scholarly journals The analysis of size-segregated cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) data and its implications for cloud droplet activation

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 10285-10301 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Paramonov ◽  
P. P. Aalto ◽  
A. Asmi ◽  
N. Prisle ◽  
V.-M. Kerminen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Critical Diameter ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Ambient Aerosol ◽  
Cloud Processing ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Diurnal Patterns ◽  
Hygroscopic Properties ◽  
Boreal Environment

Abstract. Ambient aerosol, CCN (cloud condensation nuclei) and hygroscopic properties were measured with a size-segregated CCNC (cloud condensation nuclei counter) in a boreal environment of southern Finland at the SMEAR (Station for Measuring Ecosystem-Atmosphere Relations) II station. The instrumental setup operated at five levels of supersaturation S covering a range from 0.1–1% and measured particles with a size range of 20–300 nm; a total of 29 non-consecutive months of data are presented. The median critical diameter Dc ranged from 150 nm at S of 0.1% to 46 nm at S of 1.0%. The median aerosol hygroscopicity parameter κ ranged from 0.41 at S of 0.1% to 0.14 at S of 1.0%, indicating that ambient aerosol in Hyytiälä is less hygroscopic than the global continental or European continental averages. It is, however, more hygroscopic than the ambient aerosol in an Amazon rainforest, a European high Alpine site or a forested mountainous site. A fairly low hygroscopicity in Hyytiälä is likely a result of a large organic fraction present in the aerosol mass comparative to other locations within Europe. A considerable difference in particle hygroscopicity was found between particles smaller and larger than ~100 nm in diameter, possibly pointing out to the effect of cloud processing increasing κ of particles > 100 nm in diameter. The hygroscopicity of the smaller, ~50 nm particles did not change seasonally, whereas particles with a diameter of ~150 nm showed a decreased hygroscopicity in the summer, likely resulting from the increased VOC emissions of the surrounding boreal forest and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. For the most part, no diurnal patterns of aerosol hygroscopic properties were found. Exceptions to this were the weak diurnal patterns of small, ~50 nm particles in the spring and summer, when a peak in hygroscopicity around noon was observed. No difference in CCN activation and hygroscopic properties was found on days with or without atmospheric new particle formation. During all seasons, except summer, a CCN-inactive fraction was found to be present, rendering the aerosol of 75–300 nm in diameter as internally mixed in the summer and not internally mixed for the rest of the year.

scholarly journals The analysis of size-segregated cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) data and its implications for aerosol-cloud interactions

2013 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 9681-9731 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Paramonov ◽  
P. P. Aalto ◽  
A. Asmi ◽  
N. Prisle ◽  
V.-M. Kerminen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Critical Diameter ◽  
Ambient Aerosol ◽  
Cloud Processing ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Diurnal Patterns ◽  
Hygroscopic Properties ◽  
Aerosol Cloud Interactions ◽  
Boreal Environment ◽  
Aerosol Hygroscopicity

Abstract. Ambient aerosol, CCN and hygroscopic properties were measured with a size-segregated CCNC in a~boreal environment of Southern Finland at the SMEAR II station. The instrumental setup operated at five levels of supersaturation S covering a range from 0.1 to 1% and measured particles with a size range of 20–300 nm; a total of 29 non-consecutive months of data are presented. The median critical diameter Dc ranged from 150 nm at S of 0.1% to 46 nm at S of 1.0%. The median aerosol hygroscopicity parameter κ ranged from 0.41 at S of 0.1% to 0.14 at S of 1.0%, indicating that ambient aerosol in Hyytiälä is less hygroscopic than the global continental or European continental averages. It is, however, more hygroscopic than the ambient aerosol in an Amazon rainforest, a European high alpine site or a forested mountainous site. A fairly low hygroscopicity in Hyytiälä is likely a result of a large organic fraction present in the aerosol mass comparative to other locations within Europe. A considerable difference in particle hygroscopicity was found between particles smaller and larger than ~100 nm in diameter, possibly pointing out to the effect of cloud processing increasing κ of particles > 100 nm in diameter. The hygroscopicity of the smaller, ~50 nm particles did not change seasonally, whereas particles with a diameter of ~150 nm showed a decreased hygroscopicity in the summer, likely resulting from the increased VOC emissions of the surrounding boreal forest and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation. For the most part, no diurnal patterns of aerosol hygroscopic properties were found. Exceptions to this were the weak diurnal patterns of small, ~50 nm particles in the spring and summer, when a peak in hygroscopicity around noon was observed. No difference in CCN activation and hygroscopic properties was found on days with or without atmospheric new particle formation. During all seasons, except summer, a CCN-inactive fraction was found to be present, rendering the aerosol of 75–300 nm in diameter as internally mixed in the summer and not internally mixed for the rest of the year.

scholarly journals Intercomparison of modal and sectional aerosol microphysics representations within the same 3-D global chemical transport model

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 623-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. W. Mann ◽  
K. S. Carslaw ◽  
D. A. Ridley ◽  
D. V. Spracklen ◽  
K. J. Pringle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Size Distribution ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Particle Growth ◽  
Free Troposphere ◽  
Chemical Transport Model ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Chemistry Transport Model ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
Cloud Processing

Abstract. A global modal aerosol microphysics module (GLOMAP-mode) is evaluated and improved by comparing against a sectional version (GLOMAP-bin) and observations in the same 3-D global offline chemistry transport model. With both schemes, the model captures the main features of the global particle size distribution, with sub-micron aerosol approximately unimodal in continental regions and bi-modal in marine regions. Initial bin-mode comparisons showed that various size distribution parameter settings (mode widths and inter-modal separation sizes) resulted in clear biases compared to the sectional scheme. By adjusting these parameters in the modal scheme, much better agreement is achieved against the bin scheme and observations. Surface mass of sulphate, sea-salt, black carbon (BC) and organic carbon (OC) are, on the annual mean, within 25 % in the two schemes in nearly all regions. On the annual mean, surface level concentrations of condensation nuclei (CN), cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), surface area density and condensation sink also compare within 25 % in most regions. However, marine CCN concentrations between 30° N and 30° S are systematically higher in the modal scheme, by 25–60 %, which we attribute to differences in size-resolved particle growth or cloud-processing. Larger differences also exist in regions or seasons dominated by biomass burning and in free-troposphere and high-latitude regions. Indeed, in the free-troposphere, GLOMAP-mode BC is a factor 2–4 higher than GLOMAP-bin, likely due to differences in size-resolved scavenging. Nevertheless, in most parts of the atmosphere, we conclude that bin-mode differences are much less than model-observation differences, although some processes are missing in these runs which may pose a bigger challenge to modal schemes (e.g. boundary layer nucleation, ultra-fine sea-spray). The findings here underline the need for a spectrum of complexity in global models, with size-resolved aerosol properties predicted by modal schemes needing to be continually benchmarked and improved against freely evolving sectional schemes and observations.

scholarly journals Ship impacts on the marine atmosphere: insights into the contribution of shipping emissions to the properties of marine aerosol and clouds

2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 8439-8458 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. M. Coggon ◽  
A. Sorooshian ◽  
Z. Wang ◽  
A. R. Metcalf ◽  
A. A. Frossard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Marine Atmosphere ◽  
Marine Aerosol ◽  
Average Mass ◽  
Mass Spectral ◽  
Cloud Processing ◽  
Aerosol Mass ◽  
Water Ph ◽  
Aerosol Instrumentation

Abstract. We report properties of marine aerosol and clouds measured in the shipping lanes between Monterey Bay and San Francisco off the coast of Central California. Using a suite of aerosol instrumentation onboard the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft, these measurements represent a unique set of data contrasting the properties of clean and ship-impacted marine air masses in dry aerosol and cloud droplet residuals. Below-cloud aerosol exhibited average mass and number concentrations of 2 μg m−3 and 510 cm−3, respectively, which are consistent with previous studies performed off the coast of California. Enhancements in vanadium and cloud droplet number concentrations are observed concurrently with a decrease in cloud water pH, suggesting that periods of high aerosol loading are primarily linked to increased ship influence. Mass spectra from a compact time-of-flight Aerodyne aerosol mass spectrometer reveal an enhancement in the fraction of organic at m/z 42 (f42) and 99 (f99) in ship-impacted clouds. These ions are well correlated to each other (R2>0.64) both in and out of cloud and constitute 14% (f44) and 3% (f99) of organic mass during periods of enhanced sulfate. High-resolution mass spectral analysis of these masses from ship measurements suggests that the ions responsible for this variation were oxidized, possibly due to cloud processing. We propose that the organic fractions of these ions be used as a metric for determining the extent to which cloud-processed ship emissions impact the marine atmosphere where (f42 > 0.15; f99 > 0.04) would imply heavy influence from shipping emissions, (0.05 < f42 < 0.15; 0.01 < f99 < 0.04) would imply moderate, but persistent, influences from ships, and (f42 < 0.05; f99 < 0.01) would imply clean, non-ship-influenced air.

scholarly journals Remote sensing the vertical profile of cloud droplet effective radius, thermodynamic phase, and temperature

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (18) ◽  
pp. 9485-9501 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. V. Martins ◽  
A. Marshak ◽  
L. A. Remer ◽  
D. Rosenfeld ◽  
Y. J. Kaufman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Energy Balance ◽  
Brightness Temperature ◽  
Vertical Profile ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Cloud Microphysics ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Thermodynamic Phase

Abstract. Cloud-aerosol interaction is a key issue in the climate system, affecting the water cycle, the weather, and the total energy balance including the spatial and temporal distribution of latent heat release. Information on the vertical distribution of cloud droplet microphysics and thermodynamic phase as a function of temperature or height, can be correlated with details of the aerosol field to provide insight on how these particles are affecting cloud properties and their consequences to cloud lifetime, precipitation, water cycle, and general energy balance. Unfortunately, today's experimental methods still lack the observational tools that can characterize the true evolution of the cloud microphysical, spatial and temporal structure in the cloud droplet scale, and then link these characteristics to environmental factors and properties of the cloud condensation nuclei. Here we propose and demonstrate a new experimental approach (the cloud scanner instrument) that provides the microphysical information missed in current experiments and remote sensing options. Cloud scanner measurements can be performed from aircraft, ground, or satellite by scanning the side of the clouds from the base to the top, providing us with the unique opportunity of obtaining snapshots of the cloud droplet microphysical and thermodynamic states as a function of height and brightness temperature in clouds at several development stages. The brightness temperature profile of the cloud side can be directly associated with the thermodynamic phase of the droplets to provide information on the glaciation temperature as a function of different ambient conditions, aerosol concentration, and type. An aircraft prototype of the cloud scanner was built and flew in a field campaign in Brazil. The CLAIM-3D (3-Dimensional Cloud Aerosol Interaction Mission) satellite concept proposed here combines several techniques to simultaneously measure the vertical profile of cloud microphysics, thermodynamic phase, brightness temperature, and aerosol amount and type in the neighborhood of the clouds. The wide wavelength range, and the use of multi-angle polarization measurements proposed for this mission allow us to estimate the availability and characteristics of aerosol particles acting as cloud condensation nuclei, and their effects on the cloud microphysical structure. These results can provide unprecedented details on the response of cloud droplet microphysics to natural and anthropogenic aerosols in the size scale where the interaction really happens.

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.

scholarly journals Technical Note: Frenkel Halsey and Hill analysis of water on clay minerals: Toward closure between cloud condensation nuclei activity and water adsorption

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Courtney D. Hatch ◽  
Paul R. Tumminello ◽  
Megan A. Cassingham ◽  
Ann L. Greenaway ◽  
Rebecca Meredith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Adsorption ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Technical Note ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Adsorption Parameters ◽  
Climate Effect ◽  
Montmorillonite Clays ◽  
Activation Theory ◽  
Cloud Droplet Number Concentration

Abstract. Insoluble atmospheric aerosol, such as mineral dust, has been identified as an important contributor to the cloud droplet number concentration and indirect climate effect. However, empirically-derived Frenkel-Halsey-Hill (FHH) water adsorption parameters remain the largest source of uncertainty in assessing the effect of insoluble aerosol on climate using the FHH activation theory (FHH-AT). Furthermore, previously reported FHH water adsorption parameters for illite and montmorillonite determined from water adsorption measurements below 100 % RH do not satisfactorily agree with values determined from FHH-AT analysis of experimental cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) measurements under supersaturated conditions. The work reported here uses previously reported experimental water adsorption measurements for illite and montmorillonite clays (Hatch et al., 2012; Hatch et al., 2014) to show that improved analysis methods that account for the surface microstructure are necessary to obtain better agreement of FHH parameters between water adsorption and experimental CCN-derived FHH parameters.

Shipboard Measurements of Aerosol Properties in the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere System of the Northwest Tropical Atlantic

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tim Bates ◽  
Patricia Quinn
Keyword(s):  
Solar Radiation ◽  
Marine Boundary Layer ◽  
Cloud Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Cloud Droplet ◽  
Lower Atmosphere ◽  
Radiation Balance ◽  
Tropical Atlantic ◽  
Shallow Convection ◽  
Condensation Nuclei ◽  
Aerosol Properties

&lt;p&gt;The fair-weather cumulus clouds, that cover much of the low-latitude oceans, affect the radiation balance of the planet by reflecting incoming solar radiation and absorbing outgoing longwave radiation.&amp;#160; These clouds also drive atmospheric circulation by mixing the lower atmosphere in a process called shallow convection.&amp;#160; This mixing, in turn, affects sea surface temperature and salinity by moderating the air-sea exchange of energy and moisture.&amp;#160; Marine boundary layer (MBL) atmospheric aerosols play a role in the processes described above by scattering and absorbing solar radiation and by serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) thereby influencing cloud droplet concentrations and size; the extent, lifetime, and albedo of clouds; and the frequency and intensity of precipitation. Quantifying the role of aerosols over the Northwest Tropical Atlantic is critical to advance understanding of shallow convection and air-sea interactions.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;MBL aerosol properties were measured aboard the RV Ronald H. Brown during the EUREC4A and ATOMIC field studies in January/February 2020.&amp;#160; Aerosols encountered during the study include background sulfate/sea spray particles and African dust/biomass burning particles.&amp;#160; Aerosol physical, chemical, optical and cloud condensation nuclei properties will be presented and their interaction with local and regional circulation.&lt;/p&gt;

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