The Spatial Distribution and Size Evolution of Particles in Asian Outflow: The Significance of Primary and Secondary Aerosol during ACE-Asia and TRACE-P
Abstract
During March and April of 2001 NASA conducted the Transport and Chemical Evolution over the Pacific experiment (TRACE-P) and the NSF conducted the Asian Pacific Regional Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE-Asia). On March 18th NASA's P3-B aircraft intercepted an urban plume off the coast of China. From April 11th - 13th the NCAR/NSF C-130 aircraft sampled dust and urban aerosols associated with a passing cold front over a broad spatial extent. Using the University of Hawai`i thermally resolved Differential Mobility Analyzers (DMAs) and laser Optical Particle Counters (OPCs) aerosol size distributions were evaluated between 0.007μm and 20μm aboard both aircraft. These distributions show nucleation mode aerosols (Dp < 40nm) throughout the marine boundary layer (MBL) over several degrees of latitude and longitude during the April 11-13th event. Flights into the Yellow Sea and north and south of Kyushu Japan suggest that secondary aerosol formation occurred within the MBL most likely by gas to particle conversion shortly after sunrise. The presence of substantial concentrations of ammonium in the accumulation mode aerosol and partial neutralization of the nucleation mode aerosol suggest that the newly formed particles were created by a ternary rather than binary homogeneous nucleation mechanism involving H2SO4-H2O-NH3. Evidence for the evolution of the nucleation mode aerosol was observed throughout the day despite dry ambient aerosol surface area of 400 to 800 μm2/cm3. Estimates for the flux rate of sulfuric acid to the full size distribution were calculated at ~1.0\times106 molecules/cm3/sec based on the growth rate of the nucleation mode. These calculated values are the same order of magnitude as production rates of H2SO4 observed at the same location during the TRACE-P campaign. This presentation highlights the observations from the ACE-Asia and TRACE-P field campaigns during the dust storm event and analyzes the survival of these recently formed particles as they move out over the Pacific Ocean.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2002
- Bibcode:
- 2002AGUFM.A11A0053M
- Keywords:
-
- 0305 Aerosols and particles (0345;
- 4801);
- 0345 Pollution: urban and regional (0305);
- 1610 Atmosphere (0315;
- 0325);
- 4801 Aerosols (0305);
- 9320 Asia