scholarly journals Modeling sea-salt aerosol in a coupled climate and sectional microphysical model: mass, optical depth and number concentration

2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. 24499-24561 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Fan ◽  
O. B. Toon

Abstract. Sea-salt aerosol mass, optical depth, and number concentration over the global oceans have significant implications for aerosol direct and indirect climate effects. We modeled sea-salt aerosol in a coupled climate and sectional microphysical model, CAM/CARMA, with aerosol dynamics including sea salt emission, gravitational sedimentation, dry deposition, wet scavenging, and particle swelling. We aimed at finding an integrated sea salt source function parameterization in the global climate model to simultaneously represent mass, optical depth, and number concentration. Each of these quantities is sensitive to a different part of the aerosol size distribution, which requires a size resolved microphysical model to treat properly. The CMS source function introduced in the research, based upon several earlier source functions, reproduced measurements of mass, optical depth and number concentration as well as the size distribution better than other source function choices we tried. However, as we note, it is also important to properly set the removal rate of the particles. The source function and removal rate are coupled in producing observed abundances. We find that sea-salt mass and optical depth peak in the winter, when winds are highest. However, surprisingly, particle numbers and CCN concentrations peak in summer when rainfall is lowest. The quadratic dependence of sea salt optical depth on wind speed, observed by some, is well represented in the model. We also found good agreement with the wind speed dependency of the number concentration at the measurement location and the regional scale. The work is the basis for further investigation of the effects of sea-salt aerosol on climate and atmospheric chemistry.

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4587-4610 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Fan ◽  
O. B. Toon

Abstract. Sea-salt aerosol mass, optical depth, and number concentration over the global oceans have significant implications for aerosol direct and indirect climate effects. We model sea-salt aerosol in a coupled climate and sectional microphysical model, CAM/CARMA, with aerosol dynamics including sea-salt emission, gravitational sedimentation, dry deposition, wet scavenging, and hygroscopic growth. We aim to find an integrated sea-salt source function parameterization in the global climate model to simultaneously represent mass, optical depth, and number concentration. Each of these quantities is sensitive to a different part of the aerosol size distribution, which requires a size resolved microphysical model to treat properly. The CMS source function introduced in this research, based upon several earlier source functions, reproduces measurements of mass, optical depth and number concentration as well as the size distribution better than other source function choices we tried. However, as we note, it is also important to properly set the removal rate of the particles. The source function and removal rate are coupled in producing observed abundances. We find that sea salt mass and optical depth peak in the winter, when winds are highest. However, surprisingly, particle numbers and CCN concentrations peak in summer when rainfall is lowest. The quadratic dependence of sea-salt optical depth on wind speed, observed by some, is well represented in the model. We also find good agreement with the wind speed dependency of the number concentration at the measurement location and the regional scale. The work is the basis for further investigation of the effects of sea-salt aerosol on climate and atmospheric chemistry.


2010 ◽  
Vol 10 (13) ◽  
pp. 5943-5950 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Huang ◽  
G. E. Thomas ◽  
R. G. Grainger

Abstract. The effect of wind speed on aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 0.55 μm over remote ocean regions is investigated. Remote ocean regions are defined by the combination of AOD from satellite observation and wind direction from ECMWF. According to our definition, many ocean regions cannot be taken as remote ocean regions due to long-range transportation of aerosol from continents. Highly correlated linear relationships are found in remote ocean regions with a wind speed range of 0–20 ms−1. The enhancement of AOD at high wind speed is explained as the increase of sea salt aerosol production.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 24511-24529 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Huang ◽  
G. E. Thomas ◽  
R. G. Grainger

Abstract. The effect of wind speed on aerosol optical depth (AOD) at 550 nm over remote ocean regions is investigated. Remote ocean regions are defined by the combination of AOD from satellite observation and wind direction from ECMWF. According to our definition, many oceanic regions cannot be taken as remote ocean regions due to long-range transportation of aerosols from continents. Highly correlated linear relationships are found in remote ocean regions with a wind speed range of 4–20 ms−1. The enhancement of AOD at high wind speed is explained as the increase of sea salt aerosol production.


Author(s):  
Chung Taing ◽  
Katherine L. Ackerman ◽  
Alison D. Nugent ◽  
Jorgen B. Jensen

AbstractSea salt aerosol(s) (SSA) play a significant role in the atmosphere through aerosol direct and indirect effects, and in atmospheric chemistry as a source of tropospheric bromine. In-situ measurements of coarse-mode SSA particles are limited because of their low concentration and relatively large sizes (dry radius, rd > 0.5 μm). With this in mind, a new, low-cost, easily usable method for sampling coarse-mode SSA particles in the marine boundary layer was developed. A SSA particle sampler that uses an impaction method was designed and built using 3D printing and Arduino microcontrollers and sensors. It exposes polycarbonate slides to ambient airflow remotely on a kite-based platform to capture coarse-mode SSA particles. Because it is a smaller version of the Giant Nucleus Impactor (GNI), designed for use on aircraft, it is named the miniature-Giant Nucleus Impactor, or “mini-GNI”. After sample collection, the same optical microscope methodology utilized by the GNI was used to analyze the wetted salt particles that impacted onto the slides. In this proof-of-concept study, multiple mini-GNIs were attached serially to a kite string, allowing for sampling at multiple altitudes simultaneously. The robustness of the results from this new instrument and methodology for sampling at ambient RH (~ 75 %) the SSA particle size distribution with rd > 3.3 μ m are compared with a similar study. We find that the SSA particle number concentration decreases weakly with altitude and shows no correlation to instantaneous U10 wind speed along the windward coastline of O‘ ahu in the Hawaiian Islands.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (21) ◽  
pp. 12283-12313 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Lupascu ◽  
R. Easter ◽  
R. Zaveri ◽  
M. Shrivastava ◽  
M. Pekour ◽  
...  

Abstract. Accurate representation of the aerosol lifecycle requires adequate modeling of the particle number concentration and size distribution in addition to their mass, which is often the focus of aerosol modeling studies. This paper compares particle number concentrations and size distributions as predicted by three empirical nucleation parameterizations in the Weather Research and Forecast coupled with chemistry (WRF-Chem) regional model using 20 discrete size bins ranging from 1 nm to 10 μm. Two of the parameterizations are based on H2SO4, while one is based on both H2SO4 and organic vapors. Budget diagnostic terms for transport, dry deposition, emissions, condensational growth, nucleation, and coagulation of aerosol particles have been added to the model and are used to analyze the differences in how the new particle formation parameterizations influence the evolving aerosol size distribution. The simulations are evaluated using measurements collected at surface sites and from a research aircraft during the Carbonaceous Aerosol and Radiative Effects Study (CARES) conducted in the vicinity of Sacramento, California. While all three parameterizations captured the temporal variation of the size distribution during observed nucleation events as well as the spatial variability in aerosol number, all overestimated by up to a factor of 2.5 the total particle number concentration for particle diameters greater than 10 nm. Using the budget diagnostic terms, we demonstrate that the combined H2SO4 and low-volatility organic vapor parameterization leads to a different diurnal variability of new particle formation and growth to larger sizes compared to the parameterizations based on only H2SO4. At the CARES urban ground site, peak nucleation rates are predicted to occur around 12:00 Pacific (local) standard time (PST) for the H2SO4 parameterizations, whereas the highest rates were predicted at 08:00 and 16:00 PST when low-volatility organic gases are included in the parameterization. This can be explained by higher anthropogenic emissions of organic vapors at these times as well as lower boundary-layer heights that reduce vertical mixing. The higher nucleation rates in the H2SO4-organic parameterization at these times were largely offset by losses due to coagulation. Despite the different budget terms for ultrafine particles, the 10–40 nm diameter particle number concentrations from all three parameterizations increased from 10:00 to 14:00 PST and then decreased later in the afternoon, consistent with changes in the observed size and number distribution. We found that newly formed particles could explain up to 20–30 % of predicted cloud condensation nuclei at 0.5 % supersaturation, depending on location and the specific nucleation parameterization. A sensitivity simulation using 12 discrete size bins ranging from 1 nm to 10 μm diameter gave a reasonable estimate of particle number and size distribution compared to the 20 size bin simulation, while reducing the associated computational cost by ~ 36 %.


Toxics ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jolanda Palmisani ◽  
Alessia Di Gilio ◽  
Laura Palmieri ◽  
Carmelo Abenavoli ◽  
Marco Famele ◽  
...  

The present study aims to evaluate the impact of e-cig second-hand aerosol on indoor air quality in terms of ultrafine particles (UFPs) and potential inhalation exposure levels of passive bystanders. E-cig second-hand aerosol characteristics in terms of UFPs number concentration and size distribution exhaled by two volunteers vaping 15 different e-liquids inside a 49 m3 room and comparison with tobacco smoke are discussed. High temporal resolution measurements were performed under natural ventilation conditions to simulate a realistic exposure scenario. Results showed a systematic increase in UFPs number concentration (part cm−3) related to a 20-min vaping session (from 6.56 × 103 to 4.01 × 104 part cm−3), although this was one up to two order of magnitude lower than that produced by one tobacco cigarette consumption (from 1.12 × 105 to 1.46 × 105 part cm−3). E-cig second-hand aerosol size distribution exhibits a bimodal behavior with modes at 10.8 and 29.4 nm in contrast with the unimodal typical size distribution of tobacco smoke with peak mode at 100 nm. In the size range 6–26 nm, particles concentration in e-cig second-hand aerosol were from 2- (Dp = 25.5 nm) to 3800-fold (Dp = 9.31 nm) higher than in tobacco smoke highlighting that particles exhaled by users and potentially inhaled by bystanders are nano-sized with high penetration capacity into human airways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (11) ◽  
pp. 7839-7857
Author(s):  
Lianet Hernández Pardo ◽  
Luiz Augusto Toledo Machado ◽  
Micael Amore Cecchini ◽  
Madeleine Sánchez Gácita

Abstract. This work uses the number concentration-effective diameter phase-space to test cloud sensitivity to variations in the aerosol population characteristics, such as the aerosol size distribution, number concentration and hygroscopicity. It is based on the information from the top of a cloud simulated by a bin-microphysics single-column model, for initial conditions typical of the Amazon, using different assumptions regarding the entrainment and the aerosol size distribution. It is shown that the cloud-top evolution can be very sensitive to aerosol properties, but the relative importance of each parameter is variable. The sensitivity to each aerosol characteristic varies as a function of the parameter tested and is conditioned by the base values of the other parameters, showing a specific dependence for each configuration of the model. When both the entrainment and the bin treatment of the aerosol are allowed, the largest influence on the droplet size distribution sensitivity was obtained for the median radius of the aerosols and not for the total number concentration of aerosols. Our results reinforce that the cloud condensation nuclei activity can not be predicted solely on the basis of the w∕Na supersaturation-based regimes.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Genrik Mordas ◽  
Nina Prokopciuk ◽  
Steigvilė Byčenkienė ◽  
Jelena Andriejauskienė ◽  
Vidmantas Ulevicius

Applications of satellite remote sensing data combined with ground measurements and model simulation were applied to study aerosol optical properties as well as aerosol long-range transport under the impact of large scale circulation in the urban environment in Lithuania (Vilnius). Measurements included the light scattering coefficients at 3 wavelengths (450, 550, and 700 nm) measured with an integrating nephelometer and aerosol particle size distribution (0.5–12 μm) and number concentration (Dpa> 0.5 μm) registered by aerodynamic particle sizer. Particle number concentration and mean light scattering coefficient varied from relatively low values of 6.0 cm−3and 12.8 Mm−1associated with air masses passed over Atlantic Ocean to relatively high value of 119 cm−3and 276 Mm−1associated with South-Western air masses. Analysis shows such increase in the aerosol light scattering coefficient (276 Mm−1) during the 3rd of July 2012 was attributed to a major Sahara dust storm. Aerosol size distribution with pronounced coarse particles dominance was attributed to the presence of dust particles, while resuspended dust within the urban environment was not observed.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (13) ◽  
pp. 4261-4278 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. I. Kleinman ◽  
S. R. Springston ◽  
J. Wang ◽  
P. H. Daum ◽  
Y.-N. Lee ◽  
...  

Abstract. As part of the MILAGRO field campaign, the DOE G-1 aircraft was used to make measurements over and downwind of Mexico City with the objective of determining growth characteristics of aerosols from a megacity urban source. This study focuses on number concentration and size distributions. It is found that a 5-fold increase in aerosol volume is accompanied by about a 5-fold increase in accumulation mode number concentration. There is growth in aerosol volume because there are more accumulation mode particles, not because of an increase in the average size of accumulation particles. Condensation and volume growth laws were examined to see whether either is consistent with observations. Condensation calculations show that the growth of Aitken mode particles into the accumulation mode size range gives the required increase in number concentration. There are minimal changes in the accumulation mode size distribution with age, consistent with observations. Volume-growth in contrast yields a population of large particles, distinctly different from what is observed. Detailed model calculations are required to translate our observations into specific information on the volatility and properties of secondary organic aerosol.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 221-230 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Irshad ◽  
R. G. Grainger ◽  
D. M. Peters ◽  
R. A. McPheat ◽  
K. M. Smith ◽  
...  

Abstract. The extinction spectra of laboratory generated sea salt aerosols have been measured from 1 μm to 20 μm using a Bruker 66v/S FTIR spectrometer. Concomitant measurements include temperature, pressure, relative humidity and the aerosol size distribution. The refractive indices of the sea salt aerosol have been determined using a simple harmonic oscillator band model (Thomas et al., 2004) for aerosol with relative humidities at eight different values between 0.4% to 86%. The resulting refractive index spectra show significant discrepancies when compared to existing sea salt refractive indices calculated using volume mixing rules (Shettle and Fenn, 1979). Specifically, an additional band is found in the refractive indices of dry sea salt aerosol and the new data shows increased values of refractive index at almost all wavelengths. This implies that the volume mixing rules, currently used to calculate the refractive indices of wet sea salt aerosols, are inadequate. Furthermore, the existing data for the real and imaginary parts of the refractive indices of dry sea salt aerosol are found not to display the Kramers-Kronig relationship. This implies that the original data used for the volume mixing calculations is also inaccurate.


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