Atmospheric abundance, droplet and ice formation potential of coal fly ash
Abstract
Human activities, in particular fossil fuel combustion, release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, thereby warming the climate. These anthropogenic activities often simultaneously emit particulate matter. Particles can have an adverse effect on human health while simultaneously altering climate because they can directly affect climate when they scatter and absorb incoming solar and outgoing terrestrial radiation. They can also indirectly affect climate when they provide the sites on which water can condense or freeze to form clouds. Using the physical and chemical properties of fly ash particles from multiple power plants we have analyzed data from aircraft campaigns to estimate the abundance of fly ash in the atmosphere. We have also determined the activity of coal fly ash particles as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particles (INPs) at cirrus cloud temperature and relative humidity (RH) conditions. The results suggest that, in addition to the known health effects, coal fly ash can have an impact on tropospheric cloud formation and Earth's radiative budget.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2018
- Bibcode:
- 2018AGUFM.A11H2330C
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0320 Cloud physics and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0340 Middle atmosphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES