respectively. Study reveals that about 25% of the aerosol shortwave cooling is being compensated by increase in longwave radiation due to aerosol absorption.

Evaluation of Air Pollution Applications of AERONET and MODIS Aerosol Column Optical Depth by Comparison with In Situ Measurements of Aerosol Light Scattering and Absorption for Reno, NV, USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loria Salazar, S.; Arnott, W. P.; Moosmuller, H.; Colucci, D.

2012-12-01

Reno, Nevada, USA is subject to typical urban aerosol, wind-blown dust, and occasional biomass burning smoke from anthropogenic and natural fires. Reno has complex air flow at levels relevant for aerosol transport. At times recirculating mountain and urban flow arrives from the Sierra Nevada, San Francisco, CA and Sacramento, CA. The urban plumes are further modified by biogenic forest emissions and secondary aerosol formation during transport over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Reno. This complicates the use of MODIS aerosol optical depth (AOD) for air quality measurements in Reno. Our laboratory at the University of Nevada Reno has collocated multispectral photoacoustic instruments and reciprocal nephelometers to measure light absorption and light scattering coefficients as well as an AERONET operated CIMEL CE-318 ground-based sunphotometer. Preliminary measurements from August 2011 indicate substantially larger Cimel AOD than could be accounted for by use of the in situ aerosol extinction measurements combined with mixing height estimate. This poster presents new results comparing AERONET AOD and single scattering albedo and MODIS AOD with in situ measurements for summer and fall 2012, along with extensive back trajectory analysis, to evaluate conditions when satellite measurement may be useful for air pollution applications in Reno.

Seasonal and spatial variation of the bacterial mutagenicity of fine organic aerosol in southern california.

PubMed Central

Hannigan, M P; Cass, G R; Lafleur, A L; Busby, W F; Thilly, W G

1996-01-01

The bacterial mutagenicity of a set of 1993 urban particulate air pollution samples is examined using the Salmonella typhimurium TM677 forward mutation assay. Amibent fine particulate samples were collected for 24 hr every sixth day throughout 1993 at four urban sites, including Long Beach, central Los Angeles, Azusa, and Rubidoux, California, and at an upwind background site on San Nicolas Island. Long Beach and central Los Angeles are congested urban areas where air quality is dominated by fresh emissions from air pollution sources; Azuasa and Rubidoux are located farther downwind and receive transported air pollutants plus increased quantities of the products of atmospheric chemical reactions. Fine aerosol samples from Long Beach and Los Angeles show a pronounced seasonal variation in bacterial mutagenicity per cubic meter of- ambient air, with maximum in the winter and a minimum in the summer. The down-wind smog receptor site at Rubidoux shows peak mutagenicity (with postmitochondrial supernatant but no peak without postmitochondrial supernatant) during the September-October periods when direct transport from upwind sources can be expected. At most sites the mutagenicity per microgram of organic carbon from the aerosol is not obviously higher during the summer photochemical smog period than during the colder months. Significant spatial variation in bacterial mutagenicity is observed: mutagenicity per cubic meter of ambient air, on average, is more than an order of magnitude lower at San Nicolas Island than within the urban area. The highest mutagenicity values per microgram of organics supplied to the assay are found at the most congested urban sites at central Los Angeles and Long Beach. The highest annual average values of mutagenicity per cubic meter of air sampled occur at central Los Angeles. These findings stress the importance of proximity to sources of direct emissions of bacterial mutagens and imply that if important mutagen-forming atmospheric reactions occur, they likely occur in the winter and spring seasons as well as the photochemically more active summer and early fall periods. Images Figure 1. Figure 2. Figure 2. Figure 2. Figure 2. Figure 3. Figure 3. Figure 4. Figure 5. Figure 6. PMID:8732954

Origin of particulate matter and gaseous precursors in the Paris Megacity: Results from intensive campaigns, long term measurements and modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beekmann, Matthias; Petetin, Hervé; Zhang, Qijie; Prevot, André S. H.; Sciare, Jean; Gros, Valérie; Ghersi, Véronique; Rosso, Amandine; Crippa, Monica; Zotter, Peter; Freutel, Fredericke; Poulain, Laurent; Freney, Evelyne; Sellegri, Karine; Drewnick, Frank; Borbon, Agnès; Wiedensohler, Aflred; Pandis, Spyros N.; Baltensperger, Urs

2016-04-01

Uncertainties on the origin of primary and secondary particulate matter and its gaseous precursors in megacities is still large and needs to be reduced. A detailed characterization of air quality in Paris (France), a megacity of more than 10 million inhabitants, during two one month intensive campaigns (MEGAPOLI) and from additional one year observations (PARTICULATE and FRANCIPOL), revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported on average into the megacity from upwind regions. While advection of sulfate is well documented for other megacities, there was a surprisingly high contribution from long-range transport for both nitrate and organic aerosol. The data set of urban local and advected PM concentrations in the Paris area were used for a thorough evaluation of the CHIMERE model and revealed error compensation for the local and advected components of organic matter and nitrate. During spring time, CHIMERE simulations overestimate the sensitivity of ammonium nitrate peaks to NH3, because (i) they underestimate the urban background NH3 levels, probably due to neglecting enhanced NH3 emissions for larger temperatures, and because they overestimate HNO3. However, from an ensemble of mobile Max-DOAS NO2 column and airborne NOy measurements around Paris, no clear sign on a NOx emission bias in the TNO-Airparif data set was made evident. The origin of organic PM was investigated by a comprehensive analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), radiocarbon and tracer measurements during two intensive campaigns. Primary fossil fuel combustion emissions contributed less than 20% in winter and 40% in summer to carbonaceous fine PM, unexpectedly little for a megacity. Cooking activities and, during winter, residential wood burning are the major primary organic PM sources. This analysis suggests that the major part of secondary organic aerosol is of modern origin, i.e. from biogenic precursors and from wood burning. Implementation of different configurations of the volatility basis set into the CHIMERE model allowed correctly representing summertime organic aerosol (OA) peaks within the agglomeration and attributing them to biogenic secondary OA as a major source. OA build-up from anthropogenic precursors within the plume was also correctly simulated, but it was not possible to attribute it specifically to oxidation of aromatic or of semi/ intermediate volatile organic compounds. Plume build-up of PM significantly contributes to regional air quality around the Paris region.

Observations of Aerosol Optical Properties over 15 AERONET Sites in Southeast Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chan, J. D.; Lagrosas, N.; Uy, S. N.; Holben, B. N.; Dorado, S.; Tobias, V., Jr.; Anh, N. X.; Po-Hsiung, L.; Janjai, S.; Salinas Cortijo, S. V.; Liew, S. C.; Lim, H. S.; Lestari, P.

2014-12-01

Mean column-integrated optical properties from ground sun photometers of the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) are studied to provide an overview of the characteristics of aerosols over the region as part of the 7 Southeast Asian Studies (7-SEAS) mission. The 15 AERONET sites with the most available level 2 data products are selected from Thailand (Chiang Mai, Mukdahan, Songkhla and Silpakorn University), Malaysia (University Sains Malaysia), Laos (Vientiane), Vietnam (Bac Giang, Bac Lieu and Nha Trang), Taiwan (National Cheng Kung University and Central Weather Bureau Taipei), Singapore, Indonesia (Bandung) and the Philippines (Manila Observatory and Notre Dame of Marbel University). For all 15 sites, high angstrom exponent values (α>1) have been observed. Chiang Mai and USM have the highest mean Angstrom exponent indicating the dominance of fine particles that can be ascribed to biomass burning and urbanization. Sites with the lowest Angstrom exponent values include Bac Lieu (α=1.047) and Manila Observatory (α=1.021). From the average lognormal size distribution curves, Songkhla and NDMU show the smallest annual variation in the fine mode region, indicating the observed fine aerosols are local to the sites. The rest of the sites show high variation which could be due to large scale forcings (e.g., monsoons and biomass burnings) that affect aerosol properties in these sites. Both high and low single scattering albedo at 440 nm (ω0440) values are found in sites located in major urban areas. Silpakorn University, Manila Observatory and Vientiane have all mean ω0440 < 0.90. Singapore and CWB Taipei have ω0440 > 0.94. The discrepancy in ω0 suggests different types of major emission sources present in urban areas. The absorptivity of urban aerosols can vary depending on the strength of traffic emissions, types of fuel combusted and automobile engines used, and the effect of biomass burning aerosols during the dry season. High aerosol optical depth values (τa550 > 0.4) are mainly found over inland sites north of Songkhla and south of China on mainland Asia. Major pollution types in the region include biomass burning smoke and urban aerosols. The highest average τa550 is measured in Bac Giang, which has been studied to be greatly affected by aerosol sources from Eastern China during the later parts of the year.

Coagulation effect on the activity size distributions of long lived radon progeny aerosols and its application to atmospheric residence time estimation techniques.

PubMed

Anand, S; Mayya, Y S

2015-03-01

The long lived naturally occurring radon progeny species in the atmosphere, namely (210)Pb, (210)Bi and (210)Po, have been used as important tracers for understanding the atmospheric mixing processes and estimating aerosol residence times. Several observations in the past have shown that the activity size distribution of these species peaks at larger particle sizes as compared to the short lived radon progeny species - an effect that has been attributed to the process of coagulation of the background aerosols to which they are attached. To address this issue, a mathematical equation is derived for the activity-size distribution of tracer species by formulating a generalized distribution function for the number of tracer atoms present in coagulating background particles in the presence of radioactive decay and removal. A set of these equations is numerically solved for the progeny chain using Fuchs coagulation kernel combined with a realistic steady-state aerosol size spectrum that includes nucleation, accumulation and coarse mode components. The important findings are: (i) larger shifts in the modal sizes of (210)Pb and (210)Po at higher aerosol concentrations such as that found in certain Asian urban regions (ii) enrichment of tracer specific activity on particles as compared to that predicted by pure attachment laws (iii) sharp decline of daughter-to-parent activity ratios for decreasing particle sizes. The implication of the results to size-fractionated residence time estimation techniques is highlighted. A coagulation corrected graphical approach is presented for estimating the residence times from the size-segregated activity ratios of (210)Bi and (210)Po with respect to (210)Pb. The discrepancy between the residence times predicted by conventional formula and the coagulation corrected approach for specified activity ratios increases at higher atmospheric aerosol number concentrations (>10(10) #/m(3)) for smaller sizes (<1 μm). The results are further discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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

PubMed Central

Provençal, Simon; Kishcha, Pavel; da Silva, Arlindo M.; Elhacham, Emily; Alpert, Pinhas

2018-01-01

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 fluctuate significantly on an annual basis. PMID:29683129

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.

PubMed

Provençal, Simon; Kishcha, Pavel; da Silva, Arlindo M; Elhacham, Emily; Alpert, Pinhas

2017-06-01

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 fluctuate significantly on an annual basis.

Chemical characteristics of soluble aerosols over the central Himalayas: insights into spatiotemporal variations and sources.

PubMed

Tripathee, Lekhendra; Kang, Shichang; Rupakheti, Dipesh; Cong, Zhiyuan; Zhang, Qianggong; Huang, Jie

2017-11-01

In order to investigate the spatial and temporal variations of aerosols and its soluble chemical compositions of the data gap zone in the central Himalayan region, aerosol samples were collected at four sites. The sampling location were characterized by four different categories, such as urban (Bode), semi-urban site in the northern Indo-Gangetic Plain (Lumbini), rural (Dhunche), and semiarid rural (Jomsom). A total of 230 aerosol samples were collected from four representative sites for a yearlong period and analyzed for water-soluble inorganic ions (WSIIs). The annual average aerosol mass concentration followed the sequence as Bode (238.24 ± 162.24 μg/m 3 )> Lumbini (161.14 ± 105.95 μg/m 3 )> Dhunche (112.40 ± 40.30 μg/m 3 )> Jomsom (78.85 ± 34.28 μg/m 3 ), suggesting heavier particulate pollution in the urban and semi-urban sites. The total soluble ions contributed to 12.61-28.19% of TSP aerosol mass. The results revealed that SO 4 2- and NO 3 - were the major anion and Ca 2+ and NH 4 + were the major cation influencing the aerosol composition over the central Himalayas. Calcium played a major role in neutralizing aerosol acidity followed by NH 4 + at all the sites. The major compound of aerosol was (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 and NH 4 HSO 4 in the central Himalayas. Clear seasonality was observed at three observation sites, with higher concentrations during non-monsoon (dry periods) and lower during monsoon (wet period), suggesting washing out of aerosol particles by heavy precipitation during monsoon. In contrast, semiarid sites did not show the clear seasonal trend due to limited precipitation. Stationary sources were predominant over the mobile sources mostly in the remote sites. Principal component analysis confirmed that the major sources of WSIIs in the region were industrial emissions, fossil fuel and biomass burning, and crustal fugitive dusts. Nevertheless, transboundary aerosol transport over the region from polluted cities from south Asia could not be ignored as indicated by the clusters of air mass backward trajectory analysis.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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 fluctuate significantly on an annual basis.

Aerosols in Northern Morocco: Input pathways and their chemical fingerprint

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Investigation of the tracers for plastic-enriched waste burning aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Sudhanshu; Aggarwal, Shankar G.; Gupta, Prabhat K.; Kawamura, Kimitaka

2015-05-01

To better identify the tracers for open-waste burning (OWB) aerosols, we have conducted aerosol sampling at 2 landfill sites, i.e., Okhla and Bhalswa in New Delhi. The metals such as, As, Cd, Sb and Sn, which have been observed almost negligible in remote aerosols, are found abundantly in these OWB aerosol samples (n = 26), i.e., 60 ± 65, 41 ± 53, 537 ± 847 and 1325 ± 1218 ng m-3, respectively. Samples (n = 20) collected at urban locations in New Delhi, i.e., at Employees' State Insurance (ESI) hospital and National Physical Laboratory (NPL) also show high abundances of these metals in the particles. Filter samples are also analyzed for water-soluble dicarboxylic acids (C2-C12) and related compounds (oxocarboxylic acids and α-dicarbonyls). Terephthalic acid (tPh) was found to account for more than 77% of total diacids determined in OWB aerosols. However, such a high abundance of tPh is not observed in aerosols collected at urban sites. Instead, phthalic acid (Ph) was found as the third/fourth most abundant diacid (∼3%) following C2 (>70%) and C4 (>12%) in these waste burning influenced urban aerosols. A possible secondary formation pathway of Ph by photo-degradation of phthalate ester (di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate) in plastic-waste burning aerosol is suggested. Ionic composition of OWB aerosols showed that Cl- is the most abundant ion (40 ± 8% of total ions determined). The correlation studies of the potential metals with the organic tracers of garbage burning, i.e., phthalic, isophthalic and terephthalic acids show that especially Sn can be used as marker for tracing the plastic-enriched waste burning aerosols.

Light-absorbing aerosol properties retrieved from the sunphotometer observation over the Yangtze River Delta, China.

PubMed

Wang, Jing; Niu, Shengjie; Xu, Dan

2018-02-10

In this study, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and extinction Ångström exponent (EAE) are derived from ground-based sunphotometer observations between 2007 and 2014 at urban sites of Nanjing over the Yangtze River Delta. In addition, the present study aims to investigate aerosol light-absorbing properties such as single-scattering albedo (SSA), absorption Ångström exponent (AAE), and the aerosol-absorbing optical depth (AAOD). The retrieval of aerosol properties is compared with AERONET inversion products. The results demonstrate that the retrieved AOD has a good agreement with the AERONET Level 1.5 data, with the root mean square error being 0.068, 0.065, and 0.026 for total, fine mode, and coarse mode at 440 nm, respectively. The SSA values indicate similar accuracies in the results, which are about 0.003, -0.009, -0.008, and 0.010 different from AERONET at 440, 670, 870, and 1020 nm, respectively. The occurrence frequency of background level AOD (AOD<0.10) at 440 nm in this region is limited (1%). Monthly mean AOD, SSA, the effective radius (R eff ), and the volume concentration at 440 nm were 0.6-1.3, 0.85-0.92, 0.24-0.40 μm, and 0.18-0.28  μm 3  μm -2 , respectively. The mean value of AAOD at 440 nm (AAOD 440 ) was the highest in both summer (0.095±0.041) and autumn (0.094±0.042), but was the lowest in winter (0.079±0.036). It was also noted that SSA was found to be higher during summer (0.89±0.05). The spectral variation of SSA was observed to be strongly wavelength-dependent during all seasons. The seasonal mean AAE440-870 is the highest in winter (0.86±0.41) and lowest in spring (0.49±0.29). In winter, the cumulative frequency for AAE between 1.0 and 1.2 was about 87%. The peak in the AAE distribution was close to 1.0, indicating that the aerosol column was dominated by urban-industrial aerosols and absorption species other than black carbon. Analysis of the relationship between EAE and SSA showed that the aerosol populations could be classified as "mixed" aerosol, including a mixture of both anthropogenic particles and secondary organic aerosol with highly variable sphericity fraction.

Overview of atmospheric aerosol studies in Malaysia: Known and unknown

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanniah, Kasturi Devi; Kaskaoutis, Dimitris G.; San Lim, Hwee; Latif, Mohd Talib; Kamarul Zaman, Nurul Amalin Fatihah; Liew, Juneng

2016-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols particularly those originated from anthropogenic sources can affect human health, air quality and the regional climate system of Southeast Asia (SEA). Population growth, and rapid urbanization associated with economic development in the SEA countries including Malaysia have resulted in high aerosol concentrations. Moreover, transboundary smoke plumes add more aerosols to the atmosphere in Malaysia. Nevertheless, the aerosol monitoring networks and/or field studies and research campaigns investigating the various aerosol properties are not so widespread over Malaysia. In the present work, we summarize and discuss the results of previous studies that investigated the aerosol properties over Malaysia by means of various instrumentation and techniques, focusing on the use of remote sensing data to examine atmospheric aerosols. Furthermore, we identify gaps in this research field and recommend further studies to bridge these knowledge gaps. More specifically gaps are identified in (i) monitoring aerosol loading and composition over urban areas, (ii) examining the influence of dust, (iii) assessing radiative effects of aerosols, (iv) measuring and modelling fine particles and (v) quantifying the contribution of long range transport of aerosols. Such studies are crucial for understanding the optical, physical and chemical properties of aerosols and their spatio-temporal characteristics over the region, which are useful for modelling and prediction of aerosols' effects on air quality and climate system.

Temporal variation in airborne microbial populations and microbially-derived allergens in a tropical urban landscape

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woo, Anthony C.; Brar, Manreetpal S.; Chan, Yuki; Lau, Maggie C. Y.; Leung, Frederick C. C.; Scott, James A.; Vrijmoed, Lilian L. P.; Zawar-Reza, Peyman; Pointing, Stephen B.

2013-08-01

The microbial component of outdoor aerosols was assessed along a gradient of urban development from inner-city to rural in the seasonal-tropical metropolis of Hong Kong. Sampling over a continuous one-year period was conducted, with molecular analyses to characterize bacterial and eukaryal microbial populations, immuno-assays to detect microbially-derived allergens and extensive environmental and meteorological observations. The data revealed bio-aerosol populations were not significantly impacted by the level of urban development as measured by anthropogenic pollutants and human population levels, but instead exhibited a strong seasonal trend related to general climatic variables. We applied back-trajectory analysis to establish sources of air masses and this allowed further explanation of urban bio-aerosols largely in terms of summer-marine and winter-continental origins. We also evaluated bio-aerosols for the potential to detect human health threats. Many samples supported bacterial and fungal phylotypes indicative of known pathogenic taxa, together with common indicators of human presence. The occurrence of allergenic endotoxins and beta-glucans generally tracked trends in microbial populations, with levels known to induce symptoms detected during summer months when microbial loading was higher. This strengthens calls for bio-aerosols to be considered in future risk assessments and surveillance of air quality, along with existing chemical and particulate indices.

Influences of upwind emission sources and atmospheric processing on aerosol chemistry and properties at a rural location in the Northeastern U.S.

DOE PAGES

Zhou, Shan; Collier, Sonya; Xu, Jianzhong; ...

2016-05-19

Continuous real-time measurements of atmospheric aerosol with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer coupled with a fast temperature-stepping thermodenuder were carried out in summer 2011 at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL, 40.871°N, 72.89°W) during the Department of Energy Aerosol Life Cycle Intensive Operational Period campaign. BNL was frequently downwind of emissions from the New York metropolitan area and was exposed to various combinations of anthropogenic, biogenic, and marine emissions based on air mass history. The average concentration of submicrometer aerosol (PM1) during this study was 12.6 µg m –3 with 64% of the mass being organic. Organic aerosol (OA) atmore » BNL was found to be overwhelmingly secondary, consisting of (1) a fresher, semivolatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA; oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) = 0.54; 63% of OA mass) that was strongly influenced by transported urban plumes; (2) a regional, more aged, low-volatility OOA (LV-OOA; O/C = 0.97; 29% of OA mass) influenced by aqueous-phase processing; and (3) a nitrogen-enriched OA (NOA; nitrogen-to-carbon ratio (N/C) = 0.185; 8% of OA mass) likely composed of amine salts formed from acid-base reactions in industrial emissions. Urban emissions from the New York metropolitan areas to the W and SW in particular led to elevated PM1 mass concentration and altered aerosol composition at BNL. Transported urban plumes and local biogenic emissions likely interacted to enhance secondary organic aerosol production, primarily represented by SV-OOA. Lastly, these results suggest an important role that urban anthropogenic emissions play in affecting ambient PM concentration, composition, and physical-chemical properties at rural areas in the Northeast U.S.« less

Influences of upwind emission sources and atmospheric processing on aerosol chemistry and properties at a rural location in the Northeastern U.S.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Shan; Collier, Sonya; Xu, Jianzhong

Continuous real-time measurements of atmospheric aerosol with an Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer coupled with a fast temperature-stepping thermodenuder were carried out in summer 2011 at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL, 40.871°N, 72.89°W) during the Department of Energy Aerosol Life Cycle Intensive Operational Period campaign. BNL was frequently downwind of emissions from the New York metropolitan area and was exposed to various combinations of anthropogenic, biogenic, and marine emissions based on air mass history. The average concentration of submicrometer aerosol (PM1) during this study was 12.6 µg m –3 with 64% of the mass being organic. Organic aerosol (OA) atmore » BNL was found to be overwhelmingly secondary, consisting of (1) a fresher, semivolatile oxygenated organic aerosol (SV-OOA; oxygen-to-carbon ratio (O/C) = 0.54; 63% of OA mass) that was strongly influenced by transported urban plumes; (2) a regional, more aged, low-volatility OOA (LV-OOA; O/C = 0.97; 29% of OA mass) influenced by aqueous-phase processing; and (3) a nitrogen-enriched OA (NOA; nitrogen-to-carbon ratio (N/C) = 0.185; 8% of OA mass) likely composed of amine salts formed from acid-base reactions in industrial emissions. Urban emissions from the New York metropolitan areas to the W and SW in particular led to elevated PM1 mass concentration and altered aerosol composition at BNL. Transported urban plumes and local biogenic emissions likely interacted to enhance secondary organic aerosol production, primarily represented by SV-OOA. Lastly, these results suggest an important role that urban anthropogenic emissions play in affecting ambient PM concentration, composition, and physical-chemical properties at rural areas in the Northeast U.S.« less

MODIS 3 Km Aerosol Product: Applications over Land in an Urban/suburban Region

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Munchak, L. A.; Levy, R. C.; Mattoo, S.; Remer, L. A.; Holben, B. N.; Schafer, J. S.; Hostetler, C. A.; Ferrare, R. A.

2013-01-01

MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites have provided a rich dataset of aerosol information at a 10 km spatial scale. Although originally intended for climate applications, the air quality community quickly became interested in using the MODIS aerosol data. However, 10 km resolution is not sufficient to resolve local scale aerosol features. With this in mind, MODIS Collection 6 is including a global aerosol product with a 3 km resolution. Here, we evaluate the 3 km product over the Baltimore/Washington D.C., USA, corridor during the summer of 2011, by comparing with spatially dense data collected as part of the DISCOVER-AQ campaign these data were measured by the NASA Langley Research Center airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL) and a network of 44 sun photometers (SP) spaced approximately 10 km apart. The HSRL instrument shows that AOD can vary by up to 0.2 within a single 10 km MODIS pixel, meaning that higher resolution satellite retrievals may help to characterize aerosol spatial distributions in this region. Different techniques for validating a high-resolution aerosol product against SP measurements are considered. Although the 10 km product is more statistically reliable than the 3 km product, the 3 km product still performs acceptably, with more than two-thirds of MODIS/SP collocations falling within the expected error envelope with high correlation (R > 0.90). The 3 km product can better resolve aerosol gradients and retrieve closer to clouds and shorelines than the 10 km product, but tends to show more significant noise especially in urban areas. This urban degradation is quantified using ancillary land cover data. Overall, we show that the MODIS 3 km product adds new information to the existing set of satellite derived aerosol products and validates well over the region, but due to noise and problems in urban areas, should be treated with some degree of caution.

CCN activity and organic hygroscopicity of aerosols downwind of an urban region in central Amazonia: seasonal and diel variations and impact of anthropogenic emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thalman, Ryan; de Sá, Suzane S.; Palm, Brett B.; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Lizabeth Alexander, M.; Brito, Joel; Carbone, Samara; Castillo, Paulo; Day, Douglas A.; Kuang, Chongai; Manzi, Antonio; Ng, Nga Lee; Sedlacek, Arthur J., III; Souza, Rodrigo; Springston, Stephen; Watson, Thomas; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöschl, Ulrich; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Artaxo, Paulo; Jimenez, Jose L.; Martin, Scot T.; Wang, Jian

2017-10-01

During the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign, size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra were characterized at a research site (T3) 60 km downwind of the city of Manaus, Brazil, in central Amazonia for 1 year (12 March 2014 to 3 March 2015). Particle hygroscopicity (κCCN) and mixing state were derived from the size-resolved CCN spectra, and the hygroscopicity of the organic component of the aerosol (κorg) was then calculated from κCCN and concurrent chemical composition measurements. The annual average κCCN increased from 0.13 at 75 nm to 0.17 at 171 nm, and the increase was largely due to an increase in sulfate volume fraction. During both wet and dry seasons, κCCN, κorg, and particle composition under background conditions exhibited essentially no diel variations. The constant κorg of ˜ 0. 15 is consistent with the largely uniform and high O : C value (˜ 0. 8), indicating that the aerosols under background conditions are dominated by the aged regional aerosol particles consisting of highly oxygenated organic compounds. For air masses strongly influenced by urban pollution and/or local biomass burning, lower values of κorg and organic O : C atomic ratio were observed during night, due to accumulation of freshly emitted particles, dominated by primary organic aerosol (POA) with low hygroscopicity, within a shallow nocturnal boundary layer. The O : C, κorg, and κCCN increased from the early morning hours and peaked around noon, driven by the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and dilution of POA emissions into a deeper boundary layer, while the development of the boundary layer, which leads to mixing with aged particles from the residual layer aloft, likely also contributed to the increases. The hygroscopicities associated with individual organic factors, derived from PMF (positive matrix factorization) analysis of AMS (aerosol mass spectrometry) spectra, were estimated through multivariable linear regression. For the SOA factors, the variation of the κ value with O : C agrees well with the linear relationship reported from earlier laboratory studies of SOA hygroscopicity. On the other hand, the variation in O : C of ambient aerosol organics is largely driven by the variation in the volume fractions of POA and SOA factors, which have very different O : C values. As POA factors have hygroscopicity values well below the linear relationship between SOA hygroscopicity and O : C, mixtures with different POA and SOA fractions exhibit a steeper slope for the increase in κorg with O : C, as observed during this and earlier field studies. This finding helps better understand and reconcile the differences in the relationships between κorg and O : C observed in laboratory and field studies, therefore providing a basis for improved parameterization in global models, especially in a tropical context.

Fossil Fuel Combustion-Related Emissions Dominate Atmospheric Ammonia Sources during Severe Haze Episodes: Evidence from (15)N-Stable Isotope in Size-Resolved Aerosol Ammonium.

PubMed

Pan, Yuepeng; Tian, Shili; Liu, Dongwei; Fang, Yunting; Zhu, Xiaying; Zhang, Qiang; Zheng, Bo; Michalski, Greg; Wang, Yuesi

2016-08-02

The reduction of ammonia (NH3) emissions is urgently needed due to its role in aerosol nucleation and growth causing haze formation during its conversion into ammonium (NH4(+)). However, the relative contributions of individual NH3 sources are unclear, and debate remains over whether agricultural emissions dominate atmospheric NH3 in urban areas. Based on the chemical and isotopic measurements of size-resolved aerosols in urban Beijing, China, we find that the natural abundance of (15)N (expressed using δ(15)N values) of NH4(+) in fine particles varies with the development of haze episodes, ranging from -37.1‰ to -21.7‰ during clean/dusty days (relative humidity: ∼ 40%), to -13.1‰ to +5.8‰ during hazy days (relative humidity: 70-90%). After accounting for the isotope exchange between NH3 gas and aerosol NH4(+), the δ(15)N value of the initial NH3 during hazy days is found to be -14.5‰ to -1.6‰, which indicates fossil fuel-based emissions. These emissions contribute 90% of the total NH3 during hazy days in urban Beijing. This work demonstrates the analysis of δ(15)N values of aerosol NH4(+) to be a promising new tool for partitioning atmospheric NH3 sources, providing policy makers with insights into NH3 emissions and secondary aerosols for regulation in urban environments.

Type-segregated aerosol effects on regional monsoon activity: A study using ground-based experiments and model simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijayakumar, K.; Devara, P. C. S.; Sonbawne, S. M.

2014-12-01

Classification of observed aerosols into key types [e.g., clean-maritime (CM), desert-dust (DD), urban-industrial/biomass-burning (UI/BB), black carbon (BC), organic carbon (OC) and mixed-type aerosols (MA)] would facilitate to infer aerosol sources, effects, and feedback mechanisms, not only to improve the accuracy of satellite retrievals but also to quantify the assessment of aerosol radiative impacts on climate. In this paper, we report the results of a study conducted in this direction, employing a Cimel Sun-sky radiometer at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune, India during 2008 and 2009, which represent two successive contrasting monsoon years. The study provided an observational evidence to show that the local sources are subject to heavy loading of absorbing aerosols (dust and black carbon), with strong seasonality closely linked to the monsoon annual rainfall cycle over Pune, a tropical urban station in India. The results revealed the absence of CM aerosols in the pre-monsoon as well as in the monsoon seasons of 2009 as opposed to 2008. Higher loading of dust aerosols is observed in the pre-monsoon and monsoon seasons of 2009; majority may be coated with fine BC aerosols from local emissions, leading to reduction in regional rainfall. Further, significant decrease in coarse-mode AOD and presence of carbonaceous aerosols, affecting the aerosol-cloud interaction and monsoon-rain processes via microphysics and dynamics, is considered responsible for the reduction in rainfall during 2009. Additionally, we discuss how optical depth, contributed by different types of aerosols, influences the distribution of monsoon rainfall over an urban region using the Monitoring Atmospheric Composition and Climate (MACC) aerosol reanalysis. Furthermore, predictions of the Dust REgional Atmospheric Model (DREAM) simulations combined with HYSPLIT (HYbrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory) cluster model are also discussed in support of the observed features.

Evolution of multispectral aerosol optical properties in a biogenically-influenced urban environment during the CARES campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gyawali, M.; Arnott, W. P.; Zaveri, R. A.; Song, C.; Pekour, M.; Flowers, B.; Dubey, M. K.; Setyan, A.; Zhang, Q.; Harworth, J. W.; Radney, J. G.; Atkinson, D. B.; China, S.; Mazzoleni, C.; Gorkowski, K.; Subramanian, R.; Jobson, B. T.; Moosmüller, H.

2013-03-01

Ground-based aerosol measurements made in June 2010 within Sacramento urban area (site T0) and at a 40-km downwind location (site T1) in the forested Sierra Nevada foothills area are used to investigate the evolution of multispectral optical properties as the urban aerosols aged and interacted with biogenic emissions. Along with black carbon and non-refractory aerosol mass and composition observations, spectral absorptio (βabs), scattering (βsca), and extinction (βext) coefficients for wavelengths ranging from 355 to 1064 nm were measured at both sites using photoacoustic (PA) instruments with integrating nephelometers and using cavity ring-down (CRD) instruments. The daytime average Ångström exponent of absorption (AEA) was ~1.6 for the wavelength pair 405 and 870 nm at T0, while it was ~1.8 for the wavelength pair 355 and 870 nm at T1, indicating a modest wavelength-dependent enhancement of absorption at both sites throughout the study. The measured and Mie theory calculations of multispectral βsca showed good correlation (R2=0.85-0.94). The average contribution of supermicron aerosol (mainly composed of sea salt particles advected in from the Pacific Ocean) to the total scattering coefficient ranged from less than 20% at 405 nm to greater than 80% at 1064 nm. From 22 to 28 June, secondary organic aerosol mass increased significantly at both sites due to increased biogenic emissions coupled with intense photochemical activity and air mass recirculation in the area. During this period, the short wavelength scattering coefficients at both sites gradually increased due to increase in the size of submicron aerosols. At the same time, BC mass-normalized absorption cross-section (MAC) values for ultraviolet wavelengths at T1 increased by ~60% compared to the relatively less aged urban emissions at the T0 site. In contrast, the average MAC values for 870 nm wavelength were identical at both sites. These results suggest formation of moderately brown secondary organic aerosols formed in biogenically-influenced urban air.

Urban emission, Santa Ana wind, and fire sources of aerosol nitrogen in Southern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mackey, K. R.; Stragier, S.; Robledo, L.; Cat, L. A.; Czimczik, C. I.

2017-12-01

Southern California is a highly urbanized region surrounded by extensive areas of agriculture and wilderness. While emissions from fossil fuel combustion are a large source of aerosol NOx in urban areas, fires contribute considerable aerosol NOx and ammonium in undeveloped regions. Southern California also has frequent wildfires, particularly during dry Santa Ana wind events that occur periodically throughout the winter. To explore the relative contributions of these sources to aerosol nitrogen content, we collected aerosol samples over two years in Irvine, a city in Southern California approximately 6 km from the Pacific coast. Samples were analyzed for total nitrogen and carbon content and isotopic composition (δ15N and δ13C), and nitrate and ammonium content. Carbon content was higher and δ13C values were lower in the winter than the summer. The C/N ratios of two samples collected during a Santa Ana wind event in January of 2012 were particularly elevated (C/N of 22 and 30) relative to other samples (C/N 3-6). We found that ammonium comprised 35% of total aerosol N across samples (R2=0.65), and that the δ15N of aerosol nitrogen decreased logarithmically as the proportion of nitrate in the sample increased (R2=0.60). Aerosol deposition of bioavailable nitrate and ammonium from these sources may support primary productivity in Southern California's coastal waters, particularly during the winter months and El Nino periods when upwelled nutrient sources are limited.

Evolution of vehicle exhaust particles in the atmosphere.

PubMed

Canagaratna, Manjula R; Onasch, Timothy B; Wood, Ezra C; Herndon, Scott C; Jayne, John T; Cross, Eben S; Miake-Lye, Richard C; Kolb, Charles E; Worsnop, Douglas R

2010-10-01

Aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) measurements are used to characterize the evolution of exhaust particulate matter (PM) properties near and downwind of vehicle sources. The AMS provides time-resolved chemically speciated mass loadings and mass-weighted size distributions of nonrefractory PM smaller than 1 microm (NRPM1). Source measurements of aircraft PM show that black carbon particles inhibit nucleation by serving as condensation sinks for the volatile and semi-volatile exhaust gases. Real-world source measurements of ground vehicle PM are obtained by deploying an AMS aboard a mobile laboratory. Characteristic features of the exhaust PM chemical composition and size distribution are discussed. PM mass and number concentrations are used with above-background gas-phase carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to calculate on-road emission factors for individual vehicles. Highly variable ratios between particle number and mass concentrations are observed for individual vehicles. NRPM1 mass emission factors measured for on-road diesel vehicles are approximately 50% lower than those from dynamometer studies. Factor analysis of AMS data (FA-AMS) is applied for the first time to map variations in exhaust PM mass downwind of a highway. In this study, above-background vehicle PM concentrations are highest close to the highway and decrease by a factor of 2 by 200 m away from the highway. Comparison with the gas-phase CO2 concentrations indicates that these vehicle PM mass gradients are largely driven by dilution. Secondary aerosol species do not show a similar gradient in absolute mass concentrations; thus, their relative contribution to total ambient PM mass concentrations increases as a function of distance from the highway. FA-AMS of single particle and ensemble data at an urban receptor site shows that condensation of these secondary aerosol species onto vehicle exhaust particles results in spatial and temporal evolution of the size and composition of vehicle exhaust PM on urban and regional scales.

Mass and number size distributions of particulate matter components: comparison of an industrial site and an urban background site.

PubMed

Taiwo, Adewale M; Beddows, David C S; Shi, Zongbo; Harrison, Roy M

2014-03-15

Size-resolved composition of particulate matter (PM) sampled in the industrial town of Port Talbot (PT), UK was determined in comparison to a typical urban background site in Birmingham (EROS). A Micro-Orifice Uniform Deposit Impactor (MOUDI) sampler was deployed for two separate sampling campaigns with the addition of a Grimm optical spectrometer at the PT site. MOUDI samples were analysed for water-soluble anions (Cl(-), NO₃(-) and SO₄(2-)) and cations (Na(+), NH4(+), K(+), Mg(2+) and Ca(2+)) and trace metals (Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Sb, Ba and Pb). The PM mass distribution showed a predominance of fine particle (PM₂.₅) mass at EROS whereas the PT samples were dominated by the coarse fraction (PM₂.₅₋₁₀). SO₄(2-), Cl(-), NH4(+), Na(+), NO₃(-), and Ca(2+) were the predominant ionic species at both sites while Al and Fe were the metals with highest concentrations at both sites. Mean concentrations of Cl(-), Na(+), K(+), Ca(2+), Mg(2+), Cr, Mn, Fe and Zn were higher at PT than EROS due to industrial and marine influences. The contribution of regional pollution by sulphate, ammonium and nitrate was greater at EROS relative to PT. The traffic signatures of Cu, Sb, Ba and Pb were particularly prominent at EROS. Overall, PM at EROS was dominated by secondary aerosol and traffic-related particles while PT was heavily influenced by industrial activities and marine aerosol. Profound influences of wind direction are seen in the 72-hour data, especially in relation to the PT local sources. Measurements of particle number in 14 separate size bins plotted as a function of wind direction and speed are highly indicative of contributing sources, with local traffic dominant below 0.5 μm, steelworks emissions from 0.5 to 15 μm, and marine aerosol above 15 μm. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simulation of the effects of aerosol on mixed-phase orographic clouds using the WRF model with a detailed bin microphysics scheme

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Hui; Yin, Yan; Jin, Lianji; Chen, Qian; Chen, Jinghua

2015-08-01

The Weather Research Forecast (WRF) mesoscale model coupled with a detailed bin microphysics scheme is used to investigate the impact of aerosol particles serving as cloud condensation nuclei and ice nuclei on orographic clouds and precipitation. A mixed-phase orographic cloud developed under two scenarios of aerosol (a typical continental background and a relatively polluted urban condition) and ice nuclei over an idealized mountain is simulated. The results show that, when the initial aerosol condition is changed from the relatively clean case to the polluted scenario, more droplets are activated, leading to a delay in precipitation, but the precipitation amount over the terrain is increased by about 10%. A detailed analysis of the microphysical processes indicates that ice-phase particles play an important role in cloud development, and their contribution to precipitation becomes more important with increasing aerosol particle concentrations. The growth of ice-phase particles through riming and Wegener-Bergeron-Findeisen regime is more effective under more polluted conditions, mainly due to the increased number of droplets with a diameter of 10-30 µm. Sensitivity tests also show that a tenfold increase in the concentration of ice crystals formed from ice nucleation leads to about 7% increase in precipitation, and the sensitivity of the precipitation to changes in the concentration and size distribution of aerosol particles is becoming less pronounced when the concentration of ice crystals is also increased.

Characteristics and sources of submicron aerosols above the urban canopy (260 m) in Beijing, China, during the 2014 APEC summit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.; Sun, Y. L.; Xu, W. Q.; Du, W.; Zhou, L. B.; Han, T. T.; Wang, Q. Q.; Fu, P. Q.; Wang, Z. F.; Gao, Z. Q.; Zhang, Q.; Worsnop, D. R.

2015-11-01

The megacity of Beijing has experienced frequent severe fine particle pollution during the last decade. Although the sources and formation mechanisms of aerosol particles have been extensively investigated on the basis of ground measurements, real-time characterization of aerosol particle composition and sources above the urban canopy in Beijing is rare. In this study, we conducted real-time measurements of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) composition at 260 m at the Beijing 325 m meteorological tower (BMT) from 10 October to 12 November 2014, by using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) along with synchronous measurements of size-resolved NR-PM1 composition near ground level using a high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). The NR-PM1 composition above the urban canopy was dominated by organics (46 %), followed by nitrate (27 %) and sulfate (13 %). The high contribution of nitrate and high NO3- / SO42- mass ratios illustrates an important role of nitrate in particulate matter (PM) pollution during the study period. The organic aerosol (OA) was mainly composed of secondary OA (SOA), accounting for 61 % on an average. Different from that measured at the ground site, primary OA (POA) correlated moderately with SOA, likely suggesting a high contribution from regional transport above the urban canopy. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit with strict emission controls provides a unique opportunity to study the impacts of emission controls on aerosol chemistry. All aerosol species were shown to have significant decreases of 40-80 % during APEC from those measured before APEC, suggesting that emission controls over regional scales substantially reduced PM levels. However, the bulk aerosol composition was relatively similar before and during APEC as a result of synergetic controls of aerosol precursors. In addition to emission controls, the routine circulations of mountain-valley breezes were also found to play an important role in alleviating PM levels and achieving the "APEC blue" effect. The evolution of vertical differences between 260 m and the ground level was also investigated. Our results show complex vertical differences during the formation and evolution of severe haze episodes that are closely related to aerosol sources and boundary-layer dynamics.

Characteristics and sources of submicron aerosols above the urban canopy (260 m) in Beijing, China during 2014 APEC summit

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C.; Sun, Y. L.; Xu, W. Q.; Du, W.; Zhou, L. B.; Han, T. T.; Wang, Q. Q.; Fu, P. Q.; Wang, Z. F.; Gao, Z. Q.; Zhang, Q.; Worsnop, D. R.

2015-08-01

The megacity of Beijing has experienced frequent severe fine particle pollution during the last decade. Although the sources and formation mechanisms of aerosol particles have been extensively investigated on the basis of ground measurements, real-time characterization of aerosol particle composition and sources above the urban canopy in Beijing is rare. In this study, we conducted real-time measurements of non-refractory submicron aerosol (NR-PM1) composition at 260 m at the 325 m Beijing Meteorological Tower (BMT) from 10 October to 12 November 2014, by using an aerosol chemical speciation monitor (ACSM) along with synchronous measurements of size-resolved NR-PM1 composition at near ground level using a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS). The NR-PM1 composition above the urban canopy was dominated by organics (46 %), followed by nitrate (27 %) and sulfate (13 %). The high contribution of nitrate and high NO3-/SO42- mass ratios illustrate an important role of nitrate in particulate matter (PM) pollution during the study period. The organic aerosol (OA) was mainly composed by secondary OA (SOA), accounting for 61 % on an average. Different from that measured at the ground site, primary OA (POA) correlated moderately with SOA, likely suggesting a high contribution from regional transport above the urban canopy. The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit with strict emission controls provides a unique opportunity to study the impacts of emission controls on aerosol chemistry. All aerosol species were shown to have significant decreases of 40-80 % during APEC from those measured before APEC, suggesting that emission controls over regional scales substantially reduced PM levels. However, the bulk aerosol composition was relatively similar before and during APEC as a result of synergetic controls of aerosol precursors such as SO2, NOx, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In addition to emission controls, the routine circulations of mountain-valley breezes were also found to play an important role in alleviating PM levels and achieving the "APEC blue" effect. The evolution of vertical differences between 260 m and the ground level was also investigated. Our results show complex vertical differences during the formation and evolution of severe haze episodes that are closely related to aerosol sources and boundary layer dynamics.

Growth rates of fine aerosol particles at a site near Beijing in June 2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Chuanfeng; Li, Yanan; Zhang, Fang; Sun, Yele; Wang, Pucai

2018-02-01

Growth of fine aerosol particles is investigated during the Aerosol-CCN-Cloud Closure Experiment campaign in June 2013 at an urban site near Beijing. Analyses show a high frequency (˜ 50%) of fine aerosol particle growth events, and show that the growth rates range from 2.1 to 6.5 nm h-1 with a mean value of ˜ 5.1 nm h-1. A review of previous studies indicates that at least four mechanisms can affect the growth of fine aerosol particles: vapor condensation, intramodal coagulation, extramodal coagulation, and multi-phase chemical reaction. At the initial stage of fine aerosol particle growth, condensational growth usually plays a major role and coagulation efficiency generally increases with particle sizes. An overview of previous studies shows higher growth rates over megacity, urban and boreal forest regions than over rural and oceanic regions. This is most likely due to the higher condensational vapor, which can cause strong condensational growth of fine aerosol particles. Associated with these multiple factors of influence, there are large uncertainties for the aerosol particle growth rates, even at the same location.

Evaluation of VIIRS AOD over North China Plain: biases from aerosol models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, J.; Xia, X.; Wang, J.; Chen, H.; Zhang, J.; Oo, M. M.; Holz, R.

2014-12-01

With the launch of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suit (VIIRS) instrument onboard Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership(S-NPP) in late 2011, the aerosol products of VIIRS are receiving much attention.To date, mostevaluations of VIIRS aerosol productswere carried out about aerosol optical depth (AOD). To further assess the VIIRS AOD in China which is a heavy polluted region in the world,we made a comparison between VIIRS AOD and CE-318 radiometerobservation at the following three sites overNorth China Plain (NCP): metropolis-Beijing (AERONET), suburbs-XiangHe (AERONET) and regional background site- Xinglong (CARSNET).The results showed the VIIRS AOD at 550 nm has a positive mean bias error (MBE) of 0.14-0.15 and root mean square error (RMBE) 0.20. Among three sites, Beijing is mainly a source of bias with MBE 0.17-0.18 and RMBE 0.23-0.24, and this bias is larger than some recent global statics recently published in the literature. Further analysis shows that this large bias in VIIRS AOD overNCP may be partly caused by the aerosol model selection in VIIRS aerosol inversion. According to the retrieval of sky radiance from CE-318 at three sites, aerosols in NCP have high mean real part of refractive indices (1.52-1.53), large volume mean radius (0.17-0.18) and low concentration (0.04-0.09) of fine aerosol, and small mean radius (2.86-2.92) and high concentration (0.06-0.16) of coarse mode aerosol. These observation-based aerosol single scattering properties and size of fine and coarse aerosols differ fromthe aerosol properties used in VIIRSoperational algorithm.The dominant aerosol models used in VIIRS algorithm for these three sites are less polluted urban aerosol in Beijing and low-absorption smoke in other two sites, all of which don't agree with the high imaginary part of refractive indices from CE-318 retrieval. Therefore, the aerosol models in VIIRS algorithm are likely to be refined in NCP region.

Development of size-selective sampling of Bacillus anthracis surrogate spores from simulated building air intake mixtures for analysis via laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy.

PubMed

Gibb-Snyder, Emily; Gullett, Brian; Ryan, Shawn; Oudejans, Lukas; Touati, Abderrahmane

2006-08-01

Size-selective sampling of Bacillus anthracis surrogate spores from realistic, common aerosol mixtures was developed for analysis by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS). A two-stage impactor was found to be the preferential sampling technique for LIBS analysis because it was able to concentrate the spores in the mixtures while decreasing the collection of potentially interfering aerosols. Three common spore/aerosol scenarios were evaluated, diesel truck exhaust (to simulate a truck running outside of a building air intake), urban outdoor aerosol (to simulate common building air), and finally a protein aerosol (to simulate either an agent mixture (ricin/anthrax) or a contaminated anthrax sample). Two statistical methods, linear correlation and principal component analysis, were assessed for differentiation of surrogate spore spectra from other common aerosols. Criteria for determining percentages of false positives and false negatives via correlation analysis were evaluated. A single laser shot analysis of approximately 4 percent of the spores in a mixture of 0.75 m(3) urban outdoor air doped with approximately 1.1 x 10(5) spores resulted in a 0.04 proportion of false negatives. For that same sample volume of urban air without spores, the proportion of false positives was 0.08.

Methods of analysis for complex organic aerosol mixtures from urban emission sources of particulate carbon

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mazurek, M.A.; Hildemann, L.M.; Cass, G.R.

1990-04-01

Extractable organic compounds having between 6 to 40 carbon atoms comprise an important mass fraction of the fine particulate matter samples from major urban emission sources. Depending on the emission source type, this solvent-soluble fraction accounts for <20% to 100% of the total organic aerosol mass, as measured by quantitative high-resolution has chromatography (HRGC) with flame ionization detection. In addition to total extract quantitation, HRGC can be applied to further analyses of the mass distributions of elutable organics present in the complex aerosol extract mixtures, thus generating profiles that serve as fingerprints'' for the sources of interest. This HRGC analyticalmore » method is applied to emission source samples that contain between 7 to 12,000 {mu}g/filter organic carbon. It is shown to be a sensitive technique for analysis of carbonaceous aerosol extract mixtures having diverse mass loadings and species distributions. This study describes the analytical chemical methods that have been applied to: the construction of chemical mass balances based on the mass of fine organic aerosol emitted for major urban sources of particulate carbon; and the generation of discrete emission source chemical profiles derived from chromatographic characteristics of the organic aerosol components. 21 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

Influence of background particulate matter (PM) on urban air quality in the Pacific Northwest.

PubMed

Timonen, H; Wigder, N; Jaffe, D

2013-11-15

Elevated particulate matter concentrations due to Asian long-range transport (LRT) are frequently observed in the free troposphere (FT) above the Pacific Northwest, U.S. Transport of this aerosol from the FT to the boundary layer (BL) and its effect to local air quality remain poorly constrained. We used data collected at the Mount Bachelor observatory (MBO, 2.8 km a.s.l) and from ground stations in the Pacific Northwest to study transport of fine particulate matter (PM) from the FT to the BL. During Asian LRT episodes PM concentrations were clearly elevated above the corresponding monthly averages at MBO as well as at low elevation sites across Washington and Oregon. Also, a clear correlation between MBO and low elevation sites was observed, indicating that LRT episodes are seen in both the FT and BL. In addition, drum impactor measurements show that the chemical composition of PM at MBO was similar to that measured at the BL sites. Using a simple regression model, we estimate that during springtime, when the transport from Asia is most effective, the contribution of Asian sources to PM2.5 in clean background areas of the Pacific Northwest was on average 1.7 μg m(-3) (representing approximately 50-80% of PM). The influence of LRT PM was also seen in measurement stations situated in the urban and urban background areas. However, the fraction of LRT PM was less pronounced (36-50% of PM) due to larger local emissions in the urban areas. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Contributions to the Understanding of Aerosol Microphysics Towards Improving the Assessment of Climate Radiative Forcing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawson, Kyle William

The study of climate and the associated impacts imposed by human activity has garnered the attention of scientists and policy makers since the 1950s. Research into the various atmospheric constituents that interact with solar radiation thus modulating Earth's radiative budget has been largely focused on the contributions from greenhouse gases and later focused on the role of atmospheric aerosol. The role of atmospheric aerosol, i.e. a solid or aqueous phase particulate, is complex and presents an opportunity for bettering the assessments of climate radiative forcing (i.e. the fraction of climate change due to anthropogenic, rather than natural, activities) in several ways. First, motivated to better understand the radiative effects of the Earth's background aerosol state to improve the assessment of anthropogenic effects, an experimental study on the water uptake ability of xanthan gum as a proxy for marine hydrogel, a component of natural primary emitted seaspray aerosol, is presented. Marine hydrogel comprises an organic component of the ocean surface microlayer that is released to the atmosphere via the bursting of bubbles generated by entrainment of air through crashing waves. This study investigates the water uptake ability (i.e. hygroscopicity) of these particles when exposed to a range of relative humidity (RH). The hydration characteristics of aerosolized pure xanthan gum as well as xanthan gum/salt mixtures were studied using a hygroscopic tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) and cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNc). The hygroscopicity of the various solutions were compared to theoretical thermodynamic calculations accounting for the component volume fractions as a function of relative humidity. The data show that pure xanthan gum aerosol hygroscopicity behaves as other organic polysaccharides and, when combined with salts, is reasonably approximated by the volume fraction mixing rules above 90% RH. Deviations occur below 90% RH as well as for CCNc measured hygroscopicity and HTDMA measured hygroscopicity at 90% RH, and are discussed in terms of hydration regimes associated with structural changes imposed by polymer/salt crosslinks. Second, motivated by a necessity to provide better constraints for climate model assessments of radiative forcing, a computational study for developing a link between climate models and observations from remote sensing techniques is presented. The Creating Aerosol Types from CHemistry (CATCH) algorithm has been developed for providing atmospheric models with estimated aerosol types, analogous to those that are retrieved by remote sensing methods. To date, the link between models and remote sensing retrievals is crude and is based on the total column attenuation of radiation by aerosol called the aerosol optical depth (AOD). In this study, through multivariate clustering techniques, this link is expanded to produce model-calculated aerosol types of dusty mix, maritime, urban, smoke, and fresh smoke, that are analogous to those retrieved by remote sensing. The CATCH algorithm shows that vertically-resolved aerosol types compare well to those measured by aircraft-mounted High Spectral Resolution Lidar - version 1 (HSRL-1) during the Ship-Aircraft Bio-Optical Research (SABOR) field campaign during July/August of 2014. Flight-by-flight comparisons of the type-apportioned AOD and vertically-resolved aerosol extinction also compare well. The CATCH algorithm is then applied to a high-resolution nested grid domain over North America and found to produce encouraging results of spatially relevant aerosol types such as dusty mix aerosol over the Caribbean, maritime aerosol over oceans, urban aerosol over large cities, smoke aerosol over weak forest fires, and fresh smoke aerosol over strong forest fires.

Light Absorption of Brown Carbon Aerosol in the Pearl River Delta Region of China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, X.

2015-12-01

X.F. Huang, J.F. Yuan, L.M. Cao, J. Cui, C.N. Huang, Z.J. Lan and L.Y. He Key Laboratory for Urban Habitat Environmental Science and Technology, School of Environment and Energy, Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School, Shenzhen 518055, ChinaCorresponding author. Tel.: +86 755 26032532; fax: +86 755 26035332. E-mail address: huangxf@pku.edu.cn (X. F. Huang). Abstract: The strong spectral dependence of light absorption of brown carbon (BrC) aerosol has been recognized in recent decades. The Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE) of ambient aerosol was widely used in previous studies to attribute light absorption of brown carbon at shorter wavelengths, with a theoretical assumption that the AAE of black carbon (BC) aerosol equals to unit. In this study, the AAE method was improved by statistical extrapolation based on ambient measurements in the polluted seasons in typical urban and rural areas in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of China. A three-wavelength photoacoustic soot spectrometer (PASS-3) and an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) were used to explore the relationship between the ambient measured AAE and the ratio of organic aerosol to BC aerosol, in order to extract the more realistic AAE by pure BC aerosol, which were found to be 0.86, 0.82 and 1.02 at 405nm and 0.70, 0.71, and 0.86 at 532nm in the campaigns of urban-winter, urban-fall, and rural-fall, respectively. Roadway tunnel experiment results further supported the effectiveness of the obtained AAE for pure BC aerosol. In addition, biomass burning experiments proved higher spectral dependence of more-BrC environment and further verified the reliability of the instruments' response. Then, the average light absorption contribution of BrC aerosol was calculated to be 11.7, 6.3 and 12.1% (with total relative uncertainty of 7.5, 6.9 and 10.0%) at 405nm and 10.0, 4.1 and 5.5% (with total relative uncertainty of 6.5, 8.6 and 15.4%) at 532nm of the three campaigns, respectively. These results indicate that the brown carbon contribution to the aerosol light absorption at shorter wavelengths is not negligible in the PRD region, with a rough magnitude of 10%. Key words: Light absorption, Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE), Brown carbon (BrC), Black carbon (BC)

A study of the mixing state of black carbon in urban zone

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallet, M.; Roger, J. C.; Despiau, S.; Putaud, J. P.; Dubovik, O.

2004-02-01

The knowledge of the mixing state of black carbon particle with other aerosol species is critical for adequate simulations of the direct radiative effect of black carbon particles and its effect on climate. This paper reports the investigation of the mixing state of black carbon aerosol in the urban zone. The study uses a combination of in situ and ground-based remote sensing observations conducted during the ESCOMPTE experiment, which took place in industrialized region in France in summer of 2001. The criteria we used for identifying mixing state relies on the known enhancement of absorption for aerosol composed by internal versus external mixtures of black carbon with weakly absorbing aerosol components. First, using in situ aerosol data, we performed Mie computations and reconstructed the single scattering albedo of aerosol for the two different mixing assumptions: black carbon mixed externally or internally with other aerosol species. Then, we compared the obtained values ωo,int and ωo,ext with the retrievals of ωo from independent AERONET Sun-photometric measurements. The aerosol single scattering albedo (ωo,aer.) derived from the AERONET photometer observations (with the mean value equal to 0.84 ± 0.04) was found to be close to ωo,ext reconstructed from in situ observation under assumptions of external mixture. This similarity between AERONET values and external mixture simulations was observed during all the days studied. Our conclusion on external mixture of black carbon aerosol with other particles in urban zone during ESCOMPTE (close to the pollution source) is coherent with observations made during other independent studies reported in a number of recent publications.

Aerosol Absorption Effects in the TOMS UV Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Torres, O.; Krotkov, N.; Bhartia, P. K.

2004-01-01

The availability of global long-term estimates of surface UV radiation is very important, not only for preventive medicine considerations, but also as an important tool to monitor the effects of the stratospheric ozone recovery expected to occur in the next few decades as a result of the decline of the stratospheric chlorine levels. In addition to the modulating effects of ozone and clouds, aerosols also affect the levels of UV-A and W-B radiation reaching the surface. Oscillations in surface W associated with the effects of aerosol absorption may be comparable in magnitude to variations associated with the stratospheric ozone recovery. Thus, the accurate calculation of surface W radiation requires that both the scattering and absorption effects of tropospheric aerosols be taken into account. Although absorption effects of dust and elevated carbonaceous aerosols are already accounted for using Aerosol Index technique, this approach does not work for urban/industrial aerosols in the planetary boundary layer. The use of the new TOMS long-term global data record on UV aerosol absorption optical depth, can improve the accuracy of TOMS spectral UV products, by properly including the spectral attenuation effects of carbonaceous, urban/industrial and mineral aerosols. The TOMS data set on aerosol properties will be discussed, and results of its use in the TOMS surface W algorithm will be presented.

Fine Iron Aerosols Are Internally Mixed with Nitrate in the Urban European Atmosphere.

PubMed

Dall'Osto, Manuel; Beddows, D C S; Harrison, Roy M; Onat, Burcu

2016-04-19

Atmospheric iron aerosol is a bioavailable essential nutrient playing a role in oceanic productivity. Using aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS), the particle size (0.3-1.5 μm), chemical composition and mixing state of Fe-containing particles collected at two European urban sites (London and Barcelona) were characterized. Out of the six particle types accounting for the entire Fe-aerosol population, that arising from long-range transport (LRT) of fine Fe-containing particles (Fe-LRT, 54-82% across the two sites) was predominant. This particle type was found to be internally mixed with nitrate and not with sulfate, and likely mostly associated with urban traffic activities. This is in profound contrast with previous studies carried out in Asia, where the majority of iron-containing particles are mixed with sulfate and are of coal combustion origin. Other minor fine iron aerosol sources included mineral dust (8-11%), traffic brake wear material (1-17%), shipping/oil (1-6%), biomass combustion (4-13%) and vegetative debris (1-3%). Overall, relative to anthropogenic Asian Fe-sulfate dust, anthropogenic European dust internally mixed with additional key nutrients such as nitrate is likely to play a different role in ocean global biogeochemical cycles.

CCN activity and organic hygroscopicity of aerosols downwind of an urban region in central Amazonia: Seasonal and diel variations and impact of anthropogenic emissions

DOE PAGES

Thalman, Ryan; de Sá, Suzane S.; Palm, Brett B.; ...

2017-10-05

During the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign, size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra were characterized at a research site (T3) 60km downwind of the city of Manaus, Brazil, in central Amazonia for one year (12 March 2014 to 3 March 2015). Particle hygroscopicity (κCCN) and mixing state were derived from the size-resolved CCN spectra, and the hygroscopicity of the organic component of the aerosol (κorg) was then calculated from κCCN and concurrent chemical composition measurements. The annual average κCCN increased from 0.13 at 75 nm to 0.17 at 171 nm, and the increase was largely duemore » to an increase in sulfate volume fraction. Also, during both wet and dry seasons, κCCN, κorg, and particle composition under background conditions exhibited essentially no diel variations. The constant κorg of ~0.15 is consistent with the largely uniform and high O:C value (~0.8), indicating that the aerosols under background conditions are dominated by the aged regional aerosol particles consisting of highly oxygenated organic compounds. For air masses strongly influenced by urban pollution and/or local biomass burning, lower values of κorg and organic O:C atomic ratio were observed during night, due to accumulation of freshly emitted particles, dominated by primary organic aerosol (POA) with low hygroscopicity, within a shallow nocturnal boundary layer. The O:C, κorg, and κCCN increased from the early morning hours and peaked around noon, driven by the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and dilution of POA emissions into a deeper boundary layer, while the development of the boundary layer, which leads to mixing with aged particles from the residual layer aloft, likely also contributed to the increases. The hygroscopicities associated with individual organic factors, derived from PMF analysis of AMS spectra, were estimated through multi-variable linear regression. For the SOA factors, the variation of the κ value with O:C agrees well with the linear relationship reported from earlier laboratory studies of SOA hygroscopicity. On the other hand, the variation in O:C of ambient aerosol organics is largely driven by the variation in the volume fractions of POA and SOA factors, which have very different O:C values. As POA factors have hygroscopicity values well below the linear relationship between SOA hygroscopicity and O:C, mixtures with different POA and SOA fractions exhibit a steeper slope for the increase of κorg with O:C, as observed during this and earlier field studies. Our finding helps better understand and reconcile the differences in the relationships between κorg and O:C observed in laboratory and field studies, therefore providing a basis for improved parameterization in global models, especially in a tropical context.« less

CCN activity and organic hygroscopicity of aerosols downwind of an urban region in central Amazonia: Seasonal and diel variations and impact of anthropogenic emissions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thalman, Ryan; de Sá, Suzane S.; Palm, Brett B.

During the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon2014/5) campaign, size-resolved cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectra were characterized at a research site (T3) 60km downwind of the city of Manaus, Brazil, in central Amazonia for one year (12 March 2014 to 3 March 2015). Particle hygroscopicity (κCCN) and mixing state were derived from the size-resolved CCN spectra, and the hygroscopicity of the organic component of the aerosol (κorg) was then calculated from κCCN and concurrent chemical composition measurements. The annual average κCCN increased from 0.13 at 75 nm to 0.17 at 171 nm, and the increase was largely duemore » to an increase in sulfate volume fraction. Also, during both wet and dry seasons, κCCN, κorg, and particle composition under background conditions exhibited essentially no diel variations. The constant κorg of ~0.15 is consistent with the largely uniform and high O:C value (~0.8), indicating that the aerosols under background conditions are dominated by the aged regional aerosol particles consisting of highly oxygenated organic compounds. For air masses strongly influenced by urban pollution and/or local biomass burning, lower values of κorg and organic O:C atomic ratio were observed during night, due to accumulation of freshly emitted particles, dominated by primary organic aerosol (POA) with low hygroscopicity, within a shallow nocturnal boundary layer. The O:C, κorg, and κCCN increased from the early morning hours and peaked around noon, driven by the formation and aging of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) and dilution of POA emissions into a deeper boundary layer, while the development of the boundary layer, which leads to mixing with aged particles from the residual layer aloft, likely also contributed to the increases. The hygroscopicities associated with individual organic factors, derived from PMF analysis of AMS spectra, were estimated through multi-variable linear regression. For the SOA factors, the variation of the κ value with O:C agrees well with the linear relationship reported from earlier laboratory studies of SOA hygroscopicity. On the other hand, the variation in O:C of ambient aerosol organics is largely driven by the variation in the volume fractions of POA and SOA factors, which have very different O:C values. As POA factors have hygroscopicity values well below the linear relationship between SOA hygroscopicity and O:C, mixtures with different POA and SOA fractions exhibit a steeper slope for the increase of κorg with O:C, as observed during this and earlier field studies. Our finding helps better understand and reconcile the differences in the relationships between κorg and O:C observed in laboratory and field studies, therefore providing a basis for improved parameterization in global models, especially in a tropical context.« less

Traffic and nucleation events as main sources of ultrafine particles in high-insolation developed world cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brines, M.; Dall'Osto, M.; Beddows, D. C. S.; Harrison, R. M.; Gómez-Moreno, F.; Núñez, L.; Artíñano, B.; Costabile, F.; Gobbi, G. P.; Salimi, F.; Morawska, L.; Sioutas, C.; Querol, X.

2015-05-01

Road traffic emissions are often considered the main source of ultrafine particles (UFP, diameter smaller than 100 nm) in urban environments. However, recent studies worldwide have shown that - in high-insolation urban regions at least - new particle formation events can also contribute to UFP. In order to quantify such events we systematically studied three cities located in predominantly sunny environments: Barcelona (Spain), Madrid (Spain) and Brisbane (Australia). Three long-term data sets (1-2 years) of fine and ultrafine particle number size distributions (measured by SMPS, Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer) were analysed. Compared to total particle number concentrations, aerosol size distributions offer far more information on the type, origin and atmospheric evolution of the particles. By applying k-means clustering analysis, we categorized the collected aerosol size distributions into three main categories: "Traffic" (prevailing 44-63% of the time), "Nucleation" (14-19%) and "Background pollution and Specific cases" (7-22%). Measurements from Rome (Italy) and Los Angeles (USA) were also included to complement the study. The daily variation of the average UFP concentrations for a typical nucleation day at each site revealed a similar pattern for all cities, with three distinct particle bursts. A morning and an evening spike reflected traffic rush hours, whereas a third one at midday showed nucleation events. The photochemically nucleated particles' burst lasted 1-4 h, reaching sizes of 30-40 nm. On average, the occurrence of particle size spectra dominated by nucleation events was 16% of the time, showing the importance of this process as a source of UFP in urban environments exposed to high solar radiation. Nucleation events lasting for 2 h or more occurred on 55% of the days, this extending to > 4 h in 28% of the days, demonstrating that atmospheric conditions in urban environments are not favourable to the growth of photochemically nucleated particles. In summary, although traffic remains the main source of UFP in urban areas, in developed countries with high insolation urban nucleation events are also a main source of UFP. If traffic-related particle concentrations are reduced in the future, nucleation events will likely increase in urban areas, due to the reduced urban condensation sinks.

Multisite study of particle number concentrations in urban air.

PubMed

Harrison, Roy M; Jones, Alan M

2005-08-15

Particle number concentration data are reported from a total of eight urban site locations in the United Kingdom. Of these, six are central urban background sites, while one is an urban street canyon (Marylebone Road) and another is influenced by both a motorway and a steelworks (Port Talbot). The concentrations are generally of a similar order to those reported in the literature, although higher than those in some of the other studies. Highest concentrations are at the Marylebone Road site and lowest are at the Port Talbot site. The central urban background locations lie somewhere between with concentrations typically around 20 000 cm(-3). A seasonal pattern affects all sites, with highest concentrations in the winter months and lowest concentrations in the summer. Data from all sites show a diurnal variation with a morning rush hour peak typical of an anthropogenic pollutant. When the dilution effects of windspeed are accounted for, the data show little directionality at the central urban background sites indicating the influence of sources from all directions as might be expected if the major source were road traffic. At the London Marylebone Road site there is high directionality driven by the air circulation in the street canyon, and at the Port Talbot site different diurnal patterns are seen for particle number count and PM10 influenced by emissions from road traffic (particle number count) and the steelworks (PM10) and local meteorological factors. Hourly particle number concentrations are generally only weakly correlated to NO(x) and PM10, with the former showing a slightly closer relationship. Correlations between daily average particle number count and PM10 were also weak. Episodes of high PM10 concentration in summer typically show low particle number concentrations consistent with transport of accumulation mode secondary aerosol, while winter episodes are frequently associated with high PM10 and particle number count arising from poor dispersion of local primary emissions.

Regional and local variations in atmospheric aerosols using ground-based sun photometry during Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) in 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sano, Itaru; Mukai, Sonoyo; Nakata, Makiko; Holben, Brent N.

2016-11-01

Aerosol mass concentrations are affected by local emissions as well as long-range transboundary (LRT) aerosols. This work investigates regional and local variations of aerosols based on Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON). We constructed DRAGON-Japan and DRAGON-Osaka in spring of 2012. The former network covers almost all of Japan in order to obtain aerosol information in regional scale over Japanese islands. It was determined from the DRAGON-Japan campaign that the values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) decrease from west to east during an aerosol episode. In fact, the highest AOT was recorded at Fukue Island at the western end of the network, and the value was much higher than that of urban areas. The latter network (DRAGON-Osaka) was set as a dense instrument network in the megalopolis of Osaka, with a population of 12 million, to better understand local aerosol dynamics in urban areas. AOT was further measured with a mobile sun photometer attached to a car. This transect information showed that aerosol concentrations rapidly changed in time and space together when most of the Osaka area was covered with moderate LRT aerosols. The combined use of the dense instrument network (DRAGON-Osaka) and high-frequency measurements provides the motion of aerosol advection, which coincides with the wind vector around the layer between 700 and 850 hPa as provided by the reanalysis data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

Regional and Local Variations in Atmospheric Aerosols Using Ground-Based Sun Photometry During Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) in 2012

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Sano, Itaru; Mukai, Sonoyo; Nakata, Makiko; Holben, Brent N.

2016-01-01

Aerosol mass concentrations are affected by local emissions as well as long-range transboundary (LRT) aerosols. This work investigates regional and local variations of aerosols based on Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON).We constructed DRAGON-Japan and DRAGON-Osaka in spring of 2012. The former network covers almost all of Japan in order to obtain aerosol information in regional scale over Japanese islands. It was determined from the DRAGON-Japan campaign that the values of aerosol optical thickness (AOT) decrease from west to east during an aerosol episode. In fact, the highest AOT was recorded at Fukue Island at the western end of the network, and the value was much higher than that of urban areas. The latter network (DRAGON-Osaka) was set as a dense instrument network in the megalopolis of Osaka, with a population of 12 million, to better understand local aerosol dynamics in urban areas. AOT was further measured with a mobile sun photometer attached to a car. This transect information showed that aerosol concentrations rapidly changed in time and space together when most of the Osaka area was covered with moderate LRT aerosols. The combined use of the dense instrument network (DRAGON-Osaka) and high-frequency measurements provides the motion of aerosol advection, which coincides with the wind vector around the layer between 700 and 850 hPa as provided by the reanalysis data of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP).

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

On the Complex Coupling Between the Production of Ozone and Secondary Organic Aerosol in Polluted Urban Regions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stewart, D. R.; Stockwell, W. R.; Morris, V. R.; Fitzgerald, R. M.

2016-12-01

The major photochemical processes that produce ozone and aerosols are coupled together strongly in the polluted urban atmosphere. Aerosols are either directly emitted or formed through the same kind of chemistry that leads to the production of ozone. The aerosols produced through atmospheric chemistry are known as secondary aerosols and they may be composed of inorganic (nitrates, sulfates) or organic compounds. Wind blown dust and soot are two examples of primary aerosols. The component of secondary inorganic aerosols includes compounds such as ammonium nitrate, ammonium bisulfate and ammonium sulfate. Secondary organic aerosols are a very important component of PM with strong implications for health. The formation of secondary organic aerosol is linked with ozone photochemistry through the reactions of volatile organic compounds (VOC). The oxidation of VOC produces radicals that convert nitric oxide to nitrogen dioxide that photolyze to produce ozone. Larger VOC (those with more carbon atoms) undergo a number of oxidation cycles that add oxygen atoms to large organic molecules. The vapor pressure of many of these highly oxidized compounds is sufficiently low that they condense to produce secondary organic aerosols. The Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ) and other chemical simulations have been made to quantify the relationship between varying emissions of VOC and NOx and the production of inorganic and secondary organic aerosols. The results from this analysis will be presented.

The smog-fog-smog cycle and acid deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pandis, Spyros N.; Seinfeld, John H.; Pilinis, Christodoulos

1990-10-01

A model including descriptions of aerosol and droplet microphysics, gas and aqueous-phase chemistry, and deposition is used to study the transformation of aerosol to fog droplets and back to aerosol in an urban environment. Fogs in polluted environments have the potential to increase aerosol sulfate concentrations but at the same time to cause reductions in the aerosol concentration of nitrate, chloride, ammonium and sodium and well as in the total aerosol mass concentration. The sulfate produced during fog episodes favors the aerosol particles that have access to most of the fog liquid water which are usually the large particles. Aerosol scavenging efficiencies of around 80 percent are calculated for urban fogs. Sampling and subsequent mixing of fog droplets of different sizes may result in measured concentrations that are not fully representative of the fogwater chemical composition and can introduce errors in the reported values of the ionic species deposition velocities. Differences in the major ionic species deposition velocities can be explained by their distribution over the droplet size spectrum and can be correlated with the species average diameter. Two different expressions are derived for use in fog models for the calculation of the liquid water deposition velocity during fog growth and dissipation stages.

Modelling the Contribution of Long-range Transport of Ammonium Nitrates to Urban Air Pollution and Human Exposure in the United Kingdom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reis, S.; Vieno, M.; Beck, R.; Ots, R.; Moring, A.; Steinle, S.; Heal, M. R.; Doherty, R. M.

2014-12-01

Urban air pollution and its effects on human health remain to be a challenge in spite of substantial reductions in the emissions of air pollutants (e.g. sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides) over the past decades in Europe. While primary pollutants play a vital role in urban air pollution, recent model studies highlight and quantify the relevance of long-range transport of secondary pollution (e.g. secondary inorganic aerosols such as ammonium sulphates and nitrates, or ground level ozone) for the exceedance of local air quality limit values in urban areas across Europe. This contribution can be seen in recurring episodes, for instance in spring 2014, with very high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Paris, London and other European cities, as well as in elevated background levels throughout the year. While we will focus on the contribution to exceedances of PM2.5 limit values here, this transboundary transport has wider implications for the deposition of reactive nitrogen far from the source as well. As local authorities are tasked with ensuring the attainment of air quality limit values, exceedances caused by long-range transport, with emissions originating from sources outside of their jurisdiction present substantial challenges. Furthermore, while policy measures have successfully addressed emissions from large point sources in the past, and made progress towards reducing pollution from road vehicles, emissions of ammonia from agricultural sources - a key component for the long-range transport of secondary inorganic aerosols - have remained relatively stable in Europe. Using the example of Europe and the UK, we demonstrate in our presentation how atmospheric chemistry transport modelling across different scales (from regional to local) can provide vital insight in the mechanisms of and relative contributions to the formation of secondary inorganic aerosols. In addition, we illustrate how this modelling capability can inform the design of efficient control strategies by quantifying the effect of different policy measures targeted at specific source sectors, and highlight the role of transboundary air pollution to local air pollution challenges.

Effectiveness of temporary control measures for lowering PM2.5 pollution in Beijing and the implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Yong; Xue, Yifeng; Tian, Hezhong; Gao, Jian; Chen, Ying; Zhu, Chuanyong; Liu, Huanjia; Wang, Kun; Hua, Shenbing; Liu, Shuhan; Shao, Panyang

2017-05-01

In order to investigate the effects of the temporary strengthening of air quality assurance controlling measures during the Beijing 2015 IAAF World Championships and the Military Parade Assurance Period (MPAP) in China, we collected daily PM2.5 aerosol samples at three typical sites (urban downtown, suburban and rural background area, respectively) in Beijing and investigated the variations of concentration of the water-soluble ions, elemental constituents, organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM2.5 from Aug.15 to Sept.10, 2015. Simultaneously, 1-h high-resolution continuous monitoring results of PM2.5 mass concentration as well as the chemical components which were measured at another online monitoring urban site were incorporated. The concentrations of PM2.5 and other gaseous pollutants (SO2, NO2 and CO) during the parade control period (Aug.20-Sept.3) exhibited a substantially decrease compared with the concentrations during both the non-control (August 15 to August 19 and September 4 to September 10) period and the same period in 2014. According to the CMC results, the major components were identified as secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA, the combination of sulfate, ammonium and nitrate), mineral dust and particular organic matter (POM), which together accounted for more than 80% of PM2.5 in urban and suburban sites. POM is found to account for the largest proportion, and the obviously higher proportion of POM in the urban area revealed the significance contribution from vehicles. Compared with the non-control period, the mass concentrations of SIA and secondary organic carbon (SOC) decreased obviously. However, SIA and SOC are observed to play an important role in contributing to the rapid growth process of PM2.5 under unfavorable meteorological conditions during the control period. In view of the gradual improvement of air quality in Beijing, as well as the contribution of secondary aerosol formations in total PM2.5, effective control of primary gaseous pollutants and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) will be very significant for further lowering the concentration of PM2.5 in Beijing in normal time.

Determination of respirable-sized crystalline silica in different ambient environments in the United Kingdom with a mobile high flow rate sampler utilising porous foams to achieve the required particle size selection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Stacey, Peter; Thorpe, Andrew; Roberts, Paul; Butler, Owen

2018-06-01

Inhalation of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) can cause diseases including silicosis and cancer. Levels of RCS close to an emission source are measured but little is known about the wider ambient exposure from industry emissions or natural sources. The aim of this work is to report the RCS concentrations obtained from a variety of ambient environments using a new mobile respirable (PM4) sampler. A mobile battery powered high flow rate (52 L min-1) sampler was developed and evaluated for particulate aerosol sampling employing foams to select the respirable particle size fraction. Sampling was conducted in the United Kingdom at site boundaries surrounding seven urban construction and demolition and five sand quarry sites. These are compared with data from twelve urban aerosol samples and from repeat measurements from a base line study at a single rural site. The 50% particle size penetration (d50) through the foam was 4.3 μm. Over 85% of predict bias values were with ±10% of the respirable convention, which is based on a log normal curve. Results for RCS from all construction and quarry activities are generally low with a 95 th percentile of 11 μg m-3. Eighty percent of results were less than the health benchmark value of 3 μg m-3 used in some states in America for ambient concentrations. The power cutting of brick and the largest demolition activities gave the highest construction levels. Measured urban background RCS levels were typically below 0.3 μg m-3 and the median RCS level, at a rural background location, was 0.02 μg m-3. These reported ambient RCS concentrations may provide useful baseline values to assess the wider impact of fugitive, RCS containing, dust emissions into the wider environment.

Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES), g1-aircraft, sedlacek sp2

DOE Data Explorer

Sedlacek, Art

2011-08-30

The primary objective of the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) in 2010 was to investigate the evolution of carbonaceous aerosols of different types and their optical and hygroscopic properties in central California, with a focus on the Sacramento urban plume.

Source apportionment of speciated PM10 in the United Kingdom in 2008: Episodes and annual averages

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Redington, A. L.; Witham, C. S.; Hort, M. C.

2016-11-01

The Lagrangian atmospheric dispersion model NAME (Numerical Atmospheric-dispersion Modelling Environment), has been used to simulate the formation and transport of PM10 over North-West Europe in 2008. The model has been evaluated against UK measurement data and been shown to adequately represent the observed PM10 at rural and urban sites on a daily basis. The Lagrangian nature of the model allows information on the origin of pollutants (and hence their secondary products) to be retained to allow attribution of pollutants at receptor sites back to their sources. This source apportionment technique has been employed to determine whether the different components of the modelled PM10 have originated from UK, shipping, European (excluding the UK) or background sources. For the first time this has been done to evaluate the composition during periods of elevated PM10 as well as the annual average composition. The episode data were determined by selecting the model data for each hour when the corresponding measurement data was >50 μg/m3. All the modelled sites show an increase in European pollution contribution and a decrease in the background contribution in the episode case compared to the annual average. The European contribution is greatest in southern and eastern parts of the UK and decreases moving northwards and westwards. Analysis of the speciated attribution data over the selected sites reveals that for 2008, as an annual average, the top three contributors to total PM10 are UK primary PM10 (17-25%), UK origin nitrate aerosol (18-21%) and background PM10 (11-16%). Under episode conditions the top three contributors to modelled PM10 are UK origin nitrate aerosol (12-33%), European origin nitrate aerosol (11-19%) and UK primary PM10 (12-18%).

Isotopic evidence for enhanced fossil fuel sources of aerosol ammonium in the urban atmosphere.

PubMed

Pan, Yuepeng; Tian, Shili; Liu, Dongwei; Fang, Yunting; Zhu, Xiaying; Gao, Meng; Gao, Jian; Michalski, Greg; Wang, Yuesi

2018-07-01

The sources of aerosol ammonium (NH 4 + ) are of interest because of the potential of NH 4 + to impact the Earth's radiative balance, as well as human health and biological diversity. Isotopic source apportionment of aerosol NH 4 + is challenging in the urban atmosphere, which has excess ammonia (NH 3 ) and where nitrogen isotopic fractionation commonly occurs. Based on year-round isotopic measurements in urban Beijing, we show the source dependence of the isotopic abundance of aerosol NH 4 + , with isotopically light (-33.8‰) and heavy (0 to +12.0‰) NH 4 + associated with strong northerly winds and sustained southerly winds, respectively. On an annual basis, 37-52% of the initial NH 3 concentrations in urban Beijing arises from fossil fuel emissions, which are episodically enhanced by air mass stagnation preceding the passage of cold fronts. These results provide strong evidence for the contribution of non-agricultural sources to NH 3 in urban regions and suggest that priority should be given to controlling these emissions for haze regulation. This study presents a carefully executed application of existing stable nitrogen isotope measurement and mass-balance techniques to a very important problem: understanding source contributions to atmospheric NH 3 in Beijing. This question is crucial to informing environmental policy on reducing particulate matter concentrations, which are some of the highest in the world. However, the isotopic source attribution results presented here still involve a number of uncertain assumptions and they are limited by the incomplete set of chemical and isotopic measurements of gas NH 3 and aerosol NH 4 + . Further field work and lab experiments are required to adequately characterize endmember isotopic signatures and the subsequent isotopic fractionation process under different air pollution and meteorological conditions. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Single-particle characterization of urban aerosol particles collected in three Korean cites using low-Z electron probe X-ray microanalysis.

PubMed

Ro, Chul-Un; Kim, HyeKyeong; Oh, Keun-Young; Yea, Sun Kyung; Lee, Chong Bum; Jang, Meongdo; Van Grieken, René

2002-11-15

A recently developed single-particle analytical technique, called low-Z electron probe X-ray microanalysis (low-Z EPMA), was applied to characterize urban aerosol particles collected in three cities of Korea (Seoul, CheongJu, and ChunCheon) on single days in the winter of 1999. In this study, it is clearly demonstrated that the low-Z EPMA technique can provide detailed and quantitative information on the chemical composition of particles in the urban atmosphere. The collected aerosol particles were analyzed and classified on the basis of their chemical species. Various types of particles were identified, such as soil-derived, carbonaceous, marine-originated, and anthropogenic particles. In the sample collected in Seoul, carbonaceous, aluminosilicates, silicon dioxide, and calcium carbonate aerosol particles were abundantly encountered. In the CheongJu and ChunCheon samples, carbonaceous, aluminosilicates, reacted sea salts, and ammonium sulfate aerosol particles were often seen. However, in the CheongJu sample, ammonium sulfate particles were the most abundant in the fine fraction. Also, calcium sulfate and nitrate particles were significantly observed. In the ChunCheon sample, organic particles were the most abundant in the fine fraction. Also, sodium nitrate particles were seen at high levels. The ChunCheon sample seemed to be strongly influenced by sea-salt aerosols originating from the Yellow Sea, which is located about 115 km away from the city.

Fossil Fuel Combustion-Related Emissions Dominate Atmospheric Ammonia Sources during Severe Haze Episodes: Evidence from 15N-Stable Isotope in Size-Resolved Aerosol Ammonium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Y.; Tian, S.; Liu, D.; Fang, Y.; Zhu, X.; Zhang, Q.; Zheng, B.; Michalski, G. M.; Wang, Y.

2016-12-01

The reduction of ammonia (NH3) emissions is urgently needed due to its major contributions to nitrogen deposition and particle pollution. However, the relative contributions of individual NH3 sources are unclear, and debate remains over whether agricultural emissions dominate atmospheric NH3 in urban areas. Based on the chemical and isotopic measurements of size-resolved aerosols in urban Beijing, China, we find that the natural abundance of 15N (expressed using δ15N values) of ammonium (NH4+) in fine particles varies with the development of haze episodes, ranging from -37.1‰ to -21.7‰ during clean/dusty days (relative humidity: ˜ 40%), to -13.1‰ to +5.8‰ during hazy days (relative humidity: 70-90%). After factoring the isotope exchange between NH3 gas and aerosol NH4+, the δ15N value of the initial NH3 during hazy days is found to be -14.5‰ to -1.6‰, which indicates fossil fuel-based emissions. These emissions contribute 90% of the total NH3 during hazy days in urban Beijing. This work demonstrates the analysis of δ15N values of aerosol NH4+ to be a promising new tool for partitioning atmospheric NH3 sources, providing policy makers with insights into NH3 emissions and secondary aerosols for regulation in urban environments. This work also shed lights on the sources of nitrogen deposition in downwind ecosystems.

Airborne ultrafine particles in a naturally ventilated metro station: Dominant sources and mixing state determined by particle size distribution and volatility measurements.

PubMed

Mendes, Luís; Gini, Maria I; Biskos, George; Colbeck, Ian; Eleftheriadis, Konstantinos

2018-08-01

Ultrafine particle number concentrations and size distributions were measured on the platform of a metro station in Athens, Greece, and compared with those recorded at an urban background station. The volatility of the sampled particles was measured in parallel, providing further insights on the mixing state and composition of the sampled particles. Particle concentration exhibited a mean value of 1.2 × 10 4 # cm -3 and showed a weak correlation with train passage frequency, but exhibited a strong correlation with urban background particle concentrations. The size distribution appears to be strongly influenced by outdoor conditions, such as the morning traffic rush hour and new particle formation events observed at noon. The aerosol in the metro was externally mixed throughout the day, with particle populations being identified (1) as fully refractory particles being more dominant during the morning traffic rush hours, (2) as core-shell structure particles having a non-volatile core coated with volatile material, and (3) fully volatile particles. The evolution of particle volatility and size throughout the day provide additional support that most nanoparticles in the metro station originate from outdoor urban air. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mixing states of aerosols over four environmentally distinct atmospheric regimes in Asia: coastal, urban, and industrial locations influenced by dust.

PubMed

Ramachandran, S; Srivastava, Rohit

2016-06-01

Mixing can influence the optical, physical, and chemical characteristics of aerosols, which in turn can modify their life cycle and radiative effects. Assumptions on the mixing state can lead to uncertain estimates of aerosol radiative effects. To examine the effect of mixing on the aerosol characteristics, and their influence on radiative effects, aerosol mixing states are determined over four environmentally distinct locations (Karachi, Gwangju, Osaka, and Singapore) in Asia, an aerosol hot spot region, using measured spectral aerosol optical properties and optical properties model. Aerosol optical depth (AOD), single scattering albedo (SSA), and asymmetry parameter (g) exhibit spectral, spatial, and temporal variations. Aerosol mixing states exhibit large spatial and temporal variations consistent with aerosol characteristics and aerosol type over each location. External mixing of aerosol species is unable to reproduce measured SSA over Asia, thus providing a strong evidence that aerosols exist in mixed state. Mineral dust (MD) (core)-Black carbon (BC) (shell) is one of the most preferred aerosol mixing states. Over locations influenced by biomass burning aerosols, BC (core)-water soluble (WS, shell) is a preferred mixing state, while dust gets coated by anthropogenic aerosols (BC, WS) over urban regions influenced by dust. MD (core)-sea salt (shell) mixing is found over Gwangju corroborating the observations. Aerosol radiative forcing exhibits large seasonal and spatial variations consistent with features seen in aerosol optical properties and mixing states. TOA forcing is less negative/positive for external mixing scenario because of lower SSA. Aerosol radiative forcing in Karachi is a factor of 2 higher when compared to Gwangju, Osaka, and Singapore. The influence of g on aerosol radiative forcing is insignificant. Results emphasize that rather than prescribing one single aerosol mixing state in global climate models regionally and temporally varying aerosol mixing states should be included for more accurate assessment of aerosol radiative effects.

Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McDonald, Brian C.; de Gouw, Joost A.; Gilman, Jessica B.; Jathar, Shantanu H.; Akherati, Ali; Cappa, Christopher D.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Lee-Taylor, Julia; Hayes, Patrick L.; McKeen, Stuart A.; Cui, Yu Yan; Kim, Si-Wan; Gentner, Drew R.; Isaacman-VanWertz, Gabriel; Goldstein, Allen H.; Harley, Robert A.; Frost, Gregory J.; Roberts, James M.; Ryerson, Thomas B.; Trainer, Michael

2018-02-01

A gap in emission inventories of urban volatile organic compound (VOC) sources, which contribute to regional ozone and aerosol burdens, has increased as transportation emissions in the United States and Europe have declined rapidly. A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)—including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products—now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities. The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs. Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols.

Chemical characteristics of PM2.5 during summer at a background site of the Yangtze River Delta in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liang, Linlin; Engling, Guenter; Zhang, Xiaoye; Sun, Junying; Zhang, Yangmei; Xu, Wanyun; Liu, Chang; Zhang, Gen; Liu, Xuyan; Ma, Qianli

2017-12-01

With rapid economic development and urbanization, particular attention has been paid to atmospheric chemical studies in the Yangtze River Delta in China. PM2.5 samples were collected by a MiniVol™ air sampler in summer time at a background site of the Yangtze River Delta in China. Carbonaceous components, i.e., OC and EC, levoglucosan and water-soluble inorganic ions, including sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, etc., were quantified. The average concentration of PM2.5 in summer at Lin'an was 30.19 ± 8.86 μg m-3, lower than previous studies reported, confirming that air pollution in China is improving, e.g., by emission control measures and subsequent reduction in PM emissions in China. Investigating the relationship among sulfate, nitrate and ammonium showed that SO42- existed as (NH4)2SO4, while NO3- may have been present as NaNO3 and KNO3. Based on molecular tracers, synoptic data as well as air mass back trajectory analysis, it was revealed that regional transport and stable synoptic conditions both play an important role in controlling the variations of aerosol chemical components. The comparison of chemical species between clean and hazy days showed that secondary organic and inorganic aerosols have different production processes. Secondary organic carbon (SOC) was much more important during clean days, while secondary inorganic aerosol species were readily produced and consequently became more important during polluted periods in Lin'an during summer time.

Utilization of AERONET polarimetric measurements for improving retrieval of aerosol microphysics: GSFC, Beijing and Dakar data analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedarenka, Anton; Dubovik, Oleg; Goloub, Philippe; Li, Zhengqiang; Lapyonok, Tatyana; Litvinov, Pavel; Barel, Luc; Gonzalez, Louis; Podvin, Thierry; Crozel, Didier

2016-08-01

The study presents the efforts on including the polarimetric data to the routine inversion of the radiometric ground-based measurements for characterization of the atmospheric aerosols and analysis of the obtained advantages in retrieval results. First, to operationally process the large amount of polarimetric data the data preparation tool was developed. The AERONET inversion code adapted for inversion of both intensity and polarization measurements was used for processing. Second, in order to estimate the effect from utilization of polarimetric information on aerosol retrieval results, both synthetic data and the real measurements were processed using developed routine and analyzed. The sensitivity study has been carried out using simulated data based on three main aerosol models: desert dust, urban industrial and urban clean aerosols. The test investigated the effects of utilization of polarization data in the presence of random noise, bias in measurements of optical thickness and angular pointing shift. The results demonstrate the advantage of polarization data utilization in the cases of aerosols with pronounced concentration of fine particles. Further, the extended set of AERONET observations was processed. The data for three sites have been used: GSFC, USA (clean urban aerosol dominated by fine particles), Beijing, China (polluted industrial aerosol characterized by pronounced mixture of both fine and coarse modes) and Dakar, Senegal (desert dust dominated by coarse particles). The results revealed considerable advantage of polarimetric data applying for characterizing fine mode dominated aerosols including industrial pollution (Beijing). The use of polarization corrects particle size distribution by decreasing overestimated fine mode and increasing the coarse mode. It also increases underestimated real part of the refractive index and improves the retrieval of the fraction of spherical particles due to high sensitivity of polarization to particle shape. Overall, the study demonstrates a substantial value of polarimetric data for improving aerosol characterization.

Lidar Remote Sensing for Industry and Environment Monitoring

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singh, Upendra N. (Editor); Itabe, Toshikazu (Editor); Sugimoto, Nobuo (Editor)

2000-01-01

Contents include the following: 1. Keynote paper: Overview of lidar technology for industrial and environmental monitoring in Japan. 2. lidar technology I: NASA's future active remote sensing mission for earth science. Geometrical detector consideration s in laser sensing application (invited paper). 3. Lidar technology II: High-power femtosecond light strings as novel atmospheric probes (invited paper). Design of a compact high-sensitivity aerosol profiling lidar. 4. Lasers for lidars: High-energy 2 microns laser for multiple lidar applications. New submount requirement of conductively cooled laser diodes for lidar applications. 5. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds I: Lidar monitoring of clouds and aerosols at the facility for atmospheric remote sensing (invited paper). Measurement of asian dust by using multiwavelength lidar. Global monitoring of clouds and aerosols using a network of micropulse lidar systems. 6. Troposphere aerosols and clouds II: Scanning lidar measurements of marine aerosol fields at a coastal site in Hawaii. 7. Tropospheric aerosols and clouds III: Formation of ice cloud from asian dust particles in the upper troposphere. Atmospheric boundary layer observation by ground-based lidar at KMITL, Thailand (13 deg N, 100 deg. E). 8. Boundary layer, urban pollution: Studies of the spatial correlation between urban aerosols and local traffic congestion using a slant angle scanning on the research vessel Mirai. 9. Middle atmosphere: Lidar-observed arctic PSC's over Svalbard (invited paper). Sodium temperature lidar measurements of the mesopause region over Syowa Station. 10. Differential absorption lidar (dIAL) and DOAS: Airborne UV DIAL measurements of ozone and aerosols (invited paper). Measurement of water vapor, surface ozone, and ethylene using differential absorption lidar. 12. Space lidar I: Lightweight lidar telescopes for space applications (invited paper). Coherent lidar development for Doppler wind measurement from the International Space Station. 13. Space lidar II: Using coherent Doppler lidar to estimate river discharge. 14. Poster session: Lidar technology, optics for lidar. Laser for lidar. Middle atmosphere observations. Tropospheric observations (aerosols, clouds). Boundary layer, urban pollution. Differential absorption lidar. Doppler lidar. and Space lidar.

Column-integrated aerosol optical properties and direct radiative forcing over the urban-industrial megacity Nanjing in the Yangtze River Delta, China.

PubMed

Kang, Na; Kumar, K Raghavendra; Yu, Xingna; Yin, Yan

2016-09-01

Aerosol optical properties were measured and analyzed through the ground-based remote sensing Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) over an urban-industrial site, Nanjing (32.21° N, 118.72° E, and 62 m above sea level), in the Yangtze River Delta, China, during September 2007-August 2008. The annual averaged values of aerosol optical depth (AOD500) and the Ångström exponent (AE440-870) were measured to be 0.94 ± 0.52 and 1.10 ± 0.21, respectively. The seasonal averaged values of AOD500 (AE440-870) were noticed to be high in summer (autumn) and low in autumn (spring). The characterization of aerosol types showed the dominance of mixed type followed by the biomass burning and urban-industrial type of aerosol at Nanjing. Subsequently, the curvature (a 2) obtained from the second-order polynomial fit and the second derivative of AE (α') were also analyzed to understand the dominant aerosol type. The single scattering albedo at 440 nm (SSA440) varied from 0.88 to 0.93 with relatively lower (higher) values during the summer (spring), suggesting an increase in black carbon and mineral dust (desert dust) aerosols of absorbing (scattering) nature. The averaged monthly and seasonal evolutions of shortwave (0.3-4.0 μm) direct aerosol radiative forcing (DARF) values were computed from the Santa Barbara DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model both at the top of atmosphere (TOA) and bottom of atmosphere (SUR) during the study period. Further, the aerosol forcing efficiency (AFE) and the corresponding atmospheric heating rates (AHR) were also estimated from the forcing within the atmosphere (ATM). The derived DARF values, therefore, produced a warming effect within the atmosphere due to strong absorption of solar radiation.

Columnar aerosol optical properties at AERONET sites in northern, central and southern Mexico

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carabali, Giovanni; Estévez, Hector; Florean-Cruz, Claudia; Navarro-Medina, Abigail; Valdés-Barrón, Mauro; Bonifaz-Alfonzo, Roberto; Riveros-Rosas, David; Velasco-Herrera, Víctor; Vázquez-Gálvez, Felipe

2017-04-01

The column-integrated optical properties of aerosol in the north, central and southern Mexico were investigated based on Sun/sky radiometer measurements made at Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites. Characterization of aerosol properties in these Mexico regions is important due to natural and anthropogenic significant events that occurred: dust storms from Sonora desert, biomass burning from south forest areas and urban/industrial from Mexico City due to the increases in fossil fuel combustion. Some cities in northern Mexico located near desert areas are affected by the dust from Sonora and Chihuahua deserts. These particles are suspended in the atmosphere due to strong wind activity that creates dust storms. In the central part of the Mexican territory, urban air pollution is one of the biggest problems. Mexico City is the most important urban area that face seriously environmental problem generated by daily anthropogenic emissions from activities of some 21 million people and the vast amount of industry. On the other hand, biomass burning in the Yucatan Peninsula, Southern Mexico, and Guatemala is an important source of anthropogenic aerosol in the troposphere (Crutzen and Andrade, 1990). The pollution from these fires affects air quality locally and is transported over the Gulf of Mexico to the United States (Wang et al., 2006). The aim of this work is to study the optical properties of different types of aerosols by analyzing a 5-year (2005-2010) data set from AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET). Time series of Angstrom exponent (α) and aerosol optical depth (τ) in 7 wavelengths from 340 to 1020 nm are shown. Additionally, a graphical framework to classify aerosol properties using direct sun-photometer observations in the different regions of Mexico is presented. That aerosol classification was made by applying the method described by Gobbi et al (2007), which relies on the combined analysis of α and its spectral curvature δα.

Aplication of LIRIC algorithm to study aerosol transport over Belsk, Poland

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pietruczuk, Aleksander; Posyniak, Michał

2015-04-01

In this work synergy of measurements done by of a LIDAR and a sun-sky scanning photometer is presented. The LIdar-Radiometer Inversion Code (LIRIC) was applied to study periodic events of increased values of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) observed at Belsk (Poland). Belsk is a background site located in a rural area around 50 km south from Warsaw. Events of increased AOD occur mainly during spring and they coincide with events of elevated concentrations of particulate matter (PM10). This phenomenon is observed in all eastern Europe, e.g. in Minsk, and is caused by long range aerosol transport. Our previous work showed aerosol transport from the border between Belarus, Ukraine and Russia in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), and from north Africa in the free troposphere. The LIRIC algorithm, which uses optical and microphysical properties of the aerosol derived from photometric measurements and LIDAR profiles, was applied to study vertical distribution of fine and coarse modes of aerosol. The analysis of the airmass backward trajectories and models results (DREAM and NAAPS)was also used to determine a possible aerosol type and its source region. This study proved our previous findings. Most of events with increased AODs are observed during spring. In this season the fine mode aerosol is mainly present in the PBL. On the basis of the trajectory analysis and the NAAPS results we presume that it is the absorbing aerosol originating from the regions of seasonal biomass burning in eastern Europe, i.e. the area mentioned above. The events with increased AODs were also found during summer. In this case the fine mode aerosol is transported in the PBL a like to spring season. However, our analysis of trajectories and model results indicated western Europe as a source region. It is probably urban/industrial aerosol. The coarse mode aerosol is transported mainly in the free troposphere as separate layers. The analysis of backward trajectories indicates northern Africa as a possible source region regardless the season. DREAM and NAAPS results suggest presence of mineral dust in this case over Belsk.

The changing face of urban air pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, Alastair C.

2018-02-01

The atmospheric chemistry that leads to photochemical smog and climate-active aerosols requires the presence of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) (1, 2). The VOCs in urban air typically derive from the prevailing energy and transport technologies as well as the use of petrochemical-derived products. On page 760 of this issue, McDonald et al. (3) report that a notable change in emissions may be underway in U.S. cities, with effects on secondary pollutants such as organic aerosols. Shifting from an urban atmosphere dominated by transport-related VOCs to one dominated by VOCs from coatings, adhesives, and consumer products would alter predictions of urban air quality and challenge the existing policy framework for emissions control.

Acidity of Aerosols during Winter Heavy Haze Events in Beijing and Gucheng, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chi, Xiyuan; He, Pengzhen; Jiang, Zhuang; Yu, Xiawei; Yue, Fange; Wang, Longquan; Li, Bokun; Kang, Hui; Liu, Cheng; Xie, Zhouqing

2018-02-01

We investigated the acidity and concentrations of water-soluble ions in PM2.5 aerosol samples collected from an urban site in Beijing and a rural site in Gucheng, Hebei Province from November 2016 to January 2017 to gain an insight into the formation of secondary inorganic species. The average SO4 2-, NO3 -, and NH4 + concentrations were 8.3, 12.5, and 14.1 μg m-3, respectively, at the urban site and 14.0, 14.2, and 24.2 μg m-3, respectively, at the rural site. The nitrogen and sulfur oxidation ratios in urban Beijing were correlated with relative humidity (with correlation coefficient r = 0.79 and 0.67, respectively) and the aerosol loadings. Based on a parameterization model, we found that the rate constant of the heterogeneous reactions for SO2 on polluted days was about 10 times higher than that on clear days, suggesting that the heterogeneous reactions in the aerosol water played an essential role in haze events. The ISORROPIA II model was used to predict the aerosol pH, which had a mean (range) of 5.0 (4.9-5.2) and 5.3 (4.6-6.3) at the urban and rural site, respectively. Under the conditions with this predicted pH value, oxidation by dissolved NO2 and the hydrolysis of N2O5 may be the major heterogeneous reactions forming SO4 2- and NO3 - in haze. We also analyzed the sensitivity of the aerosol pH to changes in the concentrations of SO4 2-, NO3 -, and NH4 + under haze conditions. The aerosol pH was more sensitive to the SO4 2- and NH4 + concentrations with opposing trends, than to the NO3 - concentrations. The sensitivity of the pH was relatively weak overall, which was attributed to the buffering effect of NH3 partitioning.

Using Satellite Aerosol Retrievals to Monitor Surface Particulate Air Quality

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Robert C.; Remer, Lorraine A.; Kahn, Ralph A.; Chu, D. Allen; Mattoo, Shana; Holben, Brent N.; Schafer, Joel S.

2011-01-01

The MODIS and MISR aerosol products were designed nearly two decades ago for the purpose of climate applications. Since launch of Terra in 1999, these two sensors have provided global, quantitative information about column-integrated aerosol properties, including aerosol optical depth (AOD) and relative aerosol type parameters (such as Angstrom exponent). Although primarily designed for climate, the air quality (AQ) community quickly recognized that passive satellite products could be used for particulate air quality monitoring and forecasting. However, AOD and particulate matter (PM) concentrations have different units, and represent aerosol conditions in different layers of the atmosphere. Also, due to low visible contrast over brighter surface conditions, satellite-derived aerosol retrievals tend to have larger uncertainty in urban or populated regions. Nonetheless, the AQ community has made significant progress in relating column-integrated AOD at ambient relative humidity (RH) to surface PM concentrations at dried RH. Knowledge of aerosol optical and microphysical properties, ambient meteorological conditions, and especially vertical profile, are critical for physically relating AOD and PM. To make urban-scale maps of PM, we also must account for spatial variability. Since surface PM may vary on a finer spatial scale than the resolution of standard MODIS (10 km) and MISR (17km) products, we test higher-resolution versions of MODIS (3km) and MISR (1km research mode) retrievals. The recent (July 2011) DISCOVER-AQ campaign in the mid-Atlantic offers a comprehensive network of sun photometers (DRAGON) and other data that we use for validating the higher resolution satellite data. In the future, we expect that the wealth of aircraft and ground-based measurements, collected during DISCOVER-AQ, will help us quantitatively link remote sensed and ground-based measurements in the urban region.

Using the Aerosol Single Scattering Albedo and Angstrom Exponent from AERONET to Determine Aerosol Origins and Mixing States over the Indo-Gangetic Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, D. M.; Holben, B. N.; Eck, T. F.; Sinyuk, A.; Slutsker, I.; Smirnov, A.; Schafer, J. S.; Dickerson, R. R.; Thompson, A. M.; Tripathi, S. N.; Singh, R. P.; Ghauri, B.

2012-12-01

Aerosol mixtures—whether dominated by dust, carbon, sulfates, nitrates, sea salt, or mixtures of them—complicate the retrieval of remotely sensed aerosol properties from satellites and possibly increase the uncertainty of the aerosol radiative impact on climate. Major aerosol source regions in South Asia include the Thar Desert as well as agricultural lands, Himalayan foothills, and large urban centers in and near the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP). Over India and Pakistan, seasonal changes in meteorology, including the monsoon (June-September), significantly affect the transport, lifetime, and type of aerosols. Strong monsoonal winds can promote long range transport of dust resulting in mixtures of dust and carbonaceous aerosols, while more stagnant synoptic conditions (e.g., November-January) can prolong the occurrence of urban/industrial pollution, biomass burning smoke, or mixtures of them over the IGP. Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) Sun/sky radiometer data are analyzed to show the aerosol optical depth (AOD) seasonality and aerosol dominant mixing states. The Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and extinction Angstrom exponent (EAE) relationship has been shown to provide sound clustering of dominant aerosol types using long term AERONET site data near known source regions [Giles et al., 2012]. In this study, aerosol type partitioning using the SSA (440 nm) and EAE (440-870 nm) relationship is further developed to quantify the occurrence of Dust, Mixed (e.g., dust and carbonaceous aerosols), Urban/Industrial (U/I) pollution, and Biomass Burning (BB) smoke. Based on EAE thresholds derived from the cluster analysis (for AOD440nm>0.4), preliminary results (2001-2010) for Kanpur, India, show the overall contributions of each dominant particle type (rounded to the nearest 10%): 10% for Dust (EAE≤0.25), 60% for Mixed (0.251.25). In the IGP, BB aerosols may have varying sizes (e.g., corresponding to 1.2

Influences of upwind emission sources and atmospheric processing on aerosol chemistry and properties at a rural location in the Northeastern U.S.: URBAN INFLUENCE ON RURAL AEROSOL

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Shan; Collier, Sonya; Xu, Jianzhong

2016-05-19

Continuous real-time measurements of atmospheric aerosol with an Aerodyne High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-AMS) coupled with a fast temperature-stepping thermodenuder were carried out in summer 2011 at Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL, 40.871°N, 72.89°W) during the DOE Aerosol Life Cycle Intensive Operational Period (ALC-IOP) campaign.

Spatial and Temporal Monitoring of Aerosol over Selected Urban Areas in Egypt

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shokr, Mohammed; El-Tahan, Mohammed; Ibrahim, Alaa

2015-04-01

We utilize remote sensing data of atmospheric aerosols from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Terra and Aqua satellites to explore spatio-temporal patterns over selected urban sites in Egypt during 2000-2015. High resolution (10 x 10 km^2) Level 2, collection 5, quality-controlled product was used. The selected sites are characterized by different human and industrial activities as well as landscape and meteorological attributes. These have impacts on the dominant types and intensity of aerosols. Aerosol robotic network (AERONET) data were used to validate the calculations from MODIS. The suitability of the MODIS product in terms of spatial and temporal coverage as well as accuracy and robustness has been established. Seasonal patterns of aerosol concentration are identified and compared between the sites. Spatial gradient of aerosol is assessed in the vicinity of major aerosol-emission sites (e.g. Cairo) to determine the range of influence of the generated pollution. Peak aerosol concentrations are explained in terms of meteorological events and land cover. The limited trends found in the temporal records of the aerosol measurements will be confirmed using calibrated long-term ground observations. The study has been conducted under the PEER 2-239 research project titled "The Impact of Biogenic and Anthropogenic Atmospheric Aerosols to Climate in Egypt". Project website is CleanAirEgypt.org

Radiative transfer in a polluted urban planetary boundary layer

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Viskanta, R.; Johnson, R. O.; Bergstrom, R. W.

1977-01-01

Radiative transfer in a polluted urban atmosphere is studied using a dynamic model. The diurnal nature of radiative transfer for summer conditions is simulated for an urban area 40 km in extent and the effects of various parameters arising in the problem are investigated. The results of numerical computations show that air pollution has the potential of playing a major role in the radiative regime of the urban area. Absorption of solar energy by aerosols in realistic models of urban atmosphere are of the same order of magnitude as that due to water vapor. The predicted effect of the air pollution aerosol in the city is to warm the earth-atmosphere system, and the net effect of gaseous pollutant is to warm the surface and cool the planetary boundary layer, particularly near the top.

Effects of urban agglomeration on surface-UV doses: a comparison of Brewer measurements in Warsaw and Belsk, Poland, for the period 2013-2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Czerwińska, Agnieszka E.; Krzyścin, Janusz W.; Jarosławski, Janusz; Posyniak, Michał

2016-11-01

Specific aerosols and cloud properties over large urban regions seem to generate an island, similar to the well-known urban heat island, leading to lower ultraviolet (UV) radiation intensity compared to the surrounding less polluted areas, thus creating a shield against excessive human exposure to UV radiation. The present study focuses on differences between erythemal and UVA (324 nm) doses measured by the Brewer spectrophotometers in Warsaw (52.3° N, 21.0° E) and Belsk (51.8° N, 20.8° E). The latter is a rural region located about 60 km south-west of the city. Ratios between erythemal and UVA partly daily doses, obtained during all-sky and cloudless-sky conditions for the period May 2013-December 2015, were analysed to infer a specific cloud and aerosol forcing on the surface UV doses over Warsaw. Radiative model simulations were carried out to find sources of the observed differences between the sites. It was found that Warsaw urban agglomeration induced 8 and 6 % attenuation of the erythemal and UVA doses respectively. This is mostly due to the lower sun elevation in Warsaw during the near-noon measurements and the larger optical depth of the city aerosols and increased cloudiness. It could be hypothesised that the expected stronger absorption of the solar UV radiation by urban aerosols is compensated for here by a higher surface reflectivity over the city.

Urban air quality assessment using monitoring data of fractionized aerosol samples, chemometrics and meteorological conditions.

PubMed

Yotova, Galina I; Tsitouridou, Roxani; Tsakovski, Stefan L; Simeonov, Vasil D

2016-01-01

The present article deals with assessment of urban air by using monitoring data for 10 different aerosol fractions (0.015-16 μm) collected at a typical urban site in City of Thessaloniki, Greece. The data set was subject to multivariate statistical analysis (cluster analysis and principal components analysis) and, additionally, to HYSPLIT back trajectory modeling in order to assess in a better way the impact of the weather conditions on the pollution sources identified. A specific element of the study is the effort to clarify the role of outliers in the data set. The reason for the appearance of outliers is strongly related to the atmospheric condition on the particular sampling days leading to enhanced concentration of pollutants (secondary emissions, sea sprays, road and soil dust, combustion processes) especially for ultra fine and coarse particles. It is also shown that three major sources affect the urban air quality of the location studied-sea sprays, mineral dust and anthropogenic influences (agricultural activity, combustion processes, and industrial sources). The level of impact is related to certain extent to the aerosol fraction size. The assessment of the meteorological conditions leads to defining of four downwind patterns affecting the air quality (Pelagic, Western and Central Europe, Eastern and Northeastern Europe and Africa and Southern Europe). Thus, the present study offers a complete urban air assessment taking into account the weather conditions, pollution sources and aerosol fractioning.

SOURCES OF ORGANIC AEROSOL: SEMIVOLATILE EMISSIONS AND PHOTOCHEMICAL AGING

EPA Science Inventory

The proposed research integrates emissions testing, smog chamber experiments, and regional chemical transport models (CTMs) to investigate the sources of organic aerosol in urban and regional environments.

Aerosol Chemical Composition and its Effects on Cloud-Aerosol Interactions during the 2007 CHAPS Experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

Aerosol impacts on visible light extinction in the atmosphere of Mexico City.

PubMed

Eidels-Dubovoi, Silvia

2002-03-27

Eleven diurnal aerosol visible light absorption and scattering patterns were obtained from measurements done with an aethalometer and an integrating nephelometer during 28 February-10 March 1997 at two different sites in the Mexico City basin. Both measurement sites, the Merced site affected by regional and urban-scale aerosol and the Pedregal site dominated by regional-scale aerosol, showed a variety of diurnal light absorption and scattering patterns. For the majority of the 11 studied days, the highest absorption peaks appeared in the early morning, 07.00-09.30 h while those of scattering appeared later, 09.30-11.00 h. The earlier absorption peaks could be attributed to the elevated elemental carbon vehicular emissions during the heavy traffic hours whereas the later scattering peaks could be attributed to secondary aerosols formed photochemically in the atmosphere. During the period examined, the Pedregal site exhibited on the average a lower aerosol scattering and a higher aerosol absorption contribution to the total aerosol visible light extinction and a better visibility than that of the Merced site. Hence, the impact of aerosol absorption on the visibility degradation due to aerosols was greater at the less hazy Pedregal site. The overall 11-day aerosol visibility average of 20.9 km found at La Merced site, was only 9.4 km lower than that of 30.3 km found at the Pedregal site. This small aerosol visibility difference, of the order of the standard deviation, led to the conclusion that besides the regional-scale aerosol impact, the urban-scale aerosol impact on aerosol visible light extinction is very similar at La Merced and Pedregal sites.

Creating Aerosol Types from CHemistry (CATCH): A New Algorithm to Extend the Link Between Remote Sensing and Models

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dawson, K. W.; Meskhidze, N.; Burton, S. P.; Johnson, M. S.; Kacenelenbogen, M. S.; Hostetler, C. A.; Hu, Y.

2017-11-01

Current remote sensing methods can identify aerosol types within an atmospheric column, presenting an opportunity to incrementally bridge the gap between remote sensing and models. Here a new algorithm was designed for Creating Aerosol Types from CHemistry (CATCH). CATCH-derived aerosol types—dusty mix, maritime, urban, smoke, and fresh smoke—are based on first-generation airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-1) retrievals during the Ship-Aircraft Bio-Optical Research (SABOR) campaign, July/August 2014. CATCH is designed to derive aerosol types from model output of chemical composition. CATCH-derived aerosol types are determined by multivariate clustering of model-calculated variables that have been trained using retrievals of aerosol types from HSRL-1. CATCH-derived aerosol types (with the exception of smoke) compare well with HSRL-1 retrievals during SABOR with an average difference in aerosol optical depth (AOD) <0.03. Data analysis shows that episodic free tropospheric transport of smoke is underpredicted by the Goddard Earth Observing System- with Chemistry (GEOS-Chem) model. Spatial distributions of CATCH-derived aerosol types for the North American model domain during July/August 2014 show that aerosol type-specific AOD values occurred over representative locations: urban over areas with large population, maritime over oceans, smoke, and fresh smoke over typical biomass burning regions. This study demonstrates that model-generated information on aerosol chemical composition can be translated into aerosol types analogous to those retrieved from remote sensing methods. In the future, spaceborne HSRL-1 and CATCH can be used to gain insight into chemical composition of aerosol types, reducing uncertainties in estimates of aerosol radiative forcing.

Classification of Aerosol Retrievals from Spaceborne Polarimetry Using a Multiparameter Algorithm

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, Philip B.; Kacenelenbogen, Meloe; Livingston, John M.; Hasekamp, Otto P.; Burton, Sharon P.; Schuster, Gregory L.; Johnson, Matthew S.; Knobelspiesse, Kirk D.; Redemann, Jens; Ramachandran, S.;

60 years of UK visibility measurements: impact of meteorology and atmospheric pollutants on visibility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ajit; Bloss, William J.; Pope, Francis D.

2017-02-01

Reduced visibility is an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to road, rail, sea and air accidents. In this paper, we explore the combined influence of atmospheric aerosol particle and gas characteristics, and meteorology, on long-term visibility. We use visibility data from eight meteorological stations, situated in the UK, which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Most stations show a long-term trend of increasing visibility, which is indicative of reductions in air pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, the visibility at all sites shows a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosol particles to scatter radiation. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters, such as wind speed and wind direction, is also investigated. Most stations show long-term increases in temperature which can be ascribed to climate change, land-use changes (e.g. urban heat island effects) or a combination of both; the observed effect is greatest in urban areas. The impact of this temperature change upon local relative humidity is discussed. To explain the long-term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, the measured data were fitted to a newly developed light-extinction model to generate predictions of historic aerosol and gas scattering and absorbing properties. In general, an excellent fit was achieved between measured and modelled visibility for all eight sites. The model incorporates parameterizations of aerosol hygroscopicity, particle concentration, particle scattering, and particle and gas absorption. This new model should be applicable and is easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, historical visibility data can be used to assess trends in aerosol particle properties. This approach may help constrain global model simulations which attempt to generate aerosol fields for time periods when observational data are scarce or non-existent. Both the measured visibility and the modelled aerosol properties reported in this paper highlight the success of the UK's Clean Air Act, which was passed in 1956, in cleaning the atmosphere of visibility-reducing pollutants.

[Aerosol optical properties during different air-pollution episodes over Beijing].

PubMed

Shi, Chan-Zhen; Yu, Xing-Na; Zhou, Bin; Xiang, Lei; Nie, Hao-Hao

2013-11-01

Based on the 2005-2011 data from Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), this study conducted analysis on aerosol optical properties over Beijing during different air-pollution episodes (biomass burning, CNY firework, dust storm). The aerosol optical depth (AOD) showed notable increases in the air-pollution episodes while the AOD (at 440 nm) during dust storm was 4. 91, 4. 07 and 2.65 times higher as background, biomass burning and firework aerosols. AOD along with Angstrom exponent (alpha) can be used to determine the aerosol types. The dust aerosol had the highest AOD and the lowest alpha. The alpha value of firework (1.09) was smaller than biomass burning (1.21) and background (1.27), indicating that coarse particles were dominant in the former type. Higher AOD of burnings (than background) can be attributed to the optical extinction capability of black carbon aerosol. The single scattering albedo (SSA) was insensitive to wavelength. The SSA value of dust (0.934) was higher than background (0.878), biomass burning (0.921) and firework (0.905). Additionally, the extremely large SSA of burnings here maybe was caused by the aging smoke, hygroscopic growth and so on. The peak radius of aerosol volume size distributions were 0.1-0.2 microm and 2.24 -3.85 microm in clear and polluted conditions. The value of volume concentration ratio between coarse and fine particles was in the order of clear background (1.04), biomass burning (1.10), CNY firework (1.91) and dust storm (4.96) episode.

Aerosol physicochemical properties in relation to meteorology: Case studies in urban, marine, and arid settings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wonaschuetz, Anna

Atmospheric aerosols are a highly relevant component of the climate system affecting atmospheric radiative transfer and the hydrological cycle. As opposed to other key atmospheric constituents with climatic relevance, atmospheric aerosol particles are highly heterogeneous in time and space with respect to their size, concentration, chemical composition and physical properties. Many aspects of their life cycle are not understood, making them difficult to represent in climate models and hard to control as a pollutant. Aerosol-cloud interactions in particular are infamous as a major source of uncertainty in future climate predictions. Field measurements are an important source of information for the modeling community and can lead to a better understanding of chemical and microphysical processes. In this study, field data from urban, marine, and arid settings are analyzed and the impact of meteorological conditions on the evolution of aerosol particles while in the atmosphere is investigated. Particular attention is given to organic aerosols, which are a poorly understood component of atmospheric aerosols. Local wind characteristics, solar radiation, relative humidity and the presence or absence of clouds and fog are found to be crucial factors in the transport and chemical evolution of aerosol particles. Organic aerosols in particular are found to be heavily impacted by processes in the liquid phase (cloud droplets and aerosol water). The reported measurements serve to improve the process-level understanding of aerosol evolution in different environments and to inform the modeling community by providing realistic values for input parameters and validation of model calculations.

The fluorescence properties of aerosol larger than 0.8 μm in urban and tropical rainforest locations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gabey, A. M.; Stanley, W. R.; Gallagher, M. W.; Kaye, P. H.

2011-06-01

UV-LIF measurements were performed on ambient aerosol in Manchester, UK (urban city centre, winter) and Borneo, Malaysia (remote, tropical) using a Wide Issue Bioaerosol Spectrometer, version 3 (WIBS3). These sites are taken to represent environments with minor and significant primary biological aerosol (PBA) influences respectively, and the urban dataset describes the fluorescent background aerosol against which PBA must be identified by researchers using LIF. The ensemble aerosol at both sites was characterised over 2-3 weeks by measuring the fluorescence intensity and optical equivalent diameter (DP) of single particles sized 0.8 ≤ DP ≤ 20 μm. Filter samples were also collected for a subset of the Manchester campaign and analysed using energy dispersive X-Ray (EDX) spectroscopy and environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM), which revealed mostly non-PBA at D ≤ 1 μm. The WIBS3 features three fluorescence channels: the emission following a 280 nm excitation is recorded at 310-400 nm (channel F1) and 400-600 nm (F2), and fluorescence excited at 350 nm is detected at 400-600 nm (F3). In Manchester the primary size mode of fluorescent and non-fluorescent material was present at 0.8-1.2 μm, with a secondary fluorescent mode at 2-4 μm. In Borneo non-fluorescent material peaked at 0.8-1.2 μm and fluorescent at 3-4 μm. Agreement between fluorescent number concentrations in each channel differed at the two sites, with F1 and F3 reporting similar concentrations in Borneo but F3 outnumbering F1 by a factor of 2-3 across the size spectrum in Manchester. The fluorescence intensity in each channel generally rose with DP at both sites with the exception of F1 intensity in Manchester, which peaked at DP = 4 μm, causing a divergence between F1 and F3 intensity at larger DP. This divergence and the differing fluorescent particle concentrations demonstrate the additional discrimination provided by the F1 channel in Manchester. The relationships between fluorescence intensities in different pairs of channels were also investigated as a function of DP. Differences between these metrics were apparent at each site and provide some distinction between the two datasets. Finally, particle selection criteria based on the Borneo dataset were applied to identify a median concentration of 10 "Borneo-like" fluorescent particles per litre in Manchester.

AN INVESTIGATION OF THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN GAS-PHASE AND AEROSOL-BORNE HYDROPEROXIDES IN URBAN AIR. (R827352)

EPA Science Inventory

Simultaneous measurements of hydroperoxides in both the gas- and the aerosol-phase have been made for the first time. In addition, hydroperoxide levels in the ‘coarse’ (>PM₂) and ‘fine’ (PM₂) aerosol modes have been characteriz...

The sources and fate of (210)Po in the urban air: A review.

PubMed

Długosz-Lisiecka, Magdalena

2016-09-01

The origin of (210)Po activity and its fluctuations in the air are discussed in this paper. In the case of atmospheric aerosol samples, a comparison of the (210)Po/(210)Pb and (210)Bi/(210)Pb activity ratios makes it possible not only to determine aerosol residence times but also to appraise the contribution of the unsupported (210)Po coming from other sources than (222)Rn decay, such as human industrial activities, especially coal combustion. A simple mathematical method makes it possible to observe the seasonal fluctuations of the anthropogenic excess of (210)Po in the urban air. The average doses of (210)Po intake with food (including drinking water) and inhalation of urban aerosols are usually lower than those from (210)Po intake by cigarette smokers and negligible in comparison to total natural radiation exposure. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Evolution of air pollution source contributions over one decade, derived by PM10 and PM2.5 source apportionment in two metropolitan urban areas in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diapouli, E.; Manousakas, M.; Vratolis, S.; Vasilatou, V.; Maggos, Th; Saraga, D.; Grigoratos, Th; Argyropoulos, G.; Voutsa, D.; Samara, C.; Eleftheriadis, K.

2017-09-01

Metropolitan Urban areas in Greece have been known to suffer from poor air quality, due to variety of emission sources, topography and climatic conditions favouring the accumulation of pollution. While a number of control measures have been implemented since the 1990s, resulting in reductions of atmospheric pollution and changes in emission source contributions, the financial crisis which started in 2009 has significantly altered this picture. The present study is the first effort to assess the contribution of emission sources to PM10 and PM2.5 concentration levels and their long-term variability (over 5-10 years), in the two largest metropolitan urban areas in Greece (Athens and Thessaloniki). Intensive measurement campaigns were conducted during 2011-2012 at suburban, urban background and urban traffic sites in these two cities. In addition, available datasets from previous measurements in Athens and Thessaloniki were used in order to assess the long-term variability of concentrations and sources. Chemical composition analysis of the 2011-2012 samples showed that carbonaceous matter was the most abundant component for both PM size fractions. Significant increase of carbonaceous particle concentrations and of OC/EC ratio during the cold period, especially in the residential urban background sites, pointed towards domestic heating and more particularly wood (biomass) burning as a significant source. PMF analysis further supported this finding. Biomass burning was the largest contributing source at the two urban background sites (with mean contributions for the two size fractions in the range of 24-46%). Secondary aerosol formation (sulphate, nitrate & organics) was also a major contributing source for both size fractions at the suburban and urban background sites. At the urban traffic site, vehicular traffic (exhaust and non-exhaust emissions) was the source with the highest contributions, accounting for 44% of PM10 and 37% of PM2.5, respectively. The long-term variability of emission sources in the two cities (over 5-10 years), assessed through a harmonized application of the PMF technique on recent and past year data, clearly demonstrates the effective reduction in emissions during the last decade due to control measures and technological development; however, it also reflects the effects of the financial crisis in Greece during these years, which has led to decreased economic activities and the adoption of more polluting practices by the local population in an effort to reduce living costs.

Separating Dust Mixtures and Other External Aerosol Mixtures Using Airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Burton, S. P.; Ferrare, R. A.; Vaughan, M.; Hostetler, C. A.; Rogers, R. R.; Hair, J. W.; Cook, A. L.; Harper, D. B.

2013-12-01

Knowledge of aerosol type is important for source attribution and for determining the magnitude and assessing the consequences of aerosol radiative forcing. The NASA Langley Research Center airborne High Spectral Resolution Lidar (HSRL-1) has acquired considerable datasets of both aerosol extensive parameters (e.g. aerosol optical depth) and intensive parameters (e.g. aerosol depolarization ratio, lidar ratio) that can be used to infer aerosol type. An aerosol classification methodology has been used extensively to classify HSRL-1 aerosol measurements of different aerosol types including dust, smoke, urban pollution, and marine aerosol. However, atmospheric aerosol is frequently not a single pure type, but instead occurs as a mixture of types, and this mixing affects the optical and radiative properties of the aerosol. Here we present a comprehensive and unified set of rules for characterizing external mixtures using several key aerosol intensive parameters: extinction-to-backscatter ratio (i.e. lidar ratio), backscatter color ratio, and depolarization ratio. Our mixing rules apply not just to the scalar values of aerosol intensive parameters, but to multi-dimensional normal distributions with variance in each measurement dimension. We illustrate the applicability of the mixing rules using examples of HSRL-1 data where mixing occurred between different aerosol types, including advected Saharan dust mixed with the marine boundary layer in the Caribbean Sea and locally generated dust mixed with urban pollution in the Mexico City surroundings. For each of these cases we infer a time-height cross section of mixing ratio along the flight track and we partition aerosol extinction into portions attributed to the two pure types. Since multiple aerosol intensive parameters are measured and included in these calculations, the techniques can also be used for cases without significant depolarization (unlike similar work by earlier researchers), and so a third example of a mixture of smoke plus marine aerosol is also explored.

Physico-chemical characterization of Mediterranean background aerosol at the Capogranitola observatory (Sicily)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rinaldi, Matteo; Gilardoni, Stefania; Paglione, Marco; Sandrini, Silvia; Decesari, Stefano; Zanca, Nicola; Marinoni, Angela; Cristofanelli, Paolo; Bonasoni, Paolo; Ielpo, Piera; Fossum, Kirsten; Gobbi, Gian Paolo; Facchini, Maria Cristina

2017-04-01

The Mediterranean basin is characterized by elevated aerosol amounts and co-existence of different aerosol types, both natural and anthropogenic, while it is one of the most climatically sensitive areas. Therefore, it offers ideal conditions for studying aerosol processes and aerosol-climate interactions. An intensive aerosol physico-chemical characterization campaign was held at the Environmental-Climatic Observatory at Capo Granitola (Sicily; 37.5753° N, 12.6595° E) during April 2016, under the framework of the project Air-Sea Lab. The Observatory is located at the coast-line, facing the Strait of Sicily, and is part of the national I-AMICA network (http://www.i-amica.it/i-amica/?lang=en). Sub-micrometer aerosol chemical composition was measured by high resolution time of flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS), for the first time at Capogranitola. Sea-salt concentration was estimated from AMS measurements following Ovadnevaite et al. (2012). For a complete mass closure of the submicron aerosol, black carbon (BC) concentration was derived from multiangle absorption photometer (MAAP) measurements. Positive matrix factorization was deployed to investigate organic aerosol (OA) sources at the site. Aerosol chemical composition confirms that Capogranitola is a representative background site, with generally low contribution of BC and nitrate and highly oxidized OA. In particular, aerosol sampled in the marine sector (130-310°) is less affected by local sources and it is likely representative of the central Mediterranean background. Aerosol in background conditions is dominated by sulfate and OA (37% and 31%), followed by ammonium (12%), sea-salt (10%), BC (6%) and nitrate (3%). The average reconstructed sub-micrometer aerosol mass in background conditions is 3.7±2.3 μg m-3. OA source apportionment shows a minor contribution from primary sources, with hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA), from fossil fuel combustion, contributing for 3% and biomass burning OA (BBOA) for 2%. Oxidized OA (OOA) dominates the rest of OA mass. In particular, OOA1 and OOA2 (70% in total, OM:OC ˜ 2.5) represent the result of prolonged atmospheric processing of OA, while OOA3 (25%, OM:OC ˜ 2.0) clearly represents fresher inputs of OOA from land. Investigation of HOA and BC time trends suggests that HOA in background conditions may be strongly contributed by ship traffic more than by land sources. The representativity of the background aerosol collected at Capogranitola will be discussed by comparing with measurements performed in parallel at the other I-AMICA southern Italy coastal stations and with those acquired in a subsequent cruise (May-June 2016) around the Italian Peninsula. Aerosol climate relevant properties, in relation with chemical composition, will be also presented and discussed. Ovadnevaite J. et al. (2012), J. Geophys. Res., 117, D16201.

Measurements of the aerosol chemical composition and mixing state in the Po Valley using multiple spectroscopic techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decesari, S.; Allan, J.; Plass-Duelmer, C.; Williams, B. J.; Paglione, M.; Facchini, M. C.; O'Dowd, C.; Harrison, R. M.; Gietl, J. K.; Coe, H.; Giulianelli, L.; Gobbi, G. P.; Lanconelli, C.; Carbone, C.; Worsnop, D.; Lambe, A. T.; Ahern, A. T.; Moretti, F.; Tagliavini, E.; Elste, T.; Gilge, S.; Zhang, Y.; Dall'Osto, M.

2014-11-01

The use of co-located multiple spectroscopic techniques can provide detailed information on the atmospheric processes regulating aerosol chemical composition and mixing state. So far, field campaigns heavily equipped with aerosol mass spectrometers have been carried out mainly in large conurbations and in areas directly affected by their outflow, whereas lesser efforts have been dedicated to continental areas characterised by a less dense urbanisation. We present here the results obtained at a background site in the Po Valley, Italy, in summer 2009. For the first time in Europe, six state-of-the-art spectrometric techniques were used in parallel: aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), two aerosol mass spectrometers (high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer - HR-ToF-AMS and soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer - SP-AMS), thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatography (TAG), chemical ionisation mass spectrometry (CIMS) and (offline) proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H-NMR) spectroscopy. The results indicate that, under high-pressure conditions, atmospheric stratification at night and early morning hours led to the accumulation of aerosols produced by anthropogenic sources distributed over the Po Valley plain. Such aerosols include primary components such as black carbon (BC), secondary semivolatile compounds such as ammonium nitrate and amines and a class of monocarboxylic acids which correspond to the AMS cooking organic aerosol (COA) already identified in urban areas. In daytime, the entrainment of aged air masses in the mixing layer is responsible for the accumulation of low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOA) and also for the recycling of non-volatile primary species such as black carbon. According to organic aerosol source apportionment, anthropogenic aerosols accumulating in the lower layers overnight accounted for 38% of organic aerosol mass on average, another 21% was accounted for by aerosols recirculated in residual layers but still originating in northern Italy, while a substantial fraction (41%) was due to the most aged aerosols imported from transalpine areas. The different meteorological regimes also affected the BC mixing state: in periods of enhanced stagnation and recirculation of pollutants, the number fraction of the BC-containing particles determined by ATOFMS was 75% of the total, while in the days of enhanced ventilation of the planetary boundary layer (PBL), such fraction was significantly lower (50%) because of the relative greater influence of non-BC-containing aerosol local sources in the Po Valley. Overall, a full internal mixing between BC and the non-refractory aerosol chemical components was not observed during the experiment in this environment.

Contribution of particulate brown carbon to light absorption in the rural and urban Southeast US

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Devi, J. Jai; Bergin, Michael H.; Mckenzie, Michael; Schauer, James J.; Weber, Rodney J.

2016-07-01

Measurements of wavelength dependent aerosol light absorption coefficients were carried out as part of the Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS) during the summer of 2013 to determine the contribution of light absorbing organic carbon (BrC) to total aerosol light absorption in a rural location (Centreville, AL) and an urban area (Atlanta, GA). The light absorption coefficients in the near UV and visible wavelengths were measured for both ambient air, as well as ambient air heated in a thermal denuder to 200 °C to remove the semi-volatile organic compounds. Atlanta measurements show dominance of semi-volatile brown carbon with an average absorption angstrom exponent (AAE) of 1.4 before heating and about 1.0 after heating. In urban Atlanta, a decrease of about ∼35% in the light absorption coefficient at 370 nm after heating indicates that light absorbing organic compounds are a substantial fraction of the light absorption budget. Furthermore, a considerable increase in the fraction of light absorption by the semi-volatile aerosol occurs during the daytime, likely linked with photochemistry. Measurements at rural Centerville, on the other hand, do not show any major change in AAE with values before and after heating of 0.99 and 0.98, respectively. Overall the results suggest that photochemical aged urban emissions result in the presence of light absorbing BrC, while at rural locations which are dominated by aged aerosol and local biogenic emissions (based on measurements of Angstrom exponents) BrC does not significantly contribute to light absorption.

FDATMOS16 non-linear partitioning and organic volatility distributions in urban aerosols

DOE PAGES

Madronich, Sasha; Kleinman, Larry; Conley, Andrew; ...

2015-12-17

Gas-to-particle partitioning of organic aerosols (OA) is represented in most models by Raoult’s law, and depends on the existing mass of particles into which organic gases can dissolve. This raises the possibility of non-linear response of particle-phase OA to the emissions of precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to this partitioning mass. Implications for air quality management are evident: A strong non-linear dependence would suggest that reductions in VOC emission would have a more-than-proportionate benefit in lowering ambient OA concentrations. Chamber measurements on simple VOC mixtures generally confirm the non-linear scaling between OA and VOCs, usually stated as amore » mass-dependence of the measured OA yields. However, for realistic ambient conditions including urban settings, no single component dominates the composition of the organic particles, and deviations from linearity are presumed to be small. Here we re-examine the linearity question using volatility spectra from several sources: (1) chamber studies of selected aerosols, (2) volatility inferred for aerosols sampled in two megacities, Mexico City and Paris, and (3) an explicit chemistry model (GECKO-A). These few available volatility distributions suggest that urban OA may be only slightly super-linear, with most values of the sensitivity exponent in the range 1.1-1.3, also substantially lower than seen in chambers for some specific aerosols. Furthermore, the rather low values suggest that OA concentrations in megacities are not an inevitable convergence of non-linear effects, but can be addressed (much like in smaller urban areas) by proportionate reductions in emissions.« less

Tracing dust transport from Middle-East over Delhi in March 2012 using metal and lead isotope composition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, S.; Aggarwal, S. G.; Malherbe, J.; Barre, J. P. G.; Berail, S.; Gupta, P. K.; Donard, O. F. X.

2016-05-01

A severe dust-storm which was originated in Middle-East crossed over Delhi during March 20-22, 2012. We have collected these dust-storm (DS) aerosol samples, and analyzed them for selected metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Sb, Se, Sn, Sr, V and Zn) together with after dust-storm (ADS) and winter (WS) samples. High aerosol mass loadings were observed in DS samples (1097-1965 μg/m3). On the contrary, metals derived prominently from the anthropogenic sources were found lower in concentration compared to that of ADS and WS aerosols. We observed significantly high concentrations of Ni and V (which are abundantly found in crude oils of Middle-East origin) in the DS samples than that of ADS and WS samples. Also enrichment factor (EF) of these metals with respect to Fe shows no significant enrichment (<10). Fe (and Sr) concentrations were also 3-5 fold higher in DS samples compared to ADS and WS. These results suggest that Ni and V can be used as tracers for dust aerosols transported from Middle-East region. Lead isotope signatures can tell about the variation in the sources of urban aerosols. Therefore Pb isotope analyses of these samples were performed using MC-ICP-MS. The isotope ratios, 208Pb/206Pb is determined to be (mean ± sd) 2.1315 ± 0.0018, 2.1370 ± 0.0022 and 2.1389 ± 0.0016, whereas 206Pb/207Pb is 1.1311 ± 0.0022, 1.1244 ± 0.0017 and 1.1233 ± 0.0016 in DS, ADS and WS aerosols, respectively. There is a clear distinction in Pb isotope composition between DS and urban (ADS and WS) aerosols. Further, these results suggest that in urban aerosols, Pb is less radiogenic in nature compared to that of in transported dust aerosols collected in New Delhi.

Size-resolved particulate water-soluble organic compounds in the urban, mountain and marine atmosphere

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, G.; Kawamura, K.; Xie, M.; Hu, S.; Zhou, B.; Li, J.; Cao, J.; An, Z.

2010-07-01

Primary (i.e., sugars and sugar alcohols) and secondary water-soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) (i.e., dicarboxylic acids and aromatic acids) were characterised on a molecular level in size-segregated aerosols from the urban and mountain atmosphere of China and from the marine atmosphere in the outflow region of East Asia. Levoglucosan is the most abundant WSOCs in the urban and mountain atmosphere, whose accumulated concentrations in all stages are 1-3 orders of magnitude higher than those of marine aerosols. In contrast, malic, succinic and phthalic acids are dominant in the marine aerosols, which are 3-6 times more abundant than levoglucosan. This suggests that a continuous formation of secondary organic aerosols is occurring in the marine atmosphere during the long-range transport of air mass from inland China to the North Pacific. Sugars and sugar-alcohols, except for levoglucosan, gave a bimodal size distribution in the urban and mountain areas, peaking at 0.7-1.1 μm and >3.3 μm, and a unimodal distribution in the marine region, peaking at >3.3 μm. In contrast, levoglucosan and all the secondary WSOCs, except for benzoic and azelaic acids, showed a unimodal size distribution with a peak at 0.7-1.1 μm. Geometric mean diameters (GMDs) of the WSOCs in fine particles (<2.1 μm) at the urban site are larger in winter than in spring, due to an enhanced coagulation effect under the development of an inversion layer. However, GMDs of levoglucosan and most of the secondary WSOCs in the coarse mode are larger in the mountain and marine air and smaller in the urban air. This is most likely caused by an enhanced hygroscopic growth due to the high humidity of the mountain and marine atmosphere.

Uptake of Elements From Aerosols by Humans ~ A Case Study From Delhi & Bangalore Cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anand, S.; Yadav, S.; Jain, V. K.

2006-05-01

Aerosol research has gained tremendous importance globally due to the cumulative effects of increasing industrialization and urbanization on aerosol production which can have an alarming impact on the climate of the planet as well as the health of its inhabitants. Therefore, there is an increasing need to study aerosols for all of their physicochemical and biological aspects on both local and global scales. World over extensive research has gone into studying the physical and the chemical aspects of aerosols. However, little information is yet available on the health impacts of aerosols particularly in the Asian context. Here we report uptake of various elements that are concentrated in aerosols by the human body in Delhi and Bangalore cities and their possible health effects. In many urban areas, for example in Delhi, inhalable fractions of aerosols are known to have high concentrations of elements such as Cu, Zn, Pb, Ba, Ni and Cr (Yadav and Rajamani 2004). Also aerosols in the North West part of India seem to be particularly enriched in these elements. If so, there is a high possibility of these elements getting into the human system either directly or indirectly through water and food. To determine the concentrations of these elements that are present in significant concentrations in the inhalable fractions of aerosols, human hair and blood samples are used as proxies. Both these regions have contrasting geographic and climatic conditions. Delhi (altitude : 213-305m above MSL) located on the fringes of the Thar desert which supplies considerable amount of dust, is semi-arid with annual rainfall of 60-80 cms & temperatures varying between 1° - 45°. Bangalore (altitude of 900m above MSL) receives a high annual rainfall of 80-100 cms and being located on the fringes of tropical forests of the Sahyadri Mountains (Western Ghats) receives little crustal contribution to the aerosols. Samples from least polluted mountainous areas of Himalayas (Gangothri) and Sahyadri (Ooty) were also collected as reference samples. All the samples were digested in a microwave system. Elemental analyses were carried out using both ICP-MS and ICP-AES methods using multi-element standard solutions from Merck. The elements analyzed include Al, Ca, Mg, Ni, Cu, Ba, Zn, Pb, Cr, Sr, K, Na, Si, and P in about 100 samples of blood and hair. Preliminary results indicate a possible human uptake of elements from the aerosols. In comparison to the international reference and local background values (Gangothri), Delhi and Bangalore samples of human hair and blood show significant enrichment of these elements. Samples from Gangothri are comparable to those of the international reference values. Delhi samples have much higher concentrations of several elements, especially Al, Zn, Pb and Cu. Although the Bangalore samples are also enriched compared to the reference values, they are much less enriched relative to the Delhi samples. Bangalore samples have negligible contributions from the crustal aerosols as compared to the Delhi samples where the crustal contributions seem to be very high. Elements enriched in the PM 10 aerosols or the respirable fractions include Ca, Mg, Al (crustal) and Ba, Zn,Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr (anthropogenic). In all the samples, hair seems to be a better long term indicator of elemental uptake compared to blood. The health effect of aerosols can be several as indicated by studies elsewhere and will be discussed.

Comprehensive characterisation of atmospheric aerosols in Budapest, Hungary: physicochemical properties of inorganic species

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salma, Imre; Maenhaut, Willy; Zemplén-Papp, Éva; Záray, Gyula

As part of an air pollution project in Budapest, aerosol samples were collected by stacked filter units and cascade impactors at an urban background site, two downtown sites, and within a road tunnel in field campaigns conducted in 1996, 1998 and 1999. Some criteria pollutants were also measured at one of the downtown sites. The aerosol samples were analysed by one or more of the following methods: instrumental neutron activation analysis, particle-induced X-ray emission analysis, a light reflection technique, gravimetry, thermal profiling carbon analysis and capillary electrophoresis. The quantities measured or derived include atmospheric concentrations of elements (from Na to U), of particulate matter, of black and elemental carbon, and total carbonaceous fraction, of some ionic species (e.g., nitrate and sulphate) in the fine ( <2 μm equivalent aerodynamic diameter, EAD) or in both coarse (10- 2 μm EAD) and fine size fractions, atmospheric concentrations of NO, NO 2, SO 2, CO and total suspended particulate matter, and meteorological parameters. The analytical results were used for characterisation of the concentration levels, elemental composition, time trends, enrichment of and relationships among the aerosol species in coarse and fine size fractions, for studying their fine-to-coarse concentration ratios, spatial and temporal variability, for determining detailed elemental mass size distributions, and for examining the extent of chemical mass closure.

Local source impacts on primary and secondary aerosols in the Midwestern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayarathne, Thilina; Rathnayake, Chathurika M.; Stone, Elizabeth A.

2016-04-01

Atmospheric particulate matter (PM) exhibits heterogeneity in composition across urban areas, leading to poor representation of outdoor air pollutants in human exposure assessments. To examine heterogeneity in PM composition and sources across an urban area, fine particulate matter samples (PM2.5) were chemically profiled in Iowa City, IA from 25 August to 10 November 2011 at two monitoring stations. The urban site is the federal reference monitoring (FRM) station in the city center and the peri-urban site is located 8.0 km to the west on the city edge. Measurements of PM2.5 carbonaceous aerosol, inorganic ions, molecular markers for primary sources, and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers were used to assess statistical differences in composition and sources across the two sites. PM2.5 mass ranged from 3 to 26 μg m-3 during this period, averaging 11.2 ± 4.9 μg m-3 (n = 71). Major components of PM2.5 at the urban site included organic carbon (OC; 22%), ammonium (14%), sulfate (13%), nitrate (7%), calcium (2.9%), and elemental carbon (EC; 2.2%). Periods of elevated PM were driven by increases in ammonium, sulfate, and SOA tracers that coincided with hot and dry conditions and southerly winds. Chemical mass balance (CMB) modeling was used to apportion OC to primary sources; biomass burning, vegetative detritus, diesel engines, and gasoline engines accounted for 28% of OC at the urban site and 24% of OC at the peri-urban site. Secondary organic carbon from isoprene and monoterpene SOA accounted for an additional 13% and 6% of OC at the urban and peri-urban sites, respectively. Differences in biogenic SOA across the two sites were associated with enhanced combustion activities in the urban area and higher aerosol acidity at the urban site. Major PM constituents (e.g., OC, ammonium, sulfate) were generally well-represented by a single monitoring station, indicating a regional source influence. Meanwhile, nitrate, biomass burning, food cooking, suspended dust, and biogenic SOA were not well-represented by a single site and demonstrated local influences. For isoprene SOA, product distributions indicated a larger role for the high-NOx pathway at the urban site. These local sources are largely responsible for differences in population exposures to outdoor PM in the study domain located within the Midwestern US.

A study of remotely sensed aerosol properties from ground-based sun and sky scanning radiometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Giles, David M.

Aerosol particles impact human health by degrading air quality and affect climate by heating or cooling the atmosphere. The Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) of Northern India, one of the most populous regions in the world, produces and is impacted by a variety of aerosols including pollution, smoke, dust, and mixtures of them. The NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) mesoscale distribution of Sun and sky-pointing instruments in India was established to measure aerosol characteristics at sites across the IGP and around Kanpur, India, a large urban and industrial center in the IGP, during the 2008 pre-monsoon (April-June). This study focused on detecting spatial and temporal variability of aerosols, validating satellite retrievals, and classifying the dominant aerosol mixing states and origins. The Kanpur region typically experiences high aerosol loading due to pollution and smoke during the winter and high aerosol loading due to the addition of dust to the pollution and smoke mixture during the pre-monsoon. Aerosol emissions in Kanpur likely contribute up to 20% of the aerosol loading during the pre-monsoon over the IGP. Aerosol absorption also increases significantly downwind of Kanpur indicating the possibility of the black carbon emissions from aerosol sources such as coal-fired power plants and brick kilns. Aerosol retrievals from satellite show a high bias when compared to the mesoscale distributed instruments around Kanpur during the pre-monsoon with few high quality retrievals due to imperfect aerosol type and land surface characteristic assumptions. Aerosol type classification using the aerosol absorption, size, and shape properties can identify dominant aerosol mixing states of absorbing dust and black carbon particles. Using 19 long-term AERONET sites near various aerosol source regions (Dust, Mixed, Urban/Industrial, and Biomass Burning), aerosol absorption property statistics are expanded upon and show significant differences when compared to previous work. The sensitivity of absorption properties is evaluated and quantified with respect to aerosol retrieval uncertainty. Using clustering analysis, aerosol absorption and size relationships provide a simple method to classify aerosol mixing states and origins and potentially improve aerosol retrievals from ground-based and satellite-based instrumentation.

Simultaneously combining AOD and multiple trace gas measurements to identify decadal changes in urban and biomass burning aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, Jason

2017-04-01

This work presents a methodology by which to comprehensively analyze simultaneous tropospheric measurements of AOD and associated trace gasses. It then applies this methodology by focusing over the past 11 years (2006-2016) on one of the most rapidly changing regions of the troposphere: Eastern and Southeastern Asia. The specific work presented incorporates measurements of both aerosol and related gas phase tropospheric measurements across different spectral, spatial, temporal, and passive/active sensors and properties, including: MODIS, MISR, OMI, CALIOP, and others. This new characterization reveals a trio of new information, including a time-invariant urban signal, slowly-time-varying new-urbanization signal, and a rapidly time-varying biomass burning signal. Additionally, due to the different chemical properties of the various species analyzed, analyzing the different spatial domains of the resulting products allows for further information in terms of the amounts of aerosols produced both through primary emissions as well as secondary processing. The end result is a new characterization, in space, time, and magnitude, of both anthropogenic and biomass burning aerosols. These results are then used to drive an advanced modeling system including aerosol chemistry, physics, optics, and transport, and employing an aerosol routine based on multi-modal and both externally mixed and core-shell mixing. The resulting characterization in space, time, and quantity is analyzed and compared against AERONET, NOAA, and other ground networks, with the results comparing consistently to or better than present approaches which set up net emissions separately from urban and biomass burning products. Scientifically, new source regions of emissions are identified, some of which were previously non-urbanized or found to not contain any fire hotspots. This new approach is consistent with the underlying economic and development pathways of expanding urban areas and rapid economic growth throughout Southeast and East Asia. Furthermore, findings are made which are consistent with many individual previous studies, such as the significance of vertical transport and subsequent long-range transport throughout the Northern Hemisphere, and the intra-annual and inter-annual variations in fires due to El-Nino. Such knowledge can allow us to better understand the consequences and impacts of the rapid ongoing changes occurring in these regions.

Integrating multiple remote sensing and surface measurements with models, to quantify and constrain the past decade's total 4D aerosol source profile and impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cohen, J. B.; Lan, R.; Lin, C.; Ng, D. H. L.; Lim, A.

2017-12-01

A multi-instrument, inverse modeling approach, is employed to identify and quantify large-scale global biomass urban aerosol emissions profiles. The approach uses MISR, MODIS, OMI and MOPITT, with data from 2006 to 2016, to generate spatial and temporal loads, as well as some information about composition. The method is able to identify regions impacted by stable urban sources, changing urban sources, intense fires, and linear-combinations. Subsequent quantification is a unified field, leading to a less biased profile, with the result not requiring arbitrary scaling to match long-term means. Additionally, the result reasonably reproduces inter and intra annual variation. Both meso-scale (WRF-CHEM) and global (MIT-AERO, multi-mode, multi-mixing state aerosol model) models of aerosol transport, chemistry, and physics, are used to generate resulting 4D aerosol fields. Comparisons with CALIOP, AERONET, and surface chemical and aerosol networks, provide unbiased confirmation, while column and vertical loadings provide additional feedback. There are three significant results. First, there is a reduction in sources over existing urban areas in East Asia. Second, there is an increase in sources over new urban areas in South, South East, and East Asia. Third, that there is an increase in fire sources in South and South East Asia. There are other initial findings relevant to the global tropics, which have not been as deeply investigated. The results improve the model match with both the mean and variation, which is essential if we hope to understand seasonal extremes. The results also quantify impacts of both local and long-range sources. This is of extreme urgency, in particular in developing nations, where there are considerable contributions from long-range or otherwise unknown sources, that impact hundreds of millions of people throughout Asia. It is hoped that the approach provided here can help us to make critical decisions about total sources, as well as point out the many missing scientific and analytical issues still required to address.

North Atlantic Aerosol Properties and Direct Radiative Effects: Key Results from TARFOX and ACE-2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Russell, P. B.; Livingston, J. M.; Schmid, B.; Bergstrom, Robert A.; Hignett, P.; Hobbs, P. V.; Durkee, P. A.

2000-01-01

Aerosol effects on atmospheric radiative fluxes provide a forcing function that can change the climate In potentially significant ways. This aerosol radiative forcing is a major source of uncertainty in understanding the observed climate change of the past century and in predicting future climate. To help reduce this uncertainty, the International Global Atmospheric Chemistry Project (IGAC) has endorsed a series of multiplatform aerosol field campaigns. The Tropospheric Aerosol Radiative Forcing Observational Experiment (TARFOX) and the second Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-2) were the first IGAC campaigns to address the impact of anthropogenic aerosols, Both TARFOX and ACE-2 gathered extensive data sets on aerosol properties and radiative effects, TARFOX focused on the urban-industrial haze plume flowing from the eastern United States over the western Atlantic Ocean, whereas ACE-2 studied aerosols carried over the eastern Atlantic from both European urban/industrial and African mineral sources. These aerosols often have a marked influence on the top-of-atmosphere radiances measured by satellites. Shown there are contours of aerosol optical depth derived from radiances measured by the AVHRR sensor on the NOAA-11 satellite. The contours readily show that aerosols originating in North America, Europe, and Africa impact the radiative properties of air over the North Atlantic. However, the accurate derivation of flux changes, or radiative forcing, from the satellite measured radiances or retrieved optical depths remains a difficult challenge. In this paper we summarize key initial results from TARFOX and, to a lesser extent, ACE-2, with a focus on those results that allow an improved assessment of the flux changes caused by North Atlantic aerosols at middle latitudes.

Chemical characterization and source identification of PM2.5 at multiple sites in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Xiaojuan; Liu, Zirui; Liu, Jingyun; Hu, Bo; Wen, Tianxue; Tang, Guiqian; Zhang, Junke; Wu, Fangkun; Ji, Dongsheng; Wang, Lili; Wang, Yuesi

2017-11-01

The simultaneous observation and analysis of atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) on a regional scale is an important approach to develop control strategies for haze pollution. In this study, samples of filtered PM2.5 were collected simultaneously at three urban sites (Beijing, Tianjin, and Shijiazhuang) and at a regional background site (Xinglong) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region from June 2014 to April 2015. The PM2.5 at the four sites was mainly comprised of organic matter, secondary inorganic ions, and mineral dust. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) demonstrated that, on an annual basis, secondary inorganic aerosol was the largest PM2.5 source in this region, accounting for 29.2-40.5 % of the PM2.5 mass at the urban sites; the second-largest PM2.5 source was motor vehicle exhaust, particularly in Beijing (24.9 %), whereas coal combustion was also a large source in Tianjin (12.4 %) and Shijiazhuang (15.5 %), with particular dominance in winter. Secondary inorganic aerosol plays a vital role in the haze process, with the exception of the spring haze in Shijiazhuang and Tianjin, for which the dust source was crucial. In addition to secondary transformations, local direct emissions (coal combustion and motor vehicle exhaust) significantly contribute to the winter haze at the urban sites. Moreover, with the aggravation of haze pollution, the OC / EC mass ratio of PM2.5 decreased considerably and the nitrate-rich secondary aerosol increased during all four seasons in Beijing, both of which indicate that local motor vehicle emissions significantly contribute to the severe haze episodes in Beijing. To assess the impacts of regional transport on haze pollution, the PMF results were further processed with backward-trajectory cluster analysis, revealing that haze pollution usually occurred when air masses originating from polluted industrial regions in the south prevailed and is characterized by high PM2.5 loadings with considerable contributions from secondary aerosols. This study suggests that control strategies to mitigate haze pollution in the BTH region should focus on the reduction of gaseous precursor emissions from fossil fuel combustion (motor vehicle emissions in Beijing and coal combustion in Tianjin, Hebei, and nearby provinces).

A Simple and Universal Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm for Landsat Series Images Over Complex Surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Jing; Huang, Bo; Sun, Lin; Zhang, Zhaoyang; Wang, Lunche; Bilal, Muhammad

2017-12-01

Operational aerosol optical depth (AOD) products are available at coarse spatial resolutions from several to tens of kilometers. These resolutions limit the application of these products for monitoring atmospheric pollutants at the city level. Therefore, a simple, universal, and high-resolution (30 m) Landsat aerosol retrieval algorithm over complex urban surfaces is developed. The surface reflectance is estimated from a combination of top of atmosphere reflectance at short-wave infrared (2.22 μm) and Landsat 4-7 surface reflectance climate data records over densely vegetated areas and bright areas. The aerosol type is determined using the historical aerosol optical properties derived from the local urban Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) site (Beijing). AERONET ground-based sun photometer AOD measurements from five sites located in urban and rural areas are obtained to validate the AOD retrievals. Terra MODerate resolution Imaging Spectrometer Collection (C) 6 AOD products (MOD04) including the dark target (DT), the deep blue (DB), and the combined DT and DB (DT&DB) retrievals at 10 km spatial resolution are obtained for comparison purposes. Validation results show that the Landsat AOD retrievals at a 30 m resolution are well correlated with the AERONET AOD measurements (R2 = 0.932) and that approximately 77.46% of the retrievals fall within the expected error with a low mean absolute error of 0.090 and a root-mean-square error of 0.126. Comparison results show that Landsat AOD retrievals are overall better and less biased than MOD04 AOD products, indicating that the new algorithm is robust and performs well in AOD retrieval over complex surfaces. The new algorithm can provide continuous and detailed spatial distributions of AOD during both low and high aerosol loadings.

Analysis of Fine and Coarse mode Aerosol Distributions from AERONET's mini-DRAGON Set-up at Singapore 2012

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salinas Cortijo, S. V.; Chew, B. N.; Muller, A.; Liew, S.

2013-12-01

Aerosol optical depth combined with the Angstrom exponent and its derivative, are often used as a qualitative indicator of aerosol type and particle size regime. In Singapore, the sources of aerosols are mostly from fossil fuel burning (energy stations, incinerators, urban transport etc.) and from industrial and urban areas. However, depending on the time of the year (July-October), there can be a strong bio-mass component originated from uncontrolled forest/plantation fires from the neighboring land masses of Sumatra and Borneo. Unlike urban/fossil fuel aerosols, smoke or bio-mass related aerosol particles are typically characterized by showing a large optical depth and small, sub-micron particle size distributions. Trans-boundary smoke episodes has become an annual phenomenon in this region. Severe episodes were recorded in 1997 and 2006 and other minor episodes happened during 2002, 2004, 2010 and more recently on 2013. On August-September 2012, as part of CRISP participation on the August-September ground campaign of the Southeast Asia Composition, Cloud Climate Coupling Regional Study (SEAC4RS), a Distributed Regional Aerosol Gridded Observation Networks (DRAGON) set of six CIMEL CE-318A automatic Sun-tracking photometers have been deployed at sites located at North (Yishun ITE), East (Temasek Poly), West (NUS and Pandan Reservoir), Central (NEA) and South (St. John's island) of Singapore. In order to fully discriminate bio-mass burning events over other local sources, we perform a spectral discrimination of fine/coarse mode particle regime to all DRAGON sites; subsequently, the fine mode parameters such as optical depth, optical ratio and fine mode Angstrom exponent are used to identify possible bio-mass related events within the data set. Spatio-temporal relationship between sites are also investigated.

Chemical signatures of urban, open burning and dust transportation in an urban environment- megacity in South Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Priyadharshini, B.; Verma, S.

2016-12-01

A sub-micron aerosol sampler (SAS) consisting of two parallel stacked filter units (SFU) was deployed at an urban location (Kolkata) to study the sub-micron aerosols (water soluble inorganic ions (WSII) and carbonaceous aerosols (elemental carbon (EC) and organic carbon (OC)) collected over a year (September 2010 to August 2011). Quantification of 10 WSII species using Ion Chromatograph (IC) indicated alkaline nature of aerosols with calcium (Ca2+) being the major neutralizing factor of acidity at the study site. In terms of WSII percentage contribution, the most abundant were crustal species (Ca2+, magnesium (Mg2+) and marine species (chloride (Cl-)), followed by the secondary species sulphate (SO42-), nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) . Ca2+ (fugitive and transported dust) was dominant throughout the study period with K+ concentrations exhibiting seasonality with agricultural residue burning. Further, results of carbonaceous aerosols analyzed using the OC-EC aerosol analyzer following Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environment (IMPROVE) protocol exhibited pronounced seasonality in OC than EC with the overall mean concentration of OC being three folds than EC. Primary organic carbon (POC) and secondary organic carbon concentrations (SOC) estimated using EC tracer method showed 57% (43%) of POC (SOC) from various emission sources. Investigation of OC/EC ratio along with non-sea salt potassium (nss-K+) values revealed influence of season specific anthropogenic activities on both OC and EC concentrations (viz. Open burning (OB)) besides fossil fuel (FF) and biofuel (BF) usage for cooking and heating prevalent over the region. Source apportionment was discerned using positive matrix factorization (PMF) with four major factors (crustal, agricultural, anthropogenic sources and mixed source (crustal + agriculture + anthropogenic) as the primary contributors to the sub-micron aerosols at the study site.

Satellite and in-situ monitoring of urban air pollution in relation with children's asthma

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dida, Mariana R.; Zoran, Maria A.

2013-10-01

Urban air pollution and especially aerosols have significant negative health effects on urban population, of which children are most exposed for the rapid increase of asthma disease. An allergic reaction to different allergens is a major contributor to asthma in urban children, but new research suggests that the allergies are just one part of a more complex story. Very early exposure to certain components of air pollution can increase the risk of developing of different allergies by age 7. The epidemiological research on the mutagenic effects of airborne particulate matter pointed their capability to reach deep lung regions, being vehicles of toxic substances. The current study presents a spatio-temporal analysis of the aerosol concentrations in relation with meteorological parameters in two size fractions (PM10 and PM2.5) and possible health effects in Bucharest metropolitan area. Both in-situ monitoring data as well as MODIS Terra/Aqua time-series satellite data of particle matter PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations have been used to qualitatively assess distribution of aerosols in the greater metropolitan are of Bucharest comparative with some other little towns in Romania during 2010- 2011 period. It was found that PM2.5 and PM10 aerosols exhibit their highest concentration mostly in the central part of the towns, mainly due to road traffic as well as in the industrialized parts outside of city's centre. Pediatric asthma can be managed through medications prescribed by a healthcare provider, but the most important aspect is to avoid urban locations with high air pollution concentrations of air particles and allergens.

Evaluation of Aerosol Properties over Ocean from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) during ACE-Asia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, D. A.; Remer, L. A.; Kaufman, Y. J.; Schmid, B.; Redemann, J.; Knobelspiesse, K.; Chern, J.-D.; Livingston, J.; Russell, P. B.; Xiong, X.;

Multi-Scale Enviro-HIRLAM Forecasting of Weather and Atmospheric Composition over China and its Megacities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahura, Alexander; Amstrup, Bjarne; Nuterman, Roman; Yang, Xiaohua; Baklanov, Alexander

2017-04-01

Air pollution is a serious problem in different regions of China and its continuously growing megacities. Information on air quality, and especially, in urbanized areas is important for decision making, emergency response and population. In particular, the metropolitan areas of Shanghai, Beijing, and Pearl River Delta are well known as main regions having serious air pollution problems. The on-line integrated meteorology-chemistry-aerosols Enviro-HIRLAM (Environment - HIgh Resolution Limited Area Model) model adapted for China and selected megacities is applied for forecasting of weather and atmospheric composition (with focus on aerosols). The model system is running in downscaling chain from regional to urban scales at subsequent horizontal resolutions of 15-5-2.5 km. The model setup includes also the urban Building Effects Parameterization module, describing different types of urban districts (industrial commercial, city center, high density and residential) with its own morphological and aerodynamical characteristics. The effects of urbanization are important for atmospheric transport, dispersion, deposition, and chemical transformations, in addition to better quality emission inventories for China and selected urban areas. The Enviro-HIRLAM system provides meteorology and air quality forecasts at regional-subregional-urban scales (China - East China - selected megacities). In particular, such forecasting is important for metropolitan areas, where formation and development of meteorological and chemical/aerosol patterns are especially complex. It also provides information for evaluation impact on selected megacities of China as well as for investigation relationship between air pollution and meteorology.

Air-Quality and Climate Coupling in High Resolution for Urban Heat Island Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Halenka, T.; Huszar, P.; Belda, M.

2012-04-01

Recent studies show considerable effect of atmospheric chemistry and aerosols on climate on regional and local scale. For the purpose of qualifying and quantifying the magnitude of climate forcing due to atmospheric chemistry/aerosols on regional scale and climate change effects on air-quality the regional climate model RegCM and chemistry/aerosol model CAMx was coupled. Climate change impacts on air-quality have been studied in high resolution of 10km with interactive two-way coupling of the effects of air-quality on climate. The experiments with the couple were performed for EC FP7 project MEGAPOLI assessing the impact of the megacities and industrialized areas on climate. New experiments in high resolution are prepared andsimulated for Urban Heat Island studies within the OP Central Europe Project UHI. Meteorological fields generated by RCM drive CAMx transport, chemistry and a dry/wet deposition. A preprocessor utility was developed for transforming RegCM provided fields to CAMx input fields and format. There is critical issue of the emission inventories available for 10km resolution including the urban hot-spots, TNO emissions are adopted for the experiments. Sensitivity tests switching on/off urban areas emissions are analysed as well. The results for year 2005 are presented and discussed, interactive coupling is compared to study the potential of possible impact of urban air-pollution to the urban area climate.

Sources of primary and secondary organic aerosol and their diurnal variations.

PubMed

Zheng, Mei; Zhao, Xiuying; Cheng, Yuan; Yan, Caiqing; Shi, Wenyan; Zhang, Xiaolu; Weber, Rodney J; Schauer, James J; Wang, Xinming; Edgerton, Eric S

2014-01-15

PM(2.5), as one of the criteria pollutants regulated in the U.S. and other countries due to its adverse health impacts, contains more than hundreds of organic pollutants with different sources and formation mechanisms. Daytime and nighttime PM2.5 samples from the August Mini-Intensive Gas and Aerosol Campaign (AMIGAS) in the southeastern U.S. were collected during summer 2008 at one urban site and one rural site, and were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water soluble organic carbon (WSOC), and various individual organic compounds including some important tracers for carbonaceous aerosol sources by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Most samples exhibited higher daytime OC concentration, while higher nighttime OC was found in a few events at the urban site. Sources, formation mechanisms and composition of organic aerosol are complicated and results of this study showed that it exhibited distinct diurnal variations. With detailed organic tracer information, sources contributing to particulate OC were identified: higher nighttime OC concentration occurring in several occasions was mainly contributed by the increasing primary emissions at night, especially diesel exhaust and biomass burning; whereas sources responsible for higher daytime OC concentration included secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation (e.g., cis-pinonic acid and non-biomass burning WSOC) together with traffic emissions especially gasoline engine exhaust. Primary tracers from combustion related sources such as EC, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and hopanes and steranes were significantly higher at the urban site with an urban to rural ratio between 5 and 8. However, this urban-rural difference for secondary components was less significant, indicating a relatively homogeneous distribution of SOA spatially. We found cholesterol concentrations, a typical tracer for meat cooking, were consistently higher at the rural site especially during the daytime, suggesting the likely additional sources for this tracer at rural site and that it should be used with caution as meat cooking tracer in rural areas in the future. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Characterization Of Industrial And Background Aerosols In The RhÔne-alpes Region Using Laser Remote Sensing Device.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Geffroy, S.; Rairoux, P.; Mondelain, D.; Boutou, V.; Wolf, J.-P.; Frejafon, E.

Lack of reliable database on aerosol emission and dispersion is one of the main rea- sons for the incertitude of the impact of aerosol on the climate change. International statements and policies requested improvement on the global and on the regional scale. This new project is related to the characterisation of the spatial and time distribution of the aerosols in the Rhône-Alpes region. Actually, aerosols monitoring is mainly performed at ground level in this region and only few studies have been performed on the 3D distribution of urban aerosols (soot) using remote sensing laser device. The Rhône-Alpes region is representative for the regional impact of industry and traffic emission and also for the long-range transport of pollution over the East part of the Alps. The environmental situation of the region in term of sources and localization is especially dominated by: heavy traffic with several motorways (A6 from Paris, A7 to Marseille - both downtown - and A43 to the Alps and Italy) and industrial pollu- tion in particular for Lyon (refinery and several chemistry plants) and Saint Etienne agglomerations, which have a direct impact on the local air quality and also on the regional and national scale. Characterization of the aerosol load and dispersion in this region will be achieved applying two schemes. The first one will be related to the 3D quantitative characterization of diffuse aerosol emission in the industrial areas. Mon- itoring will be performed using a UV-infrared lidar remote sensing device. Emission cadastre elaboration and microphysical characterisation of the emission will be estab- lished. Direct access to several aerosol distribution modes will be used to describe the aerosol population dynamic: sedimentation, transport and aggregation. Studies on the direct impact of the emission on the region will be achieved coupling the 3D and ground level monitoring with dispersion model. The second scheme will be related to the long term remote sensing of the atmospheric background aerosols. Monitoring of the vertical and time distribution of their optical properties will be performed and this at 6 channels laying from the UV to the infrared spectral region. A high priority will be set on the data quality control and assurance in order to elaborate a reliable database. Several analyses will be performed with this dataset: the characterization of the microphysical properties of the aerosols. The regional and continental impact of the aerosols coupling the data with back-trajectories calculation and the validation of radiative model. By achieving a sufficient data quality, a proposition will be made to integrate the data into the European network Earlinet, which establishes a quantita- tive comprehensive statistical data base of both horizontal and vertical distributions of aerosols on a continental scale using a network of advanced laser remote sensing stations distributed all over Europe. This project will begin in summer 2002 and it will be taking place in cooperation with the national office INERIS.

Spatial variability and sources of ammonia in three European cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prevot, Andre S. H.; Elser, Miriam; El Haddad, Imad; Maasikmets, Marek; Bozzetti, Carlo; Robert, Wolf; Richter, Rene; Slowik, Jay; Teinemaa, Erik; Hueglin, Christoph; Baltensperger, Urs

2017-04-01

For the assessment of ammonia (NH3) effects on ecosystems and climate, one would ideally know the emission sources and also the spatial distributions. Agriculture is the largest global source of NH3. However traffic, especially gasoline vehicles, biomass burning or waste management can be significant in urban areas. Ambient NH3 measurements using cavity ring-down spectroscopy were performed online at high time resolution on a moving vehicle in three cities: Zurich (Switzerland), Tartu (Estonia) and Tallinn (Estonia). Initial tests showed that a regular inlet cannot be used. A heated line including an auxiliary flow was finally deployed to minimize NH3 adsorption onto the inlet walls. We will present the characterization of the response and recovery times of the measurement system which was used to deconvolve the true NH3 signal from the remaining adsorption-induced hysteresis. Parallel measurements with an Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer were used to correct the observed NH3 for the contribution of ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) which completely evaporated to NH3 and nitric acid (HNO3) in the heated line at the chosen temperature, in contrast to ammonium sulfate. Finally, quantitative measurements of ambient NH3 are possible with sufficient time resolution to enable measurement of NH3 point or line sources with a mobile sampling platform. The NH3 analyzer and the aerosol mass spectrometer were complemented by an aethalometer to measure black carbon and various gas-phase analyzers to enable a complete characterization of the sources of air pollution, including the spatial distributions and the regional background concentrations and urban increments of all measured components. Although at all three locations similar urban increment levels of organic aerosols were attributed to biomass burning and traffic, traffic emissions clearly dominated the city enhancements of NH3, equivalent black carbon (eBC) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Concentration gradients in areas strongly influenced by traffic emissions (including drives in and out various tunnels) were used to determine fleet average emission factors (EF) for the traffic-related pollutants. Significant differences were found between the EFs of certain components in the three cities, which were to some degree consistent with an older vehicle fleet in Estonia compared to Switzerland. Using the determined EFs we show that traffic can basically fully explain the NH3 increments in the three cities and also a non-negligible fraction of the background concentrations, which are known to be mostly related to agricultural activities. Comparisons to a European emission inventory will be discussed.

Seasonal and spatial variability of the OM/OC mass ratios and high regional correlation between oxalic acid and zinc in Chinese urban organic aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, L.; Fu, T.-M.; Cao, J. J.; Lee, S. C.; Wang, G. H.; Ho, K. F.; Cheng, M.-C.; You, C.-F.; Wang, T. J.

2013-04-01

We calculated the organic matter to organic carbon mass ratios (OM/OC mass ratios) in PM2.5 collected from 14 Chinese cities during summer and winter of 2003 and analyzed the causes for their seasonal and spatial variability. The OM/OC mass ratios were calculated two ways. Using a mass balance method, the calculated OM/OC mass ratios averaged 1.92 ± 0.39 year-round, with no significant seasonal or spatial variation. The second calculation was based on chemical species analyses of the organic compounds extracted from the PM2.5 samples using dichloromethane/methanol and water. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in summer was relatively high (1.75 ± 0.13) and spatially-invariant due to vigorous photochemistry and secondary organic aerosol (OA) production throughout the country. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in winter (1.59 ± 0.18) was significantly lower than that in summer, with lower values in northern cities (1.51 ± 0.07) than in southern cities (1.65 ± 0.15). This likely reflects the wider usage of coal for heating purposes in northern China in winter, in contrast to the larger contributions from biofuel and biomass burning in southern China in winter. On average, organic matter constituted 36% and 34% of Chinese urban PM2.5 mass in summer and winter, respectively. We report, for the first time, a high regional correlation between Zn and oxalic acid in Chinese urban aerosols in summer. This is consistent with the formation of stable Zn oxalate complex in the aerosol phase previously proposed by Furukawa and Takahashi (2011). We found that many other dicarboxylic acids were also highly correlated with Zn in the summer Chinese urban aerosol samples, suggesting that they may also form stable organic complexes with Zn. Such formation may have profound implications for the atmospheric abundance and hygroscopic properties of aerosol dicarboxylic acids.

Seasonal and spatial variability of the organic matter-to-organic carbon mass ratios in Chinese urban organic aerosols and a first report of high correlations between aerosol oxalic acid and zinc

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xing, L.; Fu, T.-M.; Cao, J. J.; Lee, S. C.; Wang, G. H.; Ho, K. F.; Cheng, M.-C.; You, C.-F.; Wang, T. J.

2013-01-01

We calculated the organic matter to organic carbon mass ratios (OM/OC mass ratios) in PM2.5 collected from 14 Chinese cities during summer and winter of 2003 and analyzed the causes for their seasonal and spatial variability. The OM/OC mass ratios were calculated two ways. Using a mass balance method, the calculated OM/OC mass ratios averaged 1.92 ± 0.39 yr-round, with no significant seasonal or spatial variation. The second calculation was based on chemical species analyses of the organic compounds extracted from the PM2.5 samples using dichloromethane/methanol and water. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in summer was relatively high (1.75 ± 0.13) and spatially-invariant, due to vigorous photochemistry and secondary OA production throughout the country. The calculated OM/OC mass ratio in winter (1.59 ± 0.18) was significantly lower than that in summer, with lower values in northern cities (1.51 ± 0.07) than in southern cities (1.65 ± 0.15). This likely reflects the wider usage of coal for heating purposes in northern China in winter, in contrast to the larger contributions from biofuel and biomass burning in southern China in winter. On average, organic matters constituted 36% and 34% of Chinese urban PM2.5 mass in summer and winter, respectively. We reported, for the first time, high correlations between Zn and oxalic acid in Chinese urban aerosols in summer. This is consistent with the formation of stable Zn oxalate complex in the aerosol phase previously proposed by Furukawa and Takahashi (2011). We found that many other dicarboxylic acids were also highly correlated with Zn in the summer Chinese urban aerosol samples, suggesting that they may also form stable organic complexes with Zn. Such formation may have profound implications for the atmospheric abundance and hygroscopic property of aerosol dicarboxylic acids.

Apparatus having reduced background for measuring radiation activity in aerosol particles

DOEpatents

Rodgers, John C.; McFarland, Andrew R.; Oritz, Carlos A.; Marlow, William H.

1992-01-01

Apparatus having reduced background for measuring radiation activity in aerosol particles. A continuous air monitoring sampler is described for use in detecting the presence of alpha-emitting aerosol particles. An inlet fractionating screen has been demonstrated to remove about 95% of freshly formed radon progeny from the aerosol sample, and approximately 33% of partially aged progeny. Addition of an electrical condenser and a modified dichotomous virtual impactor are expected to produce considerable improvement in these numbers, the goal being to enrich the transuranic (TRU) fraction of the aerosols. This offers the possibility of improving the signal-to-noise ratio for the detected alpha-particle energy spectrum in the region of interest for detecting TRU materials associated with aerosols, thereby enhancing the performance of background-compensation algorithms for improving the quality of alarm signals intended to warn personnel of potentially harmful quantities of TRU materials in the ambient air.

Global aerosol typing from a combination of A-Train satellite observations in clear-sky and above clouds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kacenelenbogen, M. S.; Russell, P. B.; Vaughan, M.; Redemann, J.; Shinozuka, Y.; Livingston, J. M.; Zhang, Q.

2014-12-01

According to the 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the model estimates of Radiative Forcing due to aerosol-radiation interactions (RFari) for individual aerosol types are less certain than the total RFari [Boucher et al., 2013]. For example, the RFari specific to Black Carbon (BC) is uncertain due to an underestimation of its mass concentration near source regions [Koch et al., 2009]. Several recent studies have evaluated chemical transport model (CTM) predictions using observations of aerosol optical properties such as Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) or Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) from satellite or ground-based instruments (e.g., Huneeus et al., [2010]). However, most passive remote sensing instruments fail to provide a comprehensive assessment of the particle type without further analysis and combination of measurements. To improve the predictions of aerosol composition in CTMs, we have developed an aerosol classification algorithm (called Specified Clustering and Mahalanobis Classification, SCMC) that assigns an aerosol type to multi-parameter retrievals by spaceborne, airborne or ground based passive remote sensing instruments [Russell et al., 2014]. The aerosol types identified by our scheme are pure dust, polluted dust, urban-industrial/developed economy, urban-industrial/developing economy, dark biomass smoke, light biomass smoke and pure marine. First, we apply the SCMC method to five years of clear-sky space-borne POLDER observations over Greece. We then use the aerosol extinction and SSA spectra retrieved from a combination of MODIS, OMI and CALIOP clear-sky observations to infer the aerosol type over the globe in 2007. Finally, we will extend the spaceborne aerosol classification from clear-sky to above low opaque water clouds using a combination of CALIOP AOD and backscatter observations and OMI absorption AOD values from near-by clear-sky pixels.

Key Role of Nitrate in Phase Transitions of Urban Particles: Implications of Important Reactive Surfaces for Secondary Aerosol Formation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Jiaxing; Liu, Lei; Xu, Liang; Wang, Yuanyuan; Wu, Zhijun; Hu, Min; Shi, Zongbo; Li, Yongjie; Zhang, Xiaoye; Chen, Jianmin; Li, Weijun

2018-01-01

Ammonium sulfate (AS) and ammonium nitrate (AN) are key components of urban fine particles. Both field and model studies showed that heterogeneous reactions of SO2, NO2, and NH3 on wet aerosols accelerated the haze formation in northern China. However, little is known on phase transitions of AS-AN containing haze particles. Here hygroscopic properties of laboratory-generated AS-AN particles and individual particles collected during haze events in an urban site were investigated using an individual particle hygroscopicity system. AS-AN particles showed a two-stage deliquescence at mutual deliquescence relative humidity (MDRH) and full deliquescence relative humidity (DRH) and three physical states: solid before MDRH, solid-aqueous between MDRH and DRH, and aqueous after DRH. During hydration, urban haze particles displayed a solid core and aqueous shell at RH = 60-80% and aqueous phase at RH > 80%. Most particles were in aqueous phase at RH > 50% during dehydration. Our results show that AS content in individual particles determines their DRH and AN content determines their MDRH. AN content increase can reduce MDRH, which indicates occurrence of aqueous shell at lower RH. The humidity-dependent phase transitions of nitrate-abundant urban particles are important to provide reactive surfaces of secondary aerosol formation in the polluted air.

Refractive Index and Absorption Attribution of Highly Absorbing Brown Carbon Aerosols from an Urban Indian City-Kanpur.

PubMed

Shamjad, P M; Tripathi, S N; Thamban, Navaneeth M; Vreeland, Heidi

2016-11-24

Atmospheric aerosols influence Earth's radiative balance, having both warming and cooling effects. Though many aerosols reflect radiation, carbonaceous aerosols such as black carbon and certain organic carbon species known as brown carbon have the potential to warm the atmosphere by absorbing light. Black carbon absorbs light over the entire solar spectrum whereas brown carbon absorbs near-UV wavelengths and, to a lesser extent, visible light. In developing countries, such as India, where combustion sources are prolific, the influence of brown carbon on absorption may be significant. In order to better characterize brown carbon, we present experimental and modeled absorption properties of submicron aerosols measured in an urban Indian city (Kanpur). Brown carbon here is found to be fivefold more absorbing at 365 nm wavelength compared to previous studies. Results suggest ~30% of total absorption in Kanpur is attributed to brown carbon, with primary organic aerosols contributing more than secondary organics. We report the spectral brown carbon refractive indices along with an experimentally constrained estimate of the influence of aerosol mixing state on absorption. We conclude that brown carbon in Kanpur is highly absorbing in nature and that the mixing state plays an important role in light absorption from volatile species.

Refractive Index and Absorption Attribution of Highly Absorbing Brown Carbon Aerosols from an Urban Indian City-Kanpur

PubMed Central

Shamjad, P. M.; Tripathi, S. N.; Thamban, Navaneeth M.; Vreeland, Heidi

2016-01-01

Atmospheric aerosols influence Earth’s radiative balance, having both warming and cooling effects. Though many aerosols reflect radiation, carbonaceous aerosols such as black carbon and certain organic carbon species known as brown carbon have the potential to warm the atmosphere by absorbing light. Black carbon absorbs light over the entire solar spectrum whereas brown carbon absorbs near-UV wavelengths and, to a lesser extent, visible light. In developing countries, such as India, where combustion sources are prolific, the influence of brown carbon on absorption may be significant. In order to better characterize brown carbon, we present experimental and modeled absorption properties of submicron aerosols measured in an urban Indian city (Kanpur). Brown carbon here is found to be fivefold more absorbing at 365 nm wavelength compared to previous studies. Results suggest ~30% of total absorption in Kanpur is attributed to brown carbon, with primary organic aerosols contributing more than secondary organics. We report the spectral brown carbon refractive indices along with an experimentally constrained estimate of the influence of aerosol mixing state on absorption. We conclude that brown carbon in Kanpur is highly absorbing in nature and that the mixing state plays an important role in light absorption from volatile species. PMID:27883083

Submicron aerosol and trace gas composition near Manaus as observed during GoAmazon2014/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferreira De Brito, J.; Wurm, F.; Liu, Y.; de Sá, S. S.; Carbone, S.; Rizzo, L. V.; Cirino, G. G.; Barbosa, H. M.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Martin, S. T.; Artaxo, P.

2014-12-01

The Amazon Basin, during the wet season, has one of the lowest aerosol concentrations worldwide, with air masses covering thousands of kilometers of pristine forest with negligible human impact. The atmosphere in such regions is strongly coupled with the biosphere through primary biological aerosols, biogenic salts and secondary aerosols from oxidation of biogenic VOCs. The natural environment is strongly modified nearby urbanized areas, in particular Manaus, a city of nearly two million people. The urban pollution plume has high concentrations of oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, carbon monoxide, particle concentrations, and soot, among other pollutants, strongly contrasting with the clean air masses reaching the city. Such unique location provides the ideal laboratory to study the isolated urban emission, as well the pristine environment by perturbing it in a relatively known fashion. The GoAmazon experiment was designed with these questions in mind, combining remote sensing, in situand airborne measurements. This manuscript describes the measurements currently taking place at the T2 site, near Manaus, frequently impacted by relatively fresh emissions from the city. This presentation focuses on aerosol properties and trace gas composition at the T2 site. PM1 mass concentration from March up to July 2014 has been observed to be dominated by organics (1.51 μg m-3), followed by BC (0.83 μg m-3), SO4 (0.17 μg m-3), NO3 (0.08 μg m-3) and NH4 (0.06 μg m-3). Mean aerosol number concentration was 3600 cm-3, with a mean geometric diameter of 70 nm. As for the trace gases, initial estimates of isoprene average ambient concentration is 0.95 ppb, whereas MVK+MACR has been estimated to be 0.76 ppb. Average mixing ratios of toluene, benzene and C8 aromatics were 0.31 ppb, 0.16 ppb and 0.15 ppb, respectively, correlating relatively well with markers of anthropogenic activities, such as BC. Such measurements will carry on throughout GoAmazon 2014/5, providing a unique dataset to understand the aerosol life cycle and the impact of urban emission in the heart of the Amazon Forest.

Sensitivity of nocturnal boundary layer temperature to tropospheric aerosol surface radiative forcing under clear-sky conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nair, Udaysankar S.; McNider, Richard; Patadia, Falguni; Christopher, Sundar A.; Fuller, Kirk

2011-01-01

Since the middle of the last century, global surface air temperature exhibits an increasing trend, with nocturnal temperatures increasing at a much higher rate. Proposed causative mechanisms include the radiative impact of atmospheric aerosols on the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL) where the temperature response is amplified due to shallow depth and its sensitivity to potential destabilization. A 1-D version of the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System is used to examine the sensitivity of the nocturnal boundary layer temperature to the surface longwave radiative forcing (SLWRF) from urban aerosol loading and doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The analysis is conducted for typical midlatitude nocturnal boundary layer case days from the CASES-99 field experiment and is further extended to urban sites in Pune and New Delhi, India. For the cases studied, locally, the nocturnal SLWRF from urban atmospheric aerosols (2.7-47 W m-2) is comparable or exceeds that caused by doubled atmospheric carbon dioxide (3 W m-2), with the surface temperature response ranging from a compensation for daytime cooling to an increase in the nocturnal minimum temperature. The sensitivity of the NBL to radiative forcing is approximately 4 times higher compared to the daytime boundary layer. Nighttime warming or cooling may occur depending on the nature of diurnal variations in aerosol optical depth. Soil moisture also modulates the magnitude of SLWRF, decreasing from 3 to 1 W m-2 when soil saturation increases from 37% to 70%. These results show the importance of aerosols on the radiative balance of the climate system.

Global Monitoring of Air Pollution Using Spaceborne Sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chu, D. A.; Kaufman, Y. J.; Tanre, D.; Remer, L. A.; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

The MODIS sensor onboard EOS-Terra satellite provides not only daily global coverage but also high spectral (36 channels from 0.41 to 14 microns wavelength) and spatial (250m, 500m and 1km) resolution measurements. A similar MODIS instrument will be also configured into EOS-Aqua satellite to be launched soon. Using the complementary EOS-Terra and EOS-Aqua sun-synchronous orbits (10:30 AM and 1:30 PM equator-crossing time respectively), it enables us also to study the diurnal changes of the Earth system. It is unprecedented for the derivation of aerosol properties with such high spatial resolution and daily global converge. Aerosol optical depth and other aerosol properties, e.g., Angstrom coefficient over land and particle size over ocean, are derived as standard products at a spatial resolution of 10 x 10 sq km. The high resolution results are found surprisingly useful in detecting aerosols in both urban and rural regions as a result of urban/industrial pollution and biomass burning. For long-lived aerosols, the ability to monitoring the evolution of these aerosol events could help us to establish an system of air quality especially for highly populated areas. Aerosol scenarios with city pollution and biomass burning will be presented. Also presented are the method used in the derivation of aerosol optical properties and preliminary results will be presented, and issue as well as obstacles in validating aerosol optical depth with AERONET ground-based observations.

Insights into Submicron Aerosol Composition and Sources from the WINTER Aircraft Campaign Over the Eastern US.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schroder, J. C.; Campuzano Jost, P.; Day, D. A.; Fibiger, D. L.; McDuffie, E. E.; Blake, N. J.; Hills, A. J.; Hornbrook, R. S.; Apel, E. C.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Campos, T. L.; Brown, S. S.; Jimenez, J. L.

2015-12-01

The WINTER aircraft campaign was a recent field experiment to probe the sources and evolution of gas pollutants and aerosols in Northeast US urban and industrial plumes during the winter. A highly customized Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) was flown on the NCAR C-130 to characterize submicron aerosol composition and evolution. Thirteen research flights were conducted covering a wide range of conditions, including rural, urban, and marine environments during day and night. Organic aerosol (OA) was a large component of the submicron aerosol in the boundary layer. The fraction of OA (fOA) was smaller (35-40%) than in recent US summer campaigns (~60-70%). Biomass burning was observed to be an important source of OA in the boundary layer, which is consistent with recent wintertime studies that show a substantial contribution of residential wood burning to the OA loadings. OA oxygenation (O/C ratio) shows a broad distribution with a substantial fraction of smaller O/C ratios when compared to previous summertime campaigns. Since measurements were rarely made very close to primary sources (i.e. directly above urban areas), this is consistent with oxidative chemistry being slower during winter. SOA formation and aging in the NYC plume was observed during several flights and compared with summertime results from LA (CalNex) and Mexico City (MILAGRO). Additionally, an oxidation flow reactor (OFR) capable of oxidizing ambient air up to several equivalent days of oxidation was deployed for the first time in an aircraft platform. The aerosol outflow of the OFR was sampled with the AMS to provide real-time snapshots of the potential for aerosol formation and aging. For example, a case study of a flight through the Ohio River valley showed evidence of oxidation of SO2 to sulfate. The measured sulfate enhancements were in good agreement with our OFR chemical model. OFR results for SOA will be discussed.

Urban emissions of water vapor in winter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salmon, Olivia E.; Shepson, Paul B.; Ren, Xinrong; Marquardt Collow, Allison B.; Miller, Mark A.; Carlton, Annmarie G.; Cambaliza, Maria O. L.; Heimburger, Alexie; Morgan, Kristan L.; Fuentes, Jose D.; Stirm, Brian H.; Grundman, Robert; Dickerson, Russell R.

2017-09-01

Elevated water vapor (H2Ov) mole fractions were occasionally observed downwind of Indianapolis, IN, and the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, MD, area during airborne mass balance experiments conducted during winter months between 2012 and 2015. On days when an urban H2Ov excess signal was observed, H2Ov emission estimates range between 1.6 × 104 and 1.7 × 105 kg s-1 and account for up to 8.4% of the total (background + urban excess) advected flow of atmospheric boundary layer H2Ov from the urban study sites. Estimates of H2Ov emissions from combustion sources and electricity generation facility cooling towers are 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than the urban H2Ov emission rates estimated from observations. Instances of urban H2Ov enhancement could be a result of differences in snowmelt and evaporation rates within the urban area, due in part to larger wintertime anthropogenic heat flux and land cover differences, relative to surrounding rural areas. More study is needed to understand why the urban H2Ov excess signal is observed on some days, and not others. Radiative transfer modeling indicates that the observed urban enhancements in H2Ov and other greenhouse gas mole fractions contribute only 0.1°C d-1 to the urban heat island at the surface. This integrated warming through the boundary layer is offset by longwave cooling by H2Ov at the top of the boundary layer. While the radiative impacts of urban H2Ov emissions do not meaningfully influence urban heat island intensity, urban H2Ov emissions may have the potential to alter downwind aerosol and cloud properties.

Urban Emissions of Water Vapor in Winter.

PubMed

Salmon, Olivia E; Shepson, Paul B; Ren, Xinrong; Marquardt Collow, Allison B; Miller, Mark A; Carlton, Annmarie G; Cambaliza, Maria O L; Heimburger, Alexie; Morgan, Kristan L; Fuentes, Jose D; Stirm, Brian H; Grundman, Robert; Dickerson, Russell R

2017-09-16

Elevated water vapor (H 2 O v ) mole fractions were occassionally observed downwind of Indianapolis, IN, and the Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, MD, area during airborne mass balance experiments conducted during winter months between 2012 and 2015. On days when an urban H 2 O v excess signal was observed, H 2 O v emissions estimates range between 1.6 × 10 4 and 1.7 × 10 5 kg s -1 , and account for up to 8.4% of the total (background + urban excess) advected flow of atmospheric boundary layer H 2 O v from the urban study sites. Estimates of H 2 O v emissions from combustion sources and electricity generation facility cooling towers are 1-2 orders of magnitude smaller than the urban H 2 O v emission rates estimated from observations. Instances of urban H 2 O v enhancement could be a result of differences in snowmelt and evaporation rates within the urban area, due in part to larger wintertime anthropogenic heat flux and land cover differences, relative to surrounding rural areas. More study is needed to understand why the urban H 2 O v excess signal is observed on some days, and not others. Radiative transfer modeling indicates that the observed urban enhancements in H 2 O v and other greenhouse gas mole fractions contribute only 0.1°C day -1 to the urban heat island at the surface. This integrated warming through the boundary layer is offset by longwave cooling by H 2 O v at the top of the boundary layer. While the radiative impacts of urban H 2 O v emissions do not meaningfully influence urban heat island intensity, urban H 2 O v emissions may have the potential to alter downwind aerosol and cloud properties.

Radiocarbon-based source apportionment of carbonaceous aerosols at a regional background site on Hainan Island, South China.

PubMed

Zhang, Yan-Lin; Li, Jun; Zhang, Gan; Zotter, Peter; Huang, Ru-Jin; Tang, Jian-Hui; Wacker, Lukas; Prévôt, André S H; Szidat, Sönke

2014-01-01

To assign fossil and nonfossil contributions to carbonaceous particles, radiocarbon ((14)C) measurements were performed on organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and water-insoluble OC (WINSOC) of aerosol samples from a regional background site in South China under different seasonal conditions. The average contributions of fossil sources to EC, OC and WINSOC were 38 ± 11%, 19 ± 10%, and 17 ± 10%, respectively, indicating generally a dominance of nonfossil emissions. A higher contribution from fossil sources to EC (∼51%) and OC (∼30%) was observed for air-masses transported from Southeast China in fall, associated with large fossil-fuel combustion and vehicle emissions in highly urbanized regions of China. In contrast, an increase of the nonfossil contribution by 5-10% was observed during the periods with enhanced open biomass-burning activities in Southeast Asia or Southeast China. A modified EC tracer method was used to estimate the secondary organic carbon from fossil emissions by determining (14)C-derived fossil WINSOC and fossil EC. This approach indicates a dominating secondary component (70 ± 7%) of fossil OC. Furthermore, contributions of biogenic and biomass-burning emissions to contemporary OC were estimated to be 56 ± 16% and 44 ± 14%, respectively.

Volatile organic compound fluxes and concentrations in London (ClearfLo)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Valach, Amy; Langford, Ben; Nemitz, Eiko; MacKenzie, Rob; Hewitt, Nick

2014-05-01

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from anthropogenic sources such as fuel combustion or evaporative emissions can directly and indirectly affect human health. Some VOCs, such as benzene and 1,3- butadiene are carcinogens. These and other VOCs contribute to the formation of ozone (O3) and aerosol particles, which have effects on human health and the radiative balance of the atmosphere. Although in the UK VOC emissions are subject to control under European Commission Directive 2008/50/EC and emission reducing technologies have been implemented, urban air pollution remains a concern. Urban air quality is likely to remain a priority since currently >50% of the global population live in urban areas with trends in urbanization and population migration predicted to increase. The ClearfLo project is a large multi-institutional consortium funded by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) and provides integrated measurements of meteorology, gas phase and particulate composition of the atmosphere over London. Both long term and IOP measurements were made at street and elevated locations at a range of sites across London and its surroundings during 2011 and 2012. Mixing ratios of a selection of nine VOCs were measured using a high sensitivity proton transfer reaction-mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) at a ground level urban background (North Kensington) and kerbside (Marylebone Road) site during the winter IOP. VOC fluxes were measured by virtually disjunct eddy covariance (vDEC) at an elevated urban site (King's College Strand) in Aug-Dec 2012. Our results for the first IOP showed that most of the selected compound concentrations depended on traffic emissions, although there was a marked difference between the urban background and kerbside sites. We identified some temperature effects on VOC concentrations. We also present the first analyses of VOC flux measurements over London. Preliminary analyses indicate most compounds associated with vehicle emissions closely followed diurnal traffic counts. Fluxes of isoprene and methanol appear to be controlled by light intensity and temperature, consistent with a predominantly biogenic source of these compounds.

Physico-chemical characterization of African urban aerosols (Bamako in Mali and Dakar in Senegal) and their toxic effects in human bronchial epithelial cells: description of a worrying situation.

PubMed

Val, Stéphanie; Liousse, Cathy; Doumbia, El Hadji Thierno; Galy-Lacaux, Corinne; Cachier, Hélène; Marchand, Nicolas; Badel, Anne; Gardrat, Eric; Sylvestre, Alexandre; Baeza-Squiban, Armelle

2013-04-02

The involvement of particulate matter (PM) in cardiorespiratory diseases is now established in developed countries whereas in developing areas such as Africa with a high level of specific pollution, PM pollution and its effects are poorly studied. Our objective was to characterize the biological reactivity of urban African aerosols on human bronchial epithelial cells in relation to PM physico-chemical properties to identify toxic sources. Size-speciated aerosol chemical composition was analyzed in Bamako (BK, Mali, 2 samples with one having desert dust event BK1) and Dakar (DK; Senegal) for Ultrafine UF, Fine F and Coarse C PM. PM reactivity was studied in human bronchial epithelial cells investigating six biomarkers (oxidative stress responsive genes and pro-inflammatory cytokines). PM mass concentrations were mainly distributed in coarse mode (60%) and were impressive in BK1 due to the desert dust event. BK2 and DK samples showed a high content of total carbon characteristic of urban areas. The DK sample had huge PAH quantities in bulk aerosol compared with BK that had more water soluble organic carbon and metals. Whatever the site, UF and F PM triggered the mRNA expression of the different biomarkers whereas coarse PM had little or no effect. The GM-CSF biomarker was the most discriminating and showed the strongest pro-inflammatory effect of BK2 PM. The analysis of gene expression signature and of their correlation with main PM compounds revealed that PM-induced responses are mainly related to organic compounds. The toxicity of African aerosols is carried by the finest PM as with Parisian aerosols, but when considering PM mass concentrations, the African population is more highly exposed to toxic particulate pollution than French population. Regarding the prevailing sources in each site, aerosol biological impacts are higher for incomplete combustion sources resulting from two-wheel vehicles and domestic fires than from diesel vehicles (Dakar). Desert dust events seem to produce fewer biological impacts than anthropogenic sources. Our study shows that combustion sources contribute to the high toxicity of F and UF PM of African urban aerosols, and underlines the importance of emission mitigation and the imperative need to evaluate and to regulate particulate pollution in Africa.

Chemical composition of the atmospheric aerosol in the troposphere over the Hudson Bay lowlands and Quebec-Labrador regions of Canada

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gorzelska, K.; Talbot, R. W.; Klemm, K.; Lefer, B.; Klemm, O.; Gregory, G. L.; Anderson, B.; Barrie, L. A.

1994-01-01

Atmospheric aerosols were collected in the boundary layer and free troposphere over continental and coastal subarctic regions of Canada during the July - August 1990 joint U.S.-Canadian Arctic Boundary Layer Expedition (ABLE) 3B/Northern Wetlands Study (NOWES). The samples were analyzed for the following water soluble species: sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, potassium, sodium, chloride, oxalate, methylsulfonate, and total amine nitrogen. Ammonium and sulfate were the major water soluble components of these aerosols. The nearly neutral (overall) chemical composition of summertime aerosol particles contrasts their strongly acidic wintertime composition. Aerosol samples were separated into several air mass categories and characterized in terms of chemical composition, associated mixing ratios of gaseous compounds, and meteorological parameters. The fundamental category represented particles associated with 'background' air masses. The summertime atmospheric aerosols in background air over the North American subarctic and Arctic regions were characterized by relatively small and spatially uniform mixing ratios of the measured species. These aerosol particles were aged to the extent that they had lost their primary source signature. The chemical profile of the background air aerosols was frequently modified by additions from biomass fire plumes, aged tropical marine air, and intrusions of upper tropospheric/lower stratospheric air. Aerosols in boundary layer background air over the boreal forest region of Quebec-Labrador had significantly larger mixing ratios of ammonium and sulfate relative to the Hudson Bay region. This may reflect infiltration of anthropogenic pollution or be due to natural emissions from this region.

Cloud and aerosol optical depths

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Pueschel, R. F.; Russell, P. B.; Ackerman, Thomas P.; Colburn, D. C.; Wrigley, R. C.; Spanner, M. A.; Livingston, J. M.

1988-01-01

An airborne Sun photometer was used to measure optical depths in clear atmospheres between the appearances of broken stratus clouds, and the optical depths in the vicinity of smokes. Results show that (human) activities can alter the chemical and optical properties of background atmospheres to affect their spectral optical depths. Effects of water vapor adsorption on aerosol optical depths are apparent, based on data of the water vapor absorption band centered around 940 nm. Smoke optical depths show increases above the background atmosphere by up to two orders of magnitude. When the total optical depths measured through clouds were corrected for molecular scattering and gaseous absorption by subtracting the total optical depths measured through the background atmosphere, the resultant values are lower than those of the background aerosol at short wavelengths. The spectral dependence of these cloud optical depths is neutral, however, in contrast to that of the background aerosol or the molecular atmosphere.

CARES Helps Explain Secondary Organic Aerosols

ScienceCinema

Zaveri, Rahul

2018-01-16

What happens when urban man-made pollution mixes with what we think of as pristine forest air? To know more about what this interaction means for the climate, the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study, or CARES, field campaign was designed in 2010. The sampling strategy during CARES was coordinated with CalNex 2010, another major field campaign that was planned in California in 2010 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). "We found two things. When urban pollution mixes with forest pollutions we get more secondary organic aerosols," said Rahul Zaveri, FCSD scientist and project lead on CARES. "SOAs are thought to be formed primarily from forest emissions but only when they interact with urban emissions. The data is saying that there will be climate cooling over the central California valley because of these interactions." Knowledge gained from detailed analyses of data gathered during the CARES campaign, together with laboratory experiments, is being used to improve existing climate models.

Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions.

PubMed

McDonald, Brian C; de Gouw, Joost A; Gilman, Jessica B; Jathar, Shantanu H; Akherati, Ali; Cappa, Christopher D; Jimenez, Jose L; Lee-Taylor, Julia; Hayes, Patrick L; McKeen, Stuart A; Cui, Yu Yan; Kim, Si-Wan; Gentner, Drew R; Isaacman-VanWertz, Gabriel; Goldstein, Allen H; Harley, Robert A; Frost, Gregory J; Roberts, James M; Ryerson, Thomas B; Trainer, Michael

2018-02-16

A gap in emission inventories of urban volatile organic compound (VOC) sources, which contribute to regional ozone and aerosol burdens, has increased as transportation emissions in the United States and Europe have declined rapidly. A detailed mass balance demonstrates that the use of volatile chemical products (VCPs)-including pesticides, coatings, printing inks, adhesives, cleaning agents, and personal care products-now constitutes half of fossil fuel VOC emissions in industrialized cities. The high fraction of VCP emissions is consistent with observed urban outdoor and indoor air measurements. We show that human exposure to carbonaceous aerosols of fossil origin is transitioning away from transportation-related sources and toward VCPs. Existing U.S. regulations on VCPs emphasize mitigating ozone and air toxics, but they currently exempt many chemicals that lead to secondary organic aerosols. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Vertical profiles of urban aerosol complex refractive index in the frame of ESQUIF airborne measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raut, J.-C.; Chazette, P.

2007-07-01

A synergy between lidar, sunphotometer and in situ measurements has been applied to airborne observations performed during the Etude et Simulation de la QUalité de l'air en Ile-de-France (ESQUIF), enabling the retrieval of vertical profiles for the aerosol complex refractive index (ACRI) and single-scattering albedo with a vertical resolution of 200 m over Paris area. The averaged value over the entire planetary boundary layer (PBL) for the ACRI is close to 1.51(±0.02)-i0.017(±0.003) at 532 nm. The single-scattering albedo of the corresponding aerosols is found to be ~0.9 at the same wavelength. A good agreement is found with previous studies for urban aerosols. A comparison of vertical profiles of ACRI with simulations combining in situ measurements and relative humidity (RH) profiles has highlighted a modification in aerosol optical properties linked to their history and the origin of the air mass. The determination of ACRI in the atmospheric column enabled to retrieve vertical profiles of extinction coefficient in accordance with lidar profiles measurements.

Vertical profiles of urban aerosol complex refractive index in the frame of ESQUIF airborne measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raut, J.-C.; Chazette, P.

2008-02-01

A synergy between lidar, sunphotometer and in situ measurements has been applied to airborne observations performed during the Etude et Simulation de la QUalité de l'air en Ile-de-France (ESQUIF), enabling the retrieval of vertical profiles for the aerosol complex refractive index (ACRI) and single-scattering albedo with a vertical resolution of 200 m over Paris area. The averaged value over the entire planetary boundary layer (PBL) for the ACRI is close to 1.51(±0.02)-i0.017(±0.003) at 532 nm. The single-scattering albedo of the corresponding aerosols is found to be ~0.9 at the same wavelength. A good agreement is found with previous studies for urban aerosols. A comparison of vertical profiles of ACRI with simulations combining in situ measurements and relative humidity (RH) profiles has highlighted a modification in aerosol optical properties linked to their history and the origin of the air mass. The determination of ACRI in the atmospheric column enabled to retrieve vertical profiles of extinction coefficient in accordance with lidar profiles measurements.

Po-Basin Atmospheric Composition during the Pegasos Field Campaign (summer 2012): Evaluation of ninfa/aodeM Simulation with In-Situ e Remote Sensing Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Landi, Tony C.; Bonafe, Giovanni; Stortini, Michele; Minguzzi, Enrico; Cristofanelli, Paolo; Marinoni, Angela; Giulianelli, Lara; Sandrini, Silvia; Gilardoni, Stefania; Rinaldi, Matteo; Ricciardelli, Isabella

2014-05-01

Within the EU project PEGASOS one of three field campaigns took place in the Po Valley during the summer of 2012. Photochemistry, particle formation, and particle properties related to diurnal evolution of the PBL were investigated through both in-situ and airborne measurements on board a Zeppelin NT air ship. In addition, 3-D air quality modeling systems were implemented over the Po valley for the summer 2012 to better characterize the atmospheric conditions, in terms of meteorological parameters and chemical composition. In this work, we present a comparison between atmospheric composition simulations carried out by the modeling system NINFA/AODEM with measurements performed during the PEGASOS field campaign for the period 13 June - 12 July 2012. NINFA (Stortini et al., 2007) is based on the chemical transport model CHIMERE (Bessagnet et al., 2008), driven by COSMO-I7, the meteorological Italian Limited Area Model, (Steppeler et al., 2003). Boundary conditions are provided by Prev'air data (www.prevair.org), and emission data input are based on regional, national and European inventory. Besides, a post-processing tool for aerosol optical properties calculation, called AODEM (Landi T. C. 2013) was implemented. Thus, predictions of Aerosol Optical Depth and aerosol extinction coefficient were also used for model comparison to vertical-resolved observations. For this experiment, NINFA/AODEM has been also evaluated by using measurements of size-segregated aerosol samples, number particles concentration and aerosol optical properties collected on hourly basis at the 3 different sampling sites representative of urban background (Bologna), rural background (San Pietro Capofiume) and remote high altitude station (Monte Cimone 2165 ma.s.l.). ). In addition, we focused on new particles formations events and long range transports from Northern Africa observed during the field campaign. References Bessagnet, Bertrand, Laurent Menut, Gabriele Curci, Alma Hodzic, Bruno Guillaume, Catherine Liousse, Sophie Moukhtar, Betty Pun, Christian Seigneur, and Michaël Schulz (2008). "Regional modeling of carbonaceous aerosols over europe-focus on secondary organic aerosols." Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry 61, no. 3 : 175-202. Landi Tony Christian (2013). AODEM: A post-processing tool for aerosol optical properties calculation in the Chemical Transport Models. Book published by LAP - Lambert Academic Publishing ISBN: 978-3-659-31802-3. Steppeler, J., G. Doms, U. Schättler, H. W. Bitzer, A. Gassmann, U. Damrath, and G. Gregoric (2003). "Meso-gamma scale forecasts using the nonhydrostatic model LM." Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics 82, no. 1-4 : 75-96. M. Stortini, M. Deserti, G. Bonafè, and E. Minguzzi. Long-term simulation and validation of ozone and aerosol in the Po Valley. In C.Borrego and E.Renner, editors, Developments in Environmental Sciences, volume 6, pages 768-770. Elsevier, 2007.

Background stratospheric aerosol and polar stratospheric cloud reference models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mccormick, M. P.; Wang, P.-H.; Pitts, M. C.

1993-01-01

A global aerosol climatology is evolving from the NASA satellite experiments SAM II, SAGE I, and SAGE II. In addition, polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) data have been obtained from these experiments over the last decade. An undated reference model of the optical characteristics of the background aerosol is described and a new aerosol reference model derived from the latest available data is proposed. The aerosol models are referenced to the height above the tropopause. The impact of a number of volcanic eruptions is described. In addition, a model describing the seasonal, longitudinal, and interannual variations in PSCs is presented.

Increases in wintertime PM2.5 sodium and chloride linked to snowfall and road salt application

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolesar, Katheryn R.; Mattson, Claire N.; Peterson, Peter K.; May, Nathaniel W.; Prendergast, Rashad K.; Pratt, Kerri A.

2018-03-01

The application of salts and salty brines to roads is common practice during the winter in many urban environments. Road salts can become aerosolized, thereby injecting sodium and chloride particulate matter (PM) into the atmosphere. Here, data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency Chemical Speciation Monitoring Network were used to assess temporal trends of sodium and chloride PM2.5 (PM < 2.5 μm) at 25 locations across the United States to investigate the ubiquity of road salt aerosols. Sodium and chloride PM2.5 concentrations were an average of three times higher in the winter, as compared to the summer, for locations with greater than 25 cm of average annual snowfall. Winter urban chloride PM2.5 concentrations attributed to road salt can even sometimes rival those of coastal sea spray aerosol-influenced sites. In most snow-influenced cities, chloride and sodium PM2.5 concentrations were positively correlated with snowfall; however, this relationship is complicated by differences in state and local winter maintenance practices. This study highlights the ubiquity of road salt aerosols in the United States and their potential impact on wintertime urban air quality, particularly due to the potential for multiphase reactions to liberate chlorine from the particle-phase. Since road salt application is a common practice in wintertime urban environments across the world, it is imperative that road salt application emissions, currently not included in inventories, and its impacts be investigated through measurements and modeling.

Impact of Santiago de Chile urban atmospheric pollution on anthropogenic trace elements enrichment in snow precipitation at Cerro Colorado, Central Andes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cereceda-Balic, F.; Palomo-Marín, M. R.; Bernalte, E.; Vidal, V.; Christie, J.; Fadic, X.; Guevara, J. L.; Miro, C.; Pinilla Gil, E.

2012-02-01

Seasonal snow precipitation in the Andes mountain range is evaluated as an environmental indicator of the composition of atmospheric emissions in Santiago de Chile metropolitan area, by measuring a set of representative trace elements in snow samples by ICP-MS. Three late winter sampling campaigns (2003, 2008 and 2009) were conducted in three sampling areas around Cerro Colorado, a Central Andes mountain range sector NE of Santiago (36 km). Nevados de Chillán, a sector in The Andes located about 500 km south from the metropolitan area, was selected as a reference area. The experimental results at Cerro Colorado and Nevados de Chillán were compared with previously published data of fresh snow from remote and urban background sites. High snow concentrations of a range of anthropogenic marker elements were found at Cerro Colorado, probably derived from Santiago urban aerosol transport and deposition combined with the effect of mining and smelting activities in the area, whereas Nevados de Chillán levels roughly correspond to urban background areas. Enhanced concentrations in surface snow respect to deeper samples are discussed. Significant differences found between the 2003, 2008 and 2009 anthropogenic source markers profiles at Cerro Colorado sampling points were correlated with changes in emission sources at the city. The preliminary results obtained in this study, the first of this kind in the southern hemisphere, show promising use of snow precipitation in the Central Andes as a suitable matrix for receptor model studies aimed at identifying and quantifying pollution sources in Santiago de Chile.

Aerosol particle shrinkage event phenomenology in a South European suburban area during 2009-2015

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alonso-Blanco, E.; Gómez-Moreno, F. J.; Núñez, L.; Pujadas, M.; Cusack, M.; Artíñano, B.

2017-07-01

A high number of aerosol particle shrinkage cases (70) have been identified and analyzed from an extensive and representative database of aerosol size distributions obtained between 2009 and 2015 at an urban background site in Madrid (Spain). A descriptive classification based on the process from which the shrinkage began is proposed according which shrinkage events were divided into three groups: (1) NPF + shrinkage (NPF + S) events, (2) aerosol particle growth process + shrinkage (G + S) events, and (3) pure shrinkage (S) events. The largest number of shrinkages corresponded to the S-type followed by NPF + S, while the G + S events were the least frequent group recorded. Duration of shrinkages varied widely from 0.75 to 8.5 h and SR from -1.0 to -11.1 nm h-1. These processes typically occurred in the afternoon, around 18:00 UTC, caused by two situations: i) a wind speed increase usually associated with a change in the wind direction (over 60% of the observations) and ii) the reduction of photochemical activity at the end of the day. All shrinkages were detected during the warm period, mainly between May and August, when local meteorological conditions (high solar irradiance and temperature and low relative humidity), atmospheric processes (high photochemical activity) and availability of aerosol-forming precursors were favorable for their development. As a consequence of these processes, the particles concentration corresponding to the Aitken mode decreased into the nucleation mode. The accumulation mode did not undergo significant changes during these processes. In some cases, a dilution of the particulate content in the ambient air was observed. This work, goes further than others works dealing with aerosol particles shrinkages, as it incorporates as a main novelty a classification methodology for studying these processes. Moreover, compared to other studies, it is supported by a high and representative number of observations. Thus, this study contributes to get a better understanding of this type of atmospheric aerosol transformations and its features.

A Review of Current Investigations of Urban-Induced Rainfall and Recommendations for the Future

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shepherd, J. Marshall

2004-01-01

Precipitation is a key link in the global water cycle and a proxy for changing climate; therefore proper assessment of the urban environment s impact on precipitation (land use, aerosols, thermal properties) will be increasingly important in ongoing climate diagnostics and prediction, Global Water and Energy Cycle (GWEC) analysis and modeling, weather forecasting, freshwater resource management, urban planning-design and land-atmosphere-ocean interface processes. These facts are particularly critical if current projections for global urban growth are accurate. The goal of this paper is to provide a concise review of recent (1990-present) studies related to how the urban environment affects precipitation. In addition to providing a synopsis of current work, recent findings are placed in context with historical investigations such as METROMEX studies. Both observational and modeling studies of urban-induced rainfall are discussed. Additionally, a discussion of the relative roles of urban dynamic and microphysical (e.g. aerosol) processes is presented. The paper closes with a set of recommendations for what observations and capabilities are needed in the future to advance our understanding of the processes.

Local Optical Closure Using Single Particle Mixing State Observations during the 2010 DOE CARES Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaveri, R. A.; Arnott, W. P.; Atkinson, D. B.; Barnard, J.; Beranek, J.; Cappa, C. D.; Chand, D.; Dubey, M. K.; Easter, R. C.; Flowers, B. A.; Gyawali, M. S.; Jobson, B. T.; Pekour, M. S.; Riemer, N. S.; Subramanian, R.; Song, C.; Zelenyuk, A.

2011-12-01

Atmospheric black carbon (BC) particles readily absorb both upwelling and downwelling broadband radiation and are thought to be second only to CO2 in contributing to global warming. However large uncertainties still exist in the global estimates of BC radiative forcing, which depend not only on our ability to accurately simulate the global loading and distribution of BC, but also on the precise knowledge of the mixing state and morphology of BC particles due to aging. To this end, one of the objectives of the Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) conducted in Sacramento, CA, during June 2010 was to investigate the evolution of urban BC particles and the associated optical properties, with the overarching goal of improving their process-level model representations. The daytime Sacramento urban plume was routinely transported to the northeast into the Sierra Nevada foothills area rich in biogenic emissions, and the aged aerosols were often recirculated back into the urban area the next morning. The CARES campaign observational strategy was designed to take advantage of this flow pattern by setting up two observation supersites - one located within the Sacramento urban area, referred to as the "T0 site," and another located about 24 km to the northeast in Cool, CA, a small town in the rural foothills area, referred to as the "T1 site." BC size distribution and mixing state were measured at both the sites with single particle soot photometry (SP2). The single particle mass spectrometer SPLAT II was also deployed at the T0 site to characterize the size, composition (mixing state), density, and morphology of BC and non-BC containing particles. Non-refractory aerosol species were measured by Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS). Aerosol light absorption and scattering (or extinction) at multiple wavelengths were measured using several techniques, including photoacoustic, cavity ring-down, nephelometer as well as the filter-based particle/soot absorption photometer (PSAP). Other supporting measurements include aerosol size distribution and key trace gases (NOx, NOy, O3, and volatile organic compounds). The combined data thus provides a unique opportunity to characterize BC aging and its effect on optical properties. In this paper, we will present results from a local optical closure study for selected 10-minute samples at the T0 urban site using the particle-resolved version of the comprehensive aerosol model MOSAIC coupled to a shell/core Mie code. Sensitivity of the predicted optical properties to various measurements and model representations of particle composition, mixing state, size bin resolution, and refractive indices will be examined.

Dominant control of agriculture and irrigation on urban heat island in India.

PubMed

Kumar, Rahul; Mishra, Vimal; Buzan, Jonathan; Kumar, Rohini; Shindell, Drew; Huber, Matthew

2017-10-25

As is true in many regions, India experiences surface Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect that is well understood, but the causes of the more recently discovered Urban Cool Island (UCI) effect remain poorly constrained. This raises questions about our fundamental understanding of the drivers of rural-urban environmental gradients and hinders development of effective strategies for mitigation and adaptation to projected heat stress increases in rapidly urbanizing India. Here we show that more than 60% of Indian urban areas are observed to experience a day-time UCI. We use satellite observations and the Community Land Model (CLM) to identify the impact of irrigation and prove for the first time that UCI is caused by lack of vegetation and moisture in non-urban areas relative to cities. In contrast, urban areas in extensively irrigated landscapes generally experience the expected positive UHI effect. At night, UHI warming intensifies, occurring across a majority (90%) of India's urban areas. The magnitude of rural-urban temperature contrasts is largely controlled by agriculture and moisture availability from irrigation, but further analysis of model results indicate an important role for atmospheric aerosols. Thus both land-use decisions and aerosols are important factors governing, modulating, and even reversing the expected urban-rural temperature gradients.

Cloud residues and interstitial aerosols from non-precipitating clouds over an industrial and urban area in northern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Weijun; Li, Peiren; Sun, Guode; Zhou, Shengzhen; Yuan, Qi; Wang, Wenxing

2011-05-01

Most studies of aerosol-cloud interactions have been conducted in remote locations; few have investigated the characterization of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) over highly polluted urban and industrial areas. The present work, based on samples collected at Mt. Tai, a site in northern China affected by nearby urban and industrial air pollutant emissions, illuminates CCN properties in a polluted atmosphere. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (TEM) was used to obtain the size, composition, and mixing state of individual cloud residues and interstitial aerosols. Most of the cloud residues displayed distinct rims which were found to consist of soluble organic matter (OM). Nearly all (91.7%) cloud residues were attributed to sulfate-related salts (the remainder was mostly coarse crustal dust particles with nitrate coatings). Half the salt particles were internally mixed with two or more refractory particles (e.g., soot, fly ash, crustal dust, CaSO 4, and OM). A comparison between cloud residues and interstitial particles shows that the former contained more salts and were of larger particle size than the latter. In addition, a somewhat high number scavenging ratio of 0.54 was observed during cloud formation. Therefore, the mixtures of salts with OMs account for most of the cloud-nucleating ability of the entire aerosol population in the polluted air of northern China. We advocate that both size and composition - the two influential, controlling factors for aerosol activation - should be built into all regional climate models of China.

SOA YIELDS AND ORGANIC PRODUCT DISTRIBUTION FROM NATURAL HYDROCARBON/NOX IRRADIATIONS

EPA Science Inventory

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) typically comprises one-quarter to one-third of the ambient aerosol mass in summertime urban atmospheres. In tropospheric environments, the main precursors of SOA come from aromatic and natural hydrocarbons. Recent work by various investigators...

EVALUATION OF COMPUTER-CONTROLLED SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY APPLIED TO AN AMBIENT URBAN AEROSOL SAMPLE

EPA Science Inventory

Concerns about the environmental and public health effects of particulate matter (PM) have stimulated interest in analytical techniques capable of measuring the size and chemical composition of individual aerosol particles. Computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSE...

Pollen Characterization in Size Segregated Atmospheric Aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolpakova, Anna; Hovorka, Jan; Klán, Miroslav

2017-12-01

The first stage of a High Volumetric Cascade Impactor - HiVol (BGI-900), used for sampling of aerosol particles larger than 10 micrometres in aerodynamic diameter, was tested for bioaerosol sampling. Low air flow-rate and low pressure-drop at the jets of the first stage and high air volume are advantageous parameters, which would favour the use of the first stage for bioaerosol sampling. The sampling went in urban, rural and background localities, Prague, Brezno and Laz respectively in the Czech Republic, in summer and autumn. Pollen was separated from the impaction substrate, polyurethane foam, into homogeneous deposit on Nylon filter. The homogeneity of the deposit varied within 4%. Representative portion of the deposit was analysed by a scanning electron microscopy - SEM. There were taken 485 SEM images from 12 samples in 3 localities. Pollen grains were identified in 295 SEM images and determined into 9 genus and 4 families. Median pollen grain concentrations/deformities were 9m-3/24%, 3m-3/18%, 8m-3/50% for Prague, Brezno and Láz localities respectively. The pollen grains of the Poaceae family were found with the highest frequency in all localities. Number of pollen increased with total aerosol mass in Prague locality only. There were also identified brochosomes, rather unique insect secretion products, in the samples from the Láz locality.

Physicochemical variations in atmospheric aerosols recorded at sea onboard the Atlantic-Mediterranean 2008 Scholar Ship cruise (Part II): Natural versus anthropogenic influences revealed by PM 10 trace element geochemistry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moreno, Teresa; Pérez, Noemi; Querol, Xavier; Amato, Fulvio; Alastuey, Andrés; Bhatia, Ravinder; Spiro, Baruch; Hanvey, Melanie; Gibbons, Wes

2010-07-01

The geochemistry of PM 10 filter samples collected at sea during the Scholar Ship Atlantic-Mediterranean 2008 research cruise reveals a constantly changing compositional mix of pollutants into the marine atmosphere. Source apportionment modelling using Positive Matrix Factorization identifies North African desert dust, sea spray, secondary inorganic aerosols, metalliferous carbon, and V-Ni-bearing combustion particles as the main PM 10 factors/sources. The least contaminated samples show an upper continental crust composition (UCC)-normalised geochemistry influenced by seawater chemistry, with marked depletions in Rb, Th and the lighter lanthanoid elements, whereas the arrival of desert dust intrusions imposes a more upper crustal signature enriched in "geological" elements such as Si, Al, Ti, Rb, Li and Sc. Superimposed on these natural background aerosol loadings are anthropogenic metal aerosols (e.g. Cu, Zn, Pb, V, and Mn) which allow identification of pollution sources such as fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning, metalliferous industries, and urban-industrial ports. A particularly sensitive tracer is La/Ce, which rises in response to contamination from coastal FCC oil refineries. The Scholar Ship database allows us to recognise seaborne pollution sourced from NW Africa, the Cape Verde and Canary islands, and European cities and industrial complexes, plumes which in extreme cases can produce a downwind deterioration in marine air quality comparable to that seen in many cities, and can persist hundreds of kilometres from land.

The Effect of Particle Composition on Hygroscopicity and Droplet Formation at CARES

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cziczo, D. J.; Pekour, M. S.; Hiranuma, N.; Nelson, D.

2010-12-01

During the June, 2010 Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) a custom made humidity controlled nephelometer, hereafter termed a ‘humidograph’, was deployed with a commercial cloud condensation nucleus counter (CCNC) and the particle analysis by laser mass spectrometry (PALMS) instrument. Other ancillary measurements, such as particle size distributions, were made continuously during the month. The CARES field study took place in the Sacramento, CA area. Early June was characterized by cool, wet weather with predominantly northerly flow and very low particle loading. Very little biomass burning took place and the aerosol was largely sulfate neutralized by ammonia. Later in the month a more typical flow pattern from the Sacramento urban area toward the foothills developed. During this period more biomass burning occurred and organics from anthropogenic and urban sources were present on particles. The aforementioned instruments were located in the town of Cool, CA in the Sierra foothills, approximately 50 kilometers north east of cool. This site was chosen as being on the typical summertime daily flow some hours downstream of the Sacramento urban plume. Using these instruments we were able to correlate water uptake and droplet formation with particle composition. The early period of CARES was characterized by a clear deliquescence of the aerosol at ~80% relative humidity which correlated with an ammonium neutralized sulfate aerosol composition. Few CCN were present although these activated at low supersaturations and represented a large fraction of the total aerosol over ~70 nanometers in diameter. Later in the month deliquescence was not clearly indicated for a more organic-rich and biomass burning influenced aerosol. More CCN were present although activation generally required much higher saturations.

Micro-scale variability of particulate matter and the influence of urban fabric on the aerosol distribution in two mid-sized German cities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paas, Bastian; Schneider, Christoph

2016-04-01

Spatial micro-scale variability of particle mass concentrations is an important criterion for urban air quality assessment. The major proportion of the world's population lives in cities, where exceedances of air quality standards occur regularly. Current research suggests that both long-term and even short-term stays, e.g. during commuting or relaxing, at locations with high PM concentrations could have significant impacts on health. In this study we present results from model calculations in comparison to high resolution spatial and temporal measurements. Airborne particles were sampled using an optical particle counter in two inner-city park areas in Aachen and Munster. Both are mid-sized German cities which, however, are characterized by a different topology. The measurement locations represent spots with different degrees of outdoor particle exposure that can be experienced by a pedestrian walking in an intra-urban recreational area. Simulations of aerosol distributions induced by road traffic were conducted using both the German reference dispersion model Austal2000 and the numerical microclimate model ENVI-met. Simulation results reveal details in the distribution of urban particles with highest concentrations of PM10 in direct vicinity to traffic lines. The corresponding concentrations rapidly decline as the distances to the line sources increase. Still, urban fabric and obstacles like shrubs or trees are proved to have a major impact on the aerosol distribution in the area. Furthermore, the distribution of particles was highly dependent of wind direction and turbulence characteristics. The analysis of observational data leads to the hypothesis that besides motor traffic numerous diffuse particle sources e.g. on the ability of surfaces to release particles by resuspension which were dominantly apparent in measured PM(1;10) and PM(0.25;10) data are present in the urban roughness layer. The results highlight that a conclusive picture concerning micro-scale patterns of PM helps to understand the effects of urban fabric and obstacles of both natural and artificial origin (e.g. street furniture, vegetation elements and buildings) on the local patterns of aerosol distribution. Simulation results with Austal2000 and ENVI-met indicate that there is potential to support urban planners in designing urban infrastructure and open spaces with reduced local particle concentrations through modelling. This approach seemingly is i.e. relevant for inner-city recreational areas.

Enviro-HIRLAM/ HARMONIE Studies in ECMWF HPC EnviroAerosols Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

The EnviroAerosols on ECMWF HPC project (2015-2017) "Enviro-HIRLAM/ HARMONIE model research and development for online integrated meteorology-chemistry-aerosols feedbacks and interactions in weather and atmospheric composition forecasting" is aimed at analysis of importance of the meteorology-chemistry/aerosols interactions and to provide a way for development of efficient techniques for on-line coupling of numerical weather prediction and atmospheric chemical transport via process-oriented parameterizations and feedback algorithms, which will improve both the numerical weather prediction and atmospheric composition forecasts. Two main application areas of the on-line integrated modelling are considered: (i) improved numerical weather prediction with short-term feedbacks of aerosols and chemistry on formation and development of meteorological variables, and (ii) improved atmospheric composition forecasting with on-line integrated meteorological forecast and two-way feedbacks between aerosols/chemistry and meteorology. During 2015-2016 several research projects were realized. At first, the study on "On-line Meteorology-Chemistry/Aerosols Modelling and Integration for Risk Assessment: Case Studies" focused on assessment of scenarios with accidental and continuous emissions of sulphur dioxide for case studies for Atyrau (Kazakhstan) near the northern part of the Caspian Sea and metallurgical enterprises on the Kola Peninsula (Russia), with GIS integration of modelling results into the RANDOM (Risk Assessment of Nature Detriment due to Oil spill Migration) system. At second, the studies on "The sensitivity of precipitation simulations to the soot aerosol presence" & "The precipitation forecast sensitivity to data assimilation on a very high resolution domain" focused on sensitivity and changes in precipitation life-cycle under black carbon polluted conditions over Scandinavia. At third, studies on "Aerosol effects over China investigated with a high resolution 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.

Contrasting aerosol optical and radiative properties between dust and urban haze episodes in megacities of Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iftikhar, Muhammad; Alam, Khan; Sorooshian, Armin; Syed, Waqar Adil; Bibi, Samina; Bibi, Humera

2018-01-01

Satellite and ground based remote sensors provide vital information about aerosol optical and radiative properties. Analysis of aerosol optical and radiative properties during heavy aerosol loading events in Pakistan are limited and, therefore, require in-depth examination. This work examines aerosol properties and radiative forcing during Dust Episodes (DE) and Haze Episodes (HE) between 2010 and 2014 over mega cities of Pakistan (Karachi and Lahore). Episodes having the daily averaged values of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) exceeding 1 were selected. DE were associated with high AOD and low Ångström Exponent (AE) over Karachi and Lahore while high AOD and high AE values were associated with HE over Lahore. Aerosol volume size distributions (AVSD) exhibited a bimodal lognormal distribution with a noticeable coarse mode peak at a radius of 2.24 μm during DE, whereas a fine mode peak was prominent at a radius 0.25 μm during HE. The results reveal distinct differences between HE and DE for spectral profiles of several parameters including Single Scattering Albedo (SSA), ASYmmetry parameter (ASY), and the real and imaginary components of refractive index (RRI and IRI). The AOD-AE correlation revealed that dust was the dominant aerosol type during DE and that biomass burning and urban/industrial aerosol types were pronounced during HE. Aerosol radiative forcing (ARF) was estimated using the Santa Barbra DISORT Atmospheric Radiative Transfer (SBDART) model. Calculations revealed a negative ARF at the Top Of the Atmosphere (ARFTOA) and at the Bottom Of the Atmosphere (ARFBOA), with positive ARF within the Atmosphere (ARFATM) during both DE and HE over Karachi and Lahore. Furthermore, estimations of ARFATM by SBDART were shown to be in good agreement with values derived from AERONET data for DE and HE over Karachi and Lahore.

Spread of acid rain over India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khemani, L. T.; Momin, G. A.; Rao, P. S. Prakasa; Safai, P. D.; Singh, G.; Kapoor, R. K.

Rain water and aerosol samples were collected at a few locations representative of urban and non-urban regions in India. Also, rain water samples were collected in and around a coal-fired power plant. All the rain water and aerosol samples were analyzed for major chemical components along with pH. The rain water at all the places of measurement, except near the industrial sources, has been found to be alkaline and was characterized by the presence of excess cations, particularly by Ca 2+. The acid rain near the industrial sources was associated with excess anions, especially SO 42-. The atmospheric aerosols at all the places of measurement were found rich with basic components, suggesting that the alkaline soil dust and fly ash are responsible at present for preventing the spread of acid rain in India.

The impact of anthropogenic emissions on the otherwise pristine Amazonian rainforest: Insights on aerosol dynamics as observed during GoAmazon2014/5

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carbone, S.; Ferreira De Brito, J.; Cirino, G. G.; Rizzo, L. V.; Holanda, B. A.; Barbosa, H. M.; Ditas, F.; Pöhlker, C.; Chi, X.; Krüger, M. L.; Moran, D.; Saturno, J.; Andreae, M. O.; de Sá, S. S.; Liu, Y.; Martin, S. T.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Wang, J.; Palm, B. B.; Jimenez, J. L.; Artaxo, P.

2015-12-01

The Amazon Basin during the wet season has one of the lowest aerosol concentrations worldwide, with air masses with negligible human impact covering thousands of kilometers of pristine forest. The natural environment is strongly modified near urbanized areas, in particular Manaus, a city of nearly two million people. This unique location provides the ideal laboratory to study isolated urban emissions as well the pristine environment by perturbing it in a relatively known fashion. The GoAmazon2014/5 experiment was designed with these questions in mind, combining remote sensing, in situ, and airborne measurements. This manuscript describes the measurements taken at the T0 site, upwind of Manaus, (the Amazonian Tall Tower Observatory, ATTO site), at the T2 site, near Manaus, frequently impacted by relatively fresh emissions from the city and at T3, 60 km downwind of Manaus. This work relates the aerosol dynamics of the mixture of anthropogenic emissions from Manaus and the biogenic air masses, and how it evolves from T2 to T3 under different atmospheric conditions. Focus is on the aerosol size distribution, supported by aerosol mass spectrometry and gas-phase composition, in particular at the T2 site. At T0, the aerosol number concentration has been observed to increase from an average of 380 cm-3 to 1750 cm-3 from the wet to the dry season. The mean geometric diameter increased as well, from 95 nm to 145 nm. Interestingly, at the T2 site no significant difference was observed in number concentration between wet and dry seasons (approximately 4300 cm-3) with an average diameter of 60 nm during the former and 97 nm in the latter. Such measurements provide a unique dataset to understand the aerosol life cycle and the impact of urban emissions in the heart of the Amazon Forest.

Lidar backscattering measurements of background stratospheric aerosols

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Remsberg, E. E.; Northam, G. B.; Butler, C. F.

1979-01-01

A comparative lidar-dustsonde experiment was conducted in San Angelo, Texas, in May 1974 in order to estimate the uncertainties in stratospheric-aerosol backscatter for the NASA Langley 48-inch lidar system. The lidar calibration and data-analysis procedures are discussed. Results from the Texas experiment indicate random and systematic uncertainties of 35 and 63 percent, respectively, in backscatter from a background stratospheric-aerosol layer at 20 km.

Monitoring the Impacts of Wildfires on Forest Ecosystems and Public Health in the Exo-Urban Environment Using High-Resolution Satellite Aerosol Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS).

PubMed

Huff, Amy K; Kondragunta, Shobha; Zhang, Hai; Hoff, Raymond M

2015-01-01

Increasing development of exo-urban environments and the spread of urbanization into forested areas is making humans and forest ecosystems more susceptible to the risks associated with wildfires. Larger and more damaging wildfires are having a negative impact on forest ecosystem services, and smoke from wildfires adversely affects the public health of people living in exo-urban environments. Satellite aerosol measurements are valuable tools that can track the evolution of wildfires and monitor the transport of smoke plumes. Operational users, such as air quality forecasters and fire management officials, can use satellite observations to complement ground-based and aircraft measurements of wildfire activity. To date, wildfire applications of satellite aerosol products, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD), have been limited by the relatively coarse resolution of available AOD data. However, the new Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite has high-resolution AOD that is ideally suited to monitoring wildfire impacts on the exo-urban scale. Two AOD products are available from VIIRS: the 750-m × 750-m nadir resolution Intermediate Product (IP) and the 6-km × 6-km resolution Environmental Data Record product, which is aggregated from IP measurements. True color (red, green, and blue [RGB]) imagery and a smoke mask at 750-m × 750-m resolution are also available from VIIRS as decision aids for wildfire applications; they serve as counterparts to AOD measurements by providing visible information about areas of smoke in the atmosphere. To meet the needs of operational users, who do not have time to process raw data files and need access to VIIRS products in near-real time (NRT), VIIRS AOD and RGB NRT imagery are available from the Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications (IDEA) web site. A key feature of IDEA is an interactive visualization tool that allows users to display tailored combinations of AOD and RGB imagery, as well as overlay the VIIRS smoke mask and fire hotspots at pixel resolution (~750-m × 750-m), and zoom into the county level. Two case studies of recent wildfires in the Western US are presented to show how operational users can access and display VIIRS aerosol products to monitor the transport of smoke plumes and evolution of fires in the exo-urban environment on the regional and county scales. The new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Western Region Fire and Smoke Initiative is also discussed, which will enhance IDEA to allow visualization of VIIRS aerosol products down to the neighborhood scale. The new high-resolution VIIRS aerosol products can be used for NRT monitoring of human exposure to smoke, and they can be used to gauge the spread of fires and, thus, provide advanced warning for evacuations and fire suppression efforts, thereby reducing risks to human populations and forest ecosystems in the exo-urban environment.

Monitoring the Impacts of Wildfires on Forest Ecosystems and Public Health in the Exo-Urban Environment Using High-Resolution Satellite Aerosol Products from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS)

PubMed Central

Huff, Amy K; Kondragunta, Shobha; Zhang, Hai; Hoff, Raymond M

2015-01-01

Increasing development of exo-urban environments and the spread of urbanization into forested areas is making humans and forest ecosystems more susceptible to the risks associated with wildfires. Larger and more damaging wildfires are having a negative impact on forest ecosystem services, and smoke from wildfires adversely affects the public health of people living in exo-urban environments. Satellite aerosol measurements are valuable tools that can track the evolution of wildfires and monitor the transport of smoke plumes. Operational users, such as air quality forecasters and fire management officials, can use satellite observations to complement ground-based and aircraft measurements of wildfire activity. To date, wildfire applications of satellite aerosol products, such as aerosol optical depth (AOD), have been limited by the relatively coarse resolution of available AOD data. However, the new Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) instrument on the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) satellite has high-resolution AOD that is ideally suited to monitoring wildfire impacts on the exo-urban scale. Two AOD products are available from VIIRS: the 750-m × 750-m nadir resolution Intermediate Product (IP) and the 6-km × 6-km resolution Environmental Data Record product, which is aggregated from IP measurements. True color (red, green, and blue [RGB]) imagery and a smoke mask at 750-m × 750-m resolution are also available from VIIRS as decision aids for wildfire applications; they serve as counterparts to AOD measurements by providing visible information about areas of smoke in the atmosphere. To meet the needs of operational users, who do not have time to process raw data files and need access to VIIRS products in near-real time (NRT), VIIRS AOD and RGB NRT imagery are available from the Infusing satellite Data into Environmental Applications (IDEA) web site. A key feature of IDEA is an interactive visualization tool that allows users to display tailored combinations of AOD and RGB imagery, as well as overlay the VIIRS smoke mask and fire hotspots at pixel resolution (~750-m × 750-m), and zoom into the county level. Two case studies of recent wildfires in the Western US are presented to show how operational users can access and display VIIRS aerosol products to monitor the transport of smoke plumes and evolution of fires in the exo-urban environment on the regional and county scales. The new National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Western Region Fire and Smoke Initiative is also discussed, which will enhance IDEA to allow visualization of VIIRS aerosol products down to the neighborhood scale. The new high-resolution VIIRS aerosol products can be used for NRT monitoring of human exposure to smoke, and they can be used to gauge the spread of fires and, thus, provide advanced warning for evacuations and fire suppression efforts, thereby reducing risks to human populations and forest ecosystems in the exo-urban environment. PMID:26078588

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

PubMed

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.

Reducing Multisensor Satellite Monthly Mean Aerosol Optical Depth Uncertainty: 1. Objective Assessment of Current AERONET Locations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Jing; Li, Xichen; Carlson, Barbara E.; Kahn, Ralph A.; Lacis, Andrew A.; Dubovik, Oleg; Nakajima, Teruyuki

2016-01-01

Various space-based sensors have been designed and corresponding algorithms developed to retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD), the very basic aerosol optical property, yet considerable disagreement still exists across these different satellite data sets. Surface-based observations aim to provide ground truth for validating satellite data; hence, their deployment locations should preferably contain as much spatial information as possible, i.e., high spatial representativeness. Using a novel Ensemble Kalman Filter (EnKF)- based approach, we objectively evaluate the spatial representativeness of current Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites. Multisensor monthly mean AOD data sets from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor, Ozone Monitoring Instrument, and Polarization and Anisotropy of Reflectances for Atmospheric Sciences coupled with Observations from a Lidar are combined into a 605-member ensemble, and AERONET data are considered as the observations to be assimilated into this ensemble using the EnKF. The assessment is made by comparing the analysis error variance (that has been constrained by ground-based measurements), with the background error variance (based on satellite data alone). Results show that the total uncertainty is reduced by approximately 27% on average and could reach above 50% over certain places. The uncertainty reduction pattern also has distinct seasonal patterns, corresponding to the spatial distribution of seasonally varying aerosol types, such as dust in the spring for Northern Hemisphere and biomass burning in the fall for Southern Hemisphere. Dust and biomass burning sites have the highest spatial representativeness, rural and oceanic sites can also represent moderate spatial information, whereas the representativeness of urban sites is relatively localized. A spatial score ranging from 1 to 3 is assigned to each AERONET site based on the uncertainty reduction, indicating its representativeness level.

Retrieval of AOD and PM2.5 Concentrations over Urban Areas of Shenyang City using MODIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Z.

2016-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols play an important part in the Earth's radiation balance as well as global climate change, aerosols also have very important impact on environment as well as human and other organisms' health, PM2.5 and other small particle aerosols, can enter bronchi directly, thus causing bronchitis, cardiovascular disease, asthma and so on.Detection of AOD by satellite and remote sensing is currently one of the hotest issues , diffierent from the traditional monitoring method, this method has much more advantanges, for emample wide area coverage, fast and convenient etc. So it is possible for people to know the regional changes of AOD real time over large area. Now, detection aerosol by RS technology has reached a high level in marine and dense vegetation land areas, but result is not ideal for urban areas, the higher surface reflectance in urban areas is a bottleneck of AOD retrieval. Focus on the high surface reflectance and low accuracy of the AOD products of urban areas, this paper propose an algorithm coupled with surface reflectance to get red band surface reflectance, based on Dens Dark Vegetation algorithm and geometrical optics model theory, to distinguish urban reflectivity from other targets. Considering the appropriate aerosol model which adapt to season and other proper parameters, this paper uses 6S model to establish look-up table, thus retrieve AOD for urban as well as other high reflectance areas. This paper take Shenyang region as pilot area, then retrieve the AOD and PM2.5 concentration of Shenyang in 2015 based on MODIS data, thus get 1km resolution distribution map, and then analyzed the results in spatial, intensity and temporal. At last, real-time monitoring data from the ground monitor station is used to verify the outcome, the results have good accuracy and the the correlation reached 0.9004 when the weather is sunny. The research shows that this algorithm has relatively higher precision and certain universality. This method has better applicability to retrieve AOD and PM2.5 concentration by remote sensing in Shenyang and Liaoning Provience, and owes guiding and reference significance, and it has a high value in terms of atmospheric environment monitoring.

Climatic influence of background and volcanic stratosphere aerosol models

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Deschamps, P. Y.; Herman, M.; Lenoble, J.; Tanre, D.

1982-01-01

A simple modelization of the earth atmosphere system including tropospheric and stratospheric aerosols has been derived and tested. Analytical expressions are obtained for the albedo variation due to a thin stratospheric aerosol layer. Also outlined are the physical procedures and the respective influence of the main parameters: aerosol optical thickness, single scattering albedo and asymmetry factor, and sublayer albedo. The method is applied to compute the variation of the zonal and planetary albedos due to a stratospheric layer of background H2SO4 particles and of volcanic ash.

Characteristics of size-segregated carbonaceous aerosols in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.

PubMed

Guo, Yuhong

2016-07-01

Mass concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in size-resolved aerosols were investigated at four sites (three cities and one country) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from September 2009 to August 2011. The size distributions of OC and EC presented large evolutions among rural and urban sites, and among four seasons, with highest peaks of OC and EC in fine mode in urban areas during winter. Geometric mean diameters (GMDs) of OC and EC in fine particles at urban sites during winter were lower than those at rural site mainly due to effects of fine particle coagulation and organic compound repartitioning. Fossil fuel emissions were a dominant source of OC and EC in urban areas, while biomass burning was a major source of OC and EC at rural site. Trajectory clustering and CWT analysis showed that regional transport was an important contributor to OC and EC in Beijing.

Fast Airborne Aerosol Size and Chemistry Measurements with the High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer during the MILAGRO Campaign

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

DeCarlo, P. F.; Dunlea, E. J.; Kimmel, J. R.; Aiken, A. C.; Sueper, D.; Crounse, J.; Wennberg, P. O.; Emmons, L.; Shinozuka, Y.; Clarke, A.;

Morphology and mixing of black carbon particles collected in central California during the CARES field study

DOE PAGES

Moffet, Ryan C.; O'Brien, Rachel E.; Alpert, Peter A.; ...

2016-11-23

Aerosol absorption is strongly dependent on the internal heterogeneity (mixing state) and morphology of individual particles containing black carbon (BC) and other non-absorbing species. Here, we examine an extensive microscopic data set collected in the California Central Valley during the CARES 2010 field campaign. During a period of high photochemical activity and pollution buildup, the particle mixing state and morphology were characterized using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) at the carbon K-edge. Observations of compacted BC core morphologies and thick organic coatings at both urban and rural sites provide evidence of the aged nature of particles, highlighting the importance ofmore » highly aged particles at urban sites during periods of high photochemical activity. Based on the observation of thick coatings and more convex BC inclusion morphology, either the aging was rapid or the contribution of fresh BC emissions at the urban site was relatively small compared to background concentrations. Most particles were observed to have the BC inclusion close to the center of the host. However, host particles containing inorganic rich inclusions had the BC inclusion closer to the edge of the particle. Furthermore, these measurements of BC morphology and mixing state provide important constraints for the morphological effects on BC optical properties expected in aged urban plumes.« less

Morphology and mixing of black carbon particles collected in central California during the CARES field study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Moffet, Ryan C.; O'Brien, Rachel E.; Alpert, Peter A.

Aerosol absorption is strongly dependent on the internal heterogeneity (mixing state) and morphology of individual particles containing black carbon (BC) and other non-absorbing species. Here, we examine an extensive microscopic data set collected in the California Central Valley during the CARES 2010 field campaign. During a period of high photochemical activity and pollution buildup, the particle mixing state and morphology were characterized using scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) at the carbon K-edge. Observations of compacted BC core morphologies and thick organic coatings at both urban and rural sites provide evidence of the aged nature of particles, highlighting the importance ofmore » highly aged particles at urban sites during periods of high photochemical activity. Based on the observation of thick coatings and more convex BC inclusion morphology, either the aging was rapid or the contribution of fresh BC emissions at the urban site was relatively small compared to background concentrations. Most particles were observed to have the BC inclusion close to the center of the host. However, host particles containing inorganic rich inclusions had the BC inclusion closer to the edge of the particle. Furthermore, these measurements of BC morphology and mixing state provide important constraints for the morphological effects on BC optical properties expected in aged urban plumes.« less

Aerosol studies during the ESCOMPTE experiment: an overview

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 satisfactorily for the measured aerosol concentrations. The formation of secondary particles in the model is currently underway; initial encouraging results show that the model accounts for the formation of secondary species, such as sulphate and organic particles. Finally, radiative calculations suggest that the role of the fine aerosol fraction is predominant mostly due to the presence of black carbon (BC) particles, which could induce a regional atmospheric heating.

Aerosol removal due to precipitation and wind forcings in Milan urban area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cugerone, Katia; De Michele, Carlo; Ghezzi, Antonio; Gianelle, Vorne

2018-01-01

Air pollution represents a critical issue in Milan urban area (Northern Italy). Here, the levels of fine particles increase, overcoming the legal limits, mostly in wintertime, due to favourable calm weather conditions and large heating and vehicular traffic emissions. The main goal of this work is to quantify the aerosol removal effect due to precipitation at the ground. At first, the scavenging coefficients have been calculated for aerosol particles with diameter between 0.25 and 3 μm. The average values of this coefficient vary between 2 ×10-5 and 5 ×10-5 s-1. Then, the aerosol removal induced separately by precipitation and wind have been compared through the introduction of a removal index. As a matter of fact, while precipitation leads to a proper wet scavenging of the particles from the atmosphere, high wind speeds cause enhanced particle dispersion and dilution, that locally bring to a tangible decrease of aerosol particles' number. The removal triggered by these two forcings showed comparable average values, but different trends. The removal efficiency of precipitation lightly increases with the increase of particle diameters and vice versa happens with strong winds.

CARES Helps Explain Secondary Organic Aerosols

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zaveri, Rahul

2014-03-28

What happens when urban man-made pollution mixes with what we think of as pristine forest air? To know more about what this interaction means for the climate, the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study, or CARES, field campaign was designed in 2010. The sampling strategy during CARES was coordinated with CalNex 2010, another major field campaign that was planned in California in 2010 by the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the California Energy Commission (CEC). "We found two things. When urban pollution mixes with forest pollutions we get more secondary organic aerosols,"more » said Rahul Zaveri, FCSD scientist and project lead on CARES. "SOAs are thought to be formed primarily from forest emissions but only when they interact with urban emissions. The data is saying that there will be climate cooling over the central California valley because of these interactions." Knowledge gained from detailed analyses of data gathered during the CARES campaign, together with laboratory experiments, is being used to improve existing climate models.« less

Argon offline-AMS source apportionment of organic aerosol over yearly cycles for an urban, rural, and marine site in northern Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bozzetti, Carlo; Sosedova, Yuliya; Xiao, Mao; Daellenbach, Kaspar R.; Ulevicius, Vidmantas; Dudoitis, Vadimas; Mordas, Genrik; Byčenkienė, Steigvilė; Plauškaitė, Kristina; Vlachou, Athanasia; Golly, Benjamin; Chazeau, Benjamin; Besombes, Jean-Luc; Baltensperger, Urs; Jaffrezo, Jean-Luc; Slowik, Jay G.; El Haddad, Imad; Prévôt, André S. H.

2017-01-01

The widespread use of Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometers (AMS) has greatly improved real-time organic aerosol (OA) monitoring, providing mass spectra that contain sufficient information for source apportionment. However, AMS field deployments remain expensive and demanding, limiting the acquisition of long-term datasets at many sampling sites. The offline application of aerosol mass spectrometry entailing the analysis of nebulized water extracted filter samples (offline-AMS) increases the spatial coverage accessible to AMS measurements, being filters routinely collected at many stations worldwide. PM1 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter < 1 µm) filter samples were collected during an entire year in Lithuania at three different locations representative of three typical environments of the southeast Baltic region: Vilnius (urban background), Rūgšteli\\vskis (rural terrestrial), and Preila (rural coastal). Aqueous filter extracts were nebulized in Ar, yielding the first AMS measurements of water-soluble atmospheric organic aerosol (WSOA) without interference from air fragments. This enables direct measurement of the CO+ fragment contribution, whose intensity is typically assumed to be equal to that of CO2+. Offline-AMS spectra reveal that the water-soluble CO2+ : CO+ ratio not only shows values systematically > 1 but is also dependent on season, with lower values in winter than in summer. AMS WSOA spectra were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF), which yielded four factors. These factors included biomass burning OA (BBOA), local OA (LOA) contributing significantly only in Vilnius, and two oxygenated OA (OOA) factors, summer OOA (S-OOA) and background OOA (B-OOA), distinguished by their seasonal variability. The contribution of traffic exhaust OA (TEOA) was not resolved by PMF due to both low concentrations and low water solubility. Therefore, the TEOA concentration was estimated using a chemical mass balance approach, based on the concentrations of hopanes, specific markers of traffic emissions. AMS-PMF source apportionment results were consistent with those obtained from PMF applied to marker concentrations (i.e., major inorganic ions, OC / EC, and organic markers including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and their derivatives, hopanes, long-chain alkanes, monosaccharides, anhydrous sugars, and lignin fragmentation products). OA was the largest fraction of PM1 and was dominated by BBOA during winter with an average concentration of 2 µg m-3 (53 % of OM), while S-OOA, probably related to biogenic emissions, was the prevalent OA component during summer with an average concentration of 1.2 µg m-3 (45 % of OM). PMF ascribed a large part of the CO+ explained variability (97 %) to the OOA and BBOA factors. Accordingly, we discuss a new CO+ parameterization as a function of CO2+ and C2H4O2+ fragments, which were selected to describe the variability of the OOA and BBOA factors.

Fossil and contemporary sources of organic and elemental carbon at a rural and an urban site in the Netherlands

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dusek, U.; Monaco, M.; Weijers, E.; Röckmann, T.

2012-04-01

Measurement of the radioactive carbon isotope 14C in aerosols can provide a direct estimate of the contribution of fossil fuel sources to aerosol carbon. In aerosol science, measurements of 14C/12C ratios are usually reported as fraction modern (fm), relative to an oxalic acid standard that, by definition, has fm=1. The radiocarbon signature gives a clear distinction between 'modern' carbon sources (fm around 1.1-1.2 for biomass burning and around 1.05 for biogenic secondary organic aerosol) and 'fossil' carbon sources (fm =0 for primary and secondary formation from fossil fuel combustion). High volume filter samples have been collected since February 2011 at Cabauw, a rural location in the Netherlands, and additionally in May and June at two suburban locations around Rotterdam. We report measurements of fm for total carbon (TC), organic carbon (OC), water insoluble OC (WIOC) and thermally refractory carbon (RC) as a proxy for elemental carbon. The carbon fractions are isolated by combusting TC at 650 °C, OC and WIOC at 360 °C. Refractory carbon is defined as the carbon remaining on the filter after water extraction, combustion at 360 °C for 15 min and at 450 °C for 2 minutes. The method has been tested with test substances and real aerosol filters and shows little charring for water-extracted filters. First results of 7 filter samples taken from February - Mai 2011 show fm(OC) generally larger than 0.86 at the rural site, except for one case, when a strongly polluted air mass originating in Eastern Europe reached the site. This indicates a strong contribution of natural sources to OC, even in the Netherlands, a very densely populated country with one of the highest levels of aerosol pollution in Western Europe. In particular, WSOC in the rural springtime aerosol seems to originate almost entirely from contemporary sources. Refractory carbon also showed relatively high fm, generally between 0.3-0.5, except in two cases, when marine air masses reached the site from the West and fm(RC) dropped to around 0.1. This could mean that biomass combustion plays a significant role around the Netherlands even in springtime. It is also possible that there exists a biogenic, organic component of the aerosol that evolves at such high temperatures that it is virtually inseparable from elemental carbon. Both hypotheses are consistent with low fM(RC) in marine aerosol. One urban sample was taken concurrently with one of the samples analyzed so far from the rural site. For both OC and RC, fM values were roughly 10-15% lower in the urban area than at the rural sites, which shows only a moderate influence of the urban fossil emissions on fm. A more detailed comparison between the rural and urban location as well as fm values in other seasons will be presented, as more samples from the rural site become available.

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

PubMed

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.

THE IMPACT OF BUILDING TOPOGRAPHY ON AEROSOL DISPERSION IN AN URBAN STREET CANYON

EPA Science Inventory

This extended abstract describes numerical simulations of the flow through a building array which includes an isolated tall tower. The work seeks to explore the impact of a single tall building on the circulation and channeling of aerosolized traffic emissions within a series of...

Traffic is a major source of atmospheric nanocluster aerosol

PubMed Central

Kuuluvainen, Heino; Karjalainen, Panu; Keskinen, Jorma; Hillamo, Risto; Niemi, Jarkko V.; Pirjola, Liisa; Timonen, Hilkka J.; Saarikoski, Sanna; Saukko, Erkka; Järvinen, Anssi; Silvennoinen, Henna; Rostedt, Antti; Olin, Miska; Yli-Ojanperä, Jaakko; Nousiainen, Pekka; Kousa, Anu; Dal Maso, Miikka

2017-01-01

In densely populated areas, traffic is a significant source of atmospheric aerosol particles. Owing to their small size and complicated chemical and physical characteristics, atmospheric particles resulting from traffic emissions pose a significant risk to human health and also contribute to anthropogenic forcing of climate. Previous research has established that vehicles directly emit primary aerosol particles and also contribute to secondary aerosol particle formation by emitting aerosol precursors. Here, we extend the urban atmospheric aerosol characterization to cover nanocluster aerosol (NCA) particles and show that a major fraction of particles emitted by road transportation are in a previously unmeasured size range of 1.3–3.0 nm. For instance, in a semiurban roadside environment, the NCA represented 20–54% of the total particle concentration in ambient air. The observed NCA concentrations varied significantly depending on the traffic rate and wind direction. The emission factors of NCA for traffic were 2.4·1015 (kgfuel)−1 in a roadside environment, 2.6·1015 (kgfuel)−1 in a street canyon, and 2.9·1015 (kgfuel)−1 in an on-road study throughout Europe. Interestingly, these emissions were not associated with all vehicles. In engine laboratory experiments, the emission factor of exhaust NCA varied from a relatively low value of 1.6·1012 (kgfuel)−1 to a high value of 4.3·1015 (kgfuel)−1. These NCA emissions directly affect particle concentrations and human exposure to nanosized aerosol in urban areas, and potentially may act as nanosized condensation nuclei for the condensation of atmospheric low-volatile organic compounds. PMID:28674021

Traffic is a major source of atmospheric nanocluster aerosol.

PubMed

Rönkkö, Topi; Kuuluvainen, Heino; Karjalainen, Panu; Keskinen, Jorma; Hillamo, Risto; Niemi, Jarkko V; Pirjola, Liisa; Timonen, Hilkka J; Saarikoski, Sanna; Saukko, Erkka; Järvinen, Anssi; Silvennoinen, Henna; Rostedt, Antti; Olin, Miska; Yli-Ojanperä, Jaakko; Nousiainen, Pekka; Kousa, Anu; Dal Maso, Miikka

2017-07-18

In densely populated areas, traffic is a significant source of atmospheric aerosol particles. Owing to their small size and complicated chemical and physical characteristics, atmospheric particles resulting from traffic emissions pose a significant risk to human health and also contribute to anthropogenic forcing of climate. Previous research has established that vehicles directly emit primary aerosol particles and also contribute to secondary aerosol particle formation by emitting aerosol precursors. Here, we extend the urban atmospheric aerosol characterization to cover nanocluster aerosol (NCA) particles and show that a major fraction of particles emitted by road transportation are in a previously unmeasured size range of 1.3-3.0 nm. For instance, in a semiurban roadside environment, the NCA represented 20-54% of the total particle concentration in ambient air. The observed NCA concentrations varied significantly depending on the traffic rate and wind direction. The emission factors of NCA for traffic were 2.4·10 15 (kg fuel ) -1 in a roadside environment, 2.6·10 15 (kg fuel ) -1 in a street canyon, and 2.9·10 15 (kg fuel ) -1 in an on-road study throughout Europe. Interestingly, these emissions were not associated with all vehicles. In engine laboratory experiments, the emission factor of exhaust NCA varied from a relatively low value of 1.6·10 12 (kg fuel ) -1 to a high value of 4.3·10 15 (kg fuel ) -1 These NCA emissions directly affect particle concentrations and human exposure to nanosized aerosol in urban areas, and potentially may act as nanosized condensation nuclei for the condensation of atmospheric low-volatile organic compounds.

Long-term cloud condensation nuclei number concentration, particle number size distribution and chemical composition measurements at regionally representative observatories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schmale, Julia; Henning, Silvia; Decesari, Stefano; Henzing, Bas; Keskinen, Helmi; Sellegri, Karine; Ovadnevaite, Jurgita; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Brito, Joel; Bougiatioti, Aikaterini; Kristensson, Adam; Kalivitis, Nikos; Stavroulas, Iasonas; Carbone, Samara; Jefferson, Anne; Park, Minsu; Schlag, Patrick; Iwamoto, Yoko; Aalto, Pasi; Äijälä, Mikko; Bukowiecki, Nicolas; Ehn, Mikael; Frank, Göran; Fröhlich, Roman; Frumau, Arnoud; Herrmann, Erik; Herrmann, Hartmut; Holzinger, Rupert; Kos, Gerard; Kulmala, Markku; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; Nenes, Athanasios; O'Dowd, Colin; Petäjä, Tuukka; Picard, David; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöschl, Ulrich; Poulain, Laurent; Prévôt, André Stephan Henry; Swietlicki, Erik; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Artaxo, Paulo; Wiedensohler, Alfred; Ogren, John; Matsuki, Atsushi; Yum, Seong Soo; Stratmann, Frank; Baltensperger, Urs; Gysel, Martin

2018-02-01

Aerosol-cloud interactions (ACI) constitute the single largest uncertainty in anthropogenic radiative forcing. To reduce the uncertainties and gain more confidence in the simulation of ACI, models need to be evaluated against observations, in particular against measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Here we present a data set - ready to be used for model validation - of long-term observations of CCN number concentrations, particle number size distributions and chemical composition from 12 sites on 3 continents. Studied environments include coastal background, rural background, alpine sites, remote forests and an urban surrounding. Expectedly, CCN characteristics are highly variable across site categories. However, they also vary within them, most strongly in the coastal background group, where CCN number concentrations can vary by up to a factor of 30 within one season. In terms of particle activation behaviour, most continental stations exhibit very similar activation ratios (relative to particles > 20 nm) across the range of 0.1 to 1.0 % supersaturation. At the coastal sites the transition from particles being CCN inactive to becoming CCN active occurs over a wider range of the supersaturation spectrum. Several stations show strong seasonal cycles of CCN number concentrations and particle number size distributions, e.g. at Barrow (Arctic haze in spring), at the alpine stations (stronger influence of polluted boundary layer air masses in summer), the rain forest (wet and dry season) or Finokalia (wildfire influence in autumn). The rural background and urban sites exhibit relatively little variability throughout the year, while short-term variability can be high especially at the urban site. The average hygroscopicity parameter, κ, calculated from the chemical composition of submicron particles was highest at the coastal site of Mace Head (0.6) and lowest at the rain forest station ATTO (0.2-0.3). We performed closure studies based on κ-Köhler theory to predict CCN number concentrations. The ratio of predicted to measured CCN concentrations is between 0.87 and 1.4 for five different types of κ. The temporal variability is also well captured, with Pearson correlation coefficients exceeding 0.87. Information on CCN number concentrations at many locations is important to better characterise ACI and their radiative forcing. But long-term comprehensive aerosol particle characterisations are labour intensive and costly. Hence, we recommend operating migrating-CCNCs to conduct collocated CCN number concentration and particle number size distribution measurements at individual locations throughout one year at least to derive a seasonally resolved hygroscopicity parameter. This way, CCN number concentrations can only be calculated based on continued particle number size distribution information and greater spatial coverage of long-term measurements can be achieved.

Remote Sensing of Aerosol Over the Land from the Earth Observing System MODIS Instrument

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram; Tanre, Didier; Remer, Lorraine; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2000-01-01

On Dec 18, 1999, NASA launched the Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Terra mission, in a spectacular launch. The mission will provide morning (10:30 AM) global observations of aerosol and other related parameters. It will be followed a year later by a MODIS instrument on EOS Aqua for afternoon observations (1:30 PM). MODIS will measure aerosol over land and ocean with its eight 500 m and 250 m channels in the solar spectrum (0-41 to 2.2 micrometers). Over the land MODIS will measure the total column aerosol loading, and distinguish between submicron pollution particles and large soil particles. Standard daily products of resolution of ten kilometers and global mapped eight day and monthly products on a 1x1 degree global scale will be produced routinely and make available for no or small reproduction charge to the international community. Though the aerosol products will not be available everywhere over the land, it is expected that they will be useful for assessments of the presence, sources and transport of urban pollution, biomass burning aerosol, and desert dust. Other measurements from MODIS will supplement the aerosol information, e.g., land use change, urbanization, presence and magnitude of biomass burning fires, and effect of aerosol on cloud microphysics. Other instruments on Terra, e.g. Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) and the Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System (CERES), will also measure aerosol, its properties and radiative forcing in tandem with the MODIS measurements. During the Aqua period, there are plans to launch in 2003 the Pathfinder Instruments for Cloud and Aerosol Spaceborne Observations (PICASSO) mission for global measurements of the aerosol vertical structure, and the PARASOL mission for aerosol characterization. Aqua-MODIS, PICASSO and PARASOL will fly in formation for detailed simultaneous characterization of the aerosol three-dimensional field, which will feed and evaluate global aerosol transport and climate models. In this talk, some examples of the MODIS measurements will be shown.

Particulate organic compounds in the atmosphere surrounding an industrialised area of Prato (Italy)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cincinelli, Alessandra; Mandorlo, Stefano; Dickhut, Rebecca M.; Lepri, Luciano

Atmospheric aerosols were collected during the period from May 2000 through January 2001 at 13 different sites in and around the Baciacavallo sewage treatment plant in Prato (Italy). The urban area surrounding the plant contains significant textile industrial activity and a main arterial road. Aerosol-associated n-alkane, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH), nonylphenol (NP) and nonylphenolethoxylate (NPnEO) ( n=1-3) concentrations were measured in order to evaluate contributions from the sewage treatment plant, naturally produced aerosols, transportation and industrial activities to the air quality in the vicinity of the sewage treatment plant. Aerosol-associated n-alkane concentrations ranged from 36.7 to 205 ng/m 3 and their possible origin was determined by the presence of typical petroleum characteristics such as the unresolved complex mixture and an odd/even carbon ratio (Carbon Preference Index). PAH concentrations ranged from 0.855 to 24.2 ng/m 3, in accordance with those generally found for urban aerosols in Europe. NP and NPnEO ( n=1-3), as well as fine aerosol particulate matter (PM 10) were significantly correlated with relative wind direction with increased levels observed in the ambient atmosphere when the relative wind direction was from the Baciacavallo sewage treatment plant. This study confirms the use of NP and NPnEO ( n=1-3) as markers of sewage treatment emissions and the importance of the contribution of aerosols produced by sewage treatment plant aeration tanks to the local atmospheric composition.

Aerosol Light Absorption and Scattering Assessments and the Impact of City Size on Air Pollution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Paredes-Miranda, Guadalupe

The general problem of urban pollution and its relation to the city population is examined in this dissertation. A simple model suggests that pollutant concentrations should scale approximately with the square root of city population. This model and its experimental evaluation presented here serve as important guidelines for urban planning and attainment of air quality standards including the limits that air pollution places on city population. The model was evaluated using measurements of air pollution. Optical properties of aerosol pollutants such as light absorption and scattering plus chemical species mass concentrations were measured with a photoacoustic spectrometer, a reciprocal nephelometer, and an aerosol mass spectrometer in Mexico City in the context of the multinational project "Megacity Initiative: Local And Global Research Observations (MILAGRO)" in March 2006. Aerosol light absorption and scattering measurements were also obtained for Reno and Las Vegas, NV USA in December 2008-March 2009 and January-February 2003, respectively. In all three cities, the morning scattering peak occurs a few hours later than the absorption peak due to the formation of secondary photochemically produced aerosols. In particular, for Mexico City we determined the fraction of photochemically generated secondary aerosols to be about 75% of total aerosol mass concentration at its peak near midday. The simple 2-d box model suggests that commonly emitted primary air pollutant (e.g., black carbon) mass concentrations scale approximately as the square root of the urban population. This argument extends to the absorption coefficient, as it is approximately proportional to the black carbon mass concentration. Since urban secondary pollutants form through photochemical reactions involving primary precursors, in linear approximation their mass concentration also should scale with the square root of population. Therefore, the scattering coefficient, a proxy for particulate matter mass concentration, is also expected to scale the same way. Experimental data for five cities: Mexico City, Mexico; Las Vegas and Reno, NV, USA; Beijing, China; and Delhi, India (the data for the last two cities were obtained from the literature); are in reasonable accord with the model. The scaling relation provided by the model may be considered a useful metric depending on the assumption that specific city conditions (such as latitude, altitude, local meteorological conditions, degree of industrialization, population density, number of cars per capita, city shape, etc.) vary randomly, independent of city size. While more detailed studies (including data from more cities) are needed, we believe that this relatively weak dependence of the pollution concentration on the city population might help to explain why the worsening of urban air quality does not directly lead to a decrease in the rate of growth in city population.

Long-term visibility data in the UK - how does visibility vary with meteorological and pollutant parameters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Ajit; Bloss, William J.; Pope, Francis D.

2016-04-01

Poor visibility can be an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to accidents particularly during winter when fogs are prevalent. The present quantitative analysis attempts to explain the influence of aerosol concentration and composition, and meteorology on long-term UK visibility. We use visibility data from eight UK meteorological stations which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Overall, most stations show a long term trend of visibility increase, which is indicative of reductions in aerosol pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, results at all sites show a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosols to scatter radiation and hence impact upon visibility. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters (e.g. relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed & direction) is also investigated. To explain the long term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, a light extinction model was constructed incorporating the concentrations and composition of historic aerosol. The lack of historic aerosol size distributions and aerosol composition data, which determine hygroscopicity and refractive index, leads to an under-constrained model. Aerosol measurements from the last 10 years are used to constrain these model parameters, and hence their historical variation can be estimated; sensitivity analyses are used to estimate errors for the time period before regular aerosol measurements are available. A good agreement is observed between modelled and measured visibility. This work has generated a unique 60 year data set with which to understand how aerosol concentration and composition has varied over the UK. The model is applicable and easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, different clean air legislation can be assessed for its effectiveness in reducing aerosol pollution. The implications for the UK will be discussed.

60 years of visibility data in the UK - how does visibility vary with meteorological and pollutant parameters?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, A.; Bloss, W.; Pope, F.

2015-12-01

Reduced visibility can be an indicator of poor air quality. Moreover, degradation in visibility can be hazardous to human safety; for example, low visibility can lead to accidents particularly during the winter season when fogs are prevalent. Here, we explore the combined influence of aerosol characteristics and meteorology on long-term visibility. We use visibility data from eight meteorological stations, situated in the UK, which have been running since the 1950s. The site locations include urban, rural and marine environments. Most stations show a long term trend of visibility increase, which is indicative of reductions in aerosol pollution, especially in urban areas. Additionally, results at all sites show a very clear dependence on relative humidity, indicating the importance of aerosol hygroscopicity on the ability of aerosols to scatter radiation and hence impact upon visibility. The dependence of visibility on other meteorological parameters (e.g. wind speed, wind direction) is also investigated. To explain the long term visibility trends and their dependence on meteorological conditions, a light extinction model was constructed incorporating the concentrations and composition of historic aerosol. The lack of historic aerosol size distributions and aerosol composition data, which determine hygroscopicity and refractive index, leads to an under-constrained model. Aerosol measurements from the last 10 years are used to constrain these model parameters, and hence their historical variation can be estimated; sensitivity analyses are used to estimate errors for the time period before regular aerosol measurements are available. This work has generated a unique 60 year data set with which to understand how aerosol concentration and composition has varied over the UK. The model is applicable and easily transferrable to other data sets worldwide. Hence, different clean air legislation can be assessed for its effectiveness in reducing aerosol pollution. The implications for the UK will be discussed.

Temporal variability in aerosol composition at an urban site, Varanasi in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ram, Kirpa; Norra, Stefan; Yuan, Chen; Venkata Satish, Rangu; Rastogi, Neeraj

2017-04-01

PM2.5 aerosol samples (n=31) were collected from an urban site, Varanasi (25° 28'N, 83°0' E) in the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plain during May 2015 to March 2016 using a mini-volume sampler (Leckel GmbH, Germany) at a flow rate of 200 l/hr. The PM2.5 samples were integrated for 7 days and were analyzed for organic and elemental carbon (OC & EC), water-soluble OC (WSOC), organic and inorganic nitrogen (ON & IN) and water-soluble inorganic species (WSIS) to study the geochemical behavior of aerosols. The mass concentration of OC and EC varies from 4.2 to 105.2 (average: 32.8) μg m-3 and 1.2 to 7.0 (average: 4.6) μg m-3 during the study period with total carbonaceous aerosols (TCA=1.6*OC+EC), on an average, accounting for ˜59% of PM2.5 mass. Relatively high WSOC/OC ratio (average: 0.55±0.18; range 0.18-0.86) indicate a significant contribution from the secondary organic aerosols at Varanasi. The concentration of ON varies from less than detection limit to 5.3 (average: 2.4) μg m-3 which contribute to ˜12% of WSOC highlighting the presence of nitro-organic compounds in aerosols at Varanasi. The average WSIS contribution to PM2.5 is only 17% with a strong seasonal variability (range: 4-36%). Generally, carbonaceous and inorganic aerosol concentration is higher during winter, fall and post-monsoon that those in the summer when dust aerosol contribution is significant (as high as 75% of PM2.5 mass). This study highlights the role of nitro-organic compounds in secondary organic aerosols which is lacking in Indian aerosols. Furthermore, these aerosol samples could be very important for the study of particle morphology and composition using scanning-electron Microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray due to lower impaction in the mini-volume sampler.

A satellite view of aerosols in the climate system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram J.; Tanre, Didier; Boucher, Olivier

2002-01-01

Anthropogenic aerosols are intricately linked to the climate system and to the hydrologic cycle. The net effect of aerosols is to cool the climate system by reflecting sunlight. Depending on their composition, aerosols can also absorb sunlight in the atmosphere, further cooling the surface but warming the atmosphere in the process. These effects of aerosols on the temperature profile, along with the role of aerosols as cloud condensation nuclei, impact the hydrologic cycle, through changes in cloud cover, cloud properties and precipitation. Unravelling these feedbacks is particularly difficult because aerosols take a multitude of shapes and forms, ranging from desert dust to urban pollution, and because aerosol concentrations vary strongly over time and space. To accurately study aerosol distribution and composition therefore requires continuous observations from satellites, networks of ground-based instruments and dedicated field experiments. Increases in aerosol concentration and changes in their composition, driven by industrialization and an expanding population, may adversely affect the Earth's climate and water supply.

Nighttime Lagrangian Measurements of Aerosols and Oxidants in the Boston Urban Plume: Possible Evidence of Heterogeneous Loss of Ozone

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zaveri, Rahul A.; Berkowitz, Carl M.; Hubbe, John M.

2004-10-04

Heterogeneous chemical processes involving trace gases and aerosols are poorly understood and are expected to play an important role at night. As part of the 2002 New England Air Quality Study (NEAQS), the Nighttime Aerosol/Oxidant Plume Experiment (NAOPEX) was designed to study the chemical evolution and interaction of ambient urban aerosols and trace gases in the absence of photochemistry. Lagrangian measurements of trace gases (O3, NOx, NOy, VOCs, CO) and aerosols (size distribution and composition) were made with the Department of Energy’s (DOE) G-1 aircraft in the nocturnal residual layer downwind of greater Boston area. On clear nights with offshoremore » flow, a superpressure, constant-volume balloon (tetroon) was launched from a coastal site into the Boston plume around sunset to serve as a Lagrangian marker of urban air parcels as they moved out over the Atlantic Ocean. The tetroon carried an instrument payload of about 2.5 kg that included a GPS receiver, radiosonde and ozonesonde. Latitude, longitude, altitude, temperature, pressure, relative humidity and ozone concentration data were transmitted in real-time to a receiver on the ground as well as one onboard the G-1 aircraft. About an hour after the launch, when the tetroon was outside the restricted Class-B airspace, the G-1 aircraft made the first flight to make more comprehensive measurements in the vicinity of the tetroon. About five hours after the launch, the G-1 made a second flight to make another set of measurements near the tetroon. Here, we report on the two flights made between 20:00 EST July 30 and 02:00 EST July 31. Analyses of the Lagrangian aerosol and trace gases dataset suggest evidence of heterogeneous activity and aging of aerosols. Vertical profiles of Ozone + NOy concentrations in the vicinity of the tetroon were found to be anti-correlated with aerosol number density, and the slope of the linear regression fit decreased as a function of time. These changes could be explained by the destruction of ozone in the presence of aerosols. Potential mechanisms that may explain this behavior will be presented and their implications will be discussed.« less

Trends in Non-Volcanic Stratospheric Aerosol Determined from 30 Years of Aerosol Measurements by Lidar and Balloon-borne Particle Counters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deshler, T.; Anderson-Sprecher, R.; Jäger, H.; Barnes, J.; Hofmann, D.; Clemesha, B.; Simonich, D.

2005-05-01

Junge's initial stratospheric aerosol measurements (1959-1960), at the end of a long volcanically quiescent period, and the long term stratospheric aerosol measurements beginning in the 1970s have been investigated for trends in non-volcanic stratospheric aerosol. These investigations have focused on the inter-volcanic "background" periods, which until post Pinatubo, have been rather brief. Since 1959 there have been approximately 30 eruptions with volcanic explosivity indices of 4 or more. The five 30 year records of stratospheric aerosol are comprised of one in situ record [aerosol concentration for 0.15 and 0.25 um radius particles above Laramie, Wyoming, USA (1971-2003, 41N)] and four lidar records [S. J. dos Campos, Brazil (1972-2003, 23S), Mauna Loa, Hawaii, USA (1974-2003, 20N), Hampton, Virginia, USA (1974-2002, 37N), Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany (1976-2002, 48N)]. These data capture the three major aerosol-producing eruptions, Fuego, El Chichón and Pinatubo, as well as the three inter-volcanic background periods. These records form the basis for an assessment of the trend in background stratospheric aerosol. The quantities to be investigated are integral number concentrations and integrated backscatter above the tropopause. These records were analyzed following two approaches. First the 3 volcanically quiescent periods are compared using a standard analysis of variance approach. Second an empirical model is used to remove the volcanic signal from the long term records and then the residuals are investigated for trends. The model is a parametric exponential decay model, requiring 4 parameters for each volcano and 2 parameters for background. The optimization procedure uses a priori estimates for each parameter and then standard squared-error residual minimization to obtain the set of parameters providing the minimum in the residuals. The baseline and autocorrelated residuals are then investigated for trend. The results suggest that the trend in background stratospheric aerosol is not significantly different than zero for S. J. dos Campos, Mauna Loa, and Garmisch, with a slight negative trend for the Hampton and Laramie data. This approach does not permit investigations of microphysical changes such as changing size distribtutions. This work forms part of the SPARC assessment of stratospheric aerosol.

Tracing of aerosol sources in an urban environment using chemical, Sr isotope, and mineralogical characterization.

PubMed

Duarte, Regina M B O; Matos, João T V; Paula, Andreia S; Lopes, Sónia P; Ribeiro, Sara; Santos, José Francisco; Patinha, Carla; da Silva, Eduardo Ferreira; Soares, Rosário; Duarte, Armando C

2017-04-01

In the framework of two national research projects (ORGANOSOL and CN-linkAIR), fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) was sampled for 17 months at an urban location in the Western European Coast. The PM 2.5 samples were analyzed for organic carbon (OC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), elemental carbon (EC), major water-soluble inorganic ions, mineralogical, and for the first time in this region, strontium isotope ( 87 Sr/ 86 Sr) composition. Organic matter dominates the identifiable urban PM 2.5 mass, followed by secondary inorganic aerosols. The acquired data resulted also in a seasonal overview of the carbonaceous and inorganic aerosol composition, with an important contribution from primary biomass burning and secondary formation processes in colder and warmer periods, respectively. The fossil-related primary EC seems to be continually present throughout the sampling period. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios were measured on both the labile and residual PM 2.5 fractions as well as on the bulk PM 2.5 samples. Regardless of the air mass origin, the residual fractions are more radiogenic (representative of a natural crustal dust source) than the labile fractions, whose 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios are comparable to that of seawater. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios and the mineralogical composition data further suggest that sea salt and mineral dust are important primary natural sources of fine aerosols throughout the sampling period.

The variability of biomass burning and its influence on regional aerosol properties during the wheat harvest season in North China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lili; Xin, Jinyuan; Li, Xingru; Wang, Yuesi

2015-04-01

The spatial-temporal variation of biomass burning in June during the wheat harvest season in the North China (32-41°N, 111-120°E) and its influence on the regional aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the chemical compositions of size-segregated aerosols in the urban environment were investigated to evaluate the effectiveness of the burn ban policy and the influence on regional pollution. Fire events that occurred in early and middle June accounted for approximately 89% of the events during the month, and fire points located in mid-eastern China (32.5-35.5°N, 114-120°E) comprised 71%. The occurrences exhibit oscillatory changes with a minimum in 2008 (during the Beijing Olympics) and a peak and explosive growth in 2012. Under high relative humidity and south winds, fire emissions from straw burning combined with high urban/industrial emissions to produce intensive regional haze pollution in the North Plain. The formation of secondary inorganic particles was intensified due to the interactions of smoke plumes and urban/industrial pollutants in an urban environment. Higher concentrations and percentages (79%) of sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, and organic carbon in the fine particles under high relative humidity conditions contributed to a deteriorated urban visibility. Therefore, stronger management and a comprehensive ban on wheat straw burning in June are urgently needed, especially during years when the south wind is dominant.

Investigation of aerosol distribution patterns and its optical properties at different time scale by using LIDAR system and AERONET

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tan, Fuyi; Khor, Wei Ying; Hee, Wan Shen; Choon, Yeap Eng; San, Lim Hwee; Abdullah, Khiruddin

2015-04-01

Atmospheric aerosol is a major health-impairment issue in Malaysia especially during southeast monsoon period (June-September) due to the active open burning activities. However, hazy days were an issue in Penang, Malaysia during March, 2014. Haze intruded Penang during March and lasted for a month except for the few days after rain. Rain water had washed out the aerosols from the atmosphere. Therefore, this study intends to analyse the aerosol profile and the optical properties of aerosol during this haze event and after rain. Meanwhile, several days after the haze event (during April, 2014) were also analyzed for comparison purposes. Additionally, the dominant aerosol type (i.e., dust, biomass burning, industrial and urban, marine, and mixed aerosol) during the study period was identified according to the scattering plots of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) against the Angstrom exponent.

An AERONET-Based Aerosol Classification Using the Mahalanobis Distance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hamill, Patrick; Giordano, Marco; Ward, Carolyne; Giles, David; Holben, Brent

2016-01-01

We present an aerosol classification based on AERONET aerosol data from 1993 to 2012. We used the AERONET Level 2.0 almucantar aerosol retrieval products to define several reference aerosol clusters which are characteristic of the following general aerosol types: Urban-Industrial, Biomass Burning, Mixed Aerosol, Dust, and Maritime. The classification of a particular aerosol observation as one of these aerosol types is determined by its five-dimensional Mahalanobis distance to each reference cluster. We have calculated the fractional aerosol type distribution at 190 AERONET sites, as well as the monthly variation in aerosol type at those locations. The results are presented on a global map and individually in the supplementary material. Our aerosol typing is based on recognizing that different geographic regions exhibit characteristic aerosol types. To generate reference clusters we only keep data points that lie within a Mahalanobis distance of 2 from the centroid. Our aerosol characterization is based on the AERONET retrieved quantities, therefore it does not include low optical depth values. The analysis is based on point sources (the AERONET sites) rather than globally distributed values. The classifications obtained will be useful in interpreting aerosol retrievals from satellite borne instruments.

Informing Aerosol Transport Models With Satellite Multi-Angle Aerosol Measurements

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Limbacher, J.; Patadia, F.; Petrenko, M.; Martin, M. Val; Chin, M.; Gaitley, B.; Garay, M.; Kalashnikova, O.; Nelson, D.; Scollo, S.

2011-01-01

As the aerosol products from the NASA Earth Observing System's Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) mature, we are placing greater focus on ways of using the aerosol amount and type data products, and aerosol plume heights, to constrain aerosol transport models. We have demonstrated the ability to map aerosol air-mass-types regionally, and have identified product upgrades required to apply them globally, including the need for a quality flag indicating the aerosol type information content, that varies depending upon retrieval conditions. We have shown that MISR aerosol type can distinguish smoke from dust, volcanic ash from sulfate and water particles, and can identify qualitative differences in mixtures of smoke, dust, and pollution aerosol components in urban settings. We demonstrated the use of stereo imaging to map smoke, dust, and volcanic effluent plume injection height, and the combination of MISR and MODIS aerosol optical depth maps to constrain wildfire smoke source strength. This talk will briefly highlight where we stand on these application, with emphasis on the steps we are taking toward applying the capabilities toward constraining aerosol transport models, planet-wide.

Aerosol number size distributions in the lower troposphere over a background region and megalopolis (Novosibirsk) on result of airborne sounding in 2011-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Belan, Boris D.; Kozlov, Artem V.; Simonenkov, Denis V.; Tolmachev, Gennadii N.; Tsaruk, Victoria V.

2014-11-01

In this paper we present a comparison of the data on aerosol number size distribution measured with GRIMM 1.109 aerosol spectrometer in the lower troposphere over Novosibirsk and background area 150 km south-west of it during research flights of Optik TU-134 aircraft laboratory carried out along the route Novosibirsk - Ordynskoye - Novosibirsk in 2011-2013. Aerosol number size distributions averaged over 3 years as together so for warm and cold seasons separately are considered here. It is shown that the accumulation of anthropogenic aerosol within the BL over the city is typical for the cold period, which is most likely caused by inversions those are rapidly destroyed by vertical mixing during warm season and anthropogenic aerosols from the city are transported into the free troposphere.

Operational remote sensing of tropospheric aerosol over land from EOS moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaufman, Y. J.; Tanré, D.; Remer, L. A.; Vermote, E. F.; Chu, A.; Holben, B. N.

1997-07-01

Daily distribution of the aerosol optical thickness and columnar mass concentration will be derived over the continents, from the EOS moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) using dark land targets. Dark land covers are mainly vegetated areas and dark soils observed in the red and blue channels; therefore the method will be limited to the moist parts of the continents (excluding water and ice cover). After the launch of MODIS the distribution of elevated aerosol concentrations, for example, biomass burning in the tropics or urban industrial aerosol in the midlatitudes, will be continuously monitored. The algorithm takes advantage of the MODIS wide spectral range and high spatial resolution and the strong spectral dependence of the aerosol opacity for most aerosol types that result in low optical thickness in the mid-IR (2.1 and 3.8 μm). The main steps of the algorithm are (1) identification of dark pixels in the mid-IR; (2) estimation of their reflectance at 0.47 and 0.66 μm; and (3) derivation of the optical thickness and mass concentration of the accumulation mode from the detected radiance. To differentiate between dust and aerosol dominated by accumulation mode particles, for example, smoke or sulfates, ratios of the aerosol path radiance at 0.47 and 0.66 μm are used. New dynamic aerosol models for biomass burning aerosol, dust and aerosol from industrial/urban origin, are used to determine the aerosol optical properties used in the algorithm. The error in the retrieved aerosol optical thicknesses, τa is expected to be Δτa = 0.05±0.2τa. Daily values are stored on a resolution of 10×10 pixels (1 km nadir resolution). Weighted and gridded 8-day and monthly composites of the optical thickness, the aerosol mass concentration and spectral radiative forcing are generated for selected scattering angles to increase the accuracy. The daily aerosol information over land and oceans [Tanré et al., this issue], combined with continuous aerosol remote sensing from the ground, will be used to study aerosol climatology, to monitor the sources and sinks of specific aerosol types, and to study the interaction of aerosol with water vapor and clouds and their radiative forcing of climate. The aerosol information will also be used for atmospheric corrections of remotely sensed surface reflectance. In this paper, examples of applications and validations are provided.

New Particle Formation in an Urban Atmosphere: The Role of Various Ingredients Investigated in the CLOUD Chamber

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baltensperger, U.; Xiao, M.; Hoyle, C.; Dada, L.; Garmash, O.; Stolzenburg, D.; Molteni, U.; Lehtipalo, K.; El-Haddad, I.; Dommen, J.

2017-12-01

Atmospheric aerosols play an important role on climate via aerosol-radiation interaction and aerosol-cloud interaction. The latter is strongly influenced by new particle formation (NPF). The physical and chemical mechanisms behind the NPF process are still under investigation. Great advancements were made in resolving chemical and physical mechanisms of NPF with a series of experiments conducted at the CLOUD (Cosmics Leaving Outdoor Droplets) chamber facility at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland), including binary nucleation of sulfuric acid - water, ternary nucleation of sulfuric acid - water with ammonia or dimethylamine as well as oxidation products (highly oxygenated molecules, HOMs) from biogenic precursors with and without the presence of sulfuric acid. Here, we investigate possible NPF mechanisms in urban atmospheres, where large populations are exposed to high aerosol concentrations; these mechanisms are still missing and are urgently needed. Urban atmospheres are highly polluted with high concentrations of SO2, ammonia, NOx and volatile organic vapors from anthropogenic activity as well as with high particle concentrations, which provide a high condensation sink for condensable gases. Aromatic hydrocarbons from industrial activities, traffic and residential combustion are present at high concentrations and contribute significantly to photochemical smog in the urban environment.The experiments were conducted at the CLOUD chamber facility during the CLOUD11 campaign in fall 2016. Three aromatic hydrocarbons were selected: toluene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene (1,2,4-TMB) and naphthalene (NPT). Experiments were also conducted with mixtures of the three aromatic hydrocarbons to better represent the urban atmosphere. All the experiments were conducted in the presence of sulfuric acid concentrations with or without the addition of ammonia and NOx. New particle formation rates and early growth rates derived for each precursor and their mixture, together with sulfuric acid and with or without the addition of ammonia and NOx will be reported.

Satellite and ground-based remote sensing of aerosols during intense haze event of October 2013 over lahore, Pakistan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tariq, Salman; Zia, ul-Haq; Ali, Muhammad

2016-02-01

Due to increase in population and economic development, the mega-cities are facing increased haze events which are causing important effects on the regional environment and climate. In order to understand these effects, we require an in-depth knowledge of optical and physical properties of aerosols in intense haze conditions. In this paper an effort has been made to analyze the microphysical and optical properties of aerosols during intense haze event over mega-city of Lahore by using remote sensing data obtained from satellites (Terra/Aqua Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation (CALIPSO)) and ground based instrument (AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET)) during 6-14 October 2013. The instantaneous highest value of Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is observed to be 3.70 on 9 October 2013 followed by 3.12 on 8 October 2013. The primary cause of such high values is large scale crop residue burning and urban-industrial emissions in the study region. AERONET observations show daily mean AOD of 2.36 which is eight times higher than the observed values on normal day. The observed fine mode volume concentration is more than 1.5 times greater than the coarse mode volume concentration on the high aerosol burden day. We also find high values (~0.95) of Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) on 9 October 2013. Scatter-plot between AOD (500 nm) and Angstrom exponent (440-870 nm) reveals that biomass burning/urban-industrial aerosols are the dominant aerosol type on the heavy aerosol loading day over Lahore. MODIS fire activity image suggests that the areas in the southeast of Lahore across the border with India are dominated by biomass burning activities. A Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory (HYSPLIT) model backward trajectory showed that the winds at 1000 m above the ground are responsible for transport from southeast region of biomass burning to Lahore. CALIPSO derived sub-types of aerosols with vertical profile taken on 10 October 2013 segregates the wide spread aerosol burden as smoke, polluted continental and dust aerosols.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 observed in urban plumes compared to regional aerosol (0.85 versus 0.9-0.95). We attribute these differences to the presence of relatively rapidly formed secondary aerosol, primarily OOA and ammonium nitrate, which must be taken into account in radiative forcing calculations.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 urban plumes compared to regional aerosol (0.85 versus 0.9-0.95). We attribute these differences to the presence of relatively rapidly formed secondary aerosol, primarily OOA and ammonium nitrate, which must be taken into account in radiative forcing calculations.

NMOC, ozone, and organic aerosol in the southeastern United States, 1999-2007: 3. Origins of organic aerosol in Atlanta, Georgia, and surrounding areas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blanchard, C. L.; Hidy, G. M.; Tanenbaum, S.; Edgerton, E. S.

2011-02-01

Carbonaceous compounds constitute a major fraction of the fine particle mass at locations throughout North America; much of the condensed-phase organic carbon (OC) is produced in the atmosphere from NMOC reactions as "secondary" OC (SOC). Ten years of particulate carbon and speciated non-methane organic compound (NMOC) data combined with other measurements from Southeastern Aerosol Research and Characterization (SEARCH) and other sites provide insight into the association between elemental carbon (EC), OC and NMOCs. Data are analyzed to characterize the OC and SOC contrasts between urban Atlanta, Georgia, and nearby non-urban conditions in the Southeast. Analysis of the monitoring record indicates that the mean Atlanta urban excess of total carbon (TC) is 2.1-2.8 μg m -3. The OC/EC ratio of the Atlanta urban excess is in the range 1.3 to 1.8, consistent with OC/EC ratios observed in motor vehicle emissions and a fossil carbon source of urban excess TC. Carbon isotope analysis of a subset of particle samples demonstrates that the urban excess is mainly fossil in origin, even though the majority of the TC is modern at both urban and non-urban sites. Temperature-dependent partitioning of OC between gas and condensed phases cannot explain the observed diurnal and seasonal variations of OC/CO, EC/CO, and OC/EC ratios. Alternatively, a hypothesis involving vertical mixing of OC-enriched air from aloft is supported by the seasonal and diurnal OC, isopentane, aromatic and isoprene observations at the ground. A statistical model is applied to indicate the relative significance of aerometric factors affecting OC and EC concentrations, including meteorological and pollutant associations. The model results demonstrate strong linkages between fine particle carbon and pollutant indicators of source emissions compared with meteorological factors; the model results show weaker dependence of OC on meteorological factors than is the case for ozone (O 3) concentrations.

Prenatal Exposure to Urban Air Nanoparticles in Mice Causes Altered Neuronal Differentiation and Depression-Like Responses

PubMed Central

Godar, Sean C.; Sander, Thomas K.; Iwata, Nahoko; Pakbin, Payam; Shih, Jean C.; Berhane, Kiros; McConnell, Rob; Sioutas, Constantinos

2013-01-01

Emerging evidence suggests that excessive exposure to traffic-derived air pollution during pregnancy may increase the vulnerability to neurodevelopmental alterations that underlie a broad array of neuropsychiatric disorders. We present a mouse model for prenatal exposure to urban freeway nanoparticulate matter (nPM). In prior studies, we developed a model for adult rodent exposure to re-aerosolized urban nPM which caused inflammatory brain responses with altered neuronal glutamatergic functions. nPMs are collected continuously for one month from a local freeway and stored as an aqueous suspension, prior to re-aerosolization for exposure of mice under controlled dose and duration. This paradigm was used for a pilot study of prenatal nPM impact on neonatal neurons and adult behaviors. Adult C57BL/6J female mice were exposed to re-aerosolized nPM (350 µg/m3) or control filtered ambient air for 10 weeks (3×5 hour exposures per week), encompassing gestation and oocyte maturation prior to mating. Prenatal nPM did not alter litter size, pup weight, or postnatal growth. Neonatal cerebral cortex neurons at 24 hours in vitro showed impaired differentiation, with 50% reduction of stage 3 neurons with long neurites and correspondingly more undifferentiated neurons at Stages 0 and 1. Neuron number after 24 hours of culture was not altered by prenatal nPM exposure. Addition of exogenous nPM (2 µg/ml) to the cultures impaired pyramidal neuron Stage 3 differentiation by 60%. Adult males showed increased depression-like responses in the tail-suspension test, but not anxiety-related behaviors. These pilot data suggest that prenatal exposure to nPM can alter neuronal differentiation with gender-specific behavioral sequelae that may be relevant to human prenatal exposure to urban vehicular aerosols. PMID:23734187

Detailed Chemical Characterization of Unresolved Complex Mixtures (UCM) inAtmospheric Organics: Insights into Emission Sources, Atmospheric Processing andSecondary Organic Aerosol Formation

EPA Science Inventory

Recent studies suggest that semivolatile organic compounds (SVOCs) are important precursors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in urban atmospheres. However, knowledge of the chemical composition of SVOCs is limited by current analytical techniques, which are typically unable to...

Modeling the formamtion and aging of secondary organic aerosols in Los Angeles during CalNex 2010

EPA Science Inventory

Four different literature parameterizations for the formation and evolution of urban secondary organic aerosol (SOA) frequently used in 3-D models are evaluated using a 0-D box model representing the Los Angeles metropolitan region during the California Research at the Nexus of A...

EVALUATION OF THE CMAQ - AIM MODEL AGAINST SIZE AND CHEMICALLY-RESOLVED IMPACTOR DATA AT A COASTAL URBAN SITE

EPA Science Inventory

CMAQ-UCD (formerly known as CMAQ-AIM), is a fully dynamic, sectional aerosol model which has been coupled to the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) host air quality model. Aerosol sulfate, nitrate, ammonium, sodium, and chloride model outputs are compared against MOUDI data...

Chemical transport model simulations of organic aerosol in southern California: model evaluation and gasoline and diesel source contributions

EPA Science Inventory

Gasoline- and diesel-fueled engines are ubiquitous sources of air pollution in urban environments. They emit both primary particulate matter and precursor gases that react to form secondary particulate matter in the atmosphere. In this work, we updated the organic aerosol module ...

Sources of excess urban carbonaceous aerosol in the Pearl River delta region, China

EPA Science Inventory

Carbonaceous aerosol is one of the important constituents of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in Southern China, including the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region and Hong Kong (HK). During the study period (October and December of 2002, and March and June of 2003), the monthly average...

The optical properties, physical properties and direct radiative forcing of urban columnar aerosols in the Yangtze River Delta, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhuang, Bingliang; Wang, Tijian; Liu, Jane; Che, Huizheng; Han, Yong; Fu, Yu; Li, Shu; Xie, Min; Li, Mengmeng; Chen, Pulong; Chen, Huimin; Yang, Xiu-qun; Sun, Jianning

2018-02-01

The optical and physical properties as well as the direct radiative forcings (DRFs) of fractionated aerosols in the urban area of the western Yangtze River Delta (YRD) are investigated with measurements from a Cimel sun photometer combined with a radiation transfer model. Ground-based observations of aerosols have much higher temporal resolutions than satellite retrievals. An initial analysis reveals the characteristics of the optical properties of different types of fractionated aerosols in the western YRD. The total aerosols, mostly composed of scattering components (93.8 %), have mean optical depths of 0.65 at 550 nm and refractive index of 1.44 + 0.0084i at 440 nm. The fine aerosols are approximately four times more abundant and have very different compositions from coarse aerosols. The absorbing components account for only ˜ 4.6 % of fine aerosols and 15.5 % of coarse aerosols and have smaller sizes than the scattering aerosols within the same mode. Therefore, fine particles have stronger scattering than coarse ones, simultaneously reflecting the different size distributions between the absorbing and scattering aerosols. The relationships among the optical properties quantify the aerosol mixing and imply that approximately 15 and 27.5 % of the total occurrences result in dust- and black-carbon-dominating mixing aerosols, respectively, in the western YRD. Unlike the optical properties, the size distributions of aerosols in the western YRD are similar to those found at other sites over eastern China on a climatological scale, peaking at radii of 0.148 and 2.94 µm. However, further analysis reveals that the coarse-dominated particles can also lead to severe haze pollution over the YRD. Observation-based estimations indicate that both fine and coarse aerosols in the western YRD exert negative DRFs, and this is especially true for fine aerosols (-11.17 W m-2 at the top of atmosphere, TOA). A higher absorption fraction leads directly to the negative DRF being further offset for coarse aerosols (-0.33 W m-2) at the TOA. Similarly, the coarse-mode DRF contributes to only 13.3 % of the total scattering aerosols but > 33.7 % to the total absorbing aerosols. A sensitivity analysis states that aerosol DRFs are not highly sensitive to their profiles in clear-sky conditions. Most of the aerosol properties and DRFs have substantial seasonality in the western YRD. The results further reveal the contributions of each component of the different size particles to the total aerosol optical depths (AODs) and DRFs. Additionally, these results can be used to improve aerosol modelling performance and the modelling of aerosol effects in the eastern regions of China.

Atmospheric Optical Properties and Spectral Analysis of Desert Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yvgeni, D.; Karnieli, A.; Kaufman, Y. J.; Andreae, M. O.; Holben, B. N.; Maenhaut, W.

2002-05-01

Scientific background Aerosols can interact directly with solar and terrestrial radiation by scattering as well as absorption. In addition, they can indirectly alter the planetary albedo by modifying the properties of clouds. Objectives Investigations have been devoted to two main areas: (1) Aerosol climatology situation in the Negev desert, investigations of physical and chemical characteristics of aerosols, and study of the local and long-range transport trajectory of polluted air masses over the Negev desert; and (2) An estimation of the optical properties throughout the atmospheric column by surface measurements via performance of spectral and statistical analysis of the data received from two measurement systems. Results and conclusions Analyzed data from the Sede Boker site, in the Negev Desert of Israel, shows an increase in aerosol optical depth during the summer seasons and a decrease during winter. One of the possible reasons for this characteristic is an increase of the precipitable water (reaches 3.0-3.5 cm) due to a constant wind stream from the Mediterranean Sea in same time. The highest probability distribution of the aerosol optical depth is in the range of 0.15-0.20; and of the Angstrom parameter is in range of 0.83 - 1.07. During dust storm events, the scattering coefficient range at 670 nm and 440 nm wavelengths were inverted. It was discovered that the dust particles in this case had non-spherical character. Comparison between optical depth, measured through all atmospheric column, and scattering coefficient from surface measurements provides correlation coefficient (r) equal to 0.64. The Angstrom parameter, calculated via optical depth and via scattering coefficient, provides a correlation coefficient of 0.66. Thus we can obtain an estimate of the influence of the surface aerosol situation on column optical properties. The combined analysis of dust cloud altitude and optical depth as a function of the time indicates long-term transport and settling of the aerosol, thus this analysis allowed to get a qualitative relation with trajectories and transport models. An additional finding is that except for the dust storms, the aerosol optical properties defined by fine particles, i.e. product of urban pollution. Possible explanations for this situation are the pollution sources in the Israeli Mediterranean coast, where population and industrial centers are concentrated, and long-range transport of polluted air masses from the European region.

Discerning the pre-monsoon urban atmosphere aerosol characteristic and its potential source type remotely sensed by AERONET over the Bengal Gangetic plain.

PubMed

Priyadharshini, Babu; Verma, Shubha; Giles, David M; Holben, Brent N

2018-05-26

In the present study, we evaluated the pre-monsoon urban atmosphere (UA) aerosol characteristics remotely sensed by Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) over the Bengal Gangetic plain (BGP) at Kolkata (KOL) and their implication in potential source types and spatiotemporal features. About 70% of the AERONET-sensed aerosol optical depth at 0.50 μ m, AOD 0.5 (Angstrom exponent, α at 0.44-0.87 μ m) during the pre-monsoon period (February to June) was greater than 0.50 (≤ 1); the pre-monsoon mean of AOD 0.5 (α) was 0.73 (0.83) which was found being slightly higher (lower) than nearby AERONET stations (Dhaka/Bhola) located over the eastern Ganges basin. The volume geometric mean radius for the fine mode (FM) (coarse mode, CM) UA aerosol from AERONET retrievals was estimated to be 0.14-0.17 (2.24-2.75) μ m. The spectral distribution of the monthly mean of UA aerosol single-scattering albedo (SSA) exhibited an increasing trend with an increase in wavelength throughout all wavelengths during April, unlike the rest of the pre-monsoon months. Investigation of aerosol types indicated the pre-dominance of dust during April and a mixture of urban/open burning with mixed desert dust during the rest of the pre-monsoon months. Potential aerosol source fields were identified over the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP), east coast, northwestern India, and oceanic regions; these were estimated at elevated layers of atmosphere during April and May but that at surface layers during February and June. Comparison of aerosol characteristics over the BGP (at Kolkata, KOL) with that at six other coincident AERONET sites over India revealed mean AOD at KOL being 11 to 91% higher than the rest of the AERONET stations, with the relative increase at KOL being the highest during March; this was attributed to persistent high values of both FM and CM AOD unlike the rest of the stations. The monthly mean of SSA was the lowest at KOL among AERONET stations, during February and March. Comparison of the AOD from the AERONET aerosol retrievals over the BGP UA with the coincident Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) latest retrievals (C005 and C006) indicated a moderate correlation between the two retrievals; discrepancy in MODIS-retrieved relative distribution of FM and CM AOD was inferred compared to AERONET in the UA.

Aerosol indirect effect on tropospheric ozone via lightning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, T.; Remer, L. A.; Bian, H.; Ziemke, J. R.; Albrecht, R. I.; Pickering, K. E.; Oreopoulos, L.; Goodman, S. J.; Yu, H.; Allen, D. J.

2012-12-01

Tropospheric ozone (O3) is a pollutant and major greenhouse gas and its radiative forcing is still uncertain. The unresolved difference between modeled and observed natural background O3 concentrations is a key source of the uncertainty. Here we demonstrate remarkable sensitivity of lightning activity to aerosol loading with lightning activity increasing more than 30 times per unit of aerosol optical depth over our study area. We provide observational evidence that indicates the observed increase in lightning activity is caused by the influx of aerosols from a volcano. Satellite data analyses suggest O3 is increased as a result of aerosol-induced increase in lightning and lightning produced NOx. Model simulations with prescribed lightning change corroborate the satellite data analysis. This aerosol-O3 connection is achieved via aerosol increasing lightning and thus lightning produced nitrogen oxides. This aerosol-lightning-ozone link provides a potential physical mechanism that may account for a part of the model-observation difference in background O3 concentration. More importantly, O3 production increase from this link is concentrated in the upper troposphere, where O3 is most efficient as a greenhouse gas. Both of these implications suggest a stronger O3 historical radiative forcing. This introduces a new pathway, through which increasing in aerosols from pre-industrial time to present day enhances tropospheric O3 production. Aerosol forcing thus has a warming component via its effect on O3 production. Sensitivity simulations suggest that 4-8% increase of tropospheric ozone, mainly in the tropics, is expected if aerosol-lighting-ozone link is parameterized, depending on the background emission scenario. We note, however, substantial uncertainties remain on the exact magnitude of aerosol effect on tropospheric O3 via lightning. The challenges for obtaining a quantitative global estimate of this effect are also discussed. Our results have significant implications for understanding past and projecting future tropospheric O3 forcing as well as wildfire changes and call for integrated investigations of the coupled aerosol-cloud-chemistry system.

Characterization of organic residues of size-resolved fog droplets and their atmospheric implications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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

2016-04-01

Size-resolved fog water samples were collected in two consecutive winters at Kanpur, a heavily polluted urban area of India. Samples were analyzed by an aerosol mass spectrometer after drying and directly in other instruments. Residues of fine fog droplets (diameter: 4-16 µm) are found to be more enriched with oxidized (oxygen to carbon ratio, O/C = 0.88) and low volatility organics than residues of coarse (diameter > 22 µm) and medium size (diameter: 16-22 µm) droplets with O/C of 0.68 and 0.74, respectively. These O/C ratios are much higher than those observed for background ambient organic aerosols, indicating efficient oxidation in fog water. Accompanying box model simulations reveal that longer residence times, together with high aqueous OH concentrations in fine droplets, can explain these trends. High aqueous OH concentrations in smaller droplets are caused by their highest surface-volume ratio and high Fe and Cu concentrations, allowing more uptake of gas phase OH and enhanced Fenton reaction rates, respectively. Although some volatile organic species may have escaped during droplet evaporation, these findings indicate that aqueous processing of dissolved organics varies with droplet size. Therefore, large (regional, global)-scale models need to consider the variable reaction rates, together with metal-catalyzed radical formation throughout droplet populations for accurately predicting aqueous secondary organic aerosol formation.

Environmental problems of resort towns of Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region during the anthropocene era

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Efimenko, Natalia; Chalaya, Elena; Povolotckaia, Nina; Artamonova, Mariya; Senik, Irina; Slepykh, Viktor

2017-04-01

There has been studied the influence of ecological factors on rehabilitation properties of the atmospheric surface layer (ASL) in the mountain resorts of the Caucasian Mineralnye Vody Region (CMVR) according to the research methods [1] accepted in balneology. Taking into consideration the data of the long-term complex multiple-factor bioclimatic monitoring (PRIC FMBA, IFA RAS, SNP), it has been revealed: - the increase in frequency of inter-day variability of the integral index of weather pathogenicity (IIWP) in the range of 0,352,0). These signs are noted on the background of the continuing period of climate warming. At the present time the rehabilitation potential of ASL in the resorts of Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region is estimated within 2,08-2,68 points (max =3,0 points). Mountainous areas are more sensitive to anthropogenic impacts, changes of radiation mode and circulation modes. It was revealed that there are a number of phenomena and trends in ASL of the mountainous sites, which are negative markers of urbanization process and advent of Anthropocene era. Therefore, it is actual to form a new concept of sustainable development of mountainous resort towns with scientifically grounded territorial complex system of conservation based on the modern principles of resort town-planning that will contain some scientifically proven and legally defended criteria of environmental pressures, principles of environmentally protective gardening, regulation of transportation flows, ecologically reasonable methods of waste elimination. Finally, all the efforts must be directed to preserving natural medical resources and ensuring of their renewal. References: 1. Resort study of Caucasian Mineralnye Vody region / Under the general edition of MD, prof. V. V. Uyba. Scientific publication. - Pyatigorsk: PRIC FMBA. Volume 1. - 2009. - 335 p.; Volume 2. - 2011. - 368 p.

Particulate air pollution from combustion and construction in coastal and urban areas of China.

PubMed

Chen, Bing; Chen, Jinsheng; Zhao, Jinping; Zhang, Fuwang

2011-11-01

In China, the areas that are undergoing rapid urban growth are faced with increasingly more complicated air pollution problems. Sources of air pollution need to be identified and their contributions quantified. In this study, PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters < or =2.5 microm), PM2.5-10 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters 2.5-10 microm), organic carbon (OC), and elemental carbon (EC) concentrations were measured from April to July 2009 at four selected areas in Xiamen (the downtown area, an industrial park, a suburb, and one remote site). The contributions of carbonaceous aerosols to PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 were 20-30% and 10-20%, respectively, indicating that finer particles contained more carbonaceous aerosols. The EC concentrations in PM2.5 at the downtown, industrial, suburb, and remote sites were 2.16 +/- 0.61, 2.05 +/- 0.45, 1.69 +/- 0.54, and 0.65 +/- 0.43 microg m-3, respectively, showing a decrease from the urban and industrial hotspots to the surrounding areas. These data show that carbonaceous aerosols emitted from the combustion of fossil fuels in urban and industrial hotspots influence air quality at the regional scale. Higher levels of PM2.5 and PM2.5-10 were observed at the suburb site compared to the urban and industrial sites. Peak EC concentrations in PM2.5 were observed during the morning and evening rush hours. However, peak PM2.5 levels at the suburb site were observed around noon, which coincides with construction work hours, instead of the morning and evening rush hours when emissions from combustion dominated. These findings indicate that both fuel combustion and construction have exacerbated air pollution in coastal and urban areas in China.

Trend in Air Quality of Kathmandu Valley: A Satellite, Observation and Modelling Perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahapatra, P. S.; Praveen, P. S.; Adhikary, B.; Panday, A. K.; Putero, D.; Bonasoni, P.

2016-12-01

Kathmandu (floor area of 340 km2) in Nepal is considered to be a `hot spot' of urban air pollution in South Asia. Its structure as a flat basin surrounded by tall mountains provides a unique case study for analyzing pollution trapped by topography. Only a very small number of cities with similar features have been studied extensively including Mexico and Santiago-de-Chile. This study presents the trend in satellite derived Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) from MODIS AQUA and TERRA (3x3km, Level 2) over Kathmandu from 2000 to 2015. Trend analysis of AOD shows 35% increase during the study period. Determination of the background pollution would reveal the contribution of only Kathmandu Valley for the observation period. For this, AOD at 1340m altitude outside Kathmandu, but nearby areas were considered as background. This analysis was further supported by investigating AOD at different heights around Kathmandu as well as determining AOD from CALIPSO vertical profiles. These analysis suggest that background AOD contributed 30% in winter and 60% in summer to Kathmandu Valley's observed AOD. Thereafter the background AOD was subtracted from total Kathmandu AOD to determine contribution of only Kathmandu Valley's AOD. Trend analysis of only Kathmandu Valley AOD (subtracting background AOD) suggested an increase of 50% during the study period. Further analysis of Kathmandu's visibility and AOD suggest profound role of background AOD on decreasing visibility. In-situ Black Carbon (BC) mass concentration measurements (BC being used as a proxy for surface observations) at two sites within Kathmandu valley have been analyzed. Kathmandu valley lacks long term trends of ambient air quality measurement data. Therefore, surface observations would be coupled with satellite measurements for understanding the urban air pollution scenario. Modelling studies to estimate the contribution of background pollution to Kathmandu's own pollution as well as the weekend effect on air quality will be further discussed in detail.

Microphysical and optical properties of aerosol particles in urban zone during ESCOMPTE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallet, M.; Roger, J. C.; Despiau, S.; Dubovik, O.; Putaud, J. P.

2003-10-01

Microphysical and optical properties of the main aerosol species on a peri-urban site have been investigated during the ESCOMPTE experiment. Ammonium sulfate (AS), nitrate (N), black carbon (BC), particulate organic matter (POM), sea salt (SS) and mineral aerosol (D) size distributions have been used, associated with their refractive index, to compute, from the Mie theory, the key radiative aerosol properties as the extinction coefficient Kext, the mass extinction efficiencies σext, the single scattering albedo ω0 and the asymmetry parameter g at the wavelength of 550 nm. Optical computations show that 90% of the light extinction is due to anthropogenic aerosol and only 10% is due to natural aerosol (SS and D). 44±6% of the extinction is due to (AS) and 40±6% to carbonaceous particles (20±4% to BC and 21±4% to POM). Nitrate aerosol has a weak contribution of 5±2%. Computations of the mass extinction efficiencies σext, single scattering albedo ω0 and asymmetry parameter g indicate that the optical properties of the anthropogenic aerosol are often quite different from those yet published and generally used in global models. For example, the (AS) mean specific mass extinction presents a large difference with the value classically adopted at low relative humidity ( h<60%) (2.6±0.5 instead of 6 m 2 g -1 at 550 nm). The optical properties of the total aerosol layer, including all the aerosol species, indicate a mean observed single-scattering albedo ω0=0.85±0.05, leading to an important absorption of the solar radiation and an asymmetry parameter g=0.59±0.05 which are in a reasonably good agreements with the AERONET retrieval of ω0 (=0.86±0.05) and g (=0.64±0.05) at this wavelength.

Coarse and fine aerosol source apportionment in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Godoy, Maria Luiza D. P.; Godoy, José Marcus; Roldão, Luiz Alfredo; Soluri, Daniela S.; Donagemma, Raquel A.

The metropolitan area of Rio de Janeiro is one of the twenty biggest urban agglomerations in the world, with 11 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area, and has a high population density, with 1700 hab. km -2. For this aerosol source apportionment study, the atmospheric aerosol sampling was performed at ten sites distributed in different locations of the metropolitan area from September/2003 to December/2005, with sampling during 24 h on a weekly basis. Stacked filter units (SFU) were used to collect fine and coarse aerosol particles with a flow rate of 17 L min -1. In both size fractions trace elements were analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) as well as water-soluble species by Ion-Chromatography (IC). Also gravimetric analysis and reflectance measurements provided aerosol mass and black carbon concentrations. Very good detection limits for up to 42 species were obtained. Mean annual PM 10 mass concentration ranged from 20 to 37 μg m -3, values that are within the Brazilian air quality standards. Receptor models such as principal factor analysis, cluster analysis and absolute principal factor analysis were applied in order to identify and quantify the aerosol sources. For fine and coarse modes, circa of 100% of the measured mass was quantitatively apportioned to relatively few identified aerosol sources. A very similar and consistent source apportionment was obtained for both fine and coarse modes for all 10 sampling sites. Soil dust is an important component, accounting for 22-72% and for 25-48% of the coarse and fine mass respectively. On the other hand, anthropogenic sources as vehicle traffic and oil combustion represent a relatively high contribution (52-75%) of the fine aerosol mass. The joint use of ICP-MS and IC analysis of species in aerosols has proven to be reliable and feasible for the analysis of large amount of samples, and the coupling with receptor models provided an excellent method for quantitative aerosol source apportionment in large urban areas.

Characterization of organic compounds in the PM2.5 aerosols in winter in an industrial urban area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mikuška, P.; Křůmal, K.; Večeřa, Z.

2015-03-01

Urban aerosol particles in the fine fraction (PM2.5) were collected over the sampling interval of 24-hrs on quartz filters in Ostrava (Czech Republic) in winter 2012. The collected aerosols were analysed for selected organic compounds that serve as tracers of the main emission sources. The campaign was carried out under two different meteorological scenarios. During a smog episode due to high concentration of aerosols in the first part of the campaign, high concentrations of PM2.5 aerosols (mean concentration of 159 μg m-3) and PAHs bound to particles were found, while in the second part of the campaign, after the smog episode, much lower concentrations of aerosols (mean concentration of 49.3 μg m-3) were observed. Analysis of the source specific molecular markers and diagnostic ratios of PAHs, hopanes and alkanes imply that combustion of coniferous wood and coal in residential heating and traffic belong to the biggest emission sources of organic compounds associated with the PM2.5 aerosols collected during the winter campaign in Ostrava-Radvanice. The industrial production of coke and iron is another important contributor to the concentrations of BaP and other carcinogenic PAHs. The level of air pollution in Ostrava-Radvanice was considerably determined by the overall meteorological situation during the campaign. The highest concentrations of PM2.5 and bound organic compounds were found during a smog episode characterized by poor dispersion conditions due to temperature inversion and weak north-eastern wind, while during the subsequent period characterized by north-west or west wind, the concentrations of aerosols and bound organic compounds were much lower. Transboundary transport of polluted air from the Silesian Voivodeship could have contributed to the pollution in the Moravian-Silesian region during the smog episode.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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.

The Effect of Aerosol on Gravity Wave Characteristics above the Boundary Layer over a Tropical Location

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rakshit, G.; Jana, S.; Maitra, A.

2017-12-01

The perturbations of temperature profile over a location give an estimate of the potential energy of gravity waves propagating through the atmosphere. Disturbances in the lower atmosphere due to tropical deep convection, orographic effects and various atmospheric disturbances generates of gravity waves. The present study investigates the gravity wave energy estimated from fluctuations in temperature profiles over the tropical location Kolkata (22°34' N, 88°22' E). Gravity waves are most intense during the pre-monsoon period (March-June) at the present location, the potential energy having high values above the boundary layer (2-4 km) as observed from radiosonde profiles. An increase in temperature perturbation, due to high ambient temperature in the presence of heat absorbing aerosols, causes an enhancement in potential energy. As the present study location is an urban metropolitan city experiencing high level of pollution, pollutant aerosols can go much above the normal boundary layer during daytime due to convection causing an extended boundary layer. The Aerosol Index (AAI) obtained from Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment-2 (GOME-2) on MetOp-A platform at 340 nm and 380 nm confirms the presence of absorbing aerosol particles over the present location. The Hysplit back trajectory analysis shows that the aerosol particles at those heights are of local origin and are responsible for depleting liquid water content due to cloud burning. The aerosol extinction coefficient obtained from CALIPSO data exhibits an increasing trend during 2006-2016 accompanied by a similar pattern of gravity wave energy. Thus the absorbing aerosols have a significant role in increasing the potential energy of gravity wave at an urban location in the tropical region.

Substantial convection and precipitation enhancements by ultrafine aerosol particles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fan, Jiwen; Rosenfeld, Daniel; Zhang, Yuwei; Giangrande, Scott E.; Li, Zhanqing; Machado, Luiz A. T.; Martin, Scot T.; Yang, Yan; Wang, Jian; Artaxo, Paulo; Barbosa, Henrique M. J.; Braga, Ramon C.; Comstock, Jennifer M.; Feng, Zhe; Gao, Wenhua; Gomes, Helber B.; Mei, Fan; Pöhlker, Christopher; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Pöschl, Ulrich; de Souza, Rodrigo A. F.

2018-01-01

Ultrafine aerosol particles (smaller than 50 nanometers in diameter) have been thought to be too small to affect cloud formation. Fan et al. show that this is not the case. They studied the effect of urban pollution transported into the otherwise nearly pristine atmosphere of the Amazon. Condensational growth of water droplets around the tiny particles releases latent heat, thereby intensifying atmospheric convection. Thus, anthropogenic ultrafine aerosol particles may exert a more important influence on cloud formation processes than previously believed.

Spectral Discrimination of Fine and Coarse Mode Aerosol Optical Depth from AERONET Direct Sun Data of Singapore and South-East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Salinas Cortijo, S.; Chew, B.; Liew, S.

2009-12-01

Aerosol optical depth combined with the Angstrom exponent and its derivative, are often used as a qualitative indicator of aerosol particle size, with Angstrom exp. values greater than 2 indicating small (fine mode) particles associated with urban pollution and bio-mass burning. Around this region, forest fires are a regular occurrence during the dry season, specially near the large land masses of Sumatra and Borneo. The practice of clearing land by burning the primary and sometimes secondary forest, results in a smog-like haze covering large areas of regional cities such as cities Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and sometimes the south of Thailand, often reducing visibility and increasing health problems for the local population. In Singapore, the sources of aerosols are mostly from fossil fuel burning (energy stations, incinerators, urban transport etc.) and from the industrial and urban areas. The proximity to the sea adds a possible oceanic source. However, as stated above and depending on the time of the year, there can be a strong bio-mass component coming from forest fires from various regions of the neighboring countries. Bio-mass related aerosol particles are typically characterized by showing a large optical depth and small, sub-micron particle size distributions. In this work, we analyze three years of direct Sun measurements performed with a multi-channel Cimel Sun-Photometer (part of the AERONET network) located at our site. In order to identify bio-mass burning events in this region, we perform a spectral discrimination between coarse and fine mode optical depth; subsequently, the fine mode parameters such as optical depth, optical ratio and fine mode Angstrom exponents (and its derivative) are used to identify possible bio-mass related events within the data set.

Comparison of chemical characteristics of 495 biomass burning plumes intercepted by the NASA DC-8 aircraft during the ARCTAS/CARB-2008 field campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hecobian, A.; Liu, Z.; Hennigan, C. J.; Huey, L. G.; Jimenez, J. L.; Cubison, M. J.; Vay, S.; Diskin, G. S.; Sachse, G. W.; Wisthaler, A.; Mikoviny, T.; Weinheimer, A. J.; Liao, J.; Knapp, D. J.; Wennberg, P. O.; Kürten, A.; Crounse, J. D.; St. Clair, J.; Wang, Y.; Weber, R. J.

2011-12-01

This paper compares measurements of gaseous and particulate emissions from a wide range of biomass-burning plumes intercepted by the NASA DC-8 research aircraft during the three phases of the ARCTAS-2008 experiment: ARCTAS-A, based out of Fairbanks, Alaska, USA (3 April to 19 April 2008); ARCTAS-B based out of Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada (29 June to 13 July 2008); and ARCTAS-CARB, based out of Palmdale, California, USA (18 June to 24 June 2008). Approximately 500 smoke plumes from biomass burning emissions that varied in age from minutes to days were segregated by fire source region and urban emission influences. The normalized excess mixing ratios (NEMR) of gaseous (carbon dioxide, acetonitrile, hydrogen cyanide, toluene, benzene, methane, oxides of nitrogen and ozone) and fine aerosol particulate components (nitrate, sulfate, ammonium, chloride, organic aerosols and water soluble organic carbon) of these plumes were compared. A detailed statistical analysis of the different plume categories for different gaseous and aerosol species is presented in this paper. The comparison of NEMR values showed that CH4 concentrations were higher in air-masses that were influenced by urban emissions. Fresh biomass burning plumes mixed with urban emissions showed a higher degree of oxidative processing in comparison with fresh biomass burning only plumes. This was evident in higher concentrations of inorganic aerosol components such as sulfate, nitrate and ammonium, but not reflected in the organic components. Lower NOx NEMRs combined with high sulfate, nitrate and ammonium NEMRs in aerosols of plumes subject to long-range transport, when comparing all plume categories, provided evidence of advanced processing of these plumes.

Measurements of Size Resolved Organic Particulate Mass Using An On-line Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (ams) Laboratory Validation; Analysis Tool Development; and Interpretation of Field Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alfarra, M. R.; Coe, H.; Allan, J. D.; Bower, K. N.; Garforth, A. A.; Canagaratna, M.; Worsnop, D.

The aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) is a quantitative instrument designed to deliver real-time size resolved chemical composition of the volatile and semi volatile aerosol fractions. The AMS response to a wide range of organic compounds has been exper- imentally characterized, and has been shown to compare well with standard libraries of 70 eV electron impact ionization mass spectra. These results will be presented. Due to the scanning nature of the quadrupole mass spectrometer, the AMS provides averaged composition of ensemble of particles rather than single particle composi- tion. However, the mass spectra measured by AMS are reproducible and similar to those of standard libraries so analysis tools can be developed on large mass spectral libraries that can provide chemical composition information about the type of organic compounds in the aerosol. One such tool is presented and compared with laboratory measurements of single species and mixed component organic particles by the AMS. We will then discuss the applicability of these tools to interpreting field AMS data ob- tained in a range of experiments at different sites in the UK and Canada. The data will be combined with other measurements to show the behaviour of the organic aerosol fraction in urban and sub-urban environments.

Comparison of the impact of volcanic eruptions and aircraft emissions on the aerosol mass loading and sulfur budget in the stratosphere

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yue, Glenn K.; Poole, Lamont R.

1992-01-01

Data obtained by the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) 1 and 2 were used to study the temporal variation of aerosol optical properties and to assess the mass loading of stratospheric aerosols from the eruption of volcanos Ruiz and Kelut. It was found that the yearly global average of optical depth at 1.0 micron for stratospheric background aerosols in 1979 was 1.16 x 10(exp -3) and in 1989 was 1.66 x 10(exp -3). The eruptions of volcanos Ruiz and Kelut ejected at least 5.6 x 10(exp 5) and 1.8 x 10(exp 5) tons of materials into the stratosphere, respectively. The amount of sulfur emitted per year from the projected subsonic and supersonic fleet is comparable to that contained in the background aerosol particles in midlatitudes from 35 deg N to 55 deg N.

Baseline Maritime Aerosol: Methodology to Derive the Optical Thickness and Scattering Properties

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kaufman, Yoram J.; Smirnov, Alexander; Holben, Brent N.; Dubovik, Oleg; Einaudi, Franco (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Satellite Measurements of the global distribution of aerosol and their effect on climate should be viewed in respect to a baseline aerosol. In this concept, concentration of fine mode aerosol particles is elevated above the baseline by man-made activities (smoke or urban pollution), while coarse mode by natural processes (e.g. dust or sea-spray). Using 1-3 years of measurements in 10 stations of the Aerosol Robotic network (ACRONET we develop a methodology and derive the optical thickness and properties of this baseline aerosol for the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Defined as the median for periods of stable optical thickness (standard deviation < 0.02) during 2-6 days, the median baseline aerosol optical thickness over the Pacific Ocean is 0.052 at 500 am with Angstrom exponent of 0.77, and 0.071 and 1.1 respectively, over the Atlantic Ocean.

Temporal and spatial variation of morphological descriptors for atmospheric aerosols collected in Mexico City

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

China, S.; Mazzoleni, C.; Dubey, M. K.; Chakrabarty, R. K.; Moosmuller, H.; Onasch, T. B.; Herndon, S. C.

2010-12-01

We present an analysis of morphological characteristics of atmospheric aerosol collected during the MILAGRO (Megacity Initiative: Local and Global Research Observations) field campaign that took place in Mexico City in March 2006. The sampler was installed on the Aerodyne mobile laboratory. The aerosol samples were collected on nuclepore clear polycarbonate filters mounted in Costar pop-top membrane holders. More than one hundred filters were collected at different ground sites with different atmospheric and geographical characteristics (urban, sub-urban, mountain-top, industrial, etc.) over a month period. Selected subsets of these filters were analyzed for aerosol morphology using a scanning electron microscope and image analysis techniques. In this study we investigate spatial and temporal variations of aerosol shape descriptors, morphological parameters, and fractal dimension. We also compare the morphological results with other aerosol measurements such as aerosol optical properties(scattering and absorption) and size distribution data. Atmospheric aerosols have different morphological characteristics depending on many parameters such as emission sources, atmospheric formation pathways, aging processes, and aerosol mixing state. The aerosol morphology influences aerosol chemical and mechanical interactions with the environment, physical properties, and radiative effects. In this study, ambient aerosol particles have been classified in different shape groups as spherical, irregularly shaped, and fractal-like aggregates. Different morphological parameters such as aspect ratio, roundness, feret diameter, etc. have been estimated for irregular shaped and spherical particles and for different kinds of soot particles including fresh soot, collapsed and coated soot. Fractal geometry and image processing have been used to obtain morphological characteristics of different soot particles. The number of monomers constituting each aggregate and their diameters were measured and used to estimate an ensemble three-dimensional (3-d) fractal dimension. One-dimensional (1-d) and two-dimensional (2-d) fractal geometries have been measured using a power-law scaling relationship between 1-d and 2-d properties of projected images. Temporal variations in fractal dimension of soot-like aggregates have been observed at the mountaintop site and spatial variation of fractal dimension and other morphological descriptors of different shaped particles have been investigated for the different ground sites.

Nitrogen, Aerosol Composition, and Halogens on a Tall Tower (NACHTT): Overview of a wintertime air chemistry field study in the front range urban corridor of Colorado

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Steven S.; Thornton, Joel A.; Keene, William C.; Pszenny, Alexander A. P.; Sive, Barkley C.; Dubé, William P.; Wagner, Nicholas L.; Young, Cora J.; Riedel, Theran P.; Roberts, James M.; VandenBoer, Trevor C.; Bahreini, Roya; Öztürk, Fatma; Middlebrook, Ann M.; Kim, Saewung; Hübler, Gerhard; Wolfe, Daniel E.

2013-07-01

The Nitrogen, Aerosol Composition, and Halogens on a Tall Tower (NACHTT) field experiment took place during late winter, 2011, at a site 33 km north of Denver, Colorado. The study included fixed-height measurements of aerosols, soluble trace gases, and volatile organic compounds near surface level, as well as vertically resolved measurements of nitrogen oxides, aerosol composition, soluble gas-phase acids, and halogen species from 3 to 270 m above ground level. There were 1928 individual profiles during the three-week campaign to characterize trace gas and aerosol distributions in the lower levels of the boundary layer. Nitrate and ammonium dominated the ionic composition of aerosols and originated primarily from local or regional sources. Sulfate and organic matter were also significant and were associated primarily with longer-range transport to the region. Aerosol chloride was associated primarily with supermicron size fractions and was always present in excess of gas-phase chlorine compounds. The nighttime radical reservoirs, nitryl chloride, ClNO2, and nitrous acid, HONO, were both consistently present in nighttime urban air. Nitryl chloride was especially pronounced in plumes from large point sources sampled aloft at night. Nitrous acid was typically most concentrated near the ground surface and was the dominant contributor (80%) to diurnally averaged primary OH radical production in near-surface air. Large observed mixing ratios of light alkanes, both in near-surface air and aloft, were attributable to local emissions from oil and gas activities.

Trace Gases and Aerosol Optical Properties Over the US Mid-Atlantic During Summer 2001

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doddridge, B. G.; Piety, C. A.

2001-12-01

Anthropogenic emissions from rapid urban sprawl, commuter/commercial traffic and industrialization along the East Coast of the United States have a profound effect on urban and regional air quality. During summer 2001 we used a light aircraft research platform operated from North Carolina northward through Pennsylvania measuring meteorological scalars, selected trace gases and aerosol optical properties on selected pollution episode days. The goal of this research is to gain an improved understanding of the sources, sinks, transport and photochemical transformations controlling the observed abundance of photochemical oxidants and fine particulate haze over the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region. The aircraft research capabilities will be described, over 60 research flights totaling in excess of 160 flight hours summarized, and key findings presented. Although westerly transport of remnant ozone and haze along with precursors can make substantial contributions to observed urban corridor air quality aloft, significant production downwind of the urban center often can occur within the planetary boundary layer during the afternoon hours.

Measurements of skylight polarization: a case study in urban region with high-loading aerosol.

PubMed

Wu, Lianghai; Gao, Jun; Fan, Zhiguo; Zhang, Jun

2015-02-01

We investigate skylight polarization patterns in an urban region using our developed full-Stokes imaging polarimeter. A detailed description of our imaging polarimeter and its calibration are given, then, we measure skylight polarization patterns at wavelength λ=488  nm and at solar elevation between -05°10' and +35°42' in the city of Hefei, China. We show that in an urban region with high-loading aerosols: (1) the measured degree of linear polarization reaches the maximum near sunset, and large areas of unpolarized sky exist in the forward sunlight direction close to the Sun; (2) the position of neural points shifts from the local meridian plane and, if compared with a clear sky, alters the symmetrical characteristics of celestial polarization pattern; and (3) the observed circular polarization component is negligible.

Lidar Observation of Aerosol and Temperature Stratification over Urban Area During the Formation of a Stable Atmospheric PBL

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kolev, I.; Parvanov, O.; Kaprielov, B.; Mitev, V.; Simeonov, V.; Grigorov, I.

1992-01-01

In recent years, the processes in the atmospheric planetary boundary layer (PBL) over urban areas were intensely investigated, due to ecological problems related to the air, soil, and water pollution. New pollution sources in new residential districts, when in contradiction to the microclimate and topography requirements of that region, create a number of considerable hazards and problems. The present study is a continuation of our preceding investigations and aims at revealing the aerosol structure and stratification during the transition after sunset as measured by two lidars. Such observation of the nocturnal, stable PBL formation over an urban area in Bulgaria has not been reported before. The lidars' high time and spatial resolutions allow the changes of the internal structure of the PBL's part located above the surface layer to be observed.

Aerosol characterization over the southeastern United States using high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometry: spatial and seasonal variation of aerosol composition and sources with a focus on organic nitrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, L.; Suresh, S.; Guo, H.; Weber, R. J.; Ng, N. L.

2015-07-01

We deployed a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) to characterize the chemical composition of submicron non-refractory particulate matter (NR-PM1) in the southeastern USA. Measurements were performed in both rural and urban sites in the greater Atlanta area, Georgia (GA), and Centreville, Alabama (AL), for approximately 1 year as part of Southeastern Center for Air Pollution and Epidemiology study (SCAPE) and Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS). Organic aerosol (OA) accounts for more than half of NR-PM1 mass concentration regardless of sampling sites and seasons. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of HR-ToF-AMS measurements identified various OA sources, depending on location and season. Hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and cooking OA (COA) have important, but not dominant, contributions to total OA in urban sites (i.e., 21-38 % of total OA depending on site and season). Biomass burning OA (BBOA) concentration shows a distinct seasonal variation with a larger enhancement in winter than summer. We find a good correlation between BBOA and brown carbon, indicating biomass burning is an important source for brown carbon, although an additional, unidentified brown carbon source is likely present at the rural Yorkville site. Isoprene-derived OA factor (isoprene-OA) is only deconvolved in warmer months and contributes 18-36 % of total OA. The presence of isoprene-OA factor in urban sites is more likely from local production in the presence of NOx than transport from rural sites. More-oxidized and less-oxidized oxygenated organic aerosol (MO-OOA and LO-OOA, respectively) are dominant fractions (47-79 %) of OA in all sites. MO-OOA correlates well with ozone in summer but not in winter, indicating MO-OOA sources may vary with seasons. LO-OOA, which reaches a daily maximum at night, correlates better with estimated nitrate functionality from organic nitrates than total nitrates. Based on the HR-ToF-AMS measurements, we estimate that the nitrate functionality from organic nitrates contributes 63-100 % to the total measured nitrates in summer. Furthermore, the contribution of organic nitrates to total OA is estimated to be 5-12 % in summer, suggesting that organic nitrates are important components in the ambient aerosol in the southeastern USA. The spatial distribution of OA is investigated by comparing simultaneous HR-ToF-AMS measurements with ACSM measurements at two different sampling sites. OA is found to be spatially homogeneous in summer due possibly to stagnant air mass and a dominant amount of regional secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in the southeastern USA. The homogeneity is less in winter, which is likely due to spatial variation of primary emissions. We observe that the seasonality of OA concentration shows a clear urban/rural contrast. While OA exhibits weak seasonal variation in the urban sites, its concentration is higher in summer than winter for rural sites. This observation from our year-long measurements is consistent with 14 years of organic carbon (OC) data from the SouthEastern Aerosol Research and Characterization (SEARCH) network. The comparison between short-term measurements with advanced instruments and long-term measurements of basic air quality indicators not only tests the robustness of the short-term measurements but also provides insights in interpreting long-term measurements. We find that OA factors resolved from PMF analysis on HR-ToF-AMS measurements have distinctly different diurnal variations. The compensation of OA factors with different diurnal trends is one possible reason for the repeatedly observed, relatively flat OA diurnal profile in the southeastern USA. In addition, analysis of long-term measurements shows that the correlation between OC and sulfate is substantially stronger in summer than winter. This seasonality could be partly due to the effects of sulfate on isoprene SOA formation as revealed by the short-term intensive measurements.

Multiday production of condensing organic aerosol mass in urban and forest outflow

DOE PAGES

Lee-Taylor, J.; Hodzic, A.; Madronich, S.; ...

2014-07-03

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production in air masses containing either anthropogenic or biogenic (terpene-dominated) emissions is investigated using the explicit gas-phase chemical mechanism generator GECKO-A. Simulations show several-fold increases in SOA mass continuing for several days in the urban outflow, even as the initial air parcel is diluted into the regional atmosphere. The SOA mass increase in the forest outflow is more modest (∼50%) and of shorter duration (1–2 days). The production in the urban outflow stems from continuing oxidation of gas-phase precursors which persist in equilibrium with the particle phase, and can be attributed to multigenerational reaction products ofmore » both aromatics and alkanes. In particular we find large contributions from substituted maleic anhydrides and multi-substituted peroxide-bicyclic alkenes. The results show that the predicted production is a robust feature of our model even under changing atmospheric conditions, and contradict the notion that SOA undergoes little mass production beyond a short initial formation period. The results imply that anthropogenic aerosol precursors could influence the chemical and radiative characteristics of the atmosphere over an extremely wide region, and that SOA measurements near precursor sources may routinely underestimate this influence.« less

International Conference on Aerosols and Background Pollution Abstracts Held in Galway, Ireland on 13-15 June 1989

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-06-15

Andes near Santiago de Chile extinction coefficients have been determined at elevations above 3000 meters. Values betwee 0.018 km and 0.15 km have been...McGovern 1515 North Atlantic Aerosol Background concentrations measured at a Hebridean coastal site N.H. Smith, P.M. Park and I.E. Consterdine 1530...ocean V. Dreiling, R. Maser and L. Schutz 1615 Measurements of aerosol concentration and distribution at Helgoland Island P. Brand, J. Gebhart, M. Below

High contributions of vehicular emissions to ammonia in three European cities derived from mobile measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elser, Miriam; El-Haddad, Imad; Maasikmets, Marek; Bozzetti, Carlo; Wolf, Robert; Ciarelli, Giancarlo; Slowik, Jay G.; Richter, Rene; Teinemaa, Erik; Hüglin, Christoph; Baltensperger, Urs; Prévôt, André S. H.

2018-02-01

Ambient ammonia (NH3) measurements were performed with a mobile platform in three European cities: Zurich (Switzerland), Tartu (Estonia) and Tallinn (Estonia) deploying an NH3 analyzer based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy. A heated inlet line along with an auxiliary flow was used to minimize NH3 adsorption onto the inlet walls. In addition, a detailed characterization of the response and recovery times of the measurement system was used to deconvolve the true NH3 signal from the remaining adsorption-induced hysteresis. Parallel measurements with an aerosol mass spectrometer were used to correct the observed NH3 for the contribution of ammonium nitrate, which completely evaporated in the heated line at the chosen temperature, in contrast to ammonium sulfate. In this way a quantitative measurement of ambient gaseous NH3 was achieved with sufficient time resolution to enable measurement of NH3 point sources with a mobile sampling platform. The NH3 analyzer and the aerosol mass spectrometer were complemented by an aethalometer and various gas-phase analyzers to enable a complete characterization of the sources of air pollution, including the spatial distributions and the regional background concentrations and urban increments of all measured components. Although at all three locations similar increment levels of organic aerosols were attributed to biomass burning and traffic, traffic emissions clearly dominated the city enhancements of NH3, equivalent black carbon (eBC) and carbon dioxide (CO2). Urban increments of 3.4, 1.8 and 3.0 ppb of NH3 were measured in the traffic areas in Zurich, Tartu and Tallinn, respectively, representing an enhancement of 36.6, 38.3 and 93.8% over the average background concentrations. Measurements in areas strongly influenced by traffic emissions (including tunnel drives) were used to estimate emission factors (EF) for the traffic-related pollutants. The obtained median EFs range between 136.8-415.1 mg kg-1 fuel for NH3, 157.1-734.8 mg kg-1 fuel for eBC and 39.9-324.3 mg kg-1 fuel for HOA. Significant differences were found between the EFs of certain components in the three cities, which were partially linked to an older vehicle fleet in Estonia compared to Switzerland. Using the determined EFs we show that traffic can fully explain the NH3 enhancements in the three cities and also presents a non-negligible fraction of the background concentrations, which are mostly related to agricultural activities. Moreover, the estimated total contribution of traffic to NH3 at all three locations is in good agreement with the available emission inventories.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Seinfeld, John H.

This project addressed the following research need in the Atmospheric System Research (ASR) Science and Program Plan: "Measurements downwind of urban sources of aerosol particles and precursor gases have shown that the mass concentration of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) can be several-fold greater than can be explained on the basis of current model calculations using observed precursor concentrations. ASR will continue conducting laboratory experiments on both gas-phase and aqueous-phase SOA formation to characterize the particle formation and the organic gases that react to form new organic aerosol material on aerosol seeds. ASR will use these experiments to guide the developmentmore » of comprehensive chemical mechanisms... to guide the development of parameterizations that are simple enough to be applied to aerosol life cycle models."« less

Ambient Aerosols in the Southern Hemisphere on Ascension Island during the LASIC Campaign: Biomass Burning Season versus Near Pristine Background Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aiken, A. C.; Springston, S. R.; Watson, T. B.; Sedlacek, A. J., III; Zuidema, P.; Adebiyi, A. A.; Uin, J.; Kuang, C.; Flynn, C. J.

2017-12-01

Ascension Island is located 8 degrees South of the Equator and 15 degrees West Longitude in the middle of the South Atlantic Ocean, at least 1000 miles from any major shoreline and closest to the continent of Africa. While low Southern Hemisphere background aerosol and trace gas measurements are observed most of the year, that picture changes during the South African Biomass Burning (BB) season. BB emissions are a large source of carbon to the atmosphere via particles and gas phase species and with a potential rise in drought and extreme events in the future, these numbers are expected to increase. From approximately June-October every year, the plume of South African BB emissions, the largest BB source in the world, are advected West and are known to impact both the boundary layer and free troposphere at Ascension Island (Zuidema et al., 2016). During the U.S. DOE ARM field campaign, Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds (LASIC), aerosol and trace gas measurements were collected continuously from June 2016 through October 2017 over a 1.5 year period. Two BB seasons are contrasted with the near pristine background conditions during the campaign from the ARM Aerosol Mobile Facility 1 (AMF1) and Mobile Aerosol Observing System (MAOS). Numerous direct in situ aerosol and trace gas measurements are presented, e.g. black carbon (BC), carbon monoxide (CO), PM1 and PM10 aerosol absorption and scattering, submicron non-refractory chemical composition (Organics, Sulfate, Nitrate, Ammonium, Chloride), etc. Aerosol and trace gas signatures are investigated along with backtrajectories to identify sources. Carbonaceous aerosols emitted with gas-phase CO are used to determine particulate emission ratios along with intrinsic and extrinsic aerosol properties. BC mass concentrations reach 1 µg m-3 during multiday plumes and exceed 25% of the total aerosol submicron mass concentration. Organic Aerosol (OA) to BC Ratios of 2.4 in the plume are much higher than previously observed BB emissions in the Northern Hemisphere from forest fires in the US and also BB sources in Brazil. The differences observed between BB emissions in the Northern versus Southern Hemispheres highlights the need to understand the different atmospheric chemistries within the context of the differing background conditions of the two hemispheres.

Ultra-Low Background Measurements Of Decayed Aerosol Filters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miley, H.

2009-04-01

To experimentally evaluate the opportunity to apply ultra-low background measurement methods to samples collected, for instance, by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty International Monitoring System (IMS), aerosol samples collected on filter media were measured using HPGe spectrometers of varying low-background technology approaches. In this way, realistic estimates of the impact of low-background methodology can be assessed on the Minimum Detectable Activities obtained in systems such as the IMS. The current measurement requirement of stations in the IMS is 30 microBq per cubic meter of air for 140Ba, or about 106 fissions per daily sample. Importantly, this is for a fresh aerosol filter. Decay varying form 3 days to one week reduce the intrinsic background from radon daughters in the sample. Computational estimates of the improvement factor for these decayed filters for underground-based HPGe in clean shielding materials are orders of magnitude less, even when the decay of the isotopes of interest is included.

Applications of synergistic combination of remote sensing and in-situ measurements on urban monitoring of air quality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diaz, Adrian; Dominguez, Victor; Campmier, Mark; Wu, Yonghua; Arend, Mark; Vladutescu, Daniela Viviana; Gross, Barry; Moshary, Fred

2017-08-01

In this study, multiple remote sensing and in-situ measurements are combined in order to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the aerosol distribution in New York City. Measurement of the horizontal distribution of aerosols is performed using a scanning eye-safe elastic-backscatter micro-pulse lidar. Vertical distribution of aerosols is measured with a co-located ceilometer. Furthermore, our analysis also includes in-situ measurements of particulate matter and wind speed and direction. These observations combined show boundary layer dynamics as well as transport and inhomogeneous spatial distribution of aerosols, which are of importance for air quality monitoring.

Final report for "Characterization of Fine Particulate Matter (PM) and secondary PM Precursor Gases in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area"

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Prof. Jose-Luis Jimenez

2009-05-18

The objectives of this funded project were (a) to further analyze the data collected by our group and collaborators in Mexico City during the MCMA-2003 field campaign, with the goal of further our understanding of aerosol sources and processes; and (b) to deploy several advanced instruments, including the newly developed high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and thermal-denuder (TD), during the MILAGRO/MAX-Mex/MCMA-2006 field campaign, and to analyze those data (together with the 2003 data) to provide additional insights on the formation and transformation of aerosols in the Mexico City area. These goals were addressed in collaboration with our project partners,more » MIT/Molina Center, and Aerodyne Research. Overall this project was very successful, resulting on 22+ journal papers including six “highly cited papers” and three papers that are the most cited in their respective journals (out of several thousand papers) since the year in which they were published. Multiple discoveries, such as the the underestimation of SOA in urban areas even for short photochemical ages, the demonstration that urban POA is of similar or higher volatility than urban SOA, and the first analysis of organic aerosol elemental composition in real-time have been recently published. Several dozen presentations at major US and international conferences and seminars also acknowledged this grant.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madronich, Sasha; Kleinman, Larry; Conley, Andrew

Gas-to-particle partitioning of organic aerosols (OA) is represented in most models by Raoult’s law, and depends on the existing mass of particles into which organic gases can dissolve. This raises the possibility of non-linear response of particle-phase OA to the emissions of precursor volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that contribute to this partitioning mass. Implications for air quality management are evident: A strong non-linear dependence would suggest that reductions in VOC emission would have a more-than-proportionate benefit in lowering ambient OA concentrations. Chamber measurements on simple VOC mixtures generally confirm the non-linear scaling between OA and VOCs, usually stated as amore » mass-dependence of the measured OA yields. However, for realistic ambient conditions including urban settings, no single component dominates the composition of the organic particles, and deviations from linearity are presumed to be small. Here we re-examine the linearity question using volatility spectra from several sources: (1) chamber studies of selected aerosols, (2) volatility inferred for aerosols sampled in two megacities, Mexico City and Paris, and (3) an explicit chemistry model (GECKO-A). These few available volatility distributions suggest that urban OA may be only slightly super-linear, with most values of the sensitivity exponent in the range 1.1-1.3, also substantially lower than seen in chambers for some specific aerosols. Furthermore, the rather low values suggest that OA concentrations in megacities are not an inevitable convergence of non-linear effects, but can be addressed (much like in smaller urban areas) by proportionate reductions in emissions.« less

Partially oxidised organic components in urban aerosol using GCXGC-TOF/MS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, J. F.; Webb, P. J.; Lewis, A. C.; Hopkins, J. R.; Smith, S.; Davy, P.

2004-08-01

Partially oxidised organic compounds associated with PM2.5 aerosol collected in London, England, have been analysed using direct thermal desorption coupled to comprehensive gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GCXGC-TOF/MS). Over 10000 individual organic components were isolated from around 10µg of aerosol material in a single procedure and with no sample pre-treatment. Chemical functionalities observed using this analytical technique ranged from alkanes to poly-oxygenated species. The chemical band structures commonly used in GCXGC for group type identifications overlap for this sample type, and have required mass spectrometry as an additional level of instrument dimensionality. An investigation of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (o-VOC) contained within urban aerosol has been performed and in a typical sample around 130 o-VOCs were identified based on retention behaviour and spectral match. In excess of 100 other oxygenated species were also observed but lack of mass spectral library or pure components prevents positive identification. Many of the carbonyl species observed could be mechanistically linked to gas phase aromatic hydrocarbon oxidation and there is good agreement in terms of speciation between the urban samples analysed here and those degradation products observed in smog chamber experiments of aromatic oxidation. The presence of partially oxidised species such as linear chain aldehydes and ketones and cyclic products such as furanones suggests that species generated early in the oxidative process may undergo gas to particle partitioning despite their relatively high volatility.

Partially oxidised organic components in urban aerosol using GCXGC-TOF/MS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hamilton, J.; Webb, P.; Lewis, A.; Hopkins, J.; Smith, S.; Davy, P.

2004-03-01

Partially oxidised organic compounds associated with PM2.5 aerosol collected in London, England, have been analysed using direct thermal desorption coupled to comprehensive gas chromatography-time of flight mass spectrometry (GCXGC-OF/MS). Over 10 000 individual organic components were isolated from around 10 μg of aerosol material in a single procedure and with no sample pre-treatment. Chemical functionalities observed using this analytical technique ranged from alkanes to poly-oxygenated species. The chemical band structures commonly used in GCXGC for group type identifications overlap for this sample type, and have required mass spectrometry as an additional level of instrument dimensionality. An investigation of oxygenated volatile organic compounds (o-VOC) contained within urban aerosol has been performed and in a typical sample around 130 o-VOCs were identified based on retention behaviour and spectral match. In excess of 100 other oxygenated species were also observed but lack of mass spectral library or pure components prevents positive identification. Many of the carbonyl species observed could be mechanistically linked to gas phase aromatic hydrocarbon oxidation and there is good agreement in terms of speciation between the urban samples analysed here and those degradation products observed in smog chamber experiments of aromatic oxidation. The presence of partially oxidised species such as linear chain aldehydes and ketones and cyclic products such as furanones suggests that species generated relatively early in the oxidative process may undergo gas to particle partitioning despite their relatively high volatility.

Cloud Optical Depth Retrievals from Solar Background "signal" of Micropulse Lidars

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chiu, J. Christine; Marshak, A.; Wiscombe, W.; Valencia, S.; Welton, E. J.

2007-01-01

Pulsed lidars are commonly used to retrieve vertical distributions of cloud and aerosol layers. It is widely believed that lidar cloud retrievals (other than cloud base altitude) are limited to optically thin clouds. Here we demonstrate that lidars can retrieve optical depths of thick clouds using solar background light as a signal, rather than (as now) merely a noise to be subtracted. Validations against other instruments show that retrieved cloud optical depths agree within 10-15% for overcast stratus and broken clouds. In fact, for broken cloud situations one can retrieve not only the aerosol properties in clear-sky periods using lidar signals, but also the optical depth of thick clouds in cloudy periods using solar background signals. This indicates that, in general, it may be possible to retrieve both aerosol and cloud properties using a single lidar. Thus, lidar observations have great untapped potential to study interactions between clouds and aerosols.

Aerosol Remote Sensing from Space -- What We've Learned, Where We're Heading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph

2010-01-01

The MISR and MODIS instruments aboard the NASA Earth Observing System's Terra Satellite have been collecting data containing information about the state of Earth's atmosphere and surface for over ten years. Among the retrieved quantities are amount and type of wildfire smoke, desert dust, volcanic effluent, urban and industrial pollution particles, and other aerosols. However, the broad scientific challenges of understanding aerosol impacts on climate and health place different, and very exacting demands on our measurement capabilities. And these data sets, though much more advanced in many respects than previous aerosol data records, are imperfect. In this presentation, I will summarize current understanding of MISR and MODIS aerosol product strengths and limitations, discuss how they relate to the bigger aerosol science questions we must address, and give my view of what we will need to do to progress.

Aerosol Remote Sensing from Space - Where We Stand, Where We're Heading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph

2011-01-01

The MISR and MODIS instruments aboard the NASA Earth Observing System's Terra Satellite have been collecting data containing information about the state of Earth's atmosphere and surface for over eleven years. Among the retrieved quantities are amount and type of wildfire smoke, desert dust, volcanic effluent, urban and industrial pollution particles, and other aerosols. However, the broad scientific challenges of understanding aerosol impacts on climate and health place different, and very exacting demands on our measurement capabilities. And these data sets, though much more advanced in many respects than previous aerosol data records, are imperfect. In this presentation, I will summarize current understanding of MISR and MODIS aerosol product strengths and limitations, discuss how they relate to the bigger aerosol science questions we must address, and give my view of the way forward.

Aerosol Remote Sensing from Space - Where We Stand, Where We're Heading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph A.

2013-01-01

The MISR and MODIS instruments aboard the NASA Earth Observing System's Terra Satellite have been collecting data containing information about the state of Earth's atmosphere and surface for over eleven years. Among the retrieved quantities are amount and type of wildfire smoke, desert dust, volcanic effluent, urban and industrial pollution particles, and other aerosols. However, the broad scientific challenges of understanding aerosol impacts on climate and health place different, and very exacting demands on our measurement capabilities. And these data sets, though much more advanced in many respects than previous aerosol data records, are imperfect. In this presentation, I will summarize current understanding of MISR and MODIS aerosol product strengths and limitations, discuss how they relate to the bigger aerosol science questions we must address, and give my view of the way forward.

Microfluidic electrochemical sensor for on-line monitoring of aerosol oxidative activity.

PubMed

Sameenoi, Yupaporn; Koehler, Kirsten; Shapiro, Jeff; Boonsong, Kanokporn; Sun, Yele; Collett, Jeffrey; Volckens, John; Henry, Charles S

2012-06-27

Particulate matter (PM) air pollution has a significant impact on human morbidity and mortality; however, the mechanisms of PM-induced toxicity are poorly defined. A leading hypothesis states that airborne PM induces harm by generating reactive oxygen species in and around human tissues, leading to oxidative stress. We report here a system employing a microfluidic electrochemical sensor coupled directly to a particle-into-liquid sampler (PILS) system to measure aerosol oxidative activity in an on-line format. The oxidative activity measurement is based on the dithiothreitol (DTT) assay, where, after being oxidized by PM, the remaining reduced DTT is analyzed by the microfluidic sensor. The sensor consists of an array of working, reference, and auxiliary electrodes fabricated in a poly(dimethylsiloxane)-based microfluidic device. Cobalt(II) phthalocyanine-modified carbon paste was used as the working electrode material, allowing selective detection of reduced DTT. The electrochemical sensor was validated off-line against the traditional DTT assay using filter samples taken from urban environments and biomass burning events. After off-line characterization, the sensor was coupled to a PILS to enable on-line sampling/analysis of aerosol oxidative activity. Urban dust and industrial incinerator ash samples were aerosolized in an aerosol chamber and analyzed for their oxidative activity. The on-line sensor reported DTT consumption rates (oxidative activity) in good correlation with aerosol concentration (R(2) from 0.86 to 0.97) with a time resolution of approximately 3 min.

[Observation study on aerosol optical properties and radiative forcing using the ground-based and satellite remote sensing at background station during the regional pollution episodes].

PubMed

Zhang, Xiao-Ling; Xia, Xiang-Ao; Che, Hui-Zheng; Tang, Jie; Tang, Yi-Xi; Meng, Wei; Dong, Fan

2014-07-01

The significant effect of anthropogenic pollutants transportation on the physical and optical properties of regional background atmospheric aerosol was studied by using ground-based and satellite remote sensing data obtained at the atmospheric background station (Shangdianzi, Beijing) of North China during October 1 to 15 in 2011. The aerosol mass concentration and reactive gases concentration increased obviously during periods of October 4-5, October 7-9, and October 11-12. Comparing with the background period of October 1-3, volume concentration increased by a factor of 3-6 for reactive gases such as NO(x), and CO, and a factor of 10-20 for SO2. Mass concentration of PM2.5 was about 200 microg x m(-3) on October 9. During haze period, the AOD at 500 nm varied between 0.60 to 1.00. The single scattering albedo (SSA) was lower than 0.88. And the black carbon concentration increased 4-8 times, which suggested the aerosol absorption was very strong during this pollution episode. The absorption of aerosol particles could cause 100-400 W x m(-2) increase of atmospheric radiation. The surface radiation decreased by about 100-300 W x m(-2) due to the aerosol scattering and absorption. This could cause higher stability of atmosphere, which will significantly affect the cloud and precipitation, and thus the regional weather and climate.

Determination of the refractive index of insoluble organic extracts from atmospheric aerosol over the visible wavelength range using optical tweezers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shepherd, Rosalie H.; King, Martin D.; Marks, Amelia A.; Brough, Neil; Ward, Andrew D.

2018-04-01

Optical trapping combined with Mie spectroscopy is a new technique used to record the refractive index of insoluble organic material extracted from atmospheric aerosol samples over a wide wavelength range. The refractive index of the insoluble organic extracts was shown to follow a Cauchy equation between 460 and 700 nm for organic aerosol extracts collected from urban (London) and remote (Antarctica) locations. Cauchy coefficients for the remote sample were for the Austral summer and gave the Cauchy coefficients of A = 1.467 and B = 1000 nm2 with a real refractive index of 1.489 at a wavelength of 589 nm. Cauchy coefficients for the urban samples varied with season, with extracts collected during summer having Cauchy coefficients of A = 1.465 ± 0.005 and B = 4625 ± 1200 nm2 with a representative real refractive index of 1.478 at a wavelength of 589 nm, whilst samples extracted during autumn had larger Cauchy coefficients of A = 1.505 and B = 600 nm2 with a representative real refractive index of 1.522 at a wavelength of 589 nm. The refractive index of absorbing aerosol was also recorded. The absorption Ångström exponent was determined for woodsmoke and humic acid aerosol extract. Typical values of the Cauchy coefficient for the woodsmoke aerosol extract were A = 1.541 ± 0.03 and B = 14 800 ± 2900 nm2, resulting in a real refractive index of 1.584 ± 0.007 at a wavelength of 589 nm and an absorption Ångström exponent of 8.0. The measured values of refractive index compare well with previous monochromatic or very small wavelength range measurements of refractive index. In general, the real component of the refractive index increases from remote to urban to woodsmoke. A one-dimensional radiative-transfer calculation of the top-of-the-atmosphere albedo was applied to model an atmosphere containing a 3 km thick layer of aerosol comprising pure water, pure insoluble organic aerosol, or an aerosol consisting of an aqueous core with an insoluble organic shell. The calculation demonstrated that the top-of-the-atmosphere albedo increases by 0.01 to 0.04 for pure organic particles relative to water particles of the same size and that the top-of-the-atmosphere albedo increases by 0.03 for aqueous core-shell particles as volume fraction of the shell material increases to 25 %.

Atmospheric aerosols in Rome, Italy: sources, dynamics and spatial variations during two seasons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Struckmeier, Caroline; Drewnick, Frank; Fachinger, Friederike; Gobbi, Gian Paolo; Borrmann, Stephan

2016-12-01

Investigations on atmospheric aerosols and their sources were carried out in October/November 2013 and May/June 2014 consecutively in a suburban area of Rome (Tor Vergata) and in central Rome (near St Peter's Basilica). During both years a Saharan dust advection event temporarily increased PM10 concentrations at ground level by about 12-17 µg m-3. Generally, in October/November the ambient aerosol was more strongly influenced by primary emissions, whereas higher relative contributions of secondary particles (sulfate, aged organic aerosol) were found in May/June. Absolute concentrations of anthropogenic emission tracers (e.g. NOx, CO2, particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, traffic-related organic aerosol) were generally higher at the urban location. Positive matrix factorization was applied to the PM1 organic aerosol (OA) fraction of aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) data to identify different sources of primary OA (POA): traffic, cooking, biomass burning and (local) cigarette smoking. While biomass burning OA was only found at the suburban site, where it accounted for the major fraction of POA (18-24 % of total OA), traffic and cooking were more dominant sources at the urban site. A particle type associated with cigarette smoke emissions, which is associated with a potential characteristic marker peak (m/z 84, C5H10N+, a nicotine fragment) in the mass spectrum, was only found in central Rome, where it was emitted in close vicinity to the measurement location. Regarding secondary OA, in October/November, only a very aged, regionally advected oxygenated OA was found, which contributed 42-53 % to the total OA. In May/June total oxygenated OA accounted for 56-76 % of the OA. Here a fraction (18-26 % of total OA) of a fresher, less oxygenated OA of more local origin was also observed. New particle formation events were identified from measured particle number concentrations and size distributions in May/June 2014 at both sites. While they were observed every day at the urban location, at the suburban location they were only found under favourable meteorological conditions, but were independent of advection of the Rome emission plume. Particles from sources in the metropolitan area of Rome and particles advected from outside Rome contributed 42-70 and 30-58 % to the total measured PM1, respectively. Apart from the general aerosol characteristics, in this study the properties (e.g. emission strength) and dynamics (e.g. temporal behaviour) of each identified aerosol type is investigated in detail to provide a better understanding of the observed seasonal and spatial differences.

Variability in optical properties of atmospheric aerosols and their frequency distribution over a mega city "New Delhi," India.

PubMed

Tiwari, S; Tiwari, Suresh; Hopke, P K; Attri, S D; Soni, V K; Singh, Abhay Kumar

2016-05-01

The role of atmospheric aerosols in climate and climate change is one of the largest uncertainties in understanding the present climate and in capability to predict future climate change. Due to this, the study of optical properties of atmospheric aerosols over a mega city "New Delhi" which is highly polluted and populated were conducted for two years long to see the aerosol loading and its seasonal variability using sun/sky radiometer data. Relatively higher mean aerosol optical depth (AOD) (0.90 ± 0.38) at 500 nm and associated Angstrom exponent (AE) (0.82 ± 0.35) for a pair of wavelength 400-870 nm is observed during the study period indicating highly turbid atmosphere throughout the year. Maximum AOD value is observed in the months of June and November while minimum is in transition months March and September. Apart from this, highest value of AOD (AE) value is observed in the post-monsoon [1.00 ± 0.42 (1.02 ± 0.16)] season followed by the winter [0.95 ± 0.36 (1.02 ± 0.20)] attributed to significance contribution of urban as well as biomass/crop residue burning aerosol which is further confirmed by aerosol type discrimination based on AOD vs AE. During the pre-monsoon season, mostly dust and mixed types aerosols are dominated. AODs value at shorter wavelength observed maximum in June and November while at longer wavelength maximum AOD is observed in June only. For the better understanding of seasonal aerosol modification process, the aerosol curvature effect is studied which show a strong seasonal dependency under a high turbid atmosphere, which are mainly associated with various emission sources. Five days air mass back trajectories were computed. They suggest different patterns of particle transport during the different seasons. Results suggest that mixtures of aerosols are present in the urban environment, which affect the regional air quality as well as climate. The present study will be very much useful to the modeler for validation of satellite data with observed data during estimation of radiative effect.

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

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

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 δα.

Aerosol optical and physical properties during winter monsoon pollution transport in an urban environment.

PubMed

Verma, S; Bhanja, S N; Pani, S K; Misra, A

2014-04-01

We analysed aerosol optical and physical properties in an urban environment (Kolkata) during winter monsoon pollution transport from nearby and far-off regions. Prevailing meteorological conditions, viz. low temperature and wind speed, and a strong downdraft of air mass, indicated weak dispersion and inhibition of vertical mixing of aerosols. Spectral features of WinMon aerosol optical depth (AOD) showed larger variability (0.68-1.13) in monthly mean AOD at short-wavelength (SW) channels (0.34-0.5 μm) compared to that (0.28-0.37) at long-wavelength (LW) channels (0.87-1.02 μm), thereby indicating sensitivity of WinMon AOD to fine aerosol constituents and the predominant contribution from fine aerosol constituents to WinMon AOD. WinMon AOD at 0.5 μm (AOD 0. 5) and Angstrom parameter ( α) were 0.68-0.82 and 1.14-1.32, respectively, with their highest value in December. Consistent with inference from spectral features of AOD, surface aerosol loading was primarily constituted of fine aerosols (size 0.23-3 μm) which was 60-70 % of aerosol 10- μm (size 0.23-10 μm) concentration. Three distinct modes of aerosol distribution were obtained, with the highest WinMon concentration at a mass median diameter (MMD) of 0.3 μm during December, thereby indicating characteristics of primary contribution related to anthropogenic pollutants that were inferred to be mostly due to contribution from air mass originating in nearby region having predominant emissions from biofuel and fossil fuel combustion. A relatively higher contribution from aerosols in the upper atmospheric layers than at the surface to WinMon AOD was inferred during February compared to other months and was attributed to predominant contribution from open burning emissions arising from nearby and far-off regions. A comparison of ground-based measurements with Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data showed an underestimation of MODIS AOD and α values for most of the days. Discrepancy in relative distribution of fine and coarse mode of MODIS AOD was also inferred.

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

PubMed

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 (RH<40%) and ambient conditions, respectively. The average single-scattering albedo (SSA) was 0.80+/-0.08 and 0.90+/-0.04 under dry and ambient conditions, respectively. Not only are the extinction and scattering coefficients greatly enhanced by aerosol water 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.

Biomass burning and biogenic aerosols in northern Australia during the SAFIRED campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Milic, Andelija; Mallet, Marc D.; Cravigan, Luke T.; Alroe, Joel; Ristovski, Zoran D.; Selleck, Paul; Lawson, Sarah J.; Ward, Jason; Desservettaz, Maximilien J.; Paton-Walsh, Clare; Williams, Leah R.; Keywood, Melita D.; Miljevic, Branka

2017-03-01

There is a lack of knowledge of how biomass burning aerosols in the tropics age, including those in the fire-prone Northern Territory in Australia. This paper reports chemical characterization of fresh and aged aerosols monitored during the 1-month-long SAFIRED (Savannah Fires in the Early Dry Season) field study, with an emphasis on the chemical signature and aging of organic aerosols. The campaign took place in June 2014 during the early dry season when the surface measurement site, the Australian Tropical Atmospheric Research Station (ATARS), located in the Northern Territory, was heavily influenced by thousands of wild and prescribed bushfires. ATARS was equipped with a wide suite of instrumentation for gaseous and aerosol characterization. A compact time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer was deployed to monitor aerosol chemical composition. Approximately 90 % of submicron non-refractory mass was composed of organic material. Ozone enhancement in biomass burning plumes indicated increased air mass photochemistry. The diversity in biomass burning emissions was illustrated through variability in chemical signature (e.g. wide range in f44, from 0.06 to 0.18) for five intense fire events. The background particulate loading was characterized using positive matrix factorization (PMF). A PMF-resolved BBOA (biomass burning organic aerosol) factor comprised 24 % of the submicron non-refractory organic aerosol mass, confirming the significance of fire sources. A dominant PMF factor, OOA (oxygenated organic aerosol), made up 47 % of the sampled aerosol, illustrating the importance of aerosol aging in the Northern Territory. Biogenic isoprene-derived organic aerosol factor was the third significant fraction of the background aerosol (28 %).

Spaceborne Remote Sensing of Aerosol Type: Global Distribution, Model Evaluation and Translation into Chemical Speciation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kacenelenbogen, M. S.; Tan, Q.; Johnson, M. S.; Burton, S. P.; Redemann, J.; Hasekamp, O. P.; Dawson, K. W.; Hair, J. W.; Ferrare, R. A.; Butler, C. F.; Holben, B. N.; Beyersdorf, A. J.; Ziemba, L. D.; Froyd, K. D.; Dibb, J. E.; Shingler, T.; Sorooshian, A.; Jimenez, J. L.; Campuzano Jost, P.; Jacob, D.; Kim, P. S.; Travis, K.; Lacagnina, C.

2016-12-01

It is essential to evaluate and refine aerosol classification methods applied to passive satellite remote sensing. We have developed an aerosol classification algorithm (called Specified Clustering and Mahalanobis Classification, SCMC) that assigns an aerosol type to multi-parameter retrievals by spaceborne, airborne or ground-based passive remote sensing instruments [1]. The aerosol types identified by our scheme are pure dust, polluted dust, urban-industrial/developed economy, urban-industrial/developing economy, dark biomass smoke, light biomass smoke and pure marine. We apply the SCMC method to inversions from the ground-based AErosol RObotic NETwork (AERONET [2]) and retrievals from the space-borne Polarization and Directionality of Earth's Reflectances instrument (POLDER, [3]). The POLDER retrievals that we use differ from the standard POLDER retrievals [4] as they make full use of multi-angle, multispectral polarimetric data [5]. We analyze agreement in the aerosol types inferred from both AERONET and POLDER and evaluate GEOS-Chem [6] simulations over the globe. Finally, we use in-situ observations from the SEAC4RS airborne field experiment to bridge the gap between remote sensing-inferred qualitative SCMC aerosol types and their corresponding quantitative chemical speciation. We apply the SCMC method to airborne in-situ observations from the NASA Langley Aerosol Research Group Experiment (LARGE, [7]) and the Differential Aerosol Sizing and Hygroscopicity Spectrometer Probe (DASH-SP, [8]) instruments; we then relate each coarsely defined SCMC type to a sum of percentage of individual aerosol species, using in-situ observations from the Particle Analysis by Laser Mass Spectrometry (PALMS, [9]), the Soluble Acidic Gases and Aerosol (SAGA, [10]), and the High - Resolution Time - of - Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR ToF AMS, [11]). [1] Russell P. B., et al., JGR, 119.16 (2014) [2] Holben B. N., et al., RSE, 66.1 (1998) [3] Tanré D., et al., AMT, 4.7 (2011) [4] Deuzé J. L., et al., JGR, 106.D5 (2001) [5] Hasekamp O. P., et al., JGR, 116.D14 (2011) [6] Bey I., et al., JGR, 106.D19 (2001) [7] Ziemba L. D., et al., GRL, 40.2 (2013) [8] Sorooshian A., et al., AST, 42.6 (2008) [9] Murphy D. M., et al., JGR, 111.D23 (2006) [10] Dibb J. E., et al., JGR, 108.D21 (2003) [11] DeCarlo P. F., et al., AC, 78.24 (2006)

Background considerations in the analysis of PIXE spectra by Artificial Neural Systems.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Correa, R.; Morales, J. R.; Requena, I.; Miranda, J.; Barrera, V. A.

2016-05-01

In order to study the importance of background in PIXE spectra to determine elemental concentrations in atmospheric aerosols using artificial neural systems ANS, two independently trained ANS were constructed, one which considered as input the net number of counts in the peak, and another which included the background. In the training and validation phases thirty eight spectra of aerosols collected in Santiago, Chile, were used. In both cases the elemental concentration values were similar. This fact was due to the intrinsic characteristic of ANS operating with normalized values of the net and total number of counts under the peaks, something that was verified in the analysis of 172 spectra obtained from aerosols collected in Mexico city. Therefore, networks operating under the mode which include background can reduce time and cost when dealing with large number of samples.

Atmospheric behaviour of particulate oxalate at UK urban background and rural sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Laongsri, Bunthoon; Harrison, Roy M.

2013-06-01

Oxalic acid is widely reported in the literature as one of the major components of organic aerosol. It has been reported as both a product of primary emissions from combustion processes and as a secondary product of atmospheric chemistry. Concentrations of particulate oxalate have been measured at a UK urban site (500 daily samples) and for a more limited period simultaneously at a rural site (100 samples) in the fine (less than 2.5 μm) and coarse (2.5-10 μm) size fractions. Full size distributions have also been measured by sampling with a MOUDI cascade impactor. Average concentrations of oxalate sampled over different intervals in PM10 are 0.04 ± 0.03 μg m-3 at the rural site and 0.06 ± 0.05 μg m-3 at the urban background site, broadly comparable with measurements from other European locations. During the period of simultaneous sampling at the urban and rural site, concentrations were very similar and the inter-site correlation in the PM2.5 fraction for oxalate (r = 0.45; p < 0.001) was appreciably weaker than that for sulphate and nitrate (r = 0.82 and 0.84, respectively). Nonetheless, the data clearly point to a predominantly secondary source of oxalate at these sites. Possible contributions from road traffic and woodsmoke appear to be very small. In the larger urban dataset, oxalate in PM2.5 was correlated significantly (p < 0.01) with sulphate (r = 0.60), nitrate (r = 0.48) and secondary organic carbon (r = 0.25). Clustering of air mass back trajectories demonstrates the importance of advection from mainland Europe. The size distribution of oxalate at the urban site showed a major mode at around 0.55 μm and a minor mode at around 1.5 μm in the mass distribution. The former mode is similar to that for sulphate suggesting either a similar in-cloud formation mechanism, or cloud processing of oxalate and sulphate after formation in homogeneous reaction processes.

Aerosol Observability and Predictability: From Research to Operations for Chemical Weather Forecasting. Lagrangian Displacement Ensembles for Aerosol Data Assimilation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

da Silva, Arlindo

2010-01-01

A challenge common to many constituent data assimilation applications is the fact that one observes a much smaller fraction of the phase space that one wishes to estimate. For example, remotely sensed estimates of the column average concentrations are available, while one is faced with the problem of estimating 3D concentrations for initializing a prognostic model. This problem is exacerbated in the case of aerosols because the observable Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) is not only a column integrated quantity, but it also sums over a large number of species (dust, sea-salt, carbonaceous and sulfate aerosols. An aerosol transport model when driven by high-resolution, state-of-the-art analysis of meteorological fields and realistic emissions can produce skillful forecasts even when no aerosol data is assimilated. The main task of aerosol data assimilation is to address the bias arising from inaccurate emissions, and Lagrangian misplacement of plumes induced by errors in the driving meteorological fields. As long as one decouples the meteorological and aerosol assimilation as we do here, the classic baroclinic growth of error is no longer the main order of business. We will describe an aerosol data assimilation scheme in which the analysis update step is conducted in observation space, using an adaptive maximum-likelihood scheme for estimating background errors in AOD space. This scheme includes e explicit sequential bias estimation as in Dee and da Silva. Unlikely existing aerosol data assimilation schemes we do not obtain analysis increments of the 3D concentrations by scaling the background profiles. Instead we explore the Lagrangian characteristics of the problem for generating local displacement ensembles. These high-resolution state-dependent ensembles are then used to parameterize the background errors and generate 3D aerosol increments. The algorithm has computational complexity running at a resolution of 1/4 degree, globally. We will present the result of assimilating AOD retrievals from MODIS (on both Aqua and TERRA satellites) from AERONET for validation. The impact on the GEOS-5 Aerosol Forecasting will be fully documented.

Investigation of the relative fine and coarse mode aerosol loadings and properties in the Southern Arabian Gulf region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaku, Kathleen C.; Reid, Jeffrey S.; Reid, Elizabeth A.; Ross-Langerman, Kristy; Piketh, Stuart; Cliff, Steven; Al Mandoos, Abdulla; Broccardo, Stephen; Zhao, Yongjing; Zhang, Jianglong; Perry, Kevin D.

2016-03-01

The aerosol chemistry environment of the Arabian Gulf region is extraordinarily complex, with high concentrations of dust aerosols from surrounding deserts mixed with anthropogenic aerosols originating from a large petrochemical industry and pockets of highly urbanized areas. Despite the high levels of aerosols experienced by this region, little research has been done to explore the chemical composition of both the anthropogenic and mineral dust portion of the aerosol burden. The intensive portion of the United Arab Emirates Unified Aerosol Experiment (UAE2), conducted during August and September 2004 was designed in part to resolve the aerosol chemistry through the use of multiple size-segregated aerosol samplers. The coarse mode mass (derived by subtracting the PM2.5 aerosol mass from the PM10 mass) is largely dust at 76% ± 7% of the total coarse mode mass, but is significantly impacted by anthropogenic pollution, primarily sulfate and nitrate. The PM2.5 aerosol mass also contains a large dust burden, at 38% ± 26%, but the anthropogenic component dominates. The total aerosol burden has significant impact not only on the atmosphere, but also the local population, as the air quality levels for both the PM10 and PM2.5 aerosol masses reached unhealthy levels for 24% of the days sampled.

In situ, satellite measurement and model evidence on the dominant regional contribution to fine particulate matter levels in the Paris megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beekmann, M.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Drewnick, F.; Sciare, J.; Pandis, S. N.; Denier van der Gon, H. A. C.; Crippa, M.; Freutel, F.; Poulain, L.; Ghersi, V.; Rodriguez, E.; Beirle, S.; Zotter, P.; von der Weiden-Reinmüller, S.-L.; Bressi, M.; Fountoukis, C.; Petetin, H.; Szidat, S.; Schneider, J.; Rosso, A.; El Haddad, I.; Megaritis, A.; Zhang, Q. J.; Michoud, V.; Slowik, J. G.; Moukhtar, S.; Kolmonen, P.; Stohl, A.; Eckhardt, S.; Borbon, A.; Gros, V.; Marchand, N.; Jaffrezo, J. L.; Schwarzenboeck, A.; Colomb, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Borrmann, S.; Lawrence, M.; Baklanov, A.; Baltensperger, U.

2015-08-01

A detailed characterization of air quality in the megacity of Paris (France) during two 1-month intensive campaigns and from additional 1-year observations revealed that about 70 % of the urban background fine particulate matter (PM) is transported on average into the megacity from upwind regions. This dominant influence of regional sources was confirmed by in situ measurements during short intensive and longer-term campaigns, aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from ENVISAT, and modeling results from PMCAMx and CHIMERE chemistry transport models. While advection of sulfate is well documented for other megacities, there was surprisingly high contribution from long-range transport for both nitrate and organic aerosol. The origin of organic PM was investigated by comprehensive analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), radiocarbon and tracer measurements during two intensive campaigns. Primary fossil fuel combustion emissions constituted less than 20 % in winter and 40 % in summer of carbonaceous fine PM, unexpectedly small for a megacity. Cooking activities and, during winter, residential wood burning are the major primary organic PM sources. This analysis suggests that the major part of secondary organic aerosol is of modern origin, i.e., from biogenic precursors and from wood burning. Black carbon concentrations are on the lower end of values encountered in megacities worldwide, but still represent an issue for air quality. These comparatively low air pollution levels are due to a combination of low emissions per inhabitant, flat terrain, and a meteorology that is in general not conducive to local pollution build-up. This revised picture of a megacity only being partially responsible for its own average and peak PM levels has important implications for air pollution regulation policies.

In-situ, satellite measurement and model evidence for a~dominant regional contribution to fine particulate matter levels in the Paris Megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beekmann, M.; Prévôt, A. S. H.; Drewnick, F.; Sciare, J.; Pandis, S. N.; Denier van der Gon, H. A. C.; Crippa, M.; Freutel, F.; Poulain, L.; Ghersi, V.; Rodriguez, E.; Beirle, S.; Zotter, P.; von der Weiden-Reinmüller, S.-L.; Bressi, M.; Fountoukis, C.; Petetin, H.; Szidat, S.; Schneider, J.; Rosso, A.; El Haddad, I.; Megaritis, A.; Zhang, Q. J.; Michoud, V.; Slowik, J. G.; Moukhtar, S.; Kolmonen, P.; Stohl, A.; Eckhardt, S.; Borbon, A.; Gros, V.; Marchand, N.; Jaffrezo, J. L.; Schwarzenboeck, A.; Colomb, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Borrmann, S.; Lawrence, M.; Baklanov, A.; Baltensperger, U.

2015-03-01

A detailed characterization of air quality in Paris (France), a megacity of more than 10 million inhabitants, during two one month intensive campaigns and from additional one year observations, revealed that about 70% of the fine particulate matter (PM) at urban background is transported on average into the megacity from upwind regions. This dominant influence of regional sources was confirmed by in-situ measurements during short intensive and longer term campaigns, aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements from ENVISAT, and modeling results from PMCAMx and CHIMERE. While advection of sulfate is well documented for other megacities, there was surprisingly high contribution from long-range transport for both nitrate and organic aerosol. The origin of organic PM was investigated by a comprehensive analysis of aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), radiocarbon and tracer measurements during two intensive campaigns. Primary fossil fuel combustion emissions contributed less than 20% in winter and 40% in summer to carbonaceous fine PM, unexpectedly little for a megacity. Cooking activities and, during winter, residential wood burning are the major primary organic PM sources. This analysis suggests that the major part of secondary organic aerosol is of modern origin, i.e. from biogenic precursors and from wood burning. Black carbon concentrations are on the lower end of values encountered in megacities worldwide, but still represent an issue for air quality. These comparatively low air pollution levels are due to a combination of low emissions per inhabitant, flat terrain, and a meteorology that is in general not conducive to local pollution build-up. This revised picture of a megacity only controlling part of its own average and peak PM levels has important implications for air pollution regulation policies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petäjä, T

Atmospheric aerosol particles impact human health in urban environments, while on regional and global scales they can affect climate patterns, the hydrological cycle, and the intensity of radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface. In spite of recent advances in the understanding of aerosol formation processes and the links between aerosol dynamics and biosphere-atmosphere-climate interactions, great challenges remain in the analysis of related processes on a global scale. Boreal forests, situated in a circumpolar belt in the northern latitudes throughout the United States, Canada, Russia and Scandinavia, are among the most active areas of atmospheric aerosol formation among all biomes. Themore » formation of aerosol particles and their growth to the sizes of cloud condensation nuclei in these areas are associated with biogenic volatile organic emissions from vegetation and soil.« less

Absorption Properties of Mediterranean Aerosols Obtained from Multi-year Ground-based and Satellite Remote Sensing Observations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mallet, M.; Dubovik, O.; Nabat, P.; Dulac, F.; Kahn, R.; Sciare, J.; Paronis, D.; Leon, J. F.

2013-01-01

Aerosol absorption properties are of high importance to assess aerosol impact on regional climate. This study presents an analysis of aerosol absorption products obtained over the Mediterranean Basin or land stations in the region from multi-year ground-based AERONET and satellite observations with a focus on the Absorbing Aerosol Optical Depth (AAOD), Single Scattering Albedo (SSA) and their spectral dependence. The AAOD and Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE) data set is composed of daily averaged AERONET level 2 data from a total of 22 Mediterranean stations having long time series, mainly under the influence of urban-industrial aerosols and/or soil dust. This data set covers the 17 yr period 1996-2012 with most data being from 2003-2011 (approximately 89 percent of level-2 AAOD data). Since AERONET level-2 absorption products require a high aerosol load (AOD at 440 nm greater than 0.4), which is most often related to the presence of desert dust, we also consider level-1.5 SSA data, despite their higher uncertainty, and filter out data with an Angstrom exponent less than 1.0 in order to study absorption by carbonaceous aerosols. The SSA data set includes both AERONET level-2 and satellite level-3 products. Satellite-derived SSA data considered are monthly level 3 products mapped at the regional scale for the spring and summer seasons that exhibit the largest aerosol loads. The satellite SSA dataset includes the following products: (i) Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) over 2000-2011, (ii) Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) near-UV algorithm over 2004-2010, and (iii) MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep-Blue algorithm over 2005-2011, derived only over land in dusty conditions. Sun-photometer observations show that values of AAOD at 440 nm vary between 0.024 +/- 0.01 (resp. 0.040 +/- 0.01) and 0.050 +/- 0.01 (0.055 +/- 0.01) for urban (dusty) sites. Analysis shows that the Mediterranean urban-industrial aerosols appear "moderately" absorbing with values of SSA close to approximately 0.94-0.95 +/- 0.04 (at 440 nm) in most cases except over the large cities of Rome and Athens, where aerosol appears more absorbing (SSA approximately 0.89-0.90 +/- 0.04). The aerosol Absorption Angstrom Exponent (AAE, estimated using 440 and 870 nm) is found to be larger than 1 for most sites over the Mediterranean, a manifestation of mineral dust (iron) and/or brown carbon producing the observed absorption. AERONET level-2 sun-photometer data indicate the existence of a moderate East-West gradient, with higher values over the eastern basin (AAEEast. = 1.39/AAEWest. = 1.33) due to the influence of desert dust. The North-South AAE gradient is more pronounced, especially over the western basin. Our additional analysis of AERONET level-1.5 data also shows that organic absorbing aerosols significantly affect some Mediterranean sites. These results indicate that current climate models treating organics as nonabsorbing over the Mediterranean certainly underestimate the warming effect due to carbonaceous aerosols. Acomparative analysis of the regional SSA variability has been attempted using satellite data. OMI and MODIS data show an absorbing zone (SSA approximately 0.90 at 470-500 nm) over Northeastern Africa that does not appear in the MISR retrievals. In contrast, MISR seems able to observe the East-West SSA gradient during summer, as also detected by AERONET. Also, the analysis of SSA provided by satellites indicates that the aerosol over the Mediterranean Sea appears less absorbing during spring (MAM) than summer (JJA).

Geochemistry of regional background aerosols in the Western Mediterranean

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pey, J.; Pérez, N.; Castillo, S.; Viana, M.; Moreno, T.; Pandolfi, M.; López-Sebastián, J. M.; Alastuey, A.; Querol, X.

2009-11-01

The chemical composition of regional background aerosols, and the time variability and sources in the Western Mediterranean are interpreted in this study. To this end 2002-2007 PM speciation data from an European Supersite for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (Montseny, MSY, located 40 km NNE of Barcelona in NE Spain) were evaluated, with these data being considered representative of regional background aerosols in the Western Mediterranean Basin. The mean PM 10, PM 2.5 and PM 1 levels at MSY during 2002-2007 were 16, 14 and 11 µg/m 3, respectively. After compiling data on regional background PM speciation from Europe to compare our data, it is evidenced that the Western Mediterranean aerosol is characterised by higher concentrations of crustal material but lower levels of OM + EC and ammonium nitrate than at central European sites. Relatively high PM 2.5 concentrations due to the transport of anthropogenic aerosols (mostly carbonaceous and sulphate) from populated coastal areas were recorded, especially during winter anticyclonic episodes and summer midday PM highs (the latter associated with the transport of the breeze and the expansion of the mixing layer). Source apportionment analyses indicated that the major contributors to PM 2.5 and PM 10 were secondary sulphate, secondary nitrate and crustal material, whereas the higher load of the anthropogenic component in PM 2.5 reflects the influence of regional (traffic and industrial) emissions. Levels of mineral, sulphate, sea spray and carbonaceous aerosols were higher in summer, whereas nitrate levels and Cl/Na were higher in winter. A considerably high OC/EC ratio (14 in summer, 10 in winter) was detected, which could be due to a combination of high biogenic emissions of secondary organic aerosol, SOA precursors, ozone levels and insolation, and intensive recirculation of aged air masses. Compared with more locally derived crustal geological dusts, African dust intrusions introduce relatively quartz-poor but clay mineral-rich silicate PM, with more kaolinitic clays from central North Africa in summer, and more smectitic clays from NW Africa in spring.

Characterization of Dust Properties during ACE-Asia and PRIDE: A Column Satellite-Surface Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor); Tsay, Si-Chee; Hsu, N. Christina; Herman, Jay R.; Ji, Q. Jack

2002-01-01

Many recent field experiments are designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentration over particular pathways around the globe. For example, the ACE-Asia (Aerosol Characterization Experiment-Asia) was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). The PRIDE (Puerto RIco Dust Experiment, July 2000) was designed to measure the properties of Saharan dust transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean. Dust particles typically originate in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of dust aerosols is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the ocean. During ACE-Asia and PRIDE we had measured aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from ground-based remote sensing. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical depth. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. We will present the results and discuss their implications in regional climatic effects.

Effects of aerosol species on atmospheric visibility in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chang-Gai Lee; Chung-Shin Yuan; Jui-Cheng Chang

2005-07-01

Visibility data collected from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, for the past two decades indicated that the air pollutants have significantly degraded visibility in recent years. During the study period, the seasonal mean visibilities in spring, summer, fall, and winter were only 5.4, 9.1, 8.2, and 3.4 km, respectively. To ascertain how urban aerosols influence the visibility, we conducted concurrent visibility monitoring and aerosol sampling in 1999 to identify the principal causes of visibility impairments in the region. In this study, ambient aerosols were sampled and analyzed for 11 constituents, including water-soluble ions and carbon materials, to investigate the chemical composition ofmore » Kaohsiung aerosols. Stepwise regression method was used to correlate the impact of aerosol species on visibility impairments. Both seasonal and diurnal variation patterns were found from the monitoring of visibility. Results showed that light scattering was attributed primarily to aerosols with sizes that range from 0.26 to 0.90 {mu}m, corresponding with the wavelength region of visible light, which accounted for {approximately} 72% of the light scattering coefficient. Sulfate was a dominant component that affected both the light scattering coefficient and the visibility in the region. On average, (NH{sub 4}){sup 2}SO{sub 4}, NH{sub 4}NO{sub 3}, total carbon, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5)-remainder contributed 53%, 17%, 16%, and 14% to total light scattering, respectively. An empirical regression model of visibility based on sulfate, elemental carbon, and humidity was developed, and the comparison indicated that visibility in an urban area could be properly simulated by the equation derived herein. 35 refs., 10 figs., 4 tabs.« less

Using Aerosol Reflectance for Dust Detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bahramvash Shams, S.; Mohammadzade, A.

2013-09-01

In this study we propose an approach for dust detection by aerosol reflectance over arid and urban region in clear sky condition. In urban and arid areas surface reflectance in red and infrared spectral is bright and hence shorter wavelength is required for this detections. Main step of our approach can be mentioned as: cloud mask for excluding cloudy pixels from our calculation, calculate Rayleigh path radiance, construct a surface reflectance data base, estimate aerosol reflectance, detect dust aerosol, dust detection and evaluations of dust detection. Spectral with wavelength 0.66, 0.55, 0.47 μm has been used in our dust detection. Estimating surface reflectance is the most challenging step of obtaining aerosol reflectance from top of atmosphere (TOA) reflectance. Hence for surface estimation we had created a surface reflectance database of 0.05 degree latitude by 0.05 degree longitude resolution by using minimum reflectivity technique (MRT). In order to evaluate our dust detection algorithm MODIS aerosol product MOD04 and common dust detection method named Brightness Temperature Difference (BTD) had been used. We had implemented this method to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) image of part of Iran (7 degree latitude and 8 degree longitude) spring 2005 dust phenomenon from April to June. This study uses MODIS LIB calibrated reflectance high spatial resolution (500 m) MOD02Hkm on TERRA spacecraft. Hence our dust detection spatial resolution will be higher spatial resolution than MODIS aerosol product MOD04 which has 10 × 10 km2 and BTD resolution is 1 km due to the band 29 (8.7 μm), 31 (11 μm), and 32 (12 μm) spatial resolutions.

Dust Aerosols at the Source Region During ACE-ASIA: A Surface/Satellite Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ACE (Aerosol Characterization Experiment)-Asia is designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. The phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian dust is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of dust aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical thickness. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Biogenic VOC oxidation and organic aerosol formation in an urban nocturnal boundary layer: aircraft vertical profiles in Houston, TX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, S. S.; Dubé, W. P.; Bahreini, R.; Middlebrook, A. M.; Brock, C. A.; Warneke, C.; de Gouw, J. A.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Atlas, E.; Peischl, J.; Ryerson, T. B.; Holloway, J. S.; Schwarz, J. P.; Spackman, R.; Trainer, M.; Parrish, D. D.; Fehshenfeld, F. C.; Ravishankara, A. R.

2013-11-01

Organic compounds are a large component of aerosol mass, but organic aerosol (OA) sources remain poorly characterized. Recent model studies have suggested nighttime oxidation of biogenic hydrocarbons as a potentially large OA source, but analysis of field measurements to test these predictions is sparse. We present nighttime vertical profiles of nitrogen oxides, ozone, VOCs and aerosol composition measured during low approaches of the NOAA P-3 aircraft to airfields in Houston, TX. This region has large emissions of both biogenic hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. The latter category serves as a source of the nitrate radical, NO3, a key nighttime oxidant. Biogenic VOCs (BVOC) and urban pollutants were concentrated within the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL), which varied in depth from 100-400 m. Despite concentrated NOx at low altitude, ozone was never titrated to zero, resulting in rapid NO3 radical production rates of 0.2-2.7 ppbv h-1 within the NBL. Monoterpenes and isoprene were frequently present within the NBL and underwent rapid oxidation (up to 1 ppbv h-1), mainly by NO3 and to a lesser extent O3. Concurrent enhancement in organic and nitrate aerosol on several profiles was consistent with primary emissions and with secondary production from nighttime BVOC oxidation, with the latter equivalent to or slightly larger than the former. Some profiles may have been influenced by biomass burning sources as well, making quantitative attribution of organic aerosol sources difficult. Ratios of organic aerosol to CO within the NBL ranged from 14 to 38 μg m-3 OA/ppmv CO. A box model simulation incorporating monoterpene emissions, oxidant formation rates and monoterpene SOA yields suggested overnight OA production of 0.5 to 9 μg m-3.

Mixing Heights and Three-Dimensional Ozone Structure Observed by Airborne Lidar During the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hardesty, R. M.; Senff, C. J.; Alvarez, R. J.; Banta, R. M.; Sandberg, S. P.; Weickmann, A. M.; Darby, L. S.

2007-12-01

A new all solid state ozone lidar was deployed on a NOAA Twin Otter to study boundary layer ozone and aerosol, mostly around Houston, during the 2006 Texas Air Quality Study. The new instrument transmits high pulse-rate, low pulse-energy light at 3 wavelengths in the ultraviolet to obtain ozone profiles with 500 m horizontal resolution and 90 m vertical resolution. During the Texas field study, 20 research flights resulted in nearly 70 hours of ozone measurements during the period from August 1 to September 15. Science objectives included characterization of background ozone levels over rural areas near Houston and Dallas and variability and structure of the boundary layer over different surface types, including urban, wooded, and agricultural land surface areas as well as over Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. A histogram of all boundary layer ozone concentration measurements showed a bimodal distribution with modes at 45 ppb and 70 ppb. The lower mode correlated with southerly flow, when relatively clean air was transported onshore into the Houston area. Segmenting the observations during southerly flow by region, including the Gulf of Mexico, land within about 55 km from the coast, and further inland indicated that background levels increased by about 10 ppb as air was transported onshore. During the latter part of the experiment, as more pollution was imported into the Houston region, background levels rose to nearly 80 ppb in regions N of Houston. Two flights aimed at observing import of ozone into Texas from the east showed that ozone concentrations increased and boundary layer depths deepened upwind of Houston between September 4 and September 8. Background levels rose by more than 10 ppb over this period. In addition to ozone measurements, we also estimated boundary layer height based on maximum gradient in observed backscatter. The technique worked well when the layer topped by the strongest gradient extends down to the surface. Investigation of the correlation between ozone levels and mixing layer heights both within and external to the Houston urban plume showed a variety of relationships, depending on, e.g., wind direction and occurrence of a bay/gulf breeze. On a day-to-day basis, higher ozone levels were weakly correlated with deeper mixing levels - this was likely due to advection of the urban heat island downwind with the high-ozone urban plume.

Estimation of the local and long-range contributions to particulate matter levels using continuous measurements in a single urban background site

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Diamantopoulou, Marianna; Skyllakou, Ksakousti; Pandis, Spyros N.

2016-06-01

The Particulate Matter Source Apportionment Technology (PSAT) algorithm is used together with PMCAMx, a regional chemical transport model, to develop a simple observation-based method (OBM) for the estimation of local and regional contributions of sources of primary and secondary pollutants in urban areas. We test the hypothesis that the minimum of the diurnal average concentration profile of the pollutant is a good estimate of the average contribution of long range transport levels. We use PMCAMx to generate "pseudo-observations" for four different European cities (Paris, London, Milan, and Dusseldorf) and PSAT to estimate the corresponding "true" local and regional contributions. The predictions of the proposed OBM are compared to the "true" values for different definitions of the source area. During winter, the estimates by the OBM for the local contributions to the concentrations of total PM2.5, primary pollutants, and sulfate are within 25% of the "true" contributions of the urban area sources. For secondary organic aerosol the OBM overestimates the importance of the local sources and it actually estimates the contributions of sources within 200 km from the receptor. During summer for primary pollutants and cities with low nearby emissions (ratio of emissions in an area extending 100 km from the city over local emissions lower than 10) the OBM estimates correspond to the city emissions within 25% or so. For cities with relatively high nearby emissions the OBM estimates correspond to emissions within 100 km from the receptor. For secondary PM2.5 components like sulfate and secondary organic aerosol the OBM's estimates correspond to sources within 200 km from the receptor. Finally, for total PM2.5 the OBM provides approximately the contribution of city emissions during the winter and the contribution of sources within 100 km from the receptor during the summer.

The Anthropogenic/Lightning Effects Around Houston: The Houston Environmental Aerosol Thunderstorm (HEAT) Project - 2005

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Orville, R. E.

2004-12-01

A major field program will occur in summer 2005 to determine the sources and causes for the enhanced cloud-to-ground lightning over Houston, Texas. This program will be in association with simultaneous experiments supported by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), formally the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC). Recent studies covering the period 1989-2002 document a 60 percent increase of cloud-to-ground lightning in the Houston area as compared to surrounding background values, which is second in flash density only to the Tampa Bay, Florida area. We suggest that the elevated flash densities could result from several factors, including 1) the convergence due to the urban heat island effect and complex sea breeze (thermal hypothesis), and 2) the increasing levels of air pollution from anthropogenic sources producing numerous small cloud droplets and thereby suppressing mean droplet size (aerosol hypothesis). The latter effect would enable more cloud water to reach the mixed phase region where it is involved in the formation of precipitation and the separation of electric charge, leading to an enhancement of lightning. The primary goals of HEAT are to examine the effects of (1) pollution, (2) the urban heat island, and (3) the complex coastline on storms and lightning characteristics in the Houston area. The transport of air pollutants by Houston thunderstorms will be investigated. In particular, the relative amounts of lightning-produced and convectively transported NOx into the upper troposphere will be determined, and a comparison of the different NOx sources in the urban area of Houston will be developed. The HEAT project is based on the observation that there is an enhancement in cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning. Total lightning (intracloud (IC) and CG) will be measured using a lightning mapping system (LDAR II) to observe if there is an enhancement in intracloud lightning as well.

Mount Saint Helens aerosol evolution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Oberbeck, V. R.; Farlow, N. H.; Snetsinger, K. G.; Ferry, G. V.; Fong, W.; Hayes, D. M.

1982-01-01

Stratospheric aerosol samples were collected using a wire impactor during the year following the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. Analysis of samples shows that aerosol volume increased for 6 months due to gas-to-particle conversion and then decreased to background levels in the following 6 months.

Characterization of Cooking-Related Aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedziela, R. F.; Blanc, L. E.

2010-12-01

The temperatures at which food is cooked are usually high enough to drive oils and other organic compounds out of materials which are being prepared for consumption. As these compounds move away from the hot cooking surface and into the atmosphere, they can participate in chemical reactions or condense to form particles. Given the high concentration of cooking in urban areas, cooking-related aerosols likely contribute to the overall amount of particulate matter on a local scale. Reported here are results for the mid-infrared optical characterization of aerosols formed during the cooking of several meat and vegetable samples in an inert atmosphere. The samples were heated in a novel aerosol generator that is designed to collect particles formed immediately above the cooking surface and inject them into a laminar aerosol flow cell. Preliminary results for the chemical processing of cooking-related aerosols in synthetic air will also be presented.

Fine Aerosol Associated Non-Polar Organics in Jammu, AN Urban Location in the Foothill Region of North Western Himalayas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yadav, S.; Bamotra, S.

2017-12-01

A comprehensive study was done on the mass, composition and sources of fine aerosol associated non-polar organics in Jammu, an urban location in the foothill region of North - Western Himalayas. Systematic multi-scale sampling was done from October, 2015 to February, 2017 to collect fine aerosol (PM2.5) samples every week using a Fine Particulate Sampler (Envirotech, APM 550 MFC) which operates at a constant flow rate of 16.7 L/minute. The Non- polar organic compounds comprising of n-alkanes, PAHs, isoprenoid hydrocarbons and nicotine were analyzed using Thermal desorption Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (TD-GC-MS) method. The n-alkane associated diagnostic parameters include—mass weighted Averaged Chain Length (ACL); Carbon number with maximum concentration (Cmax); Petroleum derived n-alkanes (PNA%), Carbon Preference Index (CPI) and the percentage contribution of Wax n-alkanes from plants (WNA%). These diagnostic parameters along with PAH based molecular ratios were used to understand the diurnal and seasonal variations in different biogenic and petrogenic source contributions in this part of Himalayas. The presence of source specific tracers like Levoglucosan, Retene, Isoquinoline and nicotine also corroborated our findings. Further Fine aerosols associated Black Carbon, an important marker for burning was determined using Optical Transmissometer. Significant multiscale variations were found in the Fine aerosol load, associated Non-polar organics, source tracers/contributions and Black Carbon.

Photochemical processing of organic aerosol at nearby continental sites: contrast between urban plumes and regional aerosol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Slowik, J. G.; Brook, J.; Chang, R. Y.-W.; Evans, G. J.; Hayden, K.; Jeong, C.-H.; Li, S.-M.; Liggio, J.; Liu, P. S. K.; McGuire, M.; Mihele, C.; Sjostedt, S.; Vlasenko, A.; Abbatt, J. P. D.

2010-10-01

As part of the BAQS-Met 2007 field campaign, Aerodyne time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometers (ToF-AMS) were deployed at two sites in southwestern Ontario from 17 June to 11 July, 2007. One instrument was located at Harrow, ON, a rural, agriculture-dominated area approximately 40 km southeast of the Detroit/Windsor/Windsor urban area and 5 km north of Lake Erie. The second instrument was located at Bear Creek, ON, a rural site approximately 70 km northeast of the Harrow site and 50 km east of Detroit/Windsor. Positive matrix factorization analysis of the combined organic mass spectral dataset yields factors related to secondary organic aerosol (SOA), direct emissions, and uptake processes. This is the first application of PMF to simultaneous AMS measurements at different sites, an approach which allows for self-consistent, direct comparison of the datasets. Case studies are utilized to investigate processing of SOA from (1) fresh emissions from Detroit/Windsor and (2) regional aerosol during periods of inter-site flow. A strong correlation is observed between SOA/excess CO and photochemical age as represented by the NOx/NOy ratio for Detroit/Windsor outflow. Although this correlation is not evident for more aged air, measurements at the two sites during inter-site transport nevertheless show evidence of continued atmospheric processing by SOA production.

Variability in aerosol optical properties over an urban site, Kanpur, in the Indo-Gangetic Plain: A case study of haze and dust events

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ram, Kirpa; Singh, Sunita; Sarin, M. M.; Srivastava, A. K.; Tripathi, S. N.

2016-06-01

In this study, we report on three important optical parameters, viz. absorption and scattering coefficients (babs, bscat) and single scattering abledo (SSA) based on one-year chemical-composition data collected from an urban site (Kanpur) in the Indo-Gangetic-Plain (IGP) of northern India. In addition, absorption Ängstrom exponent (AAE) was also estimated in order to understand the wavelength dependence of absorption and to decipher emission sources of carbonaceous aerosols, in particular of black carbon. The absorption and scattering coefficients ranged between 8.3 to 95.2 Mm- 1 (1 Mm- 1 = 10- 6 m- 1) and 58 to 564 Mm- 1, respectively during the study period (for n = 66; from January 2007 to March 2008) and exhibit large seasonal variability with higher values occurring in winter and lower in the summer. Single scattering albedo varied from 0.65 to 0.92 whereas AAE ranged from 0.79 to 1.40 during pre-monsoon and winter seasons, respectively. The strong seasonal variability in aerosol optical properties is attributed to varying contribution from different emission sources of carbonaceous aerosols in the IGP. A case study of haze and dust events further provide information on extreme variability in aerosol optical parameters, particularly SSA, a crucial parameter in atmospheric radiative forcing estimates.

Rapid Measurements of Aerosol Ionic Composition and 3-10 nm Particle Size Distributions On The NASA P3 To Better Quantify Processes Affecting Aerosols Advected From East Asia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Weber, Rodney J.

2004-01-01

The Particle Into Liquid Sample (PILS) was deployed on the NASA P3 for airborne measurements of fine particle ionic chemical composition. The data have been quality assured and reside in the NASA data archive. We have analyzed our data to characterize the sources and atmospheric processing of fine aerosol particles advected from the region during the experiments. Fine particle water-soluble potassium was found to serve as a useful aerosol tracer for biomass smoke. Ratios of PILS potassium to sulfate are used as a means of estimating the percent contribution of biomass burning to fine particle mass in mixed plumes advecting from Asia. The high correlations between K+ and NO3(sup -) and NH4(sup +)' indicated that biomass burning was a significant source of these aerosol compounds in the region. It is noteworthy that the air mass containing the highest concentrations of fine particles recorded in all of ACE-Asia and TRACE-P appeared to be advecting from the Bejing/Tientsin urban region and also had the highest K(+), NO3(sup -) and NH4(sup +) concentrations of both studies. Based on K+/SO4(sup 2-) ratio's, we estimated that the plume was composed of approx. 60% biomass burning emissions, possibly from the use of bio-fuels in the urban regions.

Aerosol characterization over the southeastern United States using high resolution aerosol mass spectrometry: spatial and seasonal variation of aerosol composition, sources, and organic nitrates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, L.; Suresh, S.; Guo, H.; Weber, R. J.; Ng, N. L.

2015-04-01

We deployed a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) and an Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ACSM) to characterize the chemical composition of submicron non-refractory particles (NR-PM1) in the southeastern US. Measurements were performed in both rural and urban sites in the greater Atlanta area, GA and Centreville, AL for approximately one year, as part of Southeastern Center of Air Pollution and Epidemiology study (SCAPE) and Southern Oxidant and Aerosol Study (SOAS). Organic aerosol (OA) accounts for more than half of NR1 mass concentration regardless of sampling sites and seasons. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) analysis of HR-ToF-AMS measurements identified various OA sources, depending on location and season. Hydrocarbon-like OA (HOA) and cooking OA (COA) have important but not dominant contributions to total OA in urban sites. Biomass burning OA (BBOA) concentration shows a distinct seasonal variation with a larger enhancement in winter than summer. We find a good correlation between BBOA and brown carbon, indicating biomass burning is an important source for brown carbon, although an additional, unidentified brown carbon source is likely present at the rural Yorkville site. Isoprene-derived OA (Isoprene-OA) is only deconvolved in warmer months and contributes 18-36% of total OA. The presence of Isoprene-OA factor in urban sites is more likely from local production in the presence of NOx than transport from rural sites. More-oxidized and less-oxidized oxygenated organic aerosol (MO-OOA and LO-OOA, respectively) are dominant fractions (47-79%) of OA in all sites. MO-OOA correlates well with ozone in summer, but not in winter, indicating MO-OOA sources may vary with seasons. LO-OOA, which reaches a daily maximum at night, correlates better with estimated nitrate functionality from organic nitrates than total nitrates. Based on the HR-ToF-AMS measurements, we estimate that the nitrate functionality from organic nitrates contributes 63-100% of total measured nitrates in summer. Further, the contribution of organic nitrates to total OA is estimated to be 5-12% in summer, suggesting that organic nitrates are important components in the ambient aerosol in the southeastern US. The spatial distribution of OA is investigated by comparing simultaneous HR-ToF-AMS measurements with ACSM measurements at two different sampling sites. OA is found to be spatially homogeneous in summer, possibly due to stagnant air mass and a dominant amount of regional SOA in the southeastern US. The homogeneity is less in winter, which is likely due to spatial variation of primary emissions. We observed that the seasonality of OA concentration shows a clear urban/rural contrast. While OA exhibits weak seasonal variation in the urban sites, its concentration is higher in summer than winter for rural sites. This observation from our year-long measurements is consistent with 14 years of organic carbon (OC) data from the SouthEastern Aerosol Research and Characterization (SEARCH) network. The comparison between short-term measurements with advanced instruments and long-term measurements of basic air quality indicators not only tests the robustness of the short-term measurements but also provides insights in interpreting long-term measurements. We find that OA factors resolved from PMF analysis on HR-ToF-AMS measurements have distinctly different diurnal variations. The compensation of OA factors with different diurnal trends is one possible reason for the repeatedly observed, relatively flat OA diurnal profile in the southeastern US. In addition, analysis of long-term measurements shows that the correlation between OC and sulfate is substantially higher in summer than winter. This seasonality could be partly due to the effects of sulfate on isoprene SOA formation as revealed by the short-term, intensive measurements.

Evaluation and modelling of the size fractionated aerosol particle number concentration measurements nearby a major road in Helsinki - Part I: Modelling results within the LIPIKA project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pohjola, M. A.; Pirjola, L.; Karppinen, A.; Härkönen, J.; Korhonen, H.; Hussein, T.; Ketzel, M.; Kukkonen, J.

2007-08-01

A field measurement campaign was conducted near a major road "Itäväylä" in an urban area in Helsinki in 17-20 February 2003. Aerosol measurements were conducted using a mobile laboratory "Sniffer" at various distances from the road, and at an urban background location. Measurements included particle size distribution in the size range of 7 nm-10 μm (aerodynamic diameter) by the Electrical Low Pressure Impactor (ELPI) and in the size range of 3-50 nm (mobility diameter) by Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), total number concentration of particles larger than 3 nm detected by an ultrafine condensation particle counter (UCPC), temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and direction, driving route of the mobile laboratory, and traffic density on the studied road. In this study, we have compared measured concentration data with the predictions of the road network dispersion model CAR-FMI used in combination with an aerosol process model MONO32. For model comparison purposes, one of the cases was additionally computed using the aerosol process model UHMA, combined with the CAR-FMI model. The vehicular exhaust emissions, and atmospheric dispersion and transformation of fine and ultrafine particles was evaluated within the distance scale of 200 m (corresponding to a time scale of a couple of minutes). We computed the temporal evolution of the number concentrations, size distributions and chemical compositions of various particle size classes. The atmospheric dilution rate of particles is obtained from the roadside dispersion model CAR-FMI. Considering the evolution of total number concentration, dilution was shown to be the most important process. The influence of coagulation and condensation on the number concentrations of particle size modes was found to be negligible on this distance scale. Condensation was found to affect the evolution of particle diameter in the two smallest particle modes. The assumed value of the concentration of condensable organic vapour of 1012 molecules cm-3 was shown to be in a disagreement with the measured particle size evolution, while the modelling runs with the concentration of condensable organic vapour of 109-1010 molecules cm-3 resulted in particle sizes that were closest to the measured values.

Observed aerosol effects on marine cloud nucleation and supersaturation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Russell, Lynn M.; Sorooshian, Armin; Seinfeld, John H.; Albrecht, Bruce A.; Nenes, Athanasios; Leaitch, W. Richard; Macdonald, Anne Marie; Ahlm, Lars; Chen, Yi-Chun; Coggon, Matthew; Corrigan, Ashley; Craven, Jill S.; Flagan, Richard C.; Frossard, Amanda A.; Hawkins, Lelia N.; Jonsson, Haflidi; Jung, Eunsil; Lin, Jack J.; Metcalf, Andrew R.; Modini, Robin; Mülmenstädt, Johannes; Roberts, Greg C.; Shingler, Taylor; Song, Siwon; Wang, Zhen; Wonaschütz, Anna

2013-05-01

Aerosol particles in the marine boundary layer include primary organic and salt particles from sea spray and combustion-derived particles from ships and coastal cities. These particle types serve as nuclei for marine cloud droplet activation, although the particles that activate depend on the particle size and composition as well as the supersaturation that results from cloud updraft velocities. The Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment (EPEACE) 2011 was a targeted aircraft campaign to assess how different particle types nucleate cloud droplets. As part of E-PEACE 2011, we studied the role of marine particles as cloud droplet nuclei and used emitted particle sources to separate particle-induced feedbacks from dynamical variability. The emitted particle sources included shipboard smoke-generated particles with 0.05-1 μm diameters (which produced tracks measured by satellite and had drop composition characteristic of organic smoke) and combustion particles from container ships with 0.05-0.2 μm diameters (which were measured in a variety of conditions with droplets containing both organic and sulfate components) [1]. Three central aspects of the collaborative E-PEACE results are: (1) the size and chemical composition of the emitted smoke particles compared to ship-track-forming cargo ship emissions as well as background marine particles, with particular attention to the role of organic particles, (2) the characteristics of cloud track formation for smoke and cargo ships, as well as the role of multi-layered low clouds, and (3) the implications of these findings for quantifying aerosol indirect effects. For comparison with the E-PEACE results, the preliminary results of the Stratocumulus Observations of Los-Angeles Emissions Derived Aerosol-Droplets (SOLEDAD) 2012 provided evidence of the cloud-nucleating roles of both marine organic particles and coastal urban pollution, with simultaneous measurements of the effective supersaturations of the clouds in the California coastal region.

The Impact of Aerosols on Cloud and Precipitation Processes: Cloud-Resolving Model Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tao, Wei-Kuo; Li, Xiaowen; Khain, Alexander; Matsui, Toshihisa; Lang, Stephen; Simpson, Joanne

2008-01-01

Aerosols and especially their effect on clouds are one of the key components of the climate system and the hydrological cycle [Ramanathan et al., 2001]. Yet, the aerosol effect on clouds remains largely unknown and the processes involved not well understood. A recent report published by the National Academy of Science states "The greatest uncertainty about the aerosol climate forcing - indeed, the largest of all the uncertainties about global climate forcing - is probably the indirect effect of aerosols on clouds [NRC, 2001]." The aerosol effect on clouds is often categorized into the traditional "first indirect (i.e., Twomey)" effect on the cloud droplet sizes for a constant liquid water path [Twomey, 1977] and the "semi-direct" effect on cloud coverage [e.g., Ackerman et al ., 2001]." Enhanced aerosol concentrations can also suppress warm rain processes by producing a narrow droplet spectrum that inhibits collision and coalescence processes [e.g., Squires and Twomey, 1961; Warner and Twomey, 1967; Warner, 1968; Rosenfeld, 19991. The aerosol effect on precipitation processes, also known as the second type of aerosol indirect effect [Albrecht, 1989], is even more complex, especially for mixed-phase convective clouds. Table 1 summarizes the key observational studies identifying the microphysical properties, cloud characteristics, thermodynamics and dynamics associated with cloud systems from high-aerosol continental environments. For example, atmospheric aerosol concentrations can influence cloud droplet size distributions, warm-rain process, cold-rain process, cloud-top height, the depth of the mixed phase region, and occurrence of lightning. In addition, high aerosol concentrations in urban environments could affect precipitation variability by providing an enhanced source of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Hypotheses have been developed to explain the effect of urban regions on convection and precipitation [van den Heever and Cotton, 2007 and Shepherd, 2005]. Please see Tao et al. (2007) for more detailed description on aerosol impact on precipitation. Recently, a detailed spectral-bin microphysical scheme was implemented into the Goddard Cumulus Ensemble (GCE) model. Atmospheric aerosols are also described using number density size-distribution functions. A spectral-bin microphysical model is very expensive from a computational point of view and has only been implemented into the 2D version of the GCE at the present time. The model is tested by studying the evolution of deep tropical clouds in the west Pacific warm pool region and summertime convection over a mid-latitude continent with different concentrations of CCN: a low "clean" concentration and a high "dirty" concentration. The impact of atmospheric aerosol concentration on cloud and precipitation will be investigated.

Mass size distribution and source identification of particulate matter metal components at four urban sites and a background site of Istanbul.

PubMed

Şahin, Ülkü Alver; Polat, Gülfem; Onat, Burcu

2016-06-01

In this study, the size distribution characteristics and metal contents of particulate matter (PM) have been determined. In this scope, PM sampling has been done at five stations in Istanbul. PM filter samples were collected for eight different sizes using the Anderson cascade impactor. PM filters were decomposed and analyzed for 20 metals. The highest median concentration for Fe, Ca, K, and Mg, known as soil metals, were observed as follows: Fe and Ca were observed at Goztepe station (1.20 and 8.28 μg/m(3)), K was observed at Kilyos station (0.33 μg/m(3)), and Mg was observed at Avcilar station (0.37 μg/m(3)). The highest median concentrations for Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, V, As, Se, Co, and Cd, known as anthropogenic metals, were observed at Avcilar, Goztepe, and Besiktas stations. Although the lowest metal concentrations was determined at Kilyos stations that was selected as the urban background. The enrichment factors (EFs) of most metals in the fine PM is higher than those in the coarse mode. According to the factor analyses, the most important emission source was observed to be industrial facilities at Avcilar; traffic at Besiktas; traffic and domestic heating at Goztepe; and domestic heating, sea salt aerosols, and ship traffic (in the Bosphorus Channel of Istanbul) at Rasathane.

Simultaneous Retrieval of Multiple Aerosol Parameters Using a Multi-Angular Approach

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kuo, K. S.; Weger, R. C.; Welch, R. M.

1997-01-01

Atmospheric aerosol particles, both natural and anthropogenic, are important to the earth's radiative balance through their direct and indirect effects. They scatter the incoming solar radiation (direct effect) and modify the shortwave reflective properties of clouds by acting as cloud condensation nuclei (indirect effect). Although it has been suggested that aerosols exert a net cooling influence on climate, this effect has received less attention than the radiative forcing due to clouds and greenhouse gases. In order to understand the role that aerosols play in a changing climate, detailed and accurate observations are a prerequisite. The retrieval of aerosol optical properties by satellite remote sensing has proven to be a difficult task. The difficulty results mainly from the tenuous nature and variable composition of aerosols. To date, with single-angle satellite observations, we can only retrieve reliably against dark backgrounds, such as over oceans and dense vegetation. Even then, assumptions must be made concerning the chemical composition of aerosols. The best hope we have for aerosol retrievals over bright backgrounds are observations from multiple angles, such as those provided by the MISR and POLDER instruments. In this investigation we examine the feasibility of simultaneous retrieval of multiple aerosol optical parameters using reflectances from a typical set of twelve angles observed by the French POLDER instrument. The retrieved aerosol optical parameters consist of asymmetry factor, single scattering albedo, surface albedo, and optical thickness.

A one-year comprehensive chemical characterisation of fine aerosol (PM2.5) at urban, suburban and rural background sites in the region of Paris (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bressi, M.; Sciare, J.; Ghersi, V.; Bonnaire, N.; Nicolas, J. B.; Petit, J.-E.; Moukhtar, S.; Rosso, A.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Féron, A.

2013-08-01

Studies describing the chemical composition of fine aerosol (PM2.5) in urban areas are often conducted for a few weeks only and at one sole site, giving thus a narrow view of their temporal and spatial characteristics. This paper presents a one-year (11 September 2009-10 September 2010) survey of the daily chemical composition of PM2.5 in the region of Paris, which is the second most populated "Larger Urban Zone" in Europe. Five sampling sites representative of suburban (SUB), urban (URB), northeast (NER), northwest (NWR) and south (SOR) rural backgrounds were implemented. The major chemical components of PM2.5 were determined including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and the major ions. OC was converted to organic matter (OM) using the chemical mass closure methodology, which leads to conversion factors of 1.95 for the SUB and URB sites, and 2.05 for the three rural ones. On average, gravimetrically determined PM2.5 annual mass concentrations are 15.2, 14.8, 12.6, 11.7 and 10.8 μg m-3 for SUB, URB, NER, NWR and SOR sites, respectively. The chemical composition of fine aerosol is very homogeneous at the five sites and is composed of OM (38-47%), nitrate (17-22%), non-sea-salt sulfate (13-16%), ammonium (10-12%), EC (4-10%), mineral dust (2-5%) and sea salt (3-4%). This chemical composition is in agreement with those reported in the literature for most European environments. On an annual scale, Paris (URB and SUB sites) exhibits its highest PM2.5 concentrations during late autumn, winter and early spring (higher than 15 μg m-3 on average, from December to April), intermediates during late spring and early autumn (between 10 and 15 μg m-3 during May, June, September, October, and November) and the lowest during summer (below 10 μg m-3 during July and August). PM levels are mostly homogeneous on a regional scale, during the whole project (e.g. for URB plotted against NER sites: slope = 1.06, r2=0.84, n=330), suggesting the importance of mid- or long-range transport, and regional instead of local scale phenomena. During this one-year project, two thirds of the days exceeding the PM2.5 2015 EU annual limit value of 25 μg m-3 were due to continental import from countries located northeast, east of France. This result questions the efficiency of local, regional and even national abatement strategies during pollution episodes, pointing to the need for a wider collaborative work with the neighbouring countries on these topics. Nevertheless, emissions of local anthropogenic sources lead to higher levels at the URB and SUB sites compared to the others (e.g. 26% higher on average at the URB than at the NWR site for PM2.5, during the whole campaign), which can even be emphasised by specific meteorological conditions such as low boundary layer heights. OM and secondary inorganic species (nitrate, non-sea-salt sulfate and ammonium, noted SIA) are mainly imported by mid- or long-range transport (e.g. for NWR plotted against URB sites: slope = 0.79, r2=0.72, n=335 for OM, and slope = 0.91, r2=0.89, n=335 for SIA) whereas EC is primarily locally emitted (e.g. for SOR plotted against URB sites: slope = 0.27; r2=0.03; n=335). This database will serve as a basis for investigating carbonaceous aerosols, metals as well as the main sources and geographical origins of PM in the region of Paris.

A one-year comprehensive chemical characterisation of fine aerosol (PM2.5) at urban, suburban and rural background sites in the region of Paris (France)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bressi, M.; Sciare, J.; Ghersi, V.; Bonnaire, N.; Nicolas, J. B.; Petit, J.-E.; Moukhtar, S.; Rosso, A.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Féron, A.

2012-11-01

Studies describing the chemical composition of fine aerosol (PM2.5) in urban areas are often conducted during few weeks only, and at one sole site, giving thus a narrow view of their temporal and spatial characteristics. This paper presents a one-year (11 September 2009-10 September 2010) survey of the daily chemical composition of PM2.5 in the region of Paris, which is the second most populated "Larger Urban Zone" in Europe. Five sampling sites representative of suburban (SUB), urban (URB), northeast (NER), northwest (NWR) and south (SOR) rural backgrounds were implemented. The major chemical components of PM2.5 were determined including elemental carbon (EC), organic carbon (OC), and the major ions. OC was converted to organic matter (OM) using the chemical mass closure methodology, which leads to conversion factors of 1.95 for the SUB and URB sites, and 2.05 for the three rural ones. On average, gravimetrically determined PM2.5 annual mass concentrations are 15.2, 14.8, 12.6, 11.7 and 10.8 μg m-3 for SUB, URB, NER, NWR and SOR sites, respectively. The chemical composition of fine aerosol is very homogeneous at the five sites and is composed of OM (38-47%), nitrate (17-22%), non-sea-salt sulfate (13-16%), ammonium (10-12%), EC (4-10%), mineral dust (2-5%) and sea salt (3-4%). This chemical composition is in agreement with those reported in the literature for most European environments. On the annual scale, Paris (URB and SUB sites) exhibits its highest PM2.5 concentrations during late autumn, winter and early spring (higher than 15 μg m-3 on average, from December to April), intermediates during late spring and early autumn (between 10 and 15 μg m-3 during May, June, September, October, and November) and the lowest during summer (below 10 μg m-3 during July and August). PM levels are mostly homogeneous at the regional scale, on the whole duration of the project (e.g. for URB plotted against NER sites: slope = 1.06, r2 = 0.84, n = 330), suggesting the importance of mid- or long-range transport, and regional instead of local scale phenomena. During this one-year project, two third of the days exceeding the PM2.5 2015 EU annual limit value of 25 μg m-3 were due to continental import from countries located northeast, east of France. This result questions the efficiency of local, regional and even national abatement strategies during pollution episodes, pointing the need for a wider collaborative work with the neighbourhood countries on these topics. Nevertheless, emissions of local anthropogenic sources lead to higher levels at the URB and SUB sites compared to the others (e.g. 26% higher on average at the URB than at the NWR site for PM2.5, during the whole campaign), which can even be emphasised by specific meteorological conditions such as low boundary layer heights. OM and secondary inorganic species (nitrate, non-sea-salt sulfate and ammonium, noted SIA) are mainly imported by mid- or long-range transport (e.g. for NWR plotted against URB sites: slope = 0.79, r2 = 0.72, n = 335 for OM, and slope = 0.91, r2 = 0.89, n = 335 for SIA) whereas EC is primarily locally emitted (e.g. for SOR plotted against URB sites: slope = 0.27; r2 = 0.03; n = 335). This database will serve deepest investigations of carbonaceous aerosols, metals as well as the main sources and geographical origins of PM in the region of Paris.

Inorganic, organic and macromolecular components of fine aerosol in different areas of Europe in relation to their water solubility

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zappoli, S.; Andracchio, A.; Fuzzi, S.; Facchini, M. C.; Gelencsér, A.; Kiss, G.; Krivácsy, Z.; Molnár, Á.; Mészáros, E.; Hansson, H.-C.; Rosman, K.; Zebühr, Y.

A chemical mass balance of fine aerosol (<1.5 μm AED) collected at three European sites was performed with reference to the water solubility of the different aerosol classes of components. The sampling sites are characterised by different pollution conditions and aerosol loading in the air. Aspvreten is a background site in central Sweden, K-puszta is a rural site in the Great Hungarian Plain and San Pietro Capofiume is located in the polluted Po Valley, northern Italy. The average fine aerosol mass concentration was 5.9 μg m -3 at the background site Aspvreten, 24 μg m -3 at the rural K-puszta and 38 μg m -3 at the polluted site San Pietro Capofiume. However, a similarly high soluble fraction of the aerosol (65-75%) was measured at the three sites, while the percentage of water soluble organic species with respect to the total soluble mass was much higher at the background site (ca. 50%) than at the other two sites (ca. 25%). A very high fraction (over 70%) of organic compounds in the aerosol consisted of polar species. The presence of water soluble macromolecular compounds was revealed in the samples from K-puszta and San Pietro Capofiume. At both sites these species accounted for between ca. 20-50% of the water soluble organic fraction. The origin of the compounds was tentatively attributed to biomass combustion.

Effects of Convective Transport on the Budget of Amazonian Aerosol under Background Conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, J.; Krejci, R.; Giangrande, S. E.; Kuang, C.; Barbosa, H. M.; Brito, J.; Carbone, S.; Chi, X.; Comstock, J. M.; Ditas, F.; Lavric, J. V.; Manninen, H. E.; Mei, F.; Moran, D.; Pöhlker, C.; Pöhlker, M. L.; Saturno, J.; Schmid, B.; Souza, R. A. F. D.; Springston, S. R.; Tomlinson, J. M.; Toto, T.; Walter, D.; Wimmer, D.; Smith, J. N.; Machado, L.; Artaxo, P.; Andreae, M. O.; Martin, S. T.

2016-12-01

Aerosol particles can strongly influence the radiative properties of clouds, and they represent one of the largest uncertainties in computer simulations of climate change. The large uncertainty is in large part due to a poor understanding of processes under natural conditions, which serves as the baseline to measure change against. Understanding the processes under natural conditions is critical for a reliable assessment and quantification of ongoing and future climate change. The Amazon rainforest is one of the few continental regions where aerosol particles and their precursors can be studied under near-natural conditions. Here we examine the aerosol number and CCN budget under background conditions in the Amazon basin using data collected during the Observations and Modeling of the Green Ocean Amazon (GoAmazon 2014/5) campaign, which took place from January 2014 to December 2015 near Manaus, Brazil. The aerosol size spectrum was observed at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO), 150 km upwind of Manaus, and its variation with convection and precipitation during the wet season is presented. Air masses arriving at the ATTO during the wet season are typically brought by the northeasterly trade winds and travel across at least 1000 km of undeveloped tropical rainforest, therefore are generally clean. Also shown are vertical profiles of aerosol observed onboard the DOE Gulfstream-1 research aircraft. The impact of convective transport on the budget of boundary layer aerosol and CCN under the background conditions is discussed.

Influence of synoptic meteorological conditions on urban air quality -A study over Hyderabad, India using satellite data and ground based measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rani Sharma, Anu; Kharol, Shailesh Kumar; Kvs, Badarinath

Urban areas were considered to be a major source of atmospheric pollution due to popula-tion growth, migration, increasing industrialization and energy use particularly in developing countries. The air quality in urban areas is governed by temporal distribution of emissions from various activities in the city, the topography, and the weather, including atmospheric circulation patterns in the region. The extensive coastal belt of India is very vulnerable to low pressure systems in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) or the Arabian Sea. Most importantly, the formation of a low pressure system in the ocean is one of the most prominent weather systems characterized by high atmospheric pressure gradients and wind. In the present study, variation in aerosol properties and ground reaching solar irradiance were analyzed over a tropical urban environment of Hyderabad associated with a low pressure system during December, 3-10, 2008 over Bay of Bengal (BoB). The low pressure system formed over southeast BoB on Decem-ber 4, 2008, moved westwards and lay centered at 23:30 Indian Standard Time. The study area of Hyderabad is located between 17° 10' and 17° 50' N latitude and 78° 10' and 78° 50' E longitude, in the southeastern part of the Indian region, 300 km from the BoB. Synchronous measurements of aerosol optical depth were carried out using handheld MICROTOPS -II in the premises of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) campus located at Balanagar, Hyderabad. Along with the daytime measurements of AOD500, continuous measurements of the vertical profile of aerosols and planetary boundary layer were carried out using a portable micropulse lidar (MPL) system at 532 nm. An ultraviolet (UV)-B radiometer from Solar Light Company was used to measure UVery in the range 280-320 nm. Continuous measurements of the Particulate-matter (PM) size distributions were performed with GRIMM aerosol spectrom-eter model 1-108. Ground-reaching solar radiation in 310 to 2800 nm broadband was carried out using Kipp Zonen pyranometer model CMP 11. The collocated measurements provide bet-ter understanding of the changes in aerosol properties and their influence on ground reaching solar radiation associated with changes in synoptic meteorological conditions over the study site. Considerable variations in aerosol properties and ground-reaching solar irradiance due to changes in wind velocity and direction associated with the low pressure system formed over southeast BoB were observed. Terra/Aqua-Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer AOD550 variations showed trends matching with ground observations. The nighttime AOD values showed a 60% decrease on December 5, 2008, corresponding to the low pressure system located nearer to the measurement site in Hyderabad. The global solar irradiance showed an 6% increase on December 4, 2008, during low pressure over BoB due to reduction in columnar aerosol loading compared to a normal period. Nighttime Light Detection and Ranging observa-tions suggested considerable reduction in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) loading under the influence of low pressure system. Results of the study have implications for monitoring urban air quality as synoptic weather systems are capable of modifying the atmospheric PM loading. In the climate change scenario increased occurrence of low pressure systems over the region was anticipated, and this will have impact on the differential loading of atmospheric pollutants over the region. Keywords: Aerosol optical depth, LIDAR, solar irradiance, PM2.5, UVery, Low pressure system

Aerosol Remote Sensing from Space - Where We Stand, Where We're Heading

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Kahn, Ralph

2012-01-01

The MISR and MODIS instruments aboard the NASA Earth Observing System's Terra Satellite have been collecting data containing information about the state of Earth's atmosphere and surface for over twelve years. Among the retrieved quantities are the amount and type of wildfire smoke, desert dust, volcanic effluent, urban and industrial pollution particles, and other aerosols. Data from these instruments have been used to develop a global, monthly climatology of aerosol amount that is widely used as a constraint on climate models, including those used for the 2007 IPCC assessment report. However, the broad scientific challenges of understanding aerosol impacts on climate and health place different, and very exacting demands on our measurement capabilities. And these data sets, though much more advanced in many respects than previous aerosol data records, are imperfect. The next frontier in assessing aerosol radiative forcing of climate is aerosol type, and in particular, the absorption properties of major aerosol air masses. In this presentation, I will summarize current understanding of MISR and MODIS aerosol product strengths and limitations, discuss how they relate to the bigger aerosol science questions we must address, and give my view of the way forward.

Aerosol Optical Properties in Southeast Asia From AERONET Observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eck, T. F.; Holben, B. N.; Boonjawat, J.; Le, H. V.; Schafer, J. S.; Reid, J. S.; Dubovik, O.; Smirnov, A.

2003-12-01

There is little published data available on measured optical properties of aerosols in the Southeast Asian region. The AERONET project and collaborators commenced monitoring of aerosol optical properties in February 2003 at four sites in Thailand and two sites in Viet Nam to measure the primarily anthropogenic aerosols generated by biomass burning and fossil fuel combustion/ industrial emissions. Automatic sun/sky radiometers at each site measured spectral aerosol optical depth in 7 wavelengths from 340 to 1020 nm and combined with directional radiances in the almucantar, retrievals were made of spectral single scattering albedo and aerosol size distributions. Angstrom exponents, size distributions and spectral single scattering albedo of primarily biomass burning aerosols at rural sites are compared to measurements made at AERONET sites in other major biomass burning regions in tropical southern Africa, South America, and in boreal forest regions. Additionally, the aerosol single scattering albedo and size distributions measured in Bangkok, Thailand are compared with those measured at other urban sites globally. The influences of aerosols originating from other regions outside of Southeast Asia are analyzed using trajectory analyses. Specifically, cases of aerosol transport and mixing from Southern China and from India are presented.

Effective density and mixing state of aerosol particles in a near-traffic urban environment.

PubMed

Rissler, Jenny; Nordin, Erik Z; Eriksson, Axel C; Nilsson, Patrik T; Frosch, Mia; Sporre, Moa K; Wierzbicka, Aneta; Svenningsson, Birgitta; Löndahl, Jakob; Messing, Maria E; Sjogren, Staffan; Hemmingsen, Jette G; Loft, Steffen; Pagels, Joakim H; Swietlicki, Erik

2014-06-03

In urban environments, airborne particles are continuously emitted, followed by atmospheric aging. Also, particles emitted elsewhere, transported by winds, contribute to the urban aerosol. We studied the effective density (mass-mobility relationship) and mixing state with respect to the density of particles in central Copenhagen, in wintertime. The results are related to particle origin, morphology, and aging. Using a differential mobility analyzer-aerosol particle mass analyzer (DMA-APM), we determined that particles in the diameter range of 50-400 nm were of two groups: porous soot aggregates and more dense particles. Both groups were present at each size in varying proportions. Two types of temporal variability in the relative number fraction of the two groups were found: soot correlated with intense traffic in a diel pattern and dense particles increased during episodes with long-range transport from polluted continental areas. The effective density of each group was relatively stable over time, especially of the soot aggregates, which had effective densities similar to those observed in laboratory studies of fresh diesel exhaust emissions. When heated to 300 °C, the soot aggregate volatile mass fraction was ∼10%. For the dense particles, the volatile mass fraction varied from ∼80% to nearly 100%.

Two chemically distinct light-absorbing pools of urban organic aerosols: A comprehensive multidimensional analysis of trends.

PubMed

Paula, Andreia S; Matos, João T V; Duarte, Regina M B O; Duarte, Armando C

2016-02-01

The chemical and light-absorption dynamics of organic aerosols (OAs), a master variable in the atmosphere, have yet to be resolved. This study uses a comprehensive multidimensional analysis approach for exploiting simultaneously the compositional changes over a molecular size continuum and associated light-absorption (ultraviolet absorbance and fluorescence) properties of two chemically distinct pools of urban OAs chromophores. Up to 45% of aerosol organic carbon (OC) is soluble in water and consists of a complex mixture of fluorescent and UV-absorbing constituents, with diverse relative abundances, hydrophobic, and molecular weight (Mw) characteristics between warm and cold periods. In contrast, the refractory alkaline-soluble OC pool (up to 18%) is represented along a similar Mw and light-absorption continuum throughout the different seasons. Results suggest that these alkaline-soluble chromophores may actually originate from primary OAs sources in the urban site. This work shows that the comprehensive multidimensional analysis method is a powerful and complementary tool for the characterization of OAs fractions. The great diversity in the chemical composition and optical properties of OAs chromophores, including both water-soluble and alkaline-soluble OC, may be an important contribution to explain the contrasting photo-reactivity and atmospheric behavior of OAs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multiday production of condensing organic aerosol mass in urban and forest outflow

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee-Taylor, J.; Hodzic, A.; Madronich, S.

2015-01-16

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production in air masses containing either anthropogenic or biogenic (terpene-dominated) emissions is investigated using the explicit gas-phase chemical mechanism generator GECKO-A. Simulations show several-fold increases in SOA mass continuing for multiple days in the urban outflow, even as the initial air parcel is diluted into the regional atmosphere. The SOA mass increase in the forest outflow is more modest (~50%) and of shorter duration (1–2 days). The multiday production in the urban outflow stems from continuing oxidation of gas-phase precursors which persist in equilibrium with the particle phase, and can be attributed to multigenerational reaction productsmore » of both aromatics and alkanes, especially those with relatively low carbon numbers (C4–15). In particular we find large contributions from substituted maleic anhydrides and multi-substituted peroxide-bicyclic alkenes. The results show that the predicted production is a robust feature of our model even under changing atmospheric conditions and different vapor pressure schemes, and contradict the notion that SOA undergoes little mass production beyond a short initial formation period. The results imply that anthropogenic aerosol precursors could influence the chemical and radiative characteristics of the atmosphere over an extremely wide region, and that SOA measurements near precursor sources may routinely underestimate this influence.« less

Multiday production of condensing organic aerosol mass in urban and forest outflow

DOE PAGES

Lee-Taylor, J.; Hodzic, A.; Madronich, S.; ...

2015-01-16

Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production in air masses containing either anthropogenic or biogenic (terpene-dominated) emissions is investigated using the explicit gas-phase chemical mechanism generator GECKO-A. Simulations show several-fold increases in SOA mass continuing for multiple days in the urban outflow, even as the initial air parcel is diluted into the regional atmosphere. The SOA mass increase in the forest outflow is more modest (~50%) and of shorter duration (1–2 days). The multiday production in the urban outflow stems from continuing oxidation of gas-phase precursors which persist in equilibrium with the particle phase, and can be attributed to multigenerational reaction productsmore » of both aromatics and alkanes, especially those with relatively low carbon numbers (C4–15). In particular we find large contributions from substituted maleic anhydrides and multi-substituted peroxide-bicyclic alkenes. The results show that the predicted production is a robust feature of our model even under changing atmospheric conditions and different vapor pressure schemes, and contradict the notion that SOA undergoes little mass production beyond a short initial formation period. Here, the results imply that anthropogenic aerosol precursors could influence the chemical and radiative characteristics of the atmosphere over an extremely wide region, and that SOA measurements near precursor sources may routinely underestimate this influence.« less

Urban aerosol particles of Santiago, Chile:. organic content and molecular characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Didyk, Borys M.; Simoneit, Bernd R. T.; Alvaro Pezoa, L.; Luis Riveros, M.; Anselmo Flores, A.

Santiago, Chile has developed a significant problem of atmospheric contamination with high levels of total suspended aerosol particles consisting of a high PM-10 fraction. This is associated with a growing economy, rapid urban expansion, increasing rate of motorization and expanding industrial activity. The organic contribution to atmospheric suspended particles (PM-10) in Santiago has been quantitated, characterized and related to its input sources in this report. The average organic content of 38% is significantly lower from pre-regulatory levels of 71% and in the range reported for other urban centers. Molecular markers indicate that a predominant proportion of the organic compounds associated with the particluate matter are derived from uncombusted diesel, uncombusted lubricating oil and other petrochemical fuel use. A significant organic contribution from natural plant wax hydrocarbons is also detected, suggesting biomass fuel use, open burning of vegetation in incidental fires or agricultural practices and resuspension of weathered vegetation debris. Aromatic hydrocarbon fractions indicate the presence of pyrogenic PAH formed by high-temperature combustion processes of petrochemical fuels with a significant contribution of retene indicative of conifer wood combustion. Maturity indicators, based on methylphenanthrene indexes, also indicate the simultaneous concurrence of high- and low-temperature combustion processes and confirm a significant contribution of non-petrochemical-sourced organic compounds to the atmospheric aerosols. Benzopyrene ratios indicate that Santiago aerosols are freshly generated and do not have an extensive solar exposure. The present study provides a reference baseline for the organic components relating to air quality in Santiago, and will permit the assessment of the environmental effectiveness of corrective measures related to energy usage and transport administration.

Development and evaluation of the aerosol dynamics and gas phase chemistry model ADCHEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roldin, P.; Swietlicki, E.; Schurgers, G.; Arneth, A.; Lehtinen, K. E. J.; Boy, M.; Kulmala, M.

2011-06-01

The aim of this work was to develop a model suited for detailed studies of aerosol dynamics, gas and particle phase chemistry within urban plumes, from local scale (1 × 1 km2) to regional scale. This article describes and evaluates the trajectory model for Aerosol Dynamics, gas and particle phase CHEMistry and radiative transfer (ADCHEM). The model treats both vertical and horizontal dispersion perpendicular to an air mass trajectory (2-space dimensions). The Lagrangian approach enables a more detailed representation of the aerosol dynamics, gas and particle phase chemistry and a finer spatial and temporal resolution compared to that of available regional 3D-CTMs. These features make it among others well suited for urban plume studies. The aerosol dynamics model includes Brownian coagulation, dry deposition, wet deposition, in-cloud processing, condensation, evaporation, primary particle emissions and homogeneous nucleation. The organic mass partitioning was either modeled with a 2-dimensional volatility basis set (2D-VBS) or with the traditional two-product model approach. In ADCHEM these models consider the diffusion limited and particle size dependent condensation and evaporation of 110 and 40 different organic compounds respectively. The gas phase chemistry model calculates the gas phase concentrations of 61 different species, using 130 different chemical reactions. Daily isoprene and monoterpene emissions from European forests were simulated separately with the vegetation model LPJ-GUESS, and included as input to ADCHEM. ADCHEM was used to simulate the ageing of the urban plumes from the city of Malmö in southern Sweden (280 000 inhabitants). Several sensitivity tests were performed concerning the number of size bins, size structure method, aerosol dynamic processes, vertical and horizontal mixing, coupled or uncoupled condensation and the secondary organic aerosol formation. The simulations show that the full-stationary size structure gives accurate results with little numerical diffusion when more than 50 size bins are used between 1.5 and 2500 nm, while the moving-center method is preferable when only a few size bins are selected. The particle number size distribution in the center of the urban plume from Malmö was mainly affected by dry deposition, coagulation and vertical dilution. The modeled PM2.5 mass was dominated by organic material, nitrate, sulfate and ammonium. If the condensation of HNO3 and NH3 was treated as a coupled process (pH independent) the model gave lower nitrate PM2.5 mass than if considering uncoupled condensation. Although the time of ageing from that SOA precursors are emitted until condensable products are formed is substantially different with the 2D-VBS and two product model, the models gave similar total organic mass concentrations.

Development and evaluation of the aerosol dynamic and gas phase chemistry model ADCHEM

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roldin, P.; Swietlicki, E.; Schurgers, G.; Arneth, A.; Lehtinen, K. E. J.; Boy, M.; Kulmala, M.

2010-08-01

The aim of this work was to develop a model ideally suited for detailed studies on aerosol dynamics, gas and particle phase chemistry within urban plumes, from local scale (1×1 km2) to regional or global scale. This article describes and evaluates the trajectory model for Aerosol Dynamics, gas and particle phase CHEMistry and radiative transfer (ADCHEM), which has been developed and used at Lund University since 2007. The model treats both vertical and horizontal dispersion perpendicular to an air mass trajectory (2-space dimensions), which is not treated in Lagrangian box-models (0-space dimensions). The Lagrangian approach enables a more detailed representation of the aerosol dynamics, gas and particle phase chemistry and a finer spatial and temporal resolution compared to that of available regional 3D-CTMs. These features make it among others ideally suited for urban plume studies. The aerosol dynamics model includes Brownian coagulation, dry deposition, wet deposition, in-cloud processing, condensation, evaporation, primary particle emissions and homogeneous nucleation. The gas phase chemistry model calculates the gas phase concentrations of 63 different species, using 119 different chemical reactions. Daily isoprene and monoterpene emissions from European forests were simulated separately with the vegetation model LPJ-GUESS, and included as input to ADCHEM. ADCHEM was used to simulate the ageing of the urban plumes from the city of Malmö in Southern Sweden (280 000 inhabitants). Several sensitivity tests were performed concerning the number of size bins, size structure method, coupled or uncoupled condensation, the volatility basis set (VBS) or traditional 2-product model for secondary organic aerosol formation, different aerosol dynamic processes and vertical and horizontal mixing. The simulations show that the full-stationary size structure gives accurate results with little numerical diffusion when more than 50 size bins are used between 1.5 and 2500 nm, while the moving-center method is preferable when only a few size bins are selected. The particle number size distribution in the center of the urban plume from Malmö is mainly affected by dry deposition, coagulation and condensation, and is relatively insensitive to moderate variations in the vertical and horizontal mixing, as long as the mixing height is relatively uniform. The modeled PM2.5 was dominated by organics, nitrate, sulfate and ammonium. If treating the condensation of HNO3 and NH3 as a coupled process (pH independent) the model gave lower nitrate PM2.5 values than if considering uncoupled condensation. However, both methods gave similar and significant temporal variation in the particulate nitrate content, primarily due to fluctuation in the relative humidity.

Real-Time Ultrafine Aerosol Measurements from Wastewater Treatment Facilities.

PubMed

Piqueras, P; Li, F; Castelluccio, V; Matsumoto, M; Asa-Awuku, A

2016-10-18

Airborne particle emissions from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) have been associated with health repercussions but particulate quantification studies are scarce. In this study, particulate matter (PM) number concentrations and size distributions in the ultrafine range (7-300 nm) were measured from two different sources: a laboratory-scale aerobic bioreactor and the activated sludge aeration basins at Orange County Sanitation District (OCSD). The relationships between wastewater parameters (total organic carbon (TOC), chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total suspended solids (TSS)), aeration flow rate and particle concentrations were also explored. A significant positive relationship was found between particle concentration and WWTP variables (COD: r(10) = 0.876, p <.001, TOC: r(10) = 0.664, p <.05, TSS: r(10) = 0.707, p <.05, aeration flow rate: r(8) = 0.988, p <.0001). A theoretical model was also developed from empirical data to compare real world WWTP aerosol number emission fluxes with laboratory data. Aerosol number fluxes at OCSD aerated basins (9.8 × 10 4 lbs/min·cm 2 ) and the bioreactor (7.95 × 10 4 lbs/min·cm 2 ) were calculated and showed a relatively small difference (19%). The ultrafine size distributions from both systems were consistent, with a mode of ∼48 nm. The average mass concentration (7.03 μg/cm 3 ) from OCSD was relatively small compared to other urban sources. However, the in-tank average number concentration of airborne particles (14 480 lbs/cm 3 ) was higher than background ambient concentrations.

Characterization of Dust Properties at the Source Region During ACE-Asia

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsay, Si-Chee; Lau, William (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

ACE (Aerosol Characterization Experiment)-Asia is designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally-occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. The phase-I of ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Gobi desert, east coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian dust is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of dust aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical thickness. At the time of the Terra/MODIS overpass, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with MODIS retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT OF FINE AND ULTRAFINE PARTICULATE MATTER, CRITERIA POLLUTANTS AND METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS IN URBAN EL PASO, TEXAS

EPA Science Inventory

Continuous measurements of aerosol size distributions were made in El Paso, TX, for a period in winter 1999. Size distribution measurements were performed at two urban locations in El Paso using two pairs of the scanning mobility particle sizer and the aerodynamic particle si...

Long-term analysis of aerosol optical depth over Northeast Asia using a satellite-based measurement: MI Yonsei Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (YAER)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Mijin; Kim, Jhoon; Yoon, Jongmin; Chung, Chu-Yong; Chung, Sung-Rae

2017-04-01

In 2010, the Korean geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, the Communication, Ocean, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS), was launched including the Meteorological Imager (MI). The MI measures atmospheric condition over Northeast Asia (NEA) using a single visible channel centered at 0.675 μm and four IR channels at 3.75, 6.75, 10.8, 12.0 μm. The visible measurement can also be utilized for the retrieval of aerosol optical properties (AOPs). Since the GEO satellite measurement has an advantage for continuous monitoring of AOPs, we can analyze the spatiotemporal variation of the aerosol using the MI observations over NEA. Therefore, we developed an algorithm to retrieve aerosol optical depth (AOD) using the visible observation of MI, and named as MI Yonsei Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm (YAER). In this study, we investigated the accuracy of MI YAER AOD by comparing the values with the long-term products of AERONET sun-photometer. The result showed that the MI AODs were significantly overestimated than the AERONET values over bright surface in low AOD case. Because the MI visible channel centered at red color range, contribution of aerosol signal to the measured reflectance is relatively lower than the surface contribution. Therefore, the AOD error in low AOD case over bright surface can be a fundamental limitation of the algorithm. Meanwhile, an assumption of background aerosol optical depth (BAOD) could result in the retrieval uncertainty, also. To estimate the surface reflectance by considering polluted air condition over the NEA, we estimated the BAOD from the MODIS dark target (DT) aerosol products by pixel. The satellite-based AOD retrieval, however, largely depends on the accuracy of the surface reflectance estimation especially in low AOD case, and thus, the BAOD could include the uncertainty in surface reflectance estimation of the satellite-based retrieval. Therefore, we re-estimated the BAOD using the ground-based sun-photometer measurement, and investigated the effects of the BAOD assumption. The satellite-based BAOD was significantly higher than the ground-based value over urban area, and thus, resulted in the underestimation of surface reflectance and the overestimation of AOD. The error analysis of the MI AOD also showed sensitivity to cloud contamination, clearly. Therefore, improvements of cloud masking process in the developed single channel MI algorithm as well as the modification of the surface reflectance estimation will be required for the future study.

Investigations of the Background Stratospheric Aerosol Using Multicolor Wide-Angle Measurements of the Twilight Glow Background

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ugolnikov, O. S.; Maslov, I. A.

2018-03-01

The first results of multiwave measurements of twilight background and the all-sky camera with a color (RGB) CCD matrix conducted in the spring and summer of 2016 in Central Russia (55.2° N, 37.5° E) have been discussed. The observations reveal the effect of aerosol scattering at heights of up to 35 km, which is substantially enhanced in the long-wave part of the spectrum (R band with an effective wavelength of 624 nm). An analysis of the behavior of the sky color during light period of twilight with allowance for the absorption by ozone in the Chappuis bands make it possible to restore the angular dependences of the intensity of the aerosol scattering of the light. This is used to determine the parameters of the lognormal distribution of aerosol particles over their sizes with a mean radius of 0.08 μm and a width of 1.5-1.6 for the stratospheric height interval.

Water soluble ions in aerosols (TSP) : Characteristics, sources and seasonal variation over the central Himalayas, Nepal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tripathee, Lekhendra; Kang, Shichang; Zhang, Qianggong; Rupakheti, Dipesh

2016-04-01

Atmspheric pollutants transported from South Asia could have adverse impact on the Himalayan ecosystems. Investigation of aerosol chemistry in the Himalayan region in Nepal has been limited on a temporal and spatial scale to date. Therefore, the water-soluble ionic composition of aerosol using TSP sampler was investigated for a year period from April 2013 to March 2014 at four sites Bode, Dhunche, Lumbini and Jomsom characterized as an urban, rural, semi-urban and remote sites in Nepal. During the study period, the highest concentration of major cation was Ca2+ with an average concentration of 8.91, 2.17, 7.85 and 6.42 μg m-3 and the highest concentration of major anion was SO42- with an average of 10.96, 4.06, 6.85 and 3.30 μg m-3 at Bode, Dhunche, Lumbini and Jomsom respectively. The soluble ions showed the decrease in concentrations from urban to the rural site. Correlations and PCA analysis suggested that that SO42-, NO3- and NH4+ were derived from the anthropogenic sources where as the Ca2+ and Mg2+ were from crustal sources. Our results also suggest that the largest acid neutralizing agent at our sampling sites in the central Himalayas are Ca2+ followed by NH4+. Seasonal variations of soluble ions in aerosols showed higher concentrations during pre-monsoon and winter (dry-periods) due to limited precipitation amount and lower concentrations during the monsoon which can be explained by the dilution effect, higher the precipitation lower the concentration. K+ which is regarded as the tracer of biomss burning had a significant peaks during pre-monsoon season when the forest fires are active around the regions. In general, the results of this study suggests that the atmospheric chemistry is influenced by natural and anthropogenic sources. Thus, soluble ionic concentrations in aerosols from central Himalayas, Nepal can provide a useful database to assess atmospheric environment and its impacts on human health and ecosystem in the southern side of central Himalayas, Nepal. Key words: TSP; Aerosol; Seasonal variation ; Monsoon ; Himalayas, Nepal

Secondary Inorganic Aerosols over an Urban Location in North-Western Himalayan Region: Seasonal Variation in Composition and Formation Process(es)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kaushal, D.; Tandon, A.

2017-12-01

Oxidative photo-chemical transformation of precursor gases, mainly of anthropogenic origin, produces secondary aerosols. Secondary inorganic aerosols constitute a significant fraction of total aerosol load over urban locations especially high altitude in wet-temperate climatic set-up. Towns situated in North-Western Himalayan region (NWHR) with sizable population and attractive tourist destinations have been facing ever increasing problem of gaseous and particulate air pollution from exponential increase in vehicular traffic and other anthropogenic emissions. The present study has been planned to investigate the seasonal variations in atmospheric processes responsible for the formation of Secondary Inorganic Aerosols (SIA) and to estimate contribution of SIA to PM­10 load over an Urban location, Dharamshala, in Dhauladhar region of NWHR. Twenty four hourly PM10 aerosol samples were collected, on quartz micro fibre filters in Dharamshala (1350 amsl) on weekly basis for complete one year time-period (February 2015 - January 2016). These samples were analyzed for Water Soluble Inorganic Ions (WSII) using Ion-Chromatographic System. On annual basis, SO42- ions contributed maximum (52%) followed by NO3- (13%) and NH4+ (12%) to WSII. Based upon Principal Component Analysis (PCA), dominant sources contributing to PM10 associated WSII were identified as: Fossil-Fuel and Bio-mass burning, Vehicular (mainly diesel) emissions and gaseous emissions from the microbial degradation of dead bio-mass. Throughout the year, significantly high proportion of SO42- and considerable thermodynamic stability of (NH4)2SO2 at ambient temperatures, made it the major contributor to SIA over NH4NO3 and NH4Cl. On seasonal basis, maximum contribution of SIA to PM10 was observed in monsoon followed by the winter season. Low ambient temperature in winter season favoured formation of NH4NO3 with significant contribution to SIA. It could be concluded that observed variability in the composition and concentration of SIA was a combined out-come of variation in the emission of gaseous precursors and in meteorological conditions.

On the competition among aerosol number, size and composition in predicting CCN variability: a multi-annual field study in an urbanized desert.

PubMed

Crosbie, E; Youn, J-S; Balch, B; Wonaschütz, A; Shingler, T; Wang, Z; Conant, W C; Betterton, E A; Sorooshian, A

2015-02-10

A 2-year data set of measured CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) concentrations at 0.2 % supersaturation is combined with aerosol size distribution and aerosol composition data to probe the effects of aerosol number concentrations, size distribution and composition on CCN patterns. Data were collected over a period of 2 years (2012-2014) in central Tucson, Arizona: a significant urban area surrounded by a sparsely populated desert. Average CCN concentrations are typically lowest in spring (233 cm -3 ), highest in winter (430 cm -3 ) and have a secondary peak during the North American monsoon season (July to September; 372 cm -3 ). There is significant variability outside of seasonal patterns, with extreme concentrations (1 and 99 % levels) ranging from 56 to 1945 cm -3 as measured during the winter, the season with highest variability. Modeled CCN concentrations based on fixed chemical composition achieve better closure in winter, with size and number alone able to predict 82% of the variance in CCN concentration. Changes in aerosol chemical composition are typically aligned with changes in size and aerosol number, such that hygroscopicity can be parameterized even though it is still variable. In summer, models based on fixed chemical composition explain at best only 41% (pre-monsoon) and 36% (monsoon) of the variance. This is attributed to the effects of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) production, the competition between new particle formation and condensational growth, the complex interaction of meteorology, regional and local emissions and multi-phase chemistry during the North American monsoon. Chemical composition is found to be an important factor for improving predictability in spring and on longer timescales in winter. Parameterized models typically exhibit improved predictive skill when there are strong relationships between CCN concentrations and the prevailing meteorology and dominant aerosol physicochemical processes, suggesting that similar findings could be possible in other locations with comparable climates and geography.

Atmospheric correction over case 2 waters with an iterative fitting algorithm: relative humidity effects.

PubMed

Land, P E; Haigh, J D

1997-12-20

In algorithms for the atmospheric correction of visible and near-IR satellite observations of the Earth's surface, it is generally assumed that the spectral variation of aerosol optical depth is characterized by an Angström power law or similar dependence. In an iterative fitting algorithm for atmospheric correction of ocean color imagery over case 2 waters, this assumption leads to an inability to retrieve the aerosol type and to the attribution to aerosol spectral variations of spectral effects actually caused by the water contents. An improvement to this algorithm is described in which the spectral variation of optical depth is calculated as a function of aerosol type and relative humidity, and an attempt is made to retrieve the relative humidity in addition to aerosol type. The aerosol is treated as a mixture of aerosol components (e.g., soot), rather than of aerosol types (e.g., urban). We demonstrate the improvement over the previous method by using simulated case 1 and case 2 sea-viewing wide field-of-view sensor data, although the retrieval of relative humidity was not successful.

Causes of daily cycle variability of atmospheric pollutants in a western Mediterranean urban site (DAURE campaign)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reche, Cristina; Moreno, Teresa; Viana, Mar; Querol, Xavier; Alastuey, Andrés.; Jimenez, Jose L.; Pandolfi, Marco; Amato, Fulvio; Pérez, Noemí; Moreno, Natalia

2010-05-01

The 2009 DAURE Aerosol Campaign (23-February-2009 to 27-March-2009 and 1-July to 31-July) (see Presentation: Pandolfi et al., section AS3.2) had the objective of characterising the main sources and chemical processes controlling atmospheric pollution due to particulate matter in the Mediterranean site of Barcelona (Spain). An urban and a rural background site were selected in order to describe both kinds of pollution setting. Several parameters were taken into consideration, including the variability of mass concentration in the coarse and fine fractions, particle number, amount of black carbon and the concentration of gaseous pollutants (SO2, H2S, NO, NO2, CO, O3) present. Comparisons between the chemical composition of ambient atmospheric particles during day versus night were made using twelve-hour PM samples. The data shown here are focused on results obtained for the urban site where two main atmospheric settings were distinguishable in winter, namely Atlantic advection versus local air mass recirculation. During the warmer months Saharan dust intrusions added a third important influence on PM background. The data demonstrate that superimposed upon these background influences on city air quality are important local contributions from road traffic, construction-demolition works and shipping. There is also a major local contribution of secondary aerosols, with elevated number of particles occurring at midday (and especially in summer) when nucleation processes are favoured by photochemistry. Concentrations of SO2 peak at different times to the other gaseous pollutants due to regular daytime onshore south-easterly breezes bringing harbour emissions into the city. Road traffic in Barcelona also has a great impact on air quality, as demonstrated by daily and weekly cycles of gaseous pollutants, black carbon and the finer fraction of PM, with peaks being coincident with traffic rush-hours (8-10h and 20-22h), levels of pollution increasing from Monday to Friday, and a pronounced "weekend effect" diminution. An additional factor produced a previously undocumented PM2.5-10 peak between 11.00 and 14.00h and is attributed to the enormous quantity of construction and demolition works taking place in the metropolitan area during 2009. At the beginning of the year there were around 300 new work sites already in operation, maximum levels of emissions from which are favoured by the presence of the sea breezes which are at their strongest around midday. Chemical analyses of the PM show a predictable domination of the coarser fraction by mineral matter and sea salt, while the finer PM contains more organic matter, elemental carbon, SIA (secondary inorganic aerosols: sulphate, nitrate and ammonia) and trace elements. Not many chemical differences are detected by comparing day and night samples, excepting SIA (the concentrations of which are higher at night) and mineral matter (higher during the day). With regard to trace metal concentrations there were higher than average levels of metals typically associated with mineral matter (Li, Se, Hf) and non-exhaust traffic emissions (Ba, Sn). Acknowledgements: This study has been financially supported by the Spanish Ministry of the Environment and the Plan Nacional de I+D from the Ministry of Education and Science: CGL2007-62505/CLI (DOASUR), CGL2007-30502-E/CLI (DAURE)

Variability of carbonaceous aerosols in remote, rural, urban and industrial environments in Spain: implications for air quality policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Viana, M.; Moreno, T.; Reche, C.; Minguillón, M. C.; Ripoll, A.; Pandolfi, M.; Amato, F.; Karanasiou, A.; Pérez, N.; Pey, J.; Cusack, M.; Vázquez, R.; Plana, F.; Dall'Osto, M.; de la Rosa, J.; Sánchez de la Campa, A.; Fernández-Camacho, R.; Rodríguez, S.; Pio, C.; Alados-Arboledas, L.; Titos, G.; Artíñano, B.; Salvador, P.; García Dos Santos, S.; Fernández Patier, R.

2013-07-01

We interpret here the variability of levels of carbonaceous aerosols based on a 12 yr database from 78 monitoring stations across Spain specially compiled for this article. Data did not evidence any spatial trends of carbonaceous aerosols across the country. Conversely, results show marked differences in average concentrations from the cleanest, most remote sites (around 1 μg m-3 of non-mineral carbon (nmC), mostly made of organic carbon (OC) with very little elemental carbon (EC), around 0.1 μg m-3; OC / EC = 12-15), to the highly polluted major cities (8-10 μg m-3 of nmC; 3-4 μg m-3 of EC; 4-5 μg m-3 of OC; OC / EC = 1-2). Thus, urban (and very specific industrial) pollution was found to markedly increase levels of carbonaceous aerosols in Spain, with much lower impact of biomass burning and of biogenic emissions. Correlations between yearly averaged OC / EC and EC concentrations adjust very well to a potential equation (OC = 3.37 EC0.326, R2 = 0.8). A similar equation is obtained when including average concentrations obtained at other European sites (OC = 3.60EC0.491, R2 = 0.7). A clear seasonal variability in OC and EC concentrations was detected. Both OC and EC concentrations were higher during winter at the traffic and urban sites, but OC increased during the warmer months at the rural sites. Hourly equivalent black carbon (EBC) concentrations at urban sites accurately depict road traffic contributions, varying with distance from road, traffic volume and density, mixing-layer height and wind speed. Weekday urban rush-hour EBC peaks are mimicked by concentrations of primary gaseous emissions from road traffic, whereas a single midday peak is characteristic of remote and rural sites. Decreasing annual trends for carbonaceous aerosols were observed between 1999 and 2011 at a large number of stations, probably reflecting the impact of the EURO4 and EURO5 standards in reducing the diesel PM emissions. This has resulted in some cases in an increasing trend for NO2 / (OC + EC) ratios as these standards have been much less effective for the abatement of NOx exhaust emissions in passenger diesel cars. This study concludes that EC, EBC, and especially nmC and OC + EC are very good candidates for new air quality standards since they cover both emission impact and health-related issues.

Variability of carbonaceous aerosols in remote, rural, urban and industrial environments in Spain: implications for air quality policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Querol, X.; Alastuey, A.; Viana, M.; Moreno, T.; Reche, C.; Minguillón, M. C.; Ripoll, A.; Pandolfi, M.; Amato, F.; Karanasiou, A.; Pérez, N.; Pey, J.; Cusack, M.; Vázquez, R.; Plana, F.; Dall'Osto, M.; de la Rosa, J.; de la Campa Sánchez, A.; Fernández-Camacho, R.; Rodríguez, S.; Pío, C.; Alados-Arboledas, L.; Titos, G.; Artíñano, B.; Salvador, P.; Dos Santos García, S.; Patier Fernández, R.

2013-03-01

We interpret here the variability of levels of carbonaceous aerosols based on a 12-yr database from 78 monitoring stations across Spain especially compiled for this article. Data did not evidence any spatial trends of carbonaceous aerosols across the country. Conversely, results show marked differences in average concentrations from the cleanest, most remote sites (around 1 μg m-3 of non-mineral carbon (nmC), mostly made of organic carbon (OC), with very little elemental carbon (EC) 0.1 μg m-3; OC/EC = 12-15), to the highly polluted major cities (8-10 μg m-3 of nmC; 3-4 μg m-3 of EC; 4-5 μg m-3 of OC; OC/EC = 1-2). Thus, urban (and very specific industrial) pollution was found to markedly increase levels of carbonaceous aerosols in Spain, with much lower impact of biomass burning. Correlations between yearly averaged OC/EC and EC concentrations adjust very well to a potential equation (OC/EC = 3.37 EC-0.67 R2 = 0.94). A similar equation is obtained when including average concentrations obtained at other European sites (y = 3.61x-0.5, R2 = 0.78). A clear seasonal variability in OC and EC concentrations was detected. Both OC and EC concentrations were higher during winter at the traffic and urban sites, but OC increased during the warmer months at the rural sites. Hourly equivalent black carbon (EBC) concentrations at urban sites accurately depict road traffic contributions, varying with distance to road, traffic volume and density, mixing layer height and wind speed. Weekday urban rush-hour EBC peaks are mimicked by concentrations of primary gaseous emissions from road traffic, whereas a single midday peak is characteristic of remote and rural sites. Decreasing annual trends for carbonaceous aerosols were observed between 1999 and 2011 at a large number of stations, probably reflecting the impact of the EURO4 and EURO5 standards in reducing the diesel PM emissions. This has resulted in some cases in an increasing trend of NO2/OC+EC ratios, because these standards have been much less effective for the abatement of NOx exhaust emissions in passenger diesel cars. This study concludes that EC, EBC, and especially nmC and OC+EC are very good candidates for new air quality standards since they cover both emission impact and health related issues.

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

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

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, respectively. The ARF readings at the top of the atmosphere were approximately -30W/sq m in rural and -40-60W/sq m in urban areas.

Biogenic Aerosols—Effects on Clouds and Climate (BAECC) Final Campaign Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Petäjä, T; Moisseev, D; Sinclair, V

Atmospheric aerosol particles impact human health in urban environments, while on regional and global scales they can affect climate patterns, the hydrological cycle, and the intensity of radiation that reaches the Earth’s surface. In spite of recent advances in the understanding of aerosol formation processes and the links between aerosol dynamics and biosphere-atmosphere-climate interactions, great challenges remain in the analysis of related processes on a global scale. Boreal forests, situated in a circumpolar belt in the Northern latitudes throughout the United States, Canada, Russia, and Scandinavia, are, of all biomes, among the most active areas of atmospheric aerosol formation. Themore » formation of aerosol particles and their growth to cloud condensation nuclei sizes in these areas are associated with biogenic volatile organic emissions (BVOC) from vegetation and soil.« less

Investigation of air pollution and regional climate change due to anthropogenic aerosols

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakata, Makiko; Sano, Itaru; Mukai, Sonoyo

2016-10-01

Increased emissions of anthropogenic aerosols associated with economic growth can lead to increased concentrations of hazardous air pollutants. In particular, large cities in East Asia have experienced numerous heavy haze episodes. Atmospheric aerosol distributions in East Asia are complex, being influenced by both natural phenomena and human activity, with urban areas in particular being dominated by fine anthropogenic aerosols released from diesel-powered vehicles and industrial activity. In Japan, air pollution levels have been reduced; nevertheless, in recent years, there is increasing concern regarding air pollution caused by fine particulate matter. The origins of air pollution were examined, focusing on the comparison between aerosol properties observed from satellites and that on the ground. Because of their short life spans, concentrations of anthropogenic aerosols are highest over the source regions, and as a result, the climatic impacts of anthropogenic aerosols are also found to be most pronounced in these regions. In this study, aerosol impacts on climate are assessed by numerical model simulations. The direct effects of aerosols include reduced solar radiation, and hence a decrease in surface temperatures. In addition to these changes in the radiation budget, aerosols have a significant potential to change cloud and precipitation fields. These climatic responses to aerosols can manifest far from their source regions with high industrial activities.

Aqueous aerosol SOA formation: impact on aerosol physical properties.

PubMed

Woo, Joseph L; Kim, Derek D; Schwier, Allison N; Li, Ruizhi; McNeill, V Faye

2013-01-01

Organic chemistry in aerosol water has recently been recognized as a potentially important source of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) material. This SOA material may be surface-active, therefore potentially affecting aerosol heterogeneous activity, ice nucleation, and CCN activity. Aqueous aerosol chemistry has also been shown to be a potential source of light-absorbing products ("brown carbon"). We present results on the formation of secondary organic aerosol material in aerosol water and the associated changes in aerosol physical properties from GAMMA (Gas-Aerosol Model for Mechanism Analysis), a photochemical box model with coupled gas and detailed aqueous aerosol chemistry. The detailed aerosol composition output from GAMMA was coupled with two recently developed modules for predicting a) aerosol surface tension and b) the UV-Vis absorption spectrum of the aerosol, based on our previous laboratory observations. The simulation results suggest that the formation of oligomers and organic acids in bulk aerosol water is unlikely to perturb aerosol surface tension significantly. Isoprene-derived organosulfates are formed in high concentrations in acidic aerosols under low-NO(x) conditions, but more experimental data are needed before the potential impact of these species on aerosol surface tension may be evaluated. Adsorption of surfactants from the gas phase may further suppress aerosol surface tension. Light absorption by aqueous aerosol SOA material is driven by dark glyoxal chemistry and is highest under high-NO(x) conditions, at high relative humidity, in the early morning hours. The wavelength dependence of the predicted absorption spectra is comparable to field observations and the predicted mass absorption efficiencies suggest that aqueous aerosol chemistry can be a significant source of aerosol brown carbon under urban conditions.

Aerosol Characteristics in the Northern Territory of Australia During the Dry Season With an Emphasis on Biomass Burning

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-08-01

properties and concentration of aerosol particles over the Amazon tropical forest during background and biomass burning ...characterize the seasonal variation (beginning to end) in the aerosol properties of the region. The main source of aerosol is biomass burning , and... Burning Emissions Part III: Intensive Optical Properties of Biomass Burning Particles , Atmos. Chem. Phys. Discuss., 4 5201-5260 45. see e. g.

Optical properties of boreal region biomass burning aerosols in central Alaska and seasonal variation of aerosol optical depth at an Arctic coastal site

Treesearch

T.F. Eck; B.N. Holben; J.S. Reid; A. Sinyuk; E.J. Hyer; N.T. O' Neill; G.E. Shaw; J.R. Vande Castle; F.S. Chapin; O. Dubovik; A. Smirnov; E. Vermote; J.S. Schafer; D. Giles; I. Slutsker; M. Sorokine; W.W. Newcomb

2009-01-01

Long-term monitoring of aerosol optical properties at a boreal forest AERONET site in interior Alaska was performed from 1994 through 2008 (excluding winter), Large interannual variability was observed, with some years showing near background aerosol optical depth (AOD) levels while 2004 and 2005 had August monthly means similar in magnitude to peak months at major...

GCM Simulations of the Aerosol Indirect Effect: Sensitivity to Cloud Parameterization and Aerosol Burden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menon, Surabi; DelGenio, Anthony D.; Koch, Dorothy; Tselioudis, George; Hansen, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We describe the coupling of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) to an online sulfur chemistry model and source models for organic matter and sea-salt that is used to estimate the aerosol indirect effect. The cloud droplet number concentration is diagnosed empirically from field experiment datasets over land and ocean that observe droplet number and all three aerosol types simultaneously; corrections are made for implied variations in cloud turbulence levels. The resulting cloud droplet number is used to calculate variations in droplet effective radius, which in turn allows us to predict aerosol effects on cloud optical thickness and microphysical process rates. We calculate the aerosol indirect effect by differencing the top-of-the-atmosphere net cloud radiative forcing for simulations with present-day vs. pre-industrial emissions. Both the first (radiative) and second (microphysical) indirect effects are explored. We test the sensitivity of our results to cloud parameterization assumptions that control the vertical distribution of cloud occurrence, the autoconversion rate, and the aerosol scavenging rate, each of which feeds back significantly on the model aerosol burden. The global mean aerosol indirect effect for all three aerosol types ranges from -1.55 to -4.36 W m(exp -2) in our simulations. The results are quite sensitive to the pre-industrial background aerosol burden, with low pre-industrial burdens giving strong indirect effects, and to a lesser extent to the anthropogenic aerosol burden, with large burdens giving somewhat larger indirect effects. Because of this dependence on the background aerosol, model diagnostics such as albedo-particle size correlations and column cloud susceptibility, for which satellite validation products are available, are not good predictors of the resulting indirect effect.

GCM Simulations of the Aerosol Indirect Effect: Sensitivity to Cloud Parameterization and Aerosol Burden

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Menon, Surabi; DelGenio, Anthony D.; Koch, Dorothy; Tselioudis, George; Hansen, James E. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

We describe the coupling of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) general circulation model (GCM) to an online sulfur chemistry model and source models for organic matter and sea-salt that is used to estimate the aerosol indirect effect. The cloud droplet number concentration is diagnosed empirically from field experiment datasets over land and ocean that observe droplet number and all three aerosol types simultaneously; corrections are made for implied variations in cloud turbulence levels. The resulting cloud droplet number is used to calculate variations in droplet effective radius, which in turn allows us to predict aerosol effects on cloud optical thickness and microphysical process rates. We calculate the aerosol indirect effect by differencing the top-of-the-atmosphere net cloud radiative forcing for simulations with present-day vs. pre-industrial emissions. Both the first (radiative) and second (microphysical) indirect effects are explored. We test the sensitivity of our results to cloud parameterization assumptions that control the vertical distribution of cloud occurrence, the autoconversion rate, and the aerosol scavenging rate, each of which feeds back significantly on the model aerosol burden. The global mean aerosol indirect effect for all three aerosol types ranges from -1.55 to -4.36 W/sq m in our simulations. The results are quite sensitive to the pre-industrial background aerosol burden, with low pre-industrial burdens giving strong indirect effects, and to a lesser extent to the anthropogenic aerosol burden, with large burdens giving somewhat larger indirect effects. Because of this dependence on the background aerosol, model diagnostics such as albedo-particle size correlations and column cloud susceptibility, for which satellite validation products are available, are not good predictors of the resulting indirect effect.

Increase in background stratospheric aerosol observed with lidar at Mauna Loa Observatory and Boulder, Colorado - article no. L15808

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hofmann, D.; Barnes, J.; O'Neill, M.

2009-08-15

The stratospheric aerosol layer has been monitored with lidars at Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii and Boulder in Colorado since 1975 and 2000, respectively. Following the Pinatubo volcanic eruption in June 1991, the global stratosphere has not been perturbed by a major volcanic eruption providing an unprecedented opportunity to study the background aerosol. Since about 2000, an increase of 4-7% per year in the aerosol backscatter in the altitude range 20-30 km has been detected at both Mauna Loa and Boulder. This increase is superimposed on a seasonal cycle with a winter maximum that is modulated by the quasi-biennial oscillationmore » (QBO) in tropical winds. Of the three major causes for a stratospheric aerosol increase: volcanic emissions to the stratosphere, increased tropical upwelling, and an increase in anthropogenic sulfur gas emissions in the troposphere, it appears that a large increase in coal burning since 2002, mainly in China, is the likely source of sulfur dioxide that ultimately ends up as the sulfate aerosol responsible for the increased backscatter from the stratospheric aerosol layer. The results are consistent with 0.6-0.8% of tropospheric sulfur entering the stratosphere.« less

Importance of data comparability for multi-year trends and source apportionment of NMHC concentrations observed in France

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sauvage, Stéphane; Waked, Antoine; Leonardis, Thierry; Locoge, Nadine

2017-04-01

Non Methane Hydrocarbon Compounds (NMHCs) are of interest due to their potential health impact and their key role in atmospheric processes as precursors of secondary pollutants such as ozone (O3) and secondary organic aerosols (SOA). Hourly measurements of 31 non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were carried out at three urban sites in France over the period of a decade. The trends analysis showed a significant yearly decrease in pollutant concentrations over the study period and for the majority of species in the range of -1 to -7% in accordance with the decrease of NMHC emissions in France (-5 to -9%). Concentrations of long-lived species such as ethane and propane which are known as tracers of distant sources and natural gas remained constant. These trends are consistent with those recently described at urban and background sites in the northern mid-latitudes and with emission inventories. They are compared with the ones reported for 3 French rural sites (EMEP). A year per year source apportionment study using PMF was also conducted for 2 of the urban sites over the period 2005-2013. Using source fingerprints, five common anthropogenic sources were identified for Paris and Strasbourg: traffic-exhaust emissions (21±5%, 18±5%), evaporative sources (17±4%, 24±7%), natural gas & background (22±5%, 25±5%), residential heating (17±4%, 17±5%) and solvent use (19±7%, 12±5%). Biogenic sources were also identified and accounted for 4±1% of the total measured NMHC's at both sites. Along the presentation, the robustness of these results will be discussed regarding the site representativeness, the data comparability, and the temporal variation of the data quality

Urban aerosols harbor diverse and dynamic bacterial populations

PubMed Central

Brodie, Eoin L.; DeSantis, Todd Z.; Parker, Jordan P. Moberg; Zubietta, Ingrid X.; Piceno, Yvette M.; Andersen, Gary L.

2007-01-01

Considering the importance of its potential implications for human health, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem stability, surprisingly little is known regarding the composition or dynamics of the atmosphere's microbial inhabitants. Using a custom high-density DNA microarray, we detected and monitored bacterial populations in two U.S. cities over 17 weeks. These urban aerosols contained at least 1,800 diverse bacterial types, a richness approaching that of some soil bacterial communities. We also reveal the consistent presence of bacterial families with pathogenic members including environmental relatives of select agents of bioterrorism significance. Finally, using multivariate regression techniques, we demonstrate that temporal and meteorological influences can be stronger factors than location in shaping the biological composition of the air we breathe. PMID:17182744

A climatology of fine absorbing biomass burning, urban and industrial aerosols detected from satellites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kalaitzi, Nikoleta; Hatzianastassiou, Nikos; Gkikas, Antonis; Papadimas, Christos D.; Torres, Omar; Mihalopoulos, Nikos

2017-04-01

Natural biomass burning (BB) along with anthropogenic urban and industrial aerosol particles, altogether labeled here as BU aerosols, contain black and brown carbon which both absorb strongly the solar radiation. Thus, BU aerosols warm significantly the atmosphere also causing adjustments to cloud properties, which traditionally are known as cloud indirect and semi-direct effects. Given the role of the effects of BU aerosols for contemporary and future climate change, and the uncertainty associated with BU, both ascertained by the latest IPCC reports, there is an urgent need for improving our knowledge on the spatial and temporal variability of BU aerosols all over the globe. Over the last few decades, thanks to the rapid development of satellite observational techniques and retrieval algorithms it is now possible to detect BU aerosols based on satellite measurements. However, care must be taken in order to ensure the ability to distinguish BU from other aerosol types usually co-existing in the Earth's atmosphere. In the present study, an algorithm is presented, based on a synergy of different satellite measurements, aiming to identify and quantify BU aerosols over the entire globe and during multiple years. The objective is to build a satellite-based climatology of BU aerosols intended for use for various purposes. The produced regime, namely the spatial and temporal variability of BU aerosols, emphasizes the BU frequency of occurrence and their intensity, in terms of aerosol optical depth (AOD). The algorithm is using the following aerosol optical properties describing the size and atmospheric loading of BU aerosols: (i) spectral AOD, (ii) Ångström Exponent (AE), (iii) Fine Fraction (FF) and (iv) Aerosol Index (AI). The relevant data are taken from Collection 006 MODIS-Aqua, except for AI which is taken from OMI-Aura. The identification of BU aerosols by the algorithm is based on a specific thresholding technique, with AI≥1.5, AE≥1.2 and FF≥0.6 threshold values. The study spans the 11-year period 2005-2015, which enables to examine the inter-annual variability and possible changes of BU aerosols. Emphasis is given on specific world areas known to be sources of BU emissions. An effort is also made to separate with the algorithm the BB from BU aerosols, aiming to create a satellite database of biomass burning aerosols. The results of the algorithm, as to BB aerosols and the ability to separate them, are evaluated through comparisons against the global satellite databases of MODIS active fire counts as well as AIRS carbon monoxide (CO), which is a key indicator of presence of biomass burning activities. The algorithm estimates frequencies of occurrence of BU aerosols reaching up to 10 days/year and AOD values up to 1.5 or even larger. The results indicate the existence of seasonal cycles of biomass burning in south and central Africa as well as in South America (Amazonia), with highest BU frequencies during June-September, December-February and August-October, respectively, whereas they successfully reproduce features like the export of African BB aerosols into the Atlantic Ocean.

Potential impacts of urban land expansion on Asian airborne pollutant outflows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tao, Wei; Liu, Junfeng; Ban-Weiss, George A.; Zhang, Lin; Zhang, Jiachen; Yi, Kan; Tao, Shu

2017-07-01

Eastern part of China (EPC) has experienced rapid urbanization during the past few decades. Here we investigate the impacts of urban land expansion over EPC on the export of Asian pollutants to the western Pacific during January, April, July, and October of 2009 using the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled to Chemistry (WRF/Chem) and a single-layer urban canopy scheme. Over urbanizing areas, increases in the urban land fraction result in a linearly enhanced uplift of surface primary pollutants to higher altitudes. We further examine how this local effect would change outflows of Asian pollutants to the western Pacific using the tagged black carbon (BC) and carbon monoxide (CO) tracers emitted from EPC (denoted by BCt and COt, respectively). Overall, a 0.1 increase in the fraction of land area that is urban over EPC would linearly (R2 = 0.70-0.96) increase the mean tropospheric eastward export of BCt and COt across meridional planes (i.e., 135°E and 150°E) by 4-40% and 1-6% in different months, respectively. The relative perturbation in exporting efficiency generally maximizes during July while minimizes during April. The urbanization-export relationship is largely driven by the elevation effect and is also impacted by urbanization-forced changes in zonal winds. The spatial pattern of the response of BCt over the downwind Pacific differs from that of COt mainly due to aerosol-cloud interactions. Our findings demonstrate that extensive urban land expansion could substantially impact climate and air quality from a local scale to a regional scale, especially for shorter-lived air pollutants such as BC and other aerosols.

Evaluation of Organic Aerosol Formation and Apportionment in a polluted Megacity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tsimpidi, A. P.; Karydis, V. A.; Zavala, M.; Lei, W.; Decarlo, P. F.; Ulbrich, I.; Jimenez, J. L.; Molina, L. T.; Pandis, S. N.

2009-04-01

Pollution from megacities and large urban areas is important not only for local effects on health, visibility, and ecosystems but also because of their collective influence on atmospheric chemistry and radiative forcing in regional and global scale. Organic species account for a large fraction of the submicron aerosol mass at most megacities. Urban areas are large sources of organic aerosols and their precursors. Nevertheless, the contributions of primary (POA) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) have been difficult to quantify. In this study, new primary and secondary organic aerosol modules were added to PMCAMx, a three dimensional chemical transport model (Gaydos et al., 2007). The new modeling framework is based on the volatility basis-set approach (Lane et al., 2007): both primary and secondary organic components are assumed to be semivolatile and photochemically reactive and are distributed in logarithmically spaced volatility bins. The emission inventory is modified and the POA emissions are distributed by volatility based on dilution experiments (Robinson et al., 2007). PMCAMx is applied in the Mexico City Metropolitan Area during April 2003 and March 2006. The model predictions are compared with Aerodyne's Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS) observations from the MCMA and MILAGRO campaigns respectively. Furthermore, the predicted concentrations over Mexico City are compared against measurements from a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) which was onboard the NSF/NCAR C-130 aircraft as part of the MILAGRO field campaign (DeCarlo et al., 2008). The organic aerosol (OA) to CO ratio is used as an indicator in order to evaluate the photo-oxidation of the predicted OA after its horizontal and vertical advection. References Gaydos, T.M.; Pinder, R.W.; Koo, B.; Fahey, K.M.; Pandis, S.N., 2007. Development and application of a three-dimensional aerosol chemical transport model, PMCAMx. Atmospheric Environment 41, 2594-2611. Lane, T.E.; Donahue, N.M.; Pandis, S.N. 2008. Simulating Secondary Organic Aerosol Formation using the Votality Basis-Set Approach in a Chemical Transport Model, Atmospheric Environment 42, 7439-7451 Robinson, A.L.; Donahue, N.M.; Shrivastava, M.K.; Weitkamp, E.A.; Sage, A.M.; Grieshop, A.P.; Lane, T.E.; Pandis, S.N.; Pierce, J.R., 2007. Rethinking organic aerosols: semivolatile emissions and photochemical aging. Science 315, 1259-1262. DeCarlo, P.F.; Dunlea, E.J., Kimmel,et al., 2008. Fast Airborne Aerosol Size and Chemistry Measurements with the High Resolution Aerosol Mass Spectrometer during the MILAGRO Campaign, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 4027-4048.

Study of atmospheric aerosols by IBA techniques: The LABEC experience

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucarelli, F.; Calzolai, G.; Chiari, M.; Nava, S.; Carraresi, L.

2018-02-01

At the 3 MV Tandetron accelerator of the LABEC laboratory of INFN (Florence, Italy) an external beam facility is fully dedicated to PIXE-PIGE measurements of the elemental composition of atmospheric aerosols. All the elements with Z > 10 are simultaneously detected by PIXE typically in one minute. This setup allows us an easy automatic positioning, changing and scanning of samples collected by different kinds of devices: long series of daily PM (Particulate Matter) samples can be analysed in short times, as well as size-segregated and high time-resolution aerosol samples. Thanks to the capability of detecting all the crustal elements, PIXE-PIGE analyses are unrivalled in the study of mineral dust: consequently, they are very effective in the study of natural aerosols, like, for example, Saharan dust intrusions. Among the detectable elements there are also important markers of anthropogenic sources, which allow effective source apportionment studies in polluted urban environments using a multivariate method like Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF). Examples regarding recent monitoring campaigns, performed in urban and remote areas, both daily and with high time resolution (hourly samples), as well as with size selection, are presented. The importance of the combined use of the Particle Induced Gamma Ray emission technique (PIGE) and of other complementary (non-nuclear) techniques is highlighted.

Determination of the bioaccessible fraction of metals in urban aerosol using simulated lung fluids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coufalík, Pavel; Mikuška, Pavel; Matoušek, Tomáš; Večeřa, Zbyněk

2016-09-01

Determination of the bioaccessible fraction of metals in atmospheric aerosol is a significant issue with respect to air pollution in the urban environment. The aim of this work was to compare of metal bioaccessibility determined according to the extraction yields of six simulated lung fluids. Aerosol samples of the PM1 fraction were collected in Brno, Czech Republic. The total contents of Cd, Ce, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn in the samples were determined and their enrichment factors were calculated. The bioaccessible proportions of elements were determined by means of extraction in Gamble's solution, Gamble's solution with dipalmitoyl phosphatidyl choline (DPPC), artificial lysosomal fluid, saline, water, and in a newly proposed solution based on DPPC, referred to as "Simulated Alveoli Fluid" (SAF). The chemical composition and surface tension of the simulated lung fluids were the main parameters influencing extraction yields. Gamble's solutions and the newly designed solution of SAF exhibited the lowest extraction efficiency, and also had the lowest surface tensions. The bioaccessibility of particulate metals should be assessed by synthetic lung fluids with a low surface tension, which simulate better the behavior and composition of native lung surfactant. The bioaccessibility of metals in aerosol assessed by means of the extraction in water or artificial lysosomal fluid can be overestimated.

COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH: Study of Aerosol Sources and Processing at the GVAX Pantnagar Supersite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Thornton, Joel A.; Worsnop, Douglas

2016-09-22

This project was part of a collaborative campaign, including the participation of scientists from seven research groups as part of the Winter Intensive Operating Period (January-February 2012) of the Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) campaign at a rural site in Detling, UK, 45 km southeast of central London to study wintertime sources of urban particulate matter. The UW contribution by PI Thornton’s group was to make the first deployment of a chemical ionization mass spectrometer instrument (MOVI-CI-ToFMS) to measure both particle and gas phase organic acids. The new instrument ran nearly continuously during the ClearfLo WINTER IOP at the Detlingmore » site, producing a first-ever data set of molecular composition information that can be used for source apportionment and process studies. The UW group published a paper in Environmental Science and Technology and contributed to another (Bohnenstengel et al BAMS 2015) detailing a direct molecular connection between biomass/biofuel burning particles and aerosol light absorption. The ES&T paper (Mohr, et al ES&T 2013) has received 42 citations in just 3 years indicative of its significant impact on the field. These measurements of urban and rural aerosol properties will contribute to improved modeling of regional aerosol emissions, and of atmospheric aging and removal.« less

Selected water-soluble organic compounds found in size-resolved aerosols collected from urban, mountain and marine atmospheres over East Asia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Gehui; Kawamura, Kimitaka; Xie, Mingjie; Hu, Shuyuan; Li, Jianjun; Zhou, Bianhong; Cao, Junji; An, Zhisheng

2011-07-01

Primary (i.e. sugars and sugar-alcohols) and secondary (i.e. carboxylic acids) water-soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) in size-segregated aerosols from the urban and mountain atmosphere of China and from the marine atmosphere in the outflow region of East Asia were characterized on a molecular level. Levoglucosan is the most abundant compound among the quantified WSOCs in the urban and mountain atmosphere, whose concentration at the urban site was 1-2 orders of magnitude higher than that at the mountain and marine sites. In contrast, malic, succinic and phthalic acids were dominant among the measured WSOCs at the marine site. In the urban air, sugars except levoglucosan gave a bimodal size distribution with a large peak in fine range (<2.1 μm) and a small peak in coarse range (≥2.1 μm) during winter, being opposite to those in spring. In contrast, these WSOCs at the mountain and marine sites dominated in the coarse range but diminished and even disappeared in the fine range. Geometric mean diameters (GMDs) of the measured WSOCs in the fine mode at the urban site were larger in winter than in spring. Levoglucosan and carboxylic acids except for azelaic and benzoic acids showed a larger GMD in the coarse mode at the marine site probably due to an increased hygroscopic growth.

Optical and microphysical properties of atmospheric aerosols in Moldova

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aculinin, Alexandr; Smicov, Vladimir

2010-05-01

Measurements of aerosol properties in Kishinev, Moldova are being carried out within the framework of the international AERONET program managed by NASA/GSFC since 1999. Direct solar and sky diffuse radiances are measured by using of sunphotometer Cimel-318. Aerosol optical properties are retrieved from measured radiances by using of smart computational procedures developed by the AERONET's team. The instrument is situated at the ground-based solar radiation monitoring station giving the opportunity to make simultaneous spectral (win sunphotometer) and broadband (with the set of sensors from radiometric complex) solar radiation. Detailed description of the station and investigations in progress can be found at the http://arg.phys.asm.md. Ground station is placed in an urban environment of Kishinev city (47.00N; 28.56E; 205 m a.s.l). Summary of aerosol optical and microphysical properties retrieved from direct solar and diffuse sky radiance observations at Moldova site from September 1999 to June 2009 are presented below. Number of measurements (total): 1695 Number of measurements (for ?o, n, k): 223 Range of aerosol optical depth (AOD) @440 nm: 0.03 < ?(440) < 2.30, < ?(440)>=0.25 Range of Ångström parameter < α440_870 >: 0.14 < α < 2.28 Asymmetry factor (440/670/870/1020): 0.70/0.63/0.59/0.58 ±0.04 Refraction (n) and absorption (k) indices@440 nm: 1.41 ± 0.06; 0.009 ± 0.005 Single scattering albedo < ?o >(440/670/870/1020): 0.93/0.92/0.90/0.89 ±0.04 Parameters of volume particle size distribution function: (fine mode) volume median radius r v,f , μm: 0.17 ± 0.06 particle volume concentration Cv,f, μm3/μm2: 0.04 ± 0.03 (coarse mode) volume median radius rv,c , μm: 3.08 ± 0.64 particle volume concentration Cv,c, μm3/μm2: 0.03 ± 0.03 Climatic norms of AOD@500 nm and Ångström parameter < α440_870 > at the site of observation are equal to 0.21 ± 0.06 and 1.45 ± 0.14, respectively. The aerosol type in Moldova may be considered as 'urban-industrial and mixed' in accordance with the classification of aerosol type models systematized and developed by AERONET team (O.Dubovik et al., 2002, J. Atmosph. Sci., 59, 590-608) on the basis of datasets acquired from worldwide observations at the network of sunphotometers. It should be noted the presence of increased value of absorption index and reduced values of albedo. This may be due to influence of absorptive aerosols (soot). These aerosols are originated from local dust sources and exhausts from intensive urban traffic, from sources of biomass and household garbage burning both in and around the city, and from long-range transport over regions with high loading of aerosols (dust, smoke).

Simulation of aerosol radiative properties with the ORISAM-RAD model during a pollution event (ESCOMPTE 2001)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mallet, M.; Pont, V.; Liousse, C.; Roger, J. C.; Dubuisson, P.

The aim of this study is to present the organic and inorganic spectral aerosol module-radiative (ORISAM-RAD) module, allowing the 3D distribution of aerosol radiative properties (aerosol optical depth, single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter) from the ORISAM module. In this work, we test ORISAM-RAD for one selected day (24th June) during the ESCOMPTE (expérience sur site pour contraindre les modèles de pollution atmosphérique et de transport d'emissions) experiment for an urban/industrial aerosol type. The particle radiative properties obtained from in situ and AERONET observations are used to validate our simulations. In a first time, simulations obtained from ORISAM-RAD indicate high aerosol optical depth (AOD)˜0.50-0.70±0.02 (at 440 nm) in the aerosol pollution plume, slightly lower (˜10-20%) than AERONET retrievals. In a second time, simulations of the single scattering albedo ( ωo) have been found to well reproduce the high spatial heterogeneities observed over this domain. Concerning the asymmetry parameter ( g), ORISAM-RAD simulations reveal quite uniform values over the whole ESCOMPTE domain, comprised between 0.61±0.01 and 0.65±0.01 (at 440 nm), in excellent agreement with ground based in situ measurements and AERONET retrievals. Finally, the outputs of ORISAM-RAD have been used in a radiative transfer model in order to simulate the diurnal direct radiative forcing at different locations (urban, industrial and rural). We show that anthropogenic aerosols strongly decrease surface solar radiation, with diurnal mean surface forcings comprised between -29.0±2.9 and -38.6±3.9 W m -2, depending on the sites. This decrease is due to the reflection of solar radiations back to space (-7.3±0.8<Δ FTOA<-12.3±1.2 W m -2) and to its absorption into the aerosol layer (21.1±2.1<Δ FATM<26.3±2.6 W m -2). These values are found to be consistent with those measured at local scale.

Assessment of OMI Near-UV Aerosol Optical Depth over Land

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ahn, Changwoo; Torres, Omar; Jethva, Hiren

2014-01-01

This is the first comprehensive assessment of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) product retrieved from the near-UV observations by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) onboard the Aura satellite. The OMI-retrieved AOD by the ultraviolet (UV) aerosol algorithm (OMAERUV version 1.4.2) was evaluated using collocated Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) level 2.0 direct Sun AOD measurements over 8 years (2005-2012). A time series analysis of collocated satellite and ground-based AOD observations over 8 years shows no discernible drift in OMI's calibration. A rigorous validation analysis over 4 years (2005-2008) was carried out at 44 globally distributed AERONET land sites. The chosen locations are representative of major aerosol types such as smoke from biomass burning or wildfires, desert mineral dust, and urban/industrial pollutants. Correlation coefficient (p) values of 0.75 or better were obtained at 50 percent of the sites with about 33 percent of the sites in the analysis reporting regression line slope values larger than 0.70 but always less than unity. The combined AERONET-OMAERUV analysis of the 44 sites yielded a p of 0.81, slope of 0.79, Y intercept of 0.10, and 65 percent OMAERUV AOD falling within the expected uncertainty range (largest of 30 percent or 0.1) at 440 nanometers. The most accurate OMAERUV retrievals are reported over northern Africa locations where the predominant aerosol type is desert dust and cloud presence is less frequent. Reliable retrievals were documented at many sites characterized by urban-type aerosols with low to moderate AOD values, concentrated in the boundary layer. These results confirm that the near-ultraviolet observations are sensitive to the entire aerosol column. A simultaneous comparison of OMAERUV, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Deep Blue, and Multiangle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR) AOD retrievals to AERONET measurements was also carried out to evaluate the OMAERUV accuracy in relation to those of the standard aerosol satellite products. The outcome of the comparison indicates that OMAERUV, MODIS Deep Blue, and MISR retrieval accuracies in arid and semiarid environments are statistically comparable.

Air quality modelling in the Berlin-Brandenburg region using WRF-Chem v3.7.1: sensitivity to resolution of model grid and input data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kuik, Friderike; Lauer, Axel; Churkina, Galina; Denier van der Gon, Hugo A. C.; Fenner, Daniel; Mar, Kathleen A.; Butler, Tim M.

2016-12-01

Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of premature deaths in Europe. Despite extensive regulations, air pollution remains a challenge, especially in urban areas. For studying summertime air quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg region of Germany, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is set up and evaluated against meteorological and air quality observations from monitoring stations as well as from a field campaign conducted in 2014. The objective is to assess which resolution and level of detail in the input data is needed for simulating urban background air pollutant concentrations and their spatial distribution in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. The model setup includes three nested domains with horizontal resolutions of 15, 3 and 1 km and anthropogenic emissions from the TNO-MACC III inventory. We use RADM2 chemistry and the MADE/SORGAM aerosol scheme. Three sensitivity simulations are conducted updating input parameters to the single-layer urban canopy model based on structural data for Berlin, specifying land use classes on a sub-grid scale (mosaic option) and downscaling the original emissions to a resolution of ca. 1 km × 1 km for Berlin based on proxy data including traffic density and population density. The results show that the model simulates meteorology well, though urban 2 m temperature and urban wind speeds are biased high and nighttime mixing layer height is biased low in the base run with the settings described above. We show that the simulation of urban meteorology can be improved when specifying the input parameters to the urban model, and to a lesser extent when using the mosaic option. On average, ozone is simulated reasonably well, but maximum daily 8 h mean concentrations are underestimated, which is consistent with the results from previous modelling studies using the RADM2 chemical mechanism. Particulate matter is underestimated, which is partly due to an underestimation of secondary organic aerosols. NOx (NO + NO2) concentrations are simulated reasonably well on average, but nighttime concentrations are overestimated due to the model's underestimation of the mixing layer height, and urban daytime concentrations are underestimated. The daytime underestimation is improved when using downscaled, and thus locally higher emissions, suggesting that part of this bias is due to deficiencies in the emission input data and their resolution. The results further demonstrate that a horizontal resolution of 3 km improves the results and spatial representativeness of the model compared to a horizontal resolution of 15 km. With the input data (land use classes, emissions) at the level of detail of the base run of this study, we find that a horizontal resolution of 1 km does not improve the results compared to a resolution of 3 km. However, our results suggest that a 1 km horizontal model resolution could enable a detailed simulation of local pollution patterns in the Berlin-Brandenburg region if the urban land use classes, together with the respective input parameters to the urban canopy model, are specified with a higher level of detail and if urban emissions of higher spatial resolution are used.

Natural and Anthropogenic Aerosols in the World's Megacities and Climate Impacts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kafatos, M.; Singh, R.; El-Askary, H.; Qu, J.

2005-12-01

The world's megacities are the sites of production of a variety of aerosols and are themselves affected by natural and human-induced aerosols. In particular, sources of aerosols impacting cities include: industrial and automobile emission; sand and dust storms from, e.g., the Sahara and Gobi Deserts; as well as fire-induced aerosols. Improving the ability of various stakeholder organizations to respond effectively to high concentrations of aerosols, with special emphasis on mineral dust from dust storms; smoke from controlled burns, wild fires and agricultural burning; and anthropogenic aerosols, would be an important goal not just to understand climate forcings but also to be able to better respond to the increasing amounts of aerosols at global and regional levels. Cities and surrounding areas are affected without good estimates of the current and future conditions of the aerosols and their impact on regional and global climate. Remotely sensed (RS) NASA, NOAA and international platform data can be used to characterize the properties of aerosol clouds and special hazard events such as sand and dust storms (SDS). Aerosol analysis and prediction-model capabilities from which stakeholders can choose the tools that best match their needs and technological expertise are important. Scientists validating mesoscale and aerosol-transport models, aerosol retrievals from satellite measurements are indispensable for robust climate predictions. Here we give two examples of generic SDS cases and urban pollution and their possible impact on climate: The Sahara desert is a major source of dust aerosols dust transport is an important climatic process. The aerosols in the form of dust particles reflect the incoming solar radiation to space, thereby reducing the amount of radiation available to the ground, known as `direct' radiative forcing of aerosols. The aerosols also change the cloud albedo and microphysical properties of clouds, known as `indirect' radiative forcing of aerosols. The highest boundary layer heights are associated with regions where the sensible heat flux is greatest, and latent heat flux is smallest due to lack of vegetation. Boundary layer heights in the deserts may be systematically higher than the slightly wetter regions at the edges of deserts. Latent heat flux model runs and MODIS observations of dust storms affecting the Nile Delta and Cairo indicate strong influence on the local weather and climate forcings. In the Indo-Gangetic, during the pre-monsoon period, dust storms form. We have examined SDS transport using RS data acquired from NASA's MODIS MISR instruments and from sun photometer measurements. The aerosol optical depth and size of the dust particles are found to be significantly higher during such dust storm events. Moreover, our results clearly show that power plants in this region are the key point source of air pollutants. The detailed analysis of aerosol parameters show the existence of absorbing and non-absorbing aerosols emitted from these plants. The combined effects of urban aerosols with dust aerosols in India and Cairo not only affect megacities, they also have long-term climate impacts. We will also discuss how the assimilation of RS data into mesoscale models can improve these models and predictability of hazards and effects on megacities, such as SDS events, and forest fires, all sources of aerosols. Therefore RS data can improve the prediction of climate forcings by aerosols.

Measurements of the aerosol chemical composition and mixing state in the Po Valley using multiple spectroscopic techniques

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Decesari, S.; Allan, J.; Plass-Duelmer, C.; Williams, B. J.; Paglione, M.; Facchini, M. C.; O'Dowd, C.; Harrison, R. M.; Gietl, J. K.; Coe, H.; Giulianelli, L.; Gobbi, G. P.; Lanconelli, C.; Carbone, C.; Worsnop, D.; Lambe, A. T.; Ahern, A. T.; Moretti, F.; Tagliavini, E.; Elste, T.; Gilde, S.; Zhang, Y.; Dall'Osto, M.

2014-04-01

The use of co-located multiple spectroscopic techniques can provide detailed information on the atmospheric processes regulating aerosol chemical composition and mixing state. So far, field campaigns heavily equipped with aerosol mass spectrometers have been carried out mainly in large conurbations and in areas directly affected by their outflow, whereas lesser efforts have been dedicated to continental areas characterized by a less dense urbanization. We present here the results obtained in San Pietro Capofiume, which is located in a sparsely inhabited sector of the Po Valley, Italy. The experiment was carried out in summer 2009 in the framework of the EUCAARI project ("European Integrated Project on Aerosol, Cloud Climate Aerosol Interaction"). For the first time in Europe, six state-of-the-art techniques were used in parallel: (1) on-line TSI aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS), (2) on-line Aerodyne high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometer (HR-TOF-AMS), (3) soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SP-AMS), (4) on-line high resolution time-of-flight mass spectrometer-thermal desorption aerosol gas chromatograph (HR-ToFMS-TAG), (5) off-line twelve-hour resolution proton nuclear magnetic resonance (H-NMR) spectroscopy, and (6) chemical ionization mass spectrometry (CIMS) for the analysis of gas-phase precursors of secondary aerosol. Data from each aerosol spectroscopic method were analysed individually following ad-hoc tools (i.e. PMF for AMS, Art-2a for ATOFMS). The results obtained from each techniques are herein presented and compared. This allows us to clearly link the modifications in aerosol chemical composition to transitions in air mass origin and meteorological regimes. Under stagnant conditions, atmospheric stratification at night and early morning hours led to the accumulation of aerosols produced by anthropogenic sources distributed over the Po Valley plain. Such aerosols include primary components such as black carbon (BC), only partly internally mixed with secondary semivolatile compounds such as ammonium nitrate and amines. Other organic components originating from anthropogenic sources at night include monocarboxylic acids which correspond to an AMS factor analogous to the "cooking" organic aerosol (COA) already identified in urban areas. In daytime, enhanced mixing in the planetary boundary layer (PBL) along with increasing temperature determined dramatic changes in aerosol composition caused by the evaporation of semivolatile components and by the entrainment of aged aerosols transported downwards from residual layers. In other words, the entrainment of aged air masses is responsible for the accumulation of low-volatility oxygenated organic aerosol (LV-OOAs) and also for the recycling of primary species such as black carbon. The LV-OOA concentrations were shown to correlate to the simple meteorological tracers of humid PBL air produced by daytime convection over land areas. In particular, both PMF-AMS and PMF-NMR could resolve two components of LV-OOA: one from long-range transport from Central Europe, the second from recirculated PBL air from the Po Valley. According to organic aerosol source apportionment by PMF-AMS, anthropogenic aerosols accumulating in the lower layers overnight accounted for 38% of organic aerosol mass on average, another 21% was accounted for by aerosols recirculated in residual layers but still originating in North Italy, while a substantial fraction (41%) was due to the most aged aerosols imported from transalpine areas. Overall, the deployment of six state-of-the-art spectrometric techniques provided a comprehensive picture of the nature and source contributions of aerosols and aerosol precursors at a European rural site with unprecedented level of details.

Urban dust in the Guanzhong Basin of China, part I: A regional distribution of dust sources retrieved using satellite data.

PubMed

Long, Xin; Li, Nan; Tie, Xuexi; Cao, Junji; Zhao, Shuyu; Huang, Rujin; Zhao, Mudan; Li, Guohui; Feng, Tian

2016-01-15

Urban dust pollution has been becoming an outstanding environmental problem due to rapid urbanization in China. However, it is very difficult to construct an urban dust inventory, owing to its small horizontal scale and strong temporal/spatial variability. With the analysis of visual interpretation, maximum likelihood classification, extrapolation and spatial overlaying, we quantified dust source distributions of urban constructions, barrens and croplands in the Guanzhong Basin using various satellite data, including VHR (0.5m), Lansat-8 OLI (30 m) and MCD12Q1 (500 m). The croplands were the dominant dust sources, accounting for 40% (17,913 km(2)) of the study area in summer and 36% (17,913 km(2)) in winter, followed by barrens, accounting for 5% in summer and 10% in winter. Moreover, the total constructions were 126 km(2), including 84% of active and 16% inactive. In addition, 59% of the constructions aggregated on the only megacity of the study area, Xi'an. With high accuracy exceeding 88%, the proposed satellite-data based method is feasible and valuable to quantify distributions of dust sources. This study provides a new perspective to evaluate regional urban dust, which is seldom quantified and reported. In a companied paper (Part-2 of the study), the detailed distribution of the urban dust sources is applied in a dynamical/aerosol model (WRF-Dust) to assess the effect of dust sources on aerosol pollution. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Seasonal variability of carbon in humic-like matter of ambient size-segregated water soluble organic aerosols from urban background environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Frka, Sanja; Grgić, Irena; Turšič, Janja; Gini, Maria I.; Eleftheriadis, Konstantinos

2018-01-01

Long-term measurements of carbon in HUmic-LIke Substances (HULIS-C) of ambient size-segregated water soluble organic aerosols were performed using a ten-stage low-pressure Berner impactor from December 2014 to November 2015 at an urban background environment in Ljubljana, Slovenia. The mass size distribution patterns of measured species (PM - particulate matter, WSOC - water-soluble organic carbon and HULIS-C) for all seasons were generally tri-modal (primarily accumulation mode) but with significant seasonal variability. HULIS-C was found to have similar distributions as WSOC, with nearly the same mass median aerodynamic diameters (MMADs), except for winter when the HULIS-C size distribution was bimodal. In autumn and winter, the dominant accumulation mode with MMAD at ca. 0.65 μm contributed 83 and 97% to the total HULIS-C concentration, respectively. HULIS-C accounted for a large fraction of WSOC, averaging more than 50% in autumn and 40% in winter. Alternatively, during warmer periods the contributions of ultrafine (27% in summer) and coarse mode (27% in spring) were also substantial. Based on mass size distribution characteristics, HULIS-C was found to be of various sources. In colder seasons, wood burning was confirmed as the most important HULIS source; secondary formation in atmospheric liquid water also contributed significantly, as revealed by the MMADs of the accumulation mode shifting to larger sizes. The distinct difference between the spring and summer ratios of HULIS-C/WSOC in fine particles (ca. 50% in spring, but only 10% in summer) indicated different sources and chemical composition of WSOC in summer (e.g., SOA formation from biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) via photochemistry). The enlarged amount of HULIS-C in the ultrafine mode in summer suggests that the important contribution was most likely from new particle formation during higher emissions of BVOC due to the vicinity of a mixed deciduous forest; the higher contribution of HULIS-C in the coarse mode demonstrated that beside soil erosion other sources, such as pollen and plant fragments, could also be responsible.

CO2 lidar backscatter experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jarzembski, Maurice A.; Rothermel, Jeffry; Bowdle, David A.; Srivastava, Vandana; Cutten, Dean; Mccaul, Eugene W., Jr.

1993-01-01

The Aerosol/Lidar Science Group of the Remote Sensing Branch engages in experimental and theoretical studies of atmospheric aerosol scattering and atmospheric dynamics, emphasizing Doppler lidar as a primary tool. Activities include field and laboratory measurement and analysis efforts by in-house personnel, coordinated with similar efforts by university and government institutional researchers. The primary focus of activities related to understanding aerosol scattering is the GLObal Backscatter Experiment (GLOBE) program. GLOBE was initiated by NASA in 1986 to support the engineering design, performance simulation, and science planning for the prospective NASA Laser Atmospheric Wind Sounder (LAWS). The most important GLOBE scientific result has been identified of a background aerosol mode with a surprisingly uniform backscatter mixing ratio (backscatter normalized by air density) throughout a deep tropospheric layer. The backscatter magnitude of the background mode evident from the MSFC CW lidar measurements is remarkably similar to that evident from ground-based backscatter profile climatologies obtained by JPL in Pasadena CA, NOAA/WPL in Boulder CO, and by the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in the United Kingdom. Similar values for the background mode have been inferred from the conversion of in situ aerosol microphysical measurements to backscatter using Mie theory. Little seasonal or hemispheric variation is evident in the survey mission data, as opposed to large variation for clouds, aerosol plums, and the marine boundary layer. Additional features include: localized aerosol residues from dissipated clouds, occasional regions having mass concentrations of nanograms per cubic meter and very low backscatter, and aerosol plumes extending thousands of kilometers and several kilometers deep. Preliminary comparison with meteorological observations thus far indicate correlation between backscatter and water vapor under high humidity conditions. Limited intercomparisons with the Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE) limb extinction sounder shows differences in the troposphere, however, it should be noted that in general SAGE measurements have not yet been validated in the troposphere.

Differentiating local and regional sources of Chinese urban air pollution based on the effect of the Spring Festival

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Chuan; Huang, Xiao-Feng; Zhu, Qiao; Cao, Li-Ming; Zhang, Bin; He, Ling-Yan

2017-07-01

The emission of pollutants is extremely reduced during the annual Chinese Spring Festival (SF) in Shenzhen, China. During the SF, traffic flow drops by ˜ 50 % and the industrial plants are almost entirely shut down in Shenzhen. To characterize the variation in ambient air pollutants due to the Spring Festival effect, various gaseous and particulate pollutants were measured in real time in urban Shenzhen over three consecutive winters (2014-2016). The results indicate that the concentrations of NOx, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), black carbon (BC), primary organic aerosols, chloride, and nitrate in submicron aerosols decrease by 50-80 % during SF periods relative to non-Spring Festival periods, regardless of meteorological conditions. This decrease suggests that these pollutants are mostly emitted or secondarily formed from urban local emissions. The concentration variation in species mostly from regional or natural sources, however, is found to be much less, such as for bulk fine particulate matter (PM2. 5). More detailed analysis of the Spring Festival effect reveals an urgent need to reduce emissions of SO2 and VOCs on a regional scale rather than on an urban scale to reduce urban PM2. 5 in Shenzhen, which can also be useful as a reference for other megacities in China.

Variability and evolution of the midlatitude stratospheric aerosol budget from 22 years of ground-based lidar and satellite observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khaykin, Sergey M.; Godin-Beekmann, Sophie; Keckhut, Philippe; Hauchecorne, Alain; Jumelet, Julien; Vernier, Jean-Paul; Bourassa, Adam; Degenstein, Doug A.; Rieger, Landon A.; Bingen, Christine; Vanhellemont, Filip; Robert, Charles; DeLand, Matthew; Bhartia, Pawan K.

2017-02-01

The article presents new high-quality continuous stratospheric aerosol observations spanning 1994-2015 at the French Observatoire de Haute-Provence (OHP, 44° N, 6° E) obtained by two independent, regularly maintained lidar systems operating within the Network for Detection of Atmospheric Composition Change (NDACC). Lidar series are compared with global-coverage observations by Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment (SAGE II), Global Ozone Monitoring by Occultation of Stars (GOMOS), Optical Spectrograph and InfraRed Imaging System (OSIRIS), Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP), and Ozone Mapping Profiling Suite (OMPS) satellite instruments, altogether covering the time span of OHP lidar measurements. Local OHP and zonal-mean satellite series of stratospheric aerosol optical depth are in excellent agreement, allowing for accurate characterization of stratospheric aerosol evolution and variability at northern midlatitudes during the last 2 decades. The combination of local and global observations is used for a careful separation between volcanically perturbed and quiescent periods. While the volcanic signatures dominate the stratospheric aerosol record, the background aerosol abundance is found to be modulated remotely by the poleward transport of convectively cleansed air from the deep tropics and aerosol-laden air from the Asian monsoon region. The annual cycle of background aerosol at midlatitudes, featuring a minimum during late spring and a maximum during late summer, correlates with that of water vapor from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS). Observations covering two volcanically quiescent periods over the last 2 decades provide an indication of a growth in the nonvolcanic component of stratospheric aerosol. A statistically significant factor of 2 increase in nonvolcanic aerosol since 1998, seasonally restricted to late summer and fall, is associated with the influence of the Asian monsoon and growing pollution therein.

Aerosol Production from Charbroiled and Wet-Fried Meats

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Niedziela, R. F.; Blanc, L. E.

2012-12-01

Previous work in our laboratory focused on the chemical and optical characterization of aerosols produced during the dry-frying of different meat samples. This method yielded a complex ensemble of particles composed of water and long-chain fatty acids with the latter dominated by oleic, stearic, and palmitic acids. The present study examines how wet-frying and charbroiling cooking methods affect the physical and chemical properties of their derived aerosols. Samples of ground beef, salmon, chicken, and pork were subject to both cooking methods in the laboratory, with their respective aerosols swept into a laminar flow cell where they were optically analyzed in the mid-infrared and collected through a gas chromatography probe for chemical characterization. This presentation will compare and contrast the nature of the aerosols generated in each cooking method, particularly those produced during charbroiling which exposes the samples, and their drippings, to significantly higher temperatures. Characterization of such cooking-related aerosols is important because of the potential impact of these particles on air quality, particularly in urban areas.

Identification of the sources of primary organic aerosols at urban schools: a molecular marker approach.

PubMed

Crilley, Leigh R; Qadir, Raeed M; Ayoko, Godwin A; Schnelle-Kreis, Jürgen; Abbaszade, Gülcin; Orasche, Jürgen; Zimmermann, Ralf; Morawska, Lidia

2014-08-01

Children are particularly susceptible to air pollution and schools are examples of urban microenvironments that can account for a large portion of children's exposure to airborne particles. Thus this paper aimed to determine the sources of primary airborne particles that children are exposed to at school by analyzing selected organic molecular markers at 11 urban schools in Brisbane, Australia. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources at the schools: vehicle emissions, biomass burning, meat cooking and plant wax emissions accounting for 45%, 29%, 16% and 7%, of the organic carbon respectively. Biomass burning peaked in winter due to prescribed burning of bushland around Brisbane. Overall, the results indicated that both local (traffic) and regional (biomass burning) sources of primary organic aerosols influence the levels of ambient particles that children are exposed at the schools. These results have implications for potential control strategies for mitigating exposure at schools. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Global Aerosol Optical Models and Lookup Tables for the New MODIS Aerosol Retrieval over Land

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Levy, Robert C.; Remer, Loraine A.; Dubovik, Oleg

2007-01-01

Since 2000, MODIS has been deriving aerosol properties over land from MODIS observed spectral reflectance, by matching the observed reflectance with that simulated for selected aerosol optical models, aerosol loadings, wavelengths and geometrical conditions (that are contained in a lookup table or 'LUT'). Validation exercises have showed that MODIS tends to under-predict aerosol optical depth (tau) in cases of large tau (tau greater than 1.0), signaling errors in the assumed aerosol optical properties. Using the climatology of almucantur retrievals from the hundreds of global AERONET sunphotometer sites, we found that three spherical-derived models (describing fine-sized dominated aerosol), and one spheroid-derived model (describing coarse-sized dominated aerosol, presumably dust) generally described the range of observed global aerosol properties. The fine dominated models were separated mainly by their single scattering albedo (omega(sub 0)), ranging from non-absorbing aerosol (omega(sub 0) approx. 0.95) in developed urban/industrial regions, to neutrally absorbing aerosol (omega(sub 0) approx.90) in forest fire burning and developing industrial regions, to absorbing aerosol (omega(sub 0) approx. 0.85) in regions of savanna/grassland burning. We determined the dominant model type in each region and season, to create a 1 deg. x 1 deg. grid of assumed aerosol type. We used vector radiative transfer code to create a new LUT, simulating the four aerosol models, in four MODIS channels. Independent AERONET observations of spectral tau agree with the new models, indicating that the new models are suitable for use by the MODIS aerosol retrieval.

Fine Aerosol Composition and Radiative Effects in the Baltimore-Washington Corridor: Findings From the 2001 Summer Intensive

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, L. A.; Doddridge, B. G.; Dickerson, R. R.; Chow, J. C.; Holben, B. N.

2002-12-01

Chemically speciated PM2.5 and trace gases were measured at Fort Meade (FME: 39.10°N, 76.74°W; elevation 46 m MSL) during summer 2001 (6/30 through 8/3) as a continuous effort of the Maryland Aerosol Research and CHaracterization study. FME is suburban and within 30 km south of the urban Baltimore supersite. 24-hr PM2.5 mass ranged from 2.1 to 29.5 mg m-3. Major species, by average mass fraction, includes sulfate (37%), organic matter (27%), ammonium (13%), elemental carbon (6%), nitrate (3%), and crustal material (3%). Reconstructed PM2.5 mass, calculated by summing the major species, is generally less than the gravimetric mass but within 10% difference. Visible extinction coefficient (bext) was recorded by an Automated Surface Observing System at the Baltimore Washington International Airport and column aerosol optical depth (AOD) by sun radiometers at the Goddard Space Flight Center to evaluate the conditions of regional haze. Both detectors were located within 20 km from FME. The correlation (r2) between 24-hr bext and PM2.5 is low at 0.25 but increases to 0.51 when the aerosol water content, estimated using an aerosol thermodynamic modal ISORROPIA, is taken into account. Water contributed significantly on hazy days. This correlation suggests a mass extinction efficiency of ~ 9 m2 g-1. The hourly AOD at 500 nm was highly correlated with bext in the early morning and late afternoon (r2 ~ 0.9) but not during mid-day hours (r2 ~ 0.3) when bext is generally lower. This result, along with aircraft and ground lidar measurements, implies aloft fine aerosol mass in mid-day and a potentially stronger radiative forcing for the urban corridor.

Characterization of Dust Properties Near Source Region During ACE-Asia: A Column Satellite-Surface Perspective

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tsay, S. -C.; Ji, Q.; Chu, A.; Hsu, C.; Holben, B.; Campbell, J.; Welton, E. J.; Shu, P. K.

2002-01-01

Many recent field experiments are designed to study the compelling variability in spatial and temporal scale of both pollution-derived and naturally occurring aerosols, which often exist in high concentrations over eastern/southeastern Asia and along the rim of the western Pacific. For example, the ACE-Asia was conducted from March-May 2001 in the vicinity of the Taklimakan and Gobi deserts, East Coast of China, Yellow Sea, Korea, and Japan, along the pathway of Kosa (severe events that blanket East Asia with yellow desert dust, peaked in the Spring season). Asian dust typically originates in desert areas far from polluted urban regions. During transport, dust layers can interact with anthropogenic sulfate and soot aerosols from heavily polluted urban areas. Added to the complex effects of clouds and natural marine aerosols, dust particles reaching the marine environment can have drastically different properties than those from the source. Thus, understanding the unique temporal and spatial variations of Asian aerosols is of special importance in regional-to-global climate issues such as radiative forcing, the hydrological cycle, and primary biological productivity in the mid-Pacific Ocean. During ACE-Asia we have measured continuously aerosol physical/optical/radiative properties, column precipitable water amount, and surface reflectivity over homogeneous areas from surface. The inclusion of flux measurements permits the determination of aerosol radiative flux in addition to measurements of loading and optical depth. At the time of the Terra/MODIS, SeaWiFS, TOMS and other satellite overpasses, these ground-based observations can provide valuable data to compare with satellite retrievals over land. Preliminary results will be presented and discussed their implications in regional climatic effects.

Biogenic VOC oxidation and organic aerosol formation in an urban nocturnal boundary layer: aircraft vertical profiles in Houston, TX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, S. S.; Dubé, W. P.; Bahreini, R.; Middlebrook, A. M.; Brock, C. A.; Warneke, C.; de Gouw, J. A.; Washenfelder, R. A.; Atlas, E.; Peischl, J.; Ryerson, T. B.; Holloway, J. S.; Schwarz, J. P.; Spackman, R.; Trainer, M.; Parrish, D. D.; Fehshenfeld, F. C.; Ravishankara, A. R.

2013-05-01

Organic compounds are a large component of aerosol mass, but organic aerosol (OA) sources remain poorly characterized. Recent model studies have suggested nighttime oxidation of biogenic hydrocarbons as a potentially large OA source, but analysis of field measurements to test these predictions is sparse. We present nighttime vertical profiles of nitrogen oxides, ozone, VOCs and aerosol composition measured during low approaches of the NOAA P-3 aircraft to airfields in Houston, TX. This region has large emissions of both biogenic hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides. The latter serves as a source of the nitrate radical, NO3, a key nighttime oxidant. Biogenic VOCs (BVOC) and urban pollutants were concentrated within the nocturnal boundary layer (NBL), which varied in depth from 100-400 m. Despite concentrated NOx at low altitude, ozone was never titrated to zero, resulting in rapid NO3 radical production rates of 0.2-2.7ppbv h-1 within the NBL. Monoterpenes and isoprene were frequently present within the NBL and underwent rapid oxidation (up to 1ppbv h-1), mainly by NO3 and to a lesser extent O3. Concurrent enhancement in organic and nitrate aerosol on several profiles was consistent with primary emissions and with secondary production from nighttime BVOC oxidation, with the latter equivalent to or slightly larger than the former. Ratios of organic aerosol to CO within the NBL ranged from 14 to 38 μg m-3 OA/ppmv CO. A box model simulation incorporating monoterpene emissions, oxidant formation rates and monoterpene SOA yields suggested overnight OA production of 0.5 to 9 μg m-3.

On the Chemical Characterization of Organic Matter in Rain at Mexico City.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Montero-Martinez, G.; Andraca-Ayala, G. L.; Hernández-Nagay, D. P.; Mendoza-Trejo, A.; Rivera-Arellano, J.; Rosado-Abon, A.; Roy, P. D.

2016-12-01

The chemical composition of the aerosol plays a central role in atmospheric processes and has influence on the hydrological cycle. Clouds form through the nucleation of water vapor on certain atmospheric aerosol particles, called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). Also, precipitating particles scavenge some other aerosol particles on their way to the surface. Atmospheric particles are a mixture of organic and inorganic materials, both soluble and insoluble in water. Aerosol chemical characterization indicates a larger variety of compounds in urban areas respect to other regions. Thus, chemical composition of rainwater may represent an important aspect for estimating atmospheric air pollution. It has been recognized that organic species present in aerosol particles are important in the formation of cloud droplets. Therefore, the information about the organic compounds in precipitation samples may be helpful to understand their effects on the formation of clouds and rain, as well as their sources. Organic acids are ubiquitous components of aerosols and have been identified in precipitation water. In this work, preliminary results of the content of soluble organic (neutral and acidic) matter in rainwater samples collected in Mexico City during 2015 will be presented. The organic compounds content was performed by using an ionic chromatographic methodology with gradient elution; so the total amount was evaluated as the sum of four fractions: neutral/basic, mono-, bi-, and poly-acid compounds. The outcomes suggest that most of the amount of organic substances soluble in water is contained by the neutral/basic and mono-acid fractions. Regarding the total amount of water soluble organic compounds, the rain samples collected in Mexico City are in agreement with some others reported for large urban areas.

Long-term visibility variation in Athens (1931-2013): a proxy for local and regional atmospheric aerosol loads

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Founda, Dimitra; Kazadzis, Stelios; Mihalopoulos, Nikolaos; Gerasopoulos, Evangelos; Lianou, Maria; Raptis, Panagiotis I.

2016-09-01

This study explores the interdecadal variability and trends of surface horizontal visibility at the urban area of Athens from 1931 to 2013, using the historical archives of the National Observatory of Athens (NOA). A prominent deterioration of visibility in the city was detected, with the long-term linear trend amounting to -2.8 km decade-1 (p < 0.001), over the entire study period. This was not accompanied by any significant trend in relative humidity or precipitation over the same period. A slight recovery of visibility levels seems to be established in the recent decade (2004-2013). It was found that very good visibility (> 20 km) occurred at a frequency of 34 % before the 1950s, while this percentage drops to just 2 % during the decade 2004-2013. The rapid impairment of the visual air quality in Athens around the 1950s points to the increased levels of air pollution on a local and/or regional scale, related to high urbanization rates and/or increased anthropogenic emissions on a global scale at that period. Visibility was found to be negatively/positively correlated with relative humidity/wind speed, the correlation being statistically valid at certain periods. Wind regime and mainly wind direction and corresponding air mass origin were found to highly control visibility levels in Athens. The comparison of visibility variation in Athens and at a non-urban reference site on Crete island revealed similar negative trends over the common period of observations. This suggests that apart local sources, visibility in Athens is highly determined by aerosol load of regional origin. AVHRR and MODIS satellite-derived aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals over Athens and surface measurements of PM10 confirmed the relation of visibility to aerosol load.

Elucidating secondary organic aerosol from diesel and gasoline vehicles through detailed characterization of organic carbon emissions

PubMed Central

Gentner, Drew R.; Isaacman, Gabriel; Worton, David R.; Chan, Arthur W. H.; Dallmann, Timothy R.; Davis, Laura; Liu, Shang; Day, Douglas A.; Russell, Lynn M.; Wilson, Kevin R.; Weber, Robin; Guha, Abhinav; Harley, Robert A.; Goldstein, Allen H.

2012-01-01

Emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles are predominant anthropogenic sources of reactive gas-phase organic carbon and key precursors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in urban areas. Their relative importance for aerosol formation is a controversial issue with implications for air quality control policy and public health. We characterize the chemical composition, mass distribution, and organic aerosol formation potential of emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles, and find diesel exhaust is seven times more efficient at forming aerosol than gasoline exhaust. However, both sources are important for air quality; depending on a region’s fuel use, diesel is responsible for 65% to 90% of vehicular-derived SOA, with substantial contributions from aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Including these insights on source characterization and SOA formation will improve regional pollution control policies, fuel regulations, and methodologies for future measurement, laboratory, and modeling studies. PMID:23091031

Impacts of controlling biomass burning emissions on wintertime carbonaceous aerosol in Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fountoukis, C.; Butler, T.; Lawrence, M. G.; Denier van der Gon, H. A. C.; Visschedijk, A. J. H.; Charalampidis, P.; Pilinis, C.; Pandis, S. N.

2014-04-01

We use a 3-D regional chemical transport model, with the latest advancements in the organic aerosol (OA) treatment, and an updated emission inventory for wood combustion to study the organic aerosol change in response to the replacement of current residential wood combustion technologies with pellet stoves. Simulations show a large decrease of fine organic aerosol (more than 60%) in urban and suburban areas during winter and decreases of 30-50% in elemental carbon levels in large parts of Europe. There is also a considerable decrease (around 40%) of oxidized OA, mostly in rural and remote regions. Total PM2.5 mass is predicted to decrease by 15-40% on average during the winter in continental Europe. Accurate representation of the intermediate volatility precursors of organic aerosol in the emission inventory is crucial in assessing the efficiency of such abatement strategies.

Enhanced Deep Blue Aerosol Retrieval Algorithm: The Second Generation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hsu, N. C.; Jeong, M.-J.; Bettenhausen, C.; Sayer, A. M.; Hansell, R.; Seftor, C. S.; Huang, J.; Tsay, S.-C.

2013-01-01

The aerosol products retrieved using the MODIS collection 5.1 Deep Blue algorithm have provided useful information about aerosol properties over bright-reflecting land surfaces, such as desert, semi-arid, and urban regions. However, many components of the C5.1 retrieval algorithm needed to be improved; for example, the use of a static surface database to estimate surface reflectances. This is particularly important over regions of mixed vegetated and non- vegetated surfaces, which may undergo strong seasonal changes in land cover. In order to address this issue, we develop a hybrid approach, which takes advantage of the combination of pre-calculated surface reflectance database and normalized difference vegetation index in determining the surface reflectance for aerosol retrievals. As a result, the spatial coverage of aerosol data generated by the enhanced Deep Blue algorithm has been extended from the arid and semi-arid regions to the entire land areas.

Elucidating secondary organic aerosol from diesel and gasoline vehicles through detailed characterization of organic carbon emissions.

PubMed

Gentner, Drew R; Isaacman, Gabriel; Worton, David R; Chan, Arthur W H; Dallmann, Timothy R; Davis, Laura; Liu, Shang; Day, Douglas A; Russell, Lynn M; Wilson, Kevin R; Weber, Robin; Guha, Abhinav; Harley, Robert A; Goldstein, Allen H

2012-11-06

Emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles are predominant anthropogenic sources of reactive gas-phase organic carbon and key precursors to secondary organic aerosol (SOA) in urban areas. Their relative importance for aerosol formation is a controversial issue with implications for air quality control policy and public health. We characterize the chemical composition, mass distribution, and organic aerosol formation potential of emissions from gasoline and diesel vehicles, and find diesel exhaust is seven times more efficient at forming aerosol than gasoline exhaust. However, both sources are important for air quality; depending on a region's fuel use, diesel is responsible for 65% to 90% of vehicular-derived SOA, with substantial contributions from aromatic and aliphatic hydrocarbons. Including these insights on source characterization and SOA formation will improve regional pollution control policies, fuel regulations, and methodologies for future measurement, laboratory, and modeling studies.

The relative importance of aerosol scattering and absorption in remote sensing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fraser, R. S.; Kaufman, Y. J.

1983-01-01

The relative importance of aerosol optical thickness and absorption is illustrated through computing radiances for radiative transfer models. The radiance of sunlight reflected from models of the earth-atmosphere system is computed as a function of the aerosol optical thickness and its albedo of single scattering; it is noted that the albedo varies from 0.6 in urban environment to nearly 1 in areas with low graphitic carbon content. The calculations are applied to the example of satellite measurements of biomass. It is found that when surface classifications are made by means of clustering techniques the presence of gradients in the aerosol optical properties results in the dispersion of points in the plot correlating radiances viewed in two different directions. Finally, though such a remote sensing parameter as contrast is weakly affected by aerosol absorption, it is highly dependent on its optical thickness.

Chemical and Microphysical Properties of Particles in Aged Forest Fire Plumes From Alaska and Western Canada Observed Over the Northeastern U.S.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brock, C. A.; Wollny, A. G.; Cooper, O. R.; Fehsenfeld, F. C.; de Gouw, J. A.; Hudson, P. K.; Matthew, B. M.; Middlebrook, A. M.; Murphy, D. M.; Simsons, C.; Stohl, A.; Warneke, C.; Peltier, R.; Sulivan, A.; Weber, R. J.; Wilson, J. C.

2004-12-01

During the Intercontinental Transport and Chemical Transformation - New England Air Quality Study (ITCT-NEAQS 2004) in July and August 2004 several forest fires plumes were observed over the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada. Satellite data and trajectory analyses indicate that the plumes originated from forest fires burning in Alaska and western Canada. In-situ measurements of the aged forest fire smoke were made on board the NOAA WP-3D research aircraft during several flights over a period of 2 weeks. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the chemical composition of single aerosol particles in air masses containing forest fire smoke show significant differences compared to background air or to pollution from urban and industrial sources and unambiguously identify the smoke plumes. Particle size distributions from 0.004 to 8 um were measured with one second resolution in the aged forest fire smoke. The smoke was characterized by mass-weighted diameters between 0.6 and 1 um--much larger than secondary particles typical of urban and industrial sources. Particle volume concentrations were among the highest seen within the ITCT-NEAQS 2004 project, and regional visibility and air quality were significantly affected by the transported smoke. Quantitative compositional measurements were made of the non-refractory fraction of submicron particles, as well as of submicron inorganic ionic compounds and water soluble organic mass, within the forest fire plumes. The submicron aerosol particles in the biomass plumes were largely carbonaceous with very little sulfate, ammonium, or nitrate. A fraction of this carbonaceous material was soluble in water and likely contained oxygenated organic species.

First highlights of the Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa (DACCIWA) field campaigns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liousse, C.; Knippertz, P.; Flamant, C.; Adon, J.; Akpo, A.; Annesi-Maesano, I.; Assamoi, E.; Baeza, A.; Julien, B.; Bedou, M.; Brooks, B. J.; Chiu, J. Y. C.; Chiron, C.; Coe, H.; Danuor, S.; Djossou, J.; Evans, M. J.; Fayomi, B.; Fink, A. H.; Galy-Lacaux, C.; Gardrat, E.; Jegede, O.; Kalthoff, N.; Kedote, M.; Keita, S.; Kouame, K.; Konare, A.; Leon, J. F.; Mari, C. H.; Lohou, F.; Roblou, L.; Schlager, H.; Schwarzenboeck, A.; Toure, E. N.; Veronique, Y.

2016-12-01

The EU-funded project DACCIWA (Dynamics-Aerosol-Chemistry-Cloud Interactions in West Africa) is investigating the relationship between weather, climate, air pollution and health in southern West Africa. The air over the coastal region of West Africa is a unique mixture of natural and anthropogenic gases, liquids and particles, emitted in an environment, in which multi-layer cloud decks frequently form. These exert a large influence on the local weather and climate, which has never been studied in detail over West Africa: this information is currently not included in the majority of weather and climate models. For the first time, the entire chain of impacts of natural and manmade emissions on the West African atmosphere was investigated in a coordinated field campaign. As part of this campaign, three research aircraft (Falcon 20, Twin Otter and ATR) based in Lomé (Togo) flew targeted 50 missions over West Africa from 27 June to 16 July 2016. In that campaign also, three highly instrumented measuring sites inland were set up with weather balloons launched several times a day across the region. The main objective was to build robust statistics of cloud properties in southern West Africa in different chemical landscapes (background state, ship/flaring emissions, polluted megacities, agricultural and forest areas, dust from the Sahel/Sahara). In addition, DACCIWA scientists working on measurements of urban emissions, air pollution, and health have set up four urban sites in Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire) and Cotonou (Benin) focusing on main specific regional combustion sources (domestic fires, traffic and waste burning). Long-term measurements of gases and particles and census of hospital admissions for respiratory diseases were started in January 2015 and will continue until March 2017 to determine the links between human health and air pollution. Intensive measurement periods took place in July 2015, January 2016, and July 2016 (a final one is planned for January 2017) in order to characterize toxicological effects of size-speciated aerosol chemical composition. First highlights on the flight sampling strategy, the acquired datasets, and accompanying modelling work will be presented.