Aerosol properties and processes in remote marine environment
EMSL Project ID
49857
Abstract
With their extensive coverage, marine low clouds greatly impact Earth's climate. The response of marine low clouds to changes in atmospheric aerosols remains a major source of uncertainty in climate simulations. One major contribution to this large uncertainty derives from a poor understanding of aerosols under natural (i.e., pristine) conditions in remote marine environment and the perturbation by anthropogenic emissions. Here we propose comprehensive analyses of particle samples collected at a remote marine site during the Aerosol and Cloud Experiments in the Eastern North Atlantic (ACE-ENA) sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER). Using state of art chemical imaging and analytical techniques available at EMSL/PNNL, we will analyze the elemental composition, mixing state, morphology, and functional groups of individual particles, as well as molecular composition of organic components in size-segregated bulk particle samples. By combining these analyses with concurrent trace gases, meteorological, cloud, and in-situ aerosol measurements, we will examine the major particle sources (biogenic vs. anthropogenic, primary vs secondary), and the evolution of aerosol particles (e.g., condensation, coagulation, aging, and/or cloud processing) in the atmosphere. We aim to address the following scientific questions: (1) What are the boundary layer aerosol properties, including size distribution, composition, mixing state, morphology, and hygroscopicity in the ENA? (2) What are the contributions of different aerosol sources (natural and anthropogenic) and pathways to marine boundary layer aerosol and CCN populations? (3) How do aerosol properties and the contributions from different sources/pathways vary with air mass type, meteorological and cloud conditions, and biological activities? The proposed research activities directly address DOE OBER's mission to "advance understanding of the roles of Earth's biogeochemical systems (the atmosphere, land, oceans, sea ice, and subsurface) in determining climate". Molecular level understanding of aerosol properties and processes in remote marine environment fits squarely the scope of the science theme "Atmospheric Aerosol Systems" that focuses on "molecular scale understanding of atmospheric aerosols to improve the representation of aerosols in process, regional, and climate models". Specifically, the proposed analyses will allow quantitative understanding of the processes that drive the aerosol properties in a climatically important region.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2017-10-01
End Date
2018-09-30
Status
Closed
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Co-Investigator(s)
Team Members
Related Publications
Veghte D.P., S. China, J. Weis, P. Lin, M.L. Hinks, L. Kovarik, and S. Nizkorodov, et al. 2018. "Heating-Induced Transformations of Atmospheric Particles: Environmental Transmission Electron Microscopy Study." Analytical Chemistry 90, no. 16:9761–9768. PNNL-SA-133708. doi:10.1021/acs.analchem.8b01410