Assessment of the relative importance of atmospheric aging on CCN activity derived from field observations

H Furutani, Manuel Dall'Osto, GC Roberts, KA Prather

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    85 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    The effect of atmospheric aging on the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity of atmospheric aerosols was studied by comparing different air masses with different degrees of aging along the southern coast of California over the Pacific Ocean during a research cruise on the R/V Roger Revelle from 2-19 November 2004. Activation diameters (D-act) were calculated using the measured CCN concentrations, condensation nuclei (CN) concentrations, and particle size distributions. Measurements of single particle size and chemistry, as well as black carbon (BC) concentrations with an aethalometer, were made to provide further insight into aerosol chemistry. A gradient of aerosol concentrations was encountered: along the coast of California, the highest BC and CN concentrations (1000-6000 ng m(-3) and 2000-15,000 cm(-3)) were measured which decreased as the ship moved away from shore to much lower values (
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)3130-3142
    Number of pages13
    JournalAtmospheric Environment
    Volume42
    Issue number13
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2008

    Keywords

    • ATOFMS
    • cloud condensation nuclei
    • atmospheric aerosol
    • atmospheric aging
    • single particle chemical composition

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