On the competition among aerosol number, size and composition in predicting CCN variability: a multi-annual field study in an urbanized desert

Impacts of the aerosol mixing state and new particle formation on CCN in summer at the summit of Mount Tai (1534m) in Central East China

In this study, the aerosol size distributions, cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentration (NCCN), single-particle chemical composition and meteorological data were collected from May 12 to June 8, 2017, at the summit of Mt. Tai. The effects of new particle formation (NPF) events and aerosol chemical components on CCN at Mt. Tai were analyzed in detail. The results showed that, NPF events significantly enhanced the CCN population, and the enhancement effect increased with increasing supersaturation (SS) value at Mt.Tai. NCCN at SS ranging from 0.1 to 0.9 % on NPF days was 10.9 %, 36.5 %, 44.6 %, 53.5 % and 51.5 % higher than that on non-NPF days from 10:00-13:00 as NPF events progressed. The effect of chemical components on CCN activation under the influence of NPF events was greater than that in the absence of NPF events. The correlation coefficients of EC-Nitrate particles (EC-Sulfate particles) and CCN at all SS levels on NPF days were 1.31-1.59 times (1.17-1.35 times) higher than those on non-NPF days. Nitrate particles promoted CCN activation but sulfate particles inhibited activation at Mt. Tai. There are differences or even opposite effects of the same group of particles on CCN activation under the influence of NPF events in different air masses. EC-Sulfate particles inhibited CCN activation at all SS levels for type I but weakly promoted activation at lower SS ranging from 0.1 to 0.3 % and weakly inhibited it at higher 0.9 % SS for type II. OCEC particles significantly inhibited CCN activation for type II, and this effect decreased with increasing SS. OCEC particles only weakly inhibited activation at SS ranging from 0.5 to 0.7 % for type I. OCEC particles only weakly inhibited this process at 0.1 % SS, while they very weakly promoted activation for SS > 0.1 %. This reveals that the CCN activity is not only related to the chemical composition of the particles, but the mixing state also has an important effect on the CCN activity.

Impact of urban aerosols on the cloud condensation activity using a clustering model

The indirect effect of aerosols on climate through aerosol-cloud-interactions is still highly uncertain and limits our ability to assess anthropogenic climate change. The foundation of this uncertainty is in the number of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which itself mainly stems from uncertainty in aerosol sources and how particles evolve to become effective CCN. We analyze particle number size distribution (PNSD) and CCN measurements from an urban site in a two-step method: (1) we use an unsupervised clustering model to classify the main aerosol categories and processes occurring in the urban atmosphere and (2) we explore the influence of the identified aerosol populations on the CCN properties. According to the physical properties of each cluster, its diurnal timing, and additional air quality parameters, the clusters are grouped into five main aerosol categories: nucleation, growth, traffic, aged traffic, and urban background. The results show that, despite aged traffic and urban background categories are those with lower total particle number concentrations (N_tot) these categories are the most efficient sources in terms of contribution to the overall CCN budget with activation fractions (AF) around 0.5 at 0.75 % supersaturation (SS). By contrast, road traffic is an important aerosol source with the highest frequency of occurrence (32 %) and relatively high N_tot, however, its impact in the CCN activity is very limited likely due to lower particle mean diameter and hydrophobic chemical composition. Similarly, nucleation and growth categories, associated to new particle formation (NPF) events, present large N_tot with large frequency of occurrence (22 % and 28 %, respectively) but the CCN concentration for these categories is about half of the CCN concentration observed for the aged traffic category, which is associated with their small size. Overall, our results show that direct influence of traffic emissions on the CCN budget is limited, however, when these particles undergo ageing processes, they have a significant influence on the CCN concentrations and may be an important CCN source. Thus, aged traffic particles could be transported to other environments where clouds form, triggering a plausible indirect effect of traffic emissions on aerosol-cloud interactions and consequently contributing to climate change.

Extreme Aerosol Events at Mesa Verde, Colorado: Implications for Air Quality Management

A significant concern for public health and visibility is airborne particulate matter, especially during extreme events. Of most relevance for health, air quality, and climate is the role of fine aerosol particles, specifically particulate matter with aerodynamic diameters less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5). The purpose of this study was to examine PM2.5 extreme events between 1989 and 2018 at Mesa Verde, Colorado using Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) monitoring data. Extreme events were identified as those with PM2.5 on a given day exceeding the 90th percentile value for that given month. We examine the weekly, monthly, and interannual trends in the number of extreme events at Mesa Verde, in addition to identifying the sources of the extreme events with the aid of the Navy Aerosol Analysis and Prediction (NAAPS) aerosol model. Four sources were used in the classification scheme: Asian dust, non-Asian dust, smoke, and “other”. Our results show that extreme PM2.5 events in the spring are driven mostly by the dust categories, whereas summertime events are influenced largely by smoke. The colder winter months have more influence from “other” sources that are thought to be largely anthropogenic in nature. No weekly cycle was observed for the number of events due to each source; however, interannual analysis shows that the relative amount of dust and smoke events compared to “other” events have increased in the last decade, especially smoke since 2008. The results of this work indicate that, to minimize and mitigate the effects of extreme PM2.5 events in the southwestern Colorado area, it is important to focus mainly on smoke and dust forecasting in the spring and summer months. Wintertime extreme events may be easier to regulate as they derive more from anthropogenic pollutants accumulating in shallow boundary layers in stagnant conditions.

Impact of various air mass types on cloud condensation nuclei concentrations along coastal southeast Florida

Coastal southeast Florida experiences a wide range of aerosol conditions, including African dust, biomass burning (BB) aerosols, as well as sea salt and other locally-emitted aerosols. These aerosols are important sources of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which play an essential role in governing cloud radiative properties. As marine environments dominate the surface of Earth, CCN characteristics in coastal southeast Florida have broad implications for other regions with the added feature that this site is perturbed by both natural and anthropogenic emissions. This study investigates the influence of different air mass types on CCN concentrations at 0.2% (CCN_0.2%) and 1.0% (CCN_1.0%) supersaturation (SS) based on ground site measurements during selected months in 2013, 2017, and 2018. Average CCN_0.2% and CCN_1.0% concentrations were 373 ± 200 cm^-3 and 584 ± 323 cm^-3, respectively, for four selected days with minimal presence of African dust and BB (i.e., background days). CCN concentrations were not elevated on the four days with highest influence of African dust (289 ± 104 cm^-3 [0.2% SS] and 591 ± 302 cm^-3 [1.0% SS]), consistent with high dust mass concentrations comprised of coarse particles that are few in number. In contrast, CCN concentrations were substantially enhanced on the five days with the greatest impact from BB (1408 ± 976 cm^-3 [0.2% SS] and 3337 ± 1252 cm^-3 [1.0% SS]). Ratios of CCN_0.2%:CCN_1.0% were used to compare the hygroscopicity of the aerosols associated with African dust, BB, and background days. Average ratios were similar for days impacted by African dust and BB (0.54 ± 0.17 and 0.55 ± 0.17, respectively). A 29% higher average ratio was observed on background days (0.71 ± 0.14), owing in part to a strong presence of sea salt and reduced presence of more hydrophobic species such as those of a carbonaceous or mineral-dust nature. Finally, periods of heavy rainfall were shown to effectively decrease both CCN_0.2% and CCN_1.0% concentrations. However, the rate varied at which such concentrations increased after the rain. This work contributes knowledge on the nucleating ability of African dust and BB in a marine environment after varying periods of atmospheric transport (days to weeks). The results can be used to understand the hygroscopicity of these air mass types, predict how they may influence cloud properties, and provide a valuable model constraint when predicting CCN concentrations in comparable situations.

Activation properties of aerosol particles as cloud condensation nuclei at urban and high-altitude remote sites in southern Europe

Understanding the activation properties of aerosol particles as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) is important for the climate and hydrological cycle, but their properties are not fully understood. In this study, the CCN activation properties of aerosols are investigated at two different sites in southern Spain: an urban background station in Granada and a high altitude mountain station in the Sierra Nevada National Park, with a horizontal separation of 21 km and vertical separation of 1820 m. CCN activity at the urban environment is driven by primary sources, mainly road traffic. Maximum CCN concentrations occurred during traffic rush hours, although this is also when the activation fraction is lowest. This is due to the characteristics of the rush hour aerosol consisting of ultrafine and less hygroscopic particles. In contrast, the mountain site exhibited larger and more hygroscopic particles, with CCN activity driven by the joint effect of new particle formation (NPF) and vertical transport of anthropogenic particles from Granada urban area by orographic buoyant upward flow. This led to the maximum concentrations of CCN and aerosol particles occurring at midday at the mountain site. Clear differences in the diurnal evolution of CCN between NPF events and non-event days were observed at the Sierra Nevada station, demonstrating the large contribution of NPF to CCN concentrations, especially at high supersaturations. The isolated contribution of NPF to CCN concentration has been estimated to be 175% higher at SS = 0.5% relative to what it would be without NPF. We conclude that NPF could be the major source of CCN at this mountain site. Finally, two empirical models were used to parameterize CCN concentration in terms of aerosol optical or physical parameters. The models can explain measurements satisfactorily at the urban station. At the mountain site both models cannot reproduce satisfactorily the observations at low SS.

An Overview of Atmospheric Features Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean and North American East Coast - Part 1: Analysis of Aerosols, Gases, and Wet Deposition Chemistry

The Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) and adjoining East Coast of North America are of great importance for atmospheric research and have been extensively studied for several decades. This broad region exhibits complex meteorological features and a wide range of conditions associated with gas and particulate species from many sources regionally and other continents. As Part 1 of a 2-part paper series, this work characterizes quantities associated with atmospheric chemistry, including gases, aerosols, and wet deposition, by analyzing available satellite observations, ground-based data, model simulations, and reanalysis products. Part 2 provides insight into the atmospheric circulation, boundary layer variability, three-dimensional cloud structure, properties, and precipitation over the WNAO domain. Key results include spatial and seasonal differences in composition along the North American East Coast and over the WNAO associated with varying sources of smoke and dust and meteorological drivers such as temperature, moisture, and precipitation. Spatial and seasonal variations of tropospheric carbon monoxide and ozone highlight different pathways toward the accumulation of these species in the troposphere. Spatial distributions of speciated aerosol optical depth and vertical profiles of aerosol mass mixing ratios show a clear seasonal cycle highlighting the influence of different sources in addition to the impact of intercontinental transport. Analysis of long-term climate model simulations of aerosol species and satellite observations of carbon monoxide confirm that there has been a significant decline in recent decades among anthropogenic constituents owing to regulatory activities.

Sub micron aerosol variability and its ageing process at a high altitude site in India: Impact of meteorological conditions

The effect of relative humidity and temperature on the submicron aerosol variability and its ageing process was studied over a high altitude site, Mahabaleshwar in south-west India. The mass composition of non-refractory particulate matter of 1 μm (NR-PM₁) size was obtained using Time of Flight Aerosol Chemical Speciation Monitor (ToF-ACSM) along with the measurements on a few trace gases during winter (December 2017-February 2018) and summer season (20th March - 5th May 2018). Sulfate exhibited strong dependence on the relative humidity (RH) as its mass fraction increased with the increase in RH. The Sulfate oxidation ratio (SOR) calculated during summer season also showed an increasing trend with RH indicating the influence of aqueous phase oxidation on sulfate fraction. On the other hand, OOA showed remarkable enhancement in its mass fraction with the increase in temperature along with the corresponding increase in f₄₄ and tropospheric ozone. OOA, ozone and f₄₄ ratio increased 14-34%, 8-26% and 25-43% respectively with the increase in temperature from 18 to 30 °C. This is indicative of the dominance of photochemical ageing processes during high temperature conditions. The extent of photochemical ageing was found to be higher during summer season (mean temperature ∼25.4 ± 2.6 °C) as compared to winter season (mean temperature ∼20.5 ± 2.6 °C). The nitrate diurnal was majorly governed by gas to particle partitioning process during winter season, whereas the summertime nitrate diurnal was influenced primarily by its formation rate. The non parametric wind regression analysis revealed that the mass concentration during winter was majorly contributed by distant sources from north east direction while during summer the local sources were more dominant.

Differences in fine particle chemical composition on clear and cloudy days

Clouds are prevalent and alter PM_2.5 mass and chemical composition. Cloud-affected satellite retrievals are often removed from data products, hindering estimates of tropospheric chemical composition during cloudy times. We examine surface fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) chemical constituent concentrations in the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environments network during Cloudy and Clear Sky times defined using Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) cloud flags from 2010-2014 with a focus on differences in particle hygroscopicity and aerosol liquid water (ALW). Cloudy and Clear Sky periods exhibit significant differences in PM_2.5 and chemical composition that vary regionally and seasonally. In the eastern US, relative humidity alone cannot explain differences in ALW, suggesting emissions and in situ chemistry exert determining impacts. An implicit clear sky bias may hinder efforts to quantitatively to understand and improve model representation of aerosol-cloud interactions.

Influence of pollutants on activity of aerosol cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) during pollution and post-rain periods in Guangzhou, southern China

Atmospheric pollutions have an important impact on aerosol, condensation nuclei (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) loadings near the ground through disturbing particle size, number, chemical composition and reactions, mixing state, hygroscopicity, and so on. Aerosols and CCN were measured in urban Guangzhou during pollution and post-rain periods to examine effects of particulate pollutants on aerosol CCN activity and compare their mechanisms between summer and winter. In contrast with different levels of pollutions, particle matter (PM_2.5) and number (CN) and CCN almost showed an opposite trend to aerosol activity (CCN/CN). In summer, new particle formation (NPF) events triggered by photochemical reactions (e.g. O₃) always occurred in no-pollution daytime, and increased significantly CN and CCN as a dominant contributor to secondary aerosols. Under pollution conditions, the gas-to-particle transition driven by photochemical reactions guided the formation and aging processes of particles in daytime, especially in changing soluble species, whereas atmospheric oxidation and heterogeneous reactions dominated at night. In winter, stagnant weather conditions, high pollutant levels and relatively high RH were in favor of particle growing and aging through enhancing secondary particle formation and heterogeneous reactions. The wet scavenging of precipitation reduced greatly CCN amount by scouring pre-existing particles in winter, and during post-rain period the photochemical reactions did not promote the burst of secondary particle formation in the absence of ozone, compared with summer. The results may provide insights into the relationship between aerosol moisture absorption and pollution that may be useful for improving air quality.

Submicron particle number doses in the human respiratory tract: implications for urban traffic and background environments

The deposition of ambient submicron particles in the different parts of the human respiratory tract (HRT) was, for the first time, estimated for males and females from different age classes (children-adults-seniors) of urban population in the city of Thessaloniki, northern Greece, during the cold and the warm period of the year. Outdoor daily and hourly particle number doses in the different regions of the HRT, i.e., the extra-thoracic (ET), tracheobronchial (TB), and the acinar (AC) regions, were calculated by employing the Multiple-Path Particle Dosimetry (MPPD) model. Because of the absence of information being available for the hygroscopic properties of particles, three different particle hygroscopicity scenarios were considered: (i) non-hygroscopic (i.e., raw model estimations), (ii) nearly hydrophobic, and (iii) hygroscopic particles. When hygroscopic properties were considered, we found a remarkable reduction (up to ~ 55%) in the estimated total particle number doses in comparison to the non-hygroscopic particle scenario. Furthermore, we found that the size distribution pattern of the particle doses within the different parts of the HRT was strongly affected by particles' hygroscopic properties with the non-hygroscopic particle scenario significantly overestimating the particle doses in the sub-100-nm range, while underestimating the doses of larger particles. On the contrary, the deposition density appeared to be negligibly affected by the particles' hygroscopic properties, implying the existence of a possible threshold in the number of particles deposited per airway surface area. Similarly, the lobar particle number deposition fraction was unaffected by the hygroscopic properties of particles, as well as the ambient particle size distribution and the individuals' physiological parameters. The total particle number deposition doses estimated here are within the range of the corresponding values reported for other urban environments. It is hoped that our findings could contribute to better understanding of submicron particle exposure and add to the development of more sufficient methods to evaluate the related health impacts.

Opposite Aerosol Index-Cloud Droplet Effective Radius Correlations Over Major Industrial Regions and Their Adjacent Oceans

The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) C6 L3 and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) ERA-Interim reanalysis data from 2003 to 2016 are employed to study aerosol-cloud correlations over three industrial regions and their adjacent oceans, as well as explore the impact of meteorological conditions on the correlations. The analysis focusing on liquid and single-layer clouds indicates an opposite aerosol-cloud correlation between land and ocean; namely, cloud effective radius is positively correlated with aerosol index over industrial regions (positive slopes), but negatively correlated over their adjacent oceans (negative slopes), for a quasi-constant liquid water path. The positive slopes are relatively large under low lower-tropospheric stability (LTS; weakly stable condition), but much weaker or even become negative under high LTS (stable conditions) and high liquid water path. The occurrence frequency of cloud top height (CTH) and LTS suggests that positive correlations are more likely corresponding to relatively high CTH and low LTS, while negative to low CTH and high LTS.

Comparison of aerosol and cloud condensation nuclei between wet and dry seasons in Guangzhou, southern China

Cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), condensation nuclei (CN) and aerosol chemical composition were measured simultaneously at an urban site of Guangzhou from July to August 2015 and in January 2016, and the seasonal variations of aerosol activated fractions (N_CCN/N_CN) as well as their relevant influence factors were further studied accordingly. N_CN is generally higher in winter (dry season), whereas N_CCN and N_CCN/N_CN are mostly higher in summer (wet season) instead. In particular, N_CCN and N_CCN/N_CN are much lower at smaller supersaturation levels (SS<0.2) in winter. In spite of similar diurnal variations for N_CCN and N_CN, N_CCN/N_CN indicates an opposite tendency, relatively lower at midday, dusk and before midnight. Other than the size of particles as well as their chemical composition, some other factors, such as mass, gas precursors, pollutant transportation, meteorological conditions, etc., also contribute to the variations of N_CCN and N_CCN/N_CN. Particles from the local source or local-oceanic combination source cast influence on CN and CCN significantly, while the pollutants originating from and crossing over distant polluted areas contribute largely to CCN/CN. N_CN and N_CCN are relatively higher under pollution-free conditions in summertime and polluted conditions in wintertime, but N_CCN/N_CN is just the opposite. On various polluted conditions, aerosol CCN activities are greatly discrepant between summer and winter, especially during mist or heavy haze periods. The results imply that anthropogenic pollutants exert critical impacts on aerosol CCN activation.

Ambient observations of sub-1.0 hygroscopic growth factor and f(RH) values: Case studies from surface and airborne measurements

This study reports on the first set of ambient observations of sub-1.0 hygroscopicity values (i.e., growth factor, ratio of humidified-to-dry diameter, GF=D _p,wet /D _p,dry and f(RH), ratio of humidified-to-dry scattering coefficients, less than 1) with consistency across different instruments, regions, and platforms. We utilized data from (i) a shipboard humidified tandem differential mobility analyzer (HTDMA) during Eastern Pacific Emitted Aerosol Cloud Experiment (E-PEACE) in 2011, (ii) multiple instruments on the DC-8 aircraft during Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC⁴RS) in 2013, as well as (iii) the Differential Aerosol Sizing and Hygroscopicity Spectrometer Probe (DASH-SP) during measurement intensives during Summer 2014 and Winter 2015 in Tucson, Arizona. Sub-1.0 GFs were observed across the range of relative humidity (RH) investigated (75-95%), and did not show a RH-dependent trend in value below 1.0 or frequency of occurrence. A commonality between suppressed hygroscopicity in these experiments, including sub-1.0 GF, was the presence of smoke. Evidence of externally mixed aerosol, and thus multiple GFs, was observed during smoke periods resulting in at least one mode with GF < 1. Time periods during which the DASH-SP detected externally mixed aerosol coincide with sub-1.0 f(RH) observations. Mechanisms responsible for sub-1.0 hygroscopicity are discussed and include refractive index (RI) modifications due to aqueous processing, particle restructuring, and volatilization effects. To further investigate ambient observations of sub-1.0 GFs, f(RH), and particle restructuring, modifying hygroscopicity instruments with pre-humidification modules is recommended.

Hygroscopic Properties and Respiratory System Deposition Behavior of Particulate Matter Emitted By Mining and Smelting Operations

This study examines size-resolved physicochemical data for particles sampled near mining and smelting operations and a background urban site in Arizona with a focus on how hygroscopic growth impacts particle deposition behavior. Particles with aerodynamic diameters between 0.056-18 μm were collected at three sites: (i) an active smelter operation in Hayden, AZ, (ii) a legacy mining site with extensive mine tailings in Iron King, AZ, and (iii) an urban site, inner-city Tucson, AZ. Mass size distributions of As and Pb exhibit bimodal profiles with a dominant peak between 0.32 and 0.56 μm and a smaller mode in the coarse range (>3 μm). The hygroscopicity profile did not exhibit the same peaks owing to dependence on other chemical constituents. Submicrometer particles were generally more hygroscopic than supermicrometer ones at all three sites with finite water-uptake ability at all sites and particle sizes examined. Model calculations at a relative humidity of 99.5% reveal significant respiratory system particle deposition enhancements at sizes with the largest concentrations of toxic contaminants. Between dry diameters of 0.32 and 0.56 μm, for instance, ICRP and MPPD models predict deposition fraction enhancements of 171%-261% and 33%-63%, respectively, at the three sites.

Simulation of particle diversity and mixing state over Greater Paris: a model-measurement inter-comparison

Air quality models are used to simulate and forecast pollutant concentrations, from continental scales to regional and urban scales. These models usually assume that particles are internally mixed, i.e. particles of the same size have the same chemical composition, which may vary in space and time. Although this assumption may be realistic for continental-scale simulations, where particles originating from different sources have undergone sufficient mixing to achieve a common chemical composition for a given model grid cell and time, it may not be valid for urban-scale simulations, where particles from different sources interact on shorter time scales. To investigate the role of the mixing state assumption on the formation of particles, a size-composition resolved aerosol model (SCRAM) was developed and coupled to the Polyphemus air quality platform. Two simulations, one with the internal mixing hypothesis and another with the external mixing hypothesis, have been carried out for the period 15 January to 11 February 2010, when the MEGAPOLI winter field measurement campaign took place in Paris. The simulated bulk concentrations of chemical species and the concentrations of individual particle classes are compared with the observations of Healy et al. (Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2013, 13, 9479-9496) for the same period. The single particle diversity and the mixing-state index are computed based on the approach developed by Riemer et al. (Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2013, 13, 11423-11439), and they are compared to the measurement-based analyses of Healy et al. (Atmos. Chem. Phys., 2014, 14, 6289-6299). The average value of the single particle diversity, which represents the average number of species within each particle, is consistent between simulation and measurement (2.91 and 2.79 respectively). Furthermore, the average value of the mixing-state index is also well represented in the simulation (69% against 59% from the measurements). The spatial distribution of the mixing-state index shows that the particles are not mixed in urban areas, while they are well mixed in rural areas. This indicates that the assumption of internal mixing traditionally used in transport chemistry models is well suited to rural areas, but this assumption is less realistic for urban areas close to emission sources.

Chemical characterization of carbonaceous carbon from industrial and semi urban site of eastern India

Rigorous campaign was carried out from July 2013 to June 2014 at the remote and industrial site (Adityapur and Seraikela Kharsawan) in the eastern India aiming to identify and quantify the changes of aerosol chemical composition in the presence of industrial and biomass burning influence. The 24-h PM10 filter samples were analyzed by mass, carbonaceous species, organic ions. The results suggested that the average PM10 concentrations were 165 ± 43.93, 141 ± 30.86 μg/m(3) in industrial and remote site respectively. Secondary organic ions (SOC) were the dominant pollutants of PM10. Total carbon was a significant component explaining above 15 % of PM10. The annual average mass concentration of EC, OC, WSOC 26.39 ± 4.56, 5.11 ± 1.82, 18.56 ± 5.30 and 16.27 ± 5.75, 7.70 ± 2.1, 9.65 ± 1.92 µg/m(3), OC/EC, WSOC/OC 5.29 ± 1.08, 0.71 ± 0.17 and 2.34 ± 0.75, 0.67 ± 0.16) of industrial and remote site were respectively; and OC/EC particularly in industrial site it reached the highest 5.29 ± 1.08 which demonstrated that SOC should be a significant composition of PM10. The mass fraction of the highlighted species varies seasonally, resulting the air mass trajectories and corresponding cause severe strength. Based on exact mass concentration ratios of EC/OC, WSOC/OC, we predicted that industries and biofuel/biomass burning are a major source of atmospheric aerosols in the eastern part of India. This study provides the scientific baseline data of carbonaceous aerosols for eastern Jharkhand, India.

Characterization and parameterization of aerosol cloud condensation nuclei activation under different pollution conditions

To better understand the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation capacity of aerosol particles in different pollution conditions, a long-term field experiment was carried out at a regional GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station in the Yangtze River Delta area of China. The homogeneity of aerosol particles was the highest in clean weather, with the highest active fraction of all the weather types. For pollution with the same visibility, the residual aerosol particles in higher relative humidity weather conditions were more externally mixed and heterogeneous, with a lower hygroscopic capacity. The hygroscopic capacity (κ) of organic aerosols can be classified into 0.1 and 0.2 in different weather types. The particles at ~150 nm were easily activated in haze weather conditions. For CCN predictions, the bulk chemical composition method was closer to observations at low supersaturations (≤0.1%), whereas when the supersaturation was ≥0.2%, the size-resolved chemical composition method was more accurate. As for the mixing state of the aerosol particles, in haze, heavy haze, and severe haze weather conditions CCN predictions based on the internal mixing assumption were robust, whereas for other weather conditions, predictions based on the external mixing assumption were more accurate.

Decreasing Aerosol Loading in the North American Monsoon Region

We examine the spatio-temporal variability of aerosol loading in the recent decade (2005–2014) over the North American Monsoon (NAM) region. Emerging patterns are characterized using aerosol optical depth (AOD) retrievals from the NASA Terra/Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instrument along with a suite of satellite retrievals of atmospheric and land-surface properties. We selected 20 aerosol hotspots and classified them into fire, anthropogenic, dust, and NAM alley clusters based on the dominant driver influencing aerosol variability. We then analyzed multivariate statistics of associated anomalies during pre-, monsoon, and post-monsoon periods. Our results show a decrease in aerosol loading for the entire NAM region, confirming previous reports of a declining AOD trend over the continental United States. This is evident during pre-monsoon and monsoon for fire and anthropogenic clusters, which are associated with a decrease in the lower and upper quartile of fire counts and carbon monoxide, respectively. The overall pattern is obfuscated in the NAM alley, especially during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons. While the NAM alley is mostly affected by monsoon precipitation, the frequent occurrence of dust storms in the area modulates this trend. We find that aerosol loading in the dust cluster is associated with observed vegetation index and has only slightly decreased in the recent decade.

Dimethylamine as a major alkyl amine species in particles and cloud water: Observations in semi-arid and coastal regions

Aerosol and cloud water measurements of dimethylamine (DMA), the most abundant amine in this study, were conducted in semi-arid (Tucson, Arizona) and marine (Nucleation in California Experiment, NiCE; central coast of California) areas. In both regions, DMA exhibits a unimodal aerosol mass size distribution with a dominant peak between 0.18 and 0.56 μm. Particulate DMA concentrations increase as a function of marine biogenic emissions, sulfate, BVOC emissions, and aerosol-phase water. Such data supports biogenic sources of DMA, aminium salt formation, and partitioning of DMA to condensed phases. DMA concentrations exhibit positive correlations with various trace elements and most especially vanadium, which warrants additional investigation. Cloud water DMA levels are enhanced significantly during wildfire periods unlike particulate DMA levels, including in droplet residual particles, due to effective dissolution of DMA into cloud water and probably DMA volatilization after drop evaporation. DMA:NH⁺₄ molar ratios peak between 0.18 and 1.0 μm depending on the site and time of year, suggesting that DMA competes better with NH₃ in those sizes in terms of reactive uptake by particles.