Advanced IMPROVE Studies
EMSL Project ID
39496
Abstract
The proposed collaboration with Dr. Lizabeth Alexander of PNNL will enable continuous measurement of size-resolved aerosol chemical composition using the EMSL high resolution time-of-flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (H-ToF AMS) at Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL), a remote high altitude site in NW CO, during July, 2010. This experiment is part of a long-term, EPRI-sponsored study of the "IMPROVE equation" which estimates particle light scattering from aerosol chemical composition. These measurements were done at Mt. Rainier in August, 2009 under EMSL project 36409. The additional AMS measurements would complement an NSF-sponsored (ATM-0931431) field study at SPL in June and July, 2010, whose goal is to characterize the chemical and physical properties which determine the hygroscopic behavior of high molecular weight aerosol organics. The EMSL AMS would provide real-time measurments of the organic mass to organic carbon (OCM/OC) ratio and the relationship between particle size and chemical concentration, both of which are important components of the IMPOVE equation. This would serve the primary goals of the EPRI study. In addition, characterization of ambient organics using the EMSL AMS would provide information on organic composition, e.g., OOA and HOA, which could be directly related to determination of the detailed chemical structures of water-soluble organics determined by advanced laboratory techniques and their relationship to hygroscopic growth using thermodynamic models, which is the primary focus of our NSF study. In short, deployment of the EMSL AMS during the SPL field campaign would provide invaluable additional information relevant to two scientific studies at relatively low cost.
Project Details
Project type
Exploratory Research
Start Date
2010-10-08
End Date
2011-10-09
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator