Applications of a Scattering Spectrometer System for Marine Aerosol Measurement

A newly developed instrument has been successfully evaluated and applied to the measurement of marine aerosols. The instrument, known as the Scattering Spectrometer System (SSS), utilizes coherent scattering of laser radiation to size marine aerosols in flight and produce size distribution data in real time. Compared to current methods of using source cascade impactors, the SSS was found superior in terms of resolution, data reduction simplicity, and real-time capability. The application of the SSS at the Naval Air Propulsion Test Center (NAPTC) includes real-time facility diagnostics, control, and calibration. Novel information concerning aerosol separators has also been uncovered using the SSS.