scholarly journals Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from fresh and aged air pollution in the megacity region of Beijing

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (21) ◽  
pp. 11023-11039 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. S. Gunthe ◽  
D. Rose ◽  
H. Su ◽  
R. M. Garland ◽  
P. Achtert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Dependence ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Average Particle ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Mass Fractions

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are key elements of the hydrological cycle and climate. CCN properties were measured and characterized during the CAREBeijing-2006 campaign at a regional site south of the megacity of Beijing, China. Size-resolved CCN efficiency spectra recorded for a supersaturation range of S=0.07% to 0.86% yielded average activation diameters in the range of 190 nm to 45 nm. The corresponding effective hygroscopicity parameters (κ) exhibited a strong size dependence ranging from ~0.25 in the Aitken size range to ~0.45 in the accumulation size range. The campaign average value (κ =0.3 ± 0.1) was similar to the values observed and modeled for other populated continental regions. The hygroscopicity parameters derived from the CCN measurements were consistent with chemical composition data recorded by an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and thermo-optical measurements of apparent elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC). The CCN hygroscopicity and its size dependence could be parameterized as a function of only AMS based organic and inorganic mass fractions (forg, finorg) using the simple mixing rule κp ≈ 0.1 · forg + 0.7 · finorg. When the measured air masses originated from the north and passed rapidly over the center of Beijing (fresh city pollution), the average particle hygroscopicity was reduced (κ = 0.2 ± 0.1), which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions of organic compounds (~50%) and EC (~30%) in the fine particulate matter (PM1). Moreover, substantial fractions of externally mixed weakly CCN-active particles were observed at low supersaturation (S=0.07%), which can be explained by the presence of freshly emitted soot particles with very low hygroscopicity (κ < 0.1). Particles in stagnant air from the industrialized region south of Beijing (aged regional pollution) were on average larger and more hygroscopic, which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions (~60%) of soluble inorganic ions (mostly sulfate, ammonium, and nitrate). Accordingly, the number concentration of CCN in aged air from the megacity region was higher than in fresh city outflow ((2.5–9.9) × 103 cm−3 vs. (0.4–8.3) × 103 cm−3 for S=0.07–0.86%) although the total aerosol particle number concentration was lower (1.2 × 104 cm−3 vs. 2.3 × 104 cm−3). A comparison with related studies suggests that the fresh outflow from Chinese urban centers generally may contain more, but smaller and less hygroscopic aerosol particles and thus fewer CCN than the aged outflow from megacity regions.

scholarly journals Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from fresh and aged air pollution in the megacity region of Beijing

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 9959-9997
Author(s):  
S. S. Gunthe ◽  
D. Rose ◽  
H. Su ◽  
R. M. Garland ◽  
P. Achtert ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Dependence ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Optical Measurements ◽  
Average Particle ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Mass Fractions

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are key elements of the hydrological cycle and climate. CCN properties were measured and characterized during the CAREBeijing-2006 campaign at a regional site south of the megacity of Beijing, China. Size-resolved CCN efficiency spectra recorded for a supersaturation range of S = 0.07% to 0.86% yielded average activation diameters in the range of 190 nm to 45 nm. The corresponding effective hygroscopicity parameters (κ) exhibited a strong size dependence ranging from ~0.25 in the Aitken size range to ~0.45 in the accumulation size range. The campaign average value (κ = 0.3 ± 0.1) was similar to the values observed and modeled for other populated continental regions. The hygroscopicity parameters derived from the CCN measurements were consistent with chemical composition data recorded by an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and thermo-optical measurements of apparent elemental and organic carbon (ECa and OC). The CCN hygroscopicity and its size dependence could be parameterized as a function of AMS based organic and inorganic mass fractions using the simple mixing rule κ p ≈ 0.1 · forg + 0.7 · finorg. When the measured air masses originated from the north and passed rapidly over the center of Beijing (fresh city pollution), the average particle hygroscopicity was reduced (κ = 0.2 ± 0.1), which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions of organic compounds (~50%) and ECa (~30%) in the fine particulate matter (PM1). Moreover, substantial fractions of externally mixed weakly CCN-active particles were observed at low supersaturation (S = 0.07%), which can be explained by the presence of freshly emitted soot particles with very low hygroscopicity (κ<0.1). Particles in stagnant air from the industrialized region south of Beijing (aged regional pollution) were on average larger and more hygroscopic, which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions (~60%) of soluble inorganic ions (mostly sulfate, ammonium, and nitrate). Accordingly, the number concentration of CCN in aged air from the megacity region was higher than in fresh city outflow ((2.5–9.9) × 103 cm−3 vs. (0.4–8.3) × 103 cm−3) although the total aerosol particle number concentration was lower (1.2 × 104 cm−3 vs. 2.3 × 104 cm−3). A comparison with related studies suggests that the fresh outflow from Chinese urban centers generally may contain more, but smaller and less hygroscopic aerosol particles and thus fewer CCN than the aged outflow from megacity regions.

scholarly journals Cloud activation properties of aerosol particles in a continental Central European urban environment

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (14) ◽  
pp. 11289-11302
Author(s):  
Imre Salma ◽  
Wanda Thén ◽  
Máté Vörösmarty ◽  
András Zénó Gyöngyösi
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Particle Number ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Urban Aerosol ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Frequency Distributions ◽  
Remote Locations ◽  
Cloud Activation

Abstract. Collocated measurements using a condensation particle counter, differential mobility particle sizer and cloud condensation nuclei counter were realised in parallel in central Budapest from 15 April 2019 to 14 April 2020 to gain insight into the cloud activation properties of urban aerosol particles. The median total particle number concentration was 10.1 × 103 cm−3. The median concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) at water vapour supersaturation (S) values of 0.1 %, 0.2 %, 0.3 %, 0.5 % and 1.0 % were 0.59, 1.09, 1.39, 1.80 and 2.5 × 103 cm−3, respectively. The CCN concentrations represented 7–27 % of all particles. The CCN concentrations were considerably larger but the activation fractions were systematically substantially smaller than observed in regional or remote locations. The effective critical dry particle diameters (dc,eff) were derived utilising the CCN concentrations and particle number size distributions. Their median values at the five supersaturation values considered were 207, 149, 126, 105 and 80 nm, respectively; all of these diameters were positioned within the accumulation mode of the typical particle number size distribution. Their frequency distributions revealed a single peak for which the geometric standard deviation increased monotonically with S. This broadening indicated high time variability in the activating properties of smaller particles. The frequency distributions also showed fine structure, with several compositional elements that seemed to reveal a consistent or monotonical tendency with S. The relationships between the critical S and dc,eff suggest that urban aerosol particles in Budapest with diameters larger than approximately 130 nm showed similar hydroscopicity to corresponding continental aerosol particles, whereas smaller particles in Budapest were less hygroscopic than corresponding continental aerosol particles. Only modest seasonal cycling in CCN concentrations and activation fractions was seen, and only for large S values. This cycling likely reflects changes in the number concentration, chemical composition and mixing state of the particles. The seasonal dependencies of dc,eff were featureless, indicating that the droplet activation properties of the urban particles remained more or less the same throughout the year. This is again different from what is seen in non-urban locations. Hygroscopicity parameters (κ values) were computed without determining the time-dependent chemical composition of the particles. The median values for κ were 0.15, 0.10, 0.07, 0.04 and 0.02, respectively, at the five supersaturation values considered. The averages suggested that the larger particles were considerably more hygroscopic than the smaller particles. We found that the κ values for the urban aerosol were substantially smaller than those previously reported for aerosols in regional or remote locations. All of these characteristics can be linked to the specific source composition of particles in cities. The relatively large variability in the hygroscopicity parameters for a given S emphasises that the individual values represent the CCN population in ambient air while the average hygroscopicity parameter mainly corresponds to particles with sizes close to the effective critical dry particle diameter.

scholarly journals Characterization of aerosol properties at Cyprus, focusing on cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianda Gong ◽  
Heike Wex ◽  
Thomas Müller ◽  
Alfred Wiedensohler ◽  
Kristina Höhler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Range ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Particle Surface ◽  
Active Surface ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Particle Surface Area ◽  
Temperature Range ◽  
Order Of Magnitude

Abstract. As part of the A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, lifetime and dynamics) campaign, ground-based measurements were carried out in Paphos, Cyprus, for characterizing the abundance, properties and sources of aerosol particles in general, and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles (INP), in particular. New particle formation (NPF) events with subsequent growth of the particles into the CCN size range were observed. Aitken mode particles featured κ values of 0.21 to 0.29, indicating the presence of organic materials. Accumulation mode particles featured a higher hygroscopicity parameter, with a median κ value of 0.57, suggesting the presence of sulfate. A clear downward trend of κ with increasing supersaturation and decreasing dcrit was found. Super-micron particles originated mainly from sea spray aerosol (SSA) and partly from mineral dust. INP concentrations (NINP) were measured in the temperature range from −6.5 to −26.5 ℃, using two freezing array type instruments. NINP at a particular temperature span around 1 order of magnitude below −20 ℃, and about 2 orders of magnitude at warmer temperatures (T > −18 ℃). Few samples showed elevated concentrations at temperatures > −15 ℃, which suggests a significant contribution of biological particles to the INP population, which possibly could originate from Cyprus. Both measured temperature spectra and NINP probability density functions (PDFs) indicate that the observed INP (ice active in the temperature range between −15 and −20 ℃) mainly originate from long-range transport. There was no correlation between NINP and particle number concentration in the size range > 500 nm (N> 500 nm). Parameterizations based on N> 500 nm were found to overestimate NINP by about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. There was also no correlation between NINP and particle surface area concentration. The ice active surface site density (ns) for the anthropogenically polluted aerosol encountered in this study is about 1 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than the ns found for dust aerosol particles in previous studies. This suggests that observed NINP-PDFs as those derived here could be a better choice for modelling NINP if the aerosol particle composition is unknown or uncertain.

scholarly journals Cloud condensation nuclei in polluted air and biomass burning smoke near the mega-city Guangzhou, China – Part 1: Size-resolved measurements and implications for the modeling of aerosol particle hygroscopicity and CCN activity

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 17343-17392 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Rose ◽  
A. Nowak ◽  
P. Achtert ◽  
A. Wiedensohler ◽  
M. Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Aerosol Particle ◽  
Biomass Burning ◽  
Particle Number ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Particle Number Concentration ◽  
Average Value ◽  
Ccn Activity

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are key elements of the hydrological cycle and climate, but their abundance, properties and sources are highly variable and not well known. We have measured and characterized CCN in polluted air and biomass burning smoke during the PRIDE-PRD2006 campaign on 1–30 July 2006 at a rural site ~60 km northwest of the mega-city Guangzhou in southeastern China. CCN efficiency spectra (activated fraction vs. dry particle diameter; 20–300 nm) were recorded at water vapor supersaturations (S) in the range of 0.07% to 1.27%. Depending on S, the dry CCN activation diameters were in the range of 30–200 nm, corresponding to effective hygroscopicity parameters κ in the range of 0.1–0.5. The hygroscopicity of particles in the accumulation size range was generally higher than that of particles in the nucleation and Aitken size range. The campaign average value of κ for all aerosol particles across the investigated size range was 0.3, which equals the average value of κ for other continental locations. During a strong local biomass burning event, the activation diameters increased by ~10% and the average value of κ dropped to 0.2, which can be considered as characteristic for freshly emitted smoke from the burning of agricultural waste. At low S (≤0.27%), the maximum activated fraction remained generally well below one, which indicates substantial proportions of externally mixed CCN-inactive particles with much lower hygroscopicity – most likely soot particles (up to ~60% at ~250 nm). The mean CCN number concentrations (NCCN,S) ranged from 1100 cm−3 at S=0.07% to 16 000 cm−3 at S=1.27%, representing ~7% to ~85% of the total aerosol particle number concentration. Based on the measurement data, we have tested different model approaches (power laws and κ-Köhler model) for the approximation/prediction of NCCN,S as a function of water vapor supersaturation, aerosol particle number concentration, size distribution and hygroscopicity. Depending on S and on the model approach, the relative deviations between measured and predicted NCCN,S ranged from a few percent to several hundred percent. The largest deviations occurred at low S and with power laws based on particle number concentration. With the κ-Köhler model and a constant hygroscopicity parameter of 0.3, the deviations were on average less than ~20%, which confirms that κ=0.3 may be suitable for approximating the hygroscopicity and CCN activity of continental aerosols in large scale models of the atmosphere and climate. On the other hand, the temporal variations of NCCN,S observed during the biomass burning event and in diurnal cycles could not be captured with constant κ (deviations up to ~80%). With variable κ values obtained from individual CCN efficiency spectra, the relative deviations were on average less than ~10% and hardly exceeded 20%, confirming the applicability of the κ-Köhler model approach for efficient description of the CCN activity of atmospheric aerosols. Note, however, that different types of κ-parameters have to be distinguished for external mixtures of CCN-active and -inactive aerosol particles.

A Method for Forecasting Cloud Condensation Nuclei Using Predictions of Aerosol Physical and Chemical Properties from WRF/Chem

2011 ◽  
Vol 50 (7) ◽  
pp. 1601-1615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Ward ◽  
William Cotton
Keyword(s):  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Atmospheric Modeling ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Field Campaign ◽  
Physical And Chemical

AbstractModel investigations of aerosol–cloud interactions across spatial scales are necessary to advance basic understanding of aerosol impacts on climate and the hydrological cycle. Yet these interactions are complex, involving numerous physical and chemical processes. Models capable of combining aerosol dynamics and chemistry with detailed cloud microphysics are recent developments. In this study, predictions of aerosol characteristics from the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF/Chem) are integrated into the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System microphysics package to form the basis of a coupled model that is capable of predicting the evolution of atmospheric aerosols from gas-phase emissions to droplet activation. The new integrated system is evaluated against measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from a land-based field campaign and an aircraft-based field campaign in Colorado. The model results show the ability to capture vertical variations in CCN number concentration within an anthropogenic pollution plume. In a remote continental location the model-forecast CCN number concentration exhibits a positive bias that is attributable in part to an overprediction of the aerosol hygroscopicity that results from an underprediction in the organic aerosol mass fraction. In general, the new system for predicting CCN from forecast aerosol fields improves on the existing scheme in which aerosol quantities were user prescribed.

Polen and spores as cloud condensation nuclei: results from a laboratory experiment

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Casans ◽  
Fernando Rejano ◽  
Soledad Ruiz-Peñuela ◽  
Juan Andrés Casquero-Vera ◽  
Hassan Lyamani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Geophysical Research ◽  
Sem Images ◽  
Pollen Types ◽  
Pollen And Spores ◽  
Biological Aerosol Particles

&lt;p&gt;Aerosol particles play an important role in physical and chemical processes that occur in the atmosphere. On the one hand, these particles are able to modify atmospheric optical properties, causing a significant impact on Earth&amp;#8217;s energy balance, and consequently their presence is fundamental on the global climate. On the other hand, aerosol particles act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nuclei (IN); making them an essential part of the hydrological cycle.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Atmospheric aerosols can be grouped into two categories depending on their origin: natural or anthropogenic. In our study, we put the focus on atmospheric aerosols of natural origin, in particular on primary biological aerosol particles (PBAPs) such as pollen and spores. These biogenic particles are released in large quantities from terrestrial vegetation into the atmosphere, where they can be transported up to 100-1000 km. Due to their large size (between 10-100 &amp;#181;m pollen grains and 2-10 &amp;#181;m spores) their residence time in the atmosphere is short. For this reason, they are not climate relevant compared to other components in the atmosphere. However, under moist and high humidity conditions or mechanical processes these biological aerosol particles can break into smaller particles known as sub-pollen particles (SPP) and sub-spores particles (SSP). Each pollen grain can rupture releasing a large quantity of these type of sub-particles (10&lt;sup&gt;6&lt;/sup&gt;). Wozniak et al. (2018) estimated that, for clean background conditions, high SPPs concentrations can suppress average seasonal precipitation by 32% and shift rates from heavy to light while increasing dry days.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;In this study, we have investigated the ability of various pollen and spores types to break into sub-particles and be activated as CCN. To this end we used a CCN counter (CCN-100, DMT) coupled with a Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS, TSI) to select SPPs and SSPs of 50, 100 and 200 nm. The results show that not all pollen types have the same activation properties, with critical supersaturations varying between species and particle size. Additionally, SEM images have been performed to confirm the rupture of pollen and spores particles into SPPs and SSPs, respectively. Chemical composition of the different species have been investigated as well.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;#160;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;References:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Wozniak,M. C., Solmon, F., &amp; Steiner, A. L. (2018). Pollen rupture and its impact on precipitation in clean continental conditions. Geophysical Research Letters, 45, 7156&amp;#8211;7164. https://doi.org/10.1029/2018GL077692&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Acknowledgments: This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through projects CGL2016-81092-R, CGL2017-90884REDT and RTI2018.101154.A.I00, by Junta de Andaluc&amp;#237;a, UGR and FEDER funds through project B-RNM-474-UGR18 and B-RNM-496-UGR18 and by University of Granada Plan Propio through Visiting Scholars program. Andrea Casans is funded by MINECO under predoctoral program FPI (PRE2019-090827). Thanks to the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory for providing the CCN counter.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Characterization of aerosol properties at Cyprus, focusing on cloud condensation nuclei and ice-nucleating particles

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (16) ◽  
pp. 10883-10900 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianda Gong ◽  
Heike Wex ◽  
Thomas Müller ◽  
Alfred Wiedensohler ◽  
Kristina Höhler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Range ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
Particle Surface ◽  
Active Surface ◽  
Measured Temperature ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Particle Surface Area ◽  
Temperature Range

Abstract. As part of the A-LIFE (Absorbing aerosol layers in a changing climate: aging, LIFEtime and dynamics) campaign, ground-based measurements were carried out in Paphos, Cyprus, to characterize the abundance, properties, and sources of aerosol particles in general and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INP) in particular. New particle formation (NPF) events with subsequent growth of the particles into the CCN size range were observed. Aitken mode particles featured κ values of 0.21 to 0.29, indicating the presence of organic materials. Accumulation mode particles featured a higher hygroscopicity parameter, with a median κ value of 0.57, suggesting the presence of sulfate and maybe sea salt particles mixed with organic carbon. A clear downward trend of κ with increasing supersaturation and decreasing dcrit was found. Super-micron particles originated mainly from sea-spray aerosol (SSA) and partly from mineral dust. INP concentrations (NINP) were measured in the temperature range from −6.5 to −26.5 ∘C, using two freezing array-type instruments. NINP at a particular temperature span around 1 order of magnitude below −20 ∘C and about 2 orders of magnitude at warmer temperatures (T>-18 ∘C). Few samples showed elevated concentrations at temperatures >-15 ∘C, which suggests a significant contribution of biological particles to the INP population, which possibly could originate from Cyprus. Both measured temperature spectra and NINP probability density functions (PDFs) indicate that the observed INP (ice active in the temperature range between −15 and −20 ∘C) mainly originate from long-range transport. There was no correlation between NINP and particle number concentration in the size range >500 nm (N>500 nm). Parameterizations based on N>500 nm were found to overestimate NINP by about 1 to 2 orders of magnitude. There was also no correlation between NINP and particle surface area concentration. The ice active surface site density (ns) for the polluted aerosol encountered in the eastern Mediterranean in this study is about 1 to 3 orders of magnitude lower than the ns found for dust aerosol particles in previous studies. This suggests that observed NINP PDFs such as those derived here could be a better choice for modeling NINP if the aerosol particle composition is unknown or uncertain.

scholarly journals Aerosol hygroscopicity and CCN activity obtained from a combination analysis based on size-resolved CCN and aerosol chemical composition observations during the AC<sup>3</sup>Exp13 campaign

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 14889-14931 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Zhang ◽  
Z. Li ◽  
R. J. Li ◽  
L. Sun ◽  
C. Zhao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Size Range ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Particles ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Long Term Observation ◽  
Aerosol Hygroscopicity ◽  
Ccn Activity ◽  
Aerosol Chemical Composition

Abstract. Aerosol hygroscopicity and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity under clean conditions and polluted events are investigated based on size-resolved CCN and aerosol chemical composition observations during the Aerosol-CCN-Cloud Closure Experiment (AC3Exp) campaign conducted at Xianghe, China in summer 2013. About 14–22% of aerosol particles during the campaign are of externally mixed CCN-inactive particles that cannot serve as CCN under atmospheric typical supersaturation (SS) of ∼0.4%. A high sensitivity of Maximum activation fractions (MAF) to SS under polluted conditions has been observed. The pollutants can cause a maximum MAF decrease of 25–30% (at SS = 0.08%). Hygroscopicity parameter kappa (κ) are about 16–35% lower under polluted conditions than under clean conditions for particles in accumulation size range (80–180 nm); however, for particles in nucleation or Aitken size range (30–60 nm), κ is slightly higher under polluted conditions. A non-parallel observation (NPO) CCN closure study shows low correlation coefficient between estimated and observed CCN number concentrations (NCCN). About 30–40% uncertainties in NCCN prediction are associated with the changes of particle composition. A case study shows that CCN activation ratio (AR) increased with the increase of condensation nuclei (CN) number concentrations (NCN) in relatively clean days. In the case, AR exhibited good correlation with κchem, which is calculated from chemical volume fractions, due to particles mainly composed of soluble inorganics. On the contrary, AR declined with increase of NCN during polluted events when particles composed mostly of organics. Meanwhile, AR is closely related to f44, which is the fraction of total organic mass signal at m/z 44 and closely associated with particle organic oxidation level. Our study highlights the importance of aerosols chemical composition on determining the activation properties of aerosol particles, underlining the importance of long-term observation of CCN under different atmospheric environments, especially those with heavy pollution and high CN number concentrations.

scholarly journals Measured and modelled cloud condensation nuclei number concentration at the high alpine site Jungfraujoch

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (16) ◽  
pp. 7891-7906 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Jurányi ◽  
M. Gysel ◽  
E. Weingartner ◽  
P. F. DeCarlo ◽  
L. Kammermann ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Hydrological Cycle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Sensitivity Study ◽  
Research Station ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Composition Data ◽  
Particle Mobility ◽  
Kohler Theory ◽  
Highly Correlated

Abstract. Atmospheric aerosol particles are able to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and are therefore important for the climate and the hydrological cycle, but their properties are not fully understood. Total CCN number concentrations at 10 different supersaturations in the range of SS=0.12–1.18% were measured in May 2008 at the remote high alpine research station, Jungfraujoch, Switzerland (3580 m a.s.l.). In this paper, we present a closure study between measured and predicted CCN number concentrations. CCN predictions were done using dry number size distribution (scanning particle mobility sizer, SMPS) and bulk chemical composition data (aerosol mass spectrometer, AMS, and multi-angle absorption photometer, MAAP) in a simplified Köhler theory. The predicted and the measured CCN number concentrations agree very well and are highly correlated. A sensitivity study showed that the temporal variability of the chemical composition at the Jungfraujoch can be neglected for a reliable CCN prediction, whereas it is important to know the mean chemical composition. The exact bias introduced by using a too low or too high hygroscopicity parameter for CCN prediction was further quantified and shown to be substantial for the lowest supersaturation. Despite the high average organic mass fraction (~45%) in the fine mode, there was no indication that the surface tension was substantially reduced at the point of CCN activation. A comparison between hygroscopicity tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA), AMS/MAAP, and CCN derived κ values showed that HTDMA measurements can be used to determine particle hygroscopicity required for CCN predictions if no suitable chemical composition data are available.

scholarly journals Hygroscopic properties and cloud condensation nuclei activity of atmospheric aerosols under the influences of Asian continental outflow and new particle formation at a coastal site in eastern Asia

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (10) ◽  
pp. 5911-5922 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hing Cho Cheung ◽  
Charles Chung-Kuang Chou ◽  
Celine Siu Lan Lee ◽  
Wei-Chen Kuo ◽  
Shuenn-Chin Chang
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Particle Formation ◽  
Number Concentration ◽  
Pollution Sources ◽  
New Particle Formation ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Air Masses ◽  
Hygroscopic Properties ◽  
Aerosol Hygroscopicity

Abstract. The chemical composition of fine particulate matter (PM2.5), the size distribution and number concentration of aerosol particles (NCN), and the number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN) were measured at the northern tip of Taiwan during an intensive observation experiment from April 2017 to March 2018. The parameters of aerosol hygroscopicity (i.e., activation ratio, activation diameter and kappa of CCN) were retrieved from the measurements. Significant variations were found in the hygroscopicity of aerosols (kappa – κ – of 0.18–0.56, for water vapor supersaturation – SS – of 0.12 %–0.80 %), which were subject to various pollution sources, including aged air pollutants originating in eastern and northern China and transported by the Asian continental outflows and fresh particles emitted from local sources and distributed by land–sea breeze circulations as well as produced by processes of new particle formation (NPF). Cluster analysis was applied to the back trajectories of air masses to investigate their respective source regions. The results showed that aerosols associated with Asian continental outflows were characterized by lower NCN and NCCN values and by higher kappa values of CCN, whereas higher NCN and NCCN values with lower kappa values of CCN were observed in the aerosols associated with local air masses. Besides, it was revealed that the kappa value of CCN exhibited a decrease during the early stage of an event of new particle formation, which turned to an increasing trend over the later period. The distinct features in the hygroscopicity of aerosols were found to be consistent with the characteristics in the chemical composition of PM2.5. This study has depicted a clear seasonal characteristic of hygroscopicity and CCN activity under the influence of a complex mixture of pollutants from different regional and/or local pollution sources. Nevertheless, the mixing state and chemical composition of the aerosols critically influence the aerosol hygroscopicity, and further investigations are necessary to elucidate the atmospheric processing involved in the CCN activation in coastal areas.

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