Aerosol Size Distribution, Composition, and Hygroscopicity Measurements During CSTRIPE Using an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer and a Dual Differential Mobility Analyzer

During July 2003, the CIRPAS Twin Otter aircraft was deployed in the CSTRIPE (Coastal STRatocumulus Imposed Perturbation Experiment) field experiment in order to quantify the effects of aerosols on the microphysics and dynamics of marine stratocumulus clouds. In order to characterize the effects of different aerosol types on stratocumulus clouds, various air masses were sampled, including local fire plumes, pollution over the San Joaquin valley, unperturbed marine stratocumulus clouds, and stratocumulus clouds perturbed by seeding flares. Some research flights were also dedicated to characterize the seeding flares in the clear sky. Measurements of aerosol mass distribution and composition, using an Aerodyne Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (AMS), and size distribution and hygroscopic behavior, using a Dual Differential Mobility Analyzer (Dual DMA) with one column at dry conditions and another at a relative humidity of approximately 70 percent, will be presented here. During a number of in-cloud sampling periods, the Counter-flow Virtual Impactor (CVI) was used to select and dry cloud droplets, which were then analyzed by the AMS and the Dual DMA. The AMS composition measurements showed that sulfate and organics comprised most of the mass of the non-refractory components of the aerosol. The DMA showed a mixture of unimodal and bimodal size distributions in most types of air masses. The air mass over the San Joaquin valley, however, showed strong evidence of freshly nucleated particles, with aerosol number concentrations often above 80,000 cm-3.