Browsing by Author "Heintzenberg, J."
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- ItemAerosol number size distributions from 3 to 500 nm diameter in the arctic marine boundary layer during summer and autumn(Copenhagen : Blackwell Munksgaard, 1996) Covert, D.S.; Wiedensohler, A.; Aalto, P.; Heintzenberg, J.; Mcmurry, P.H.; Leck, C.Aerosol physics measurements made onboard the Swedish icebreaker Oden in the late Summer and early Autumn of 1991 during the International Arctic Ocean Expedition (IAOE-91) have provided the first data on the size distribution of particles in the Arctic marine boundary layer (MBL) that cover both the number and mass modes of the size range from 3 to 500 nm diameter. These measurements were made in conjunction with atmospheric gas and condensed phase chemistry measurements in an effort to understand a part of the ocean-atmosphere sulfur cycle. Analysis of the particle physics data showed that there were three distinct number modes in the submicrometric aerosol in the Arctic MBL. These modes had geometric mean diameters of around 170 nm. 45 nm and 14 nm referred to as accumulation, Aitken and ultrafine modes, respectively. There were clear minima in number concentrations between the modes that appeared at 20 to 30 nm and at 80 to 100 nm. The total number concentration was most frequently between 30 and 60 particles cm-3 with a mean value of around 100 particles cm-3, but the hourly average concentration varied over two to three orders of magnitude during the 70 days of the expedition. On average, the highest concentration was in the accumulation mode that contained about 45% of the total number, while the Aitken mode contained about 40%. The greatest variability was in the ultrafine mode concentration which is indicative of active, earby sources (nucleation from the gas phase) and sinks; the Aitken and accumulation mode concentrations were much less variable. The ultrafine mode was observed about two thirds of the time and was dominant 10% of the time. A detailed description and statistical analysis of the modal aerosol parameters is presented here.
- ItemAerosol particle number size distributions and particulate light absorption at the ZOTTO tall tower (Siberia), 2006–2009(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Heintzenberg, J.; Birmili, W.; Otto, R.; Andreae, M.O.; Mayer, J.-C.; Chi, X.; Panov, A.This paper analyses aerosol particle number size distributions, particulate absorption at 570 nm wavelength and carbon monoxide (CO) measured between September 2006 and January 2010 at heights of 50 and 300 m at the Zotino Tall Tower Facility (ZOTTO) in Siberia (60.8° N; 89.35° E). Average number, surface and volume concentrations are broadly comparable to former studies covering shorter observation periods. Fits of multiple lognormal distributions yielded three maxima in probability distribution of geometric mean diameters in the Aitken and accumulation size range and a possible secondary maximum in the nucleation size range below 25 nm. The seasonal cycle of particulate absorption shows maximum concentrations in high winter (December) and minimum concentrations in mid-summer (July). The 90th percentile, however, indicates a secondary maximum in July/August that is likely related to forest fires. The strongly combustion derived CO shows a single winter maximum and a late summer minimum, albeit with a considerably smaller seasonal swing than the particle data due to its longer atmospheric lifetime. Total volume and even more so total number show a more complex seasonal variation with maxima in winter, spring, and summer. A cluster analysis of back trajectories and vertical profiles of the pseudo-potential temperature yielded ten clusters with three levels of particle number concentration: Low concentrations in Arctic air masses (400–500 cm−3), mid-level concentrations for zonally advected air masses from westerly directions between 55° and 65° N (600–800 cm−3), and high concentrations for air masses advected from the belt of industrial and population centers in Siberia and Kazakhstan (1200 cm−3). The observational data is representative for large parts of the troposphere over Siberia and might be particularly useful for the validation of global aerosol transport models.
- ItemThe Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS): Overview and experimental design(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2014) Tjernström, M.; Leck, C.; Birch, C.E.; Bottenheim, J.W.; Brooks, B.J.; Brooks, I.M.; Bäcklin, L.; Chang, R.Y.-W.; de Leeuw, G.; Di Liberto, L.; de la Rosa, S.; Granath, E.; Graus, M.; Hansel, A.; Heintzenberg, J.; Held, A.; Hind, A.; Johnston, P.; Knulst, J.; Martin, M.; Matrai, P.A.; Mauritsen, T.; Müller, M.; Norris, S.J.; Orellana, M.V.; Orsini, D.A.; Paatero, J.; Persson, P.O.G.; Gao, Q.; Rauschenberg, C.; Ristovski, Z.; Sedlar, J.; Shupe, M.D.; Sierau, B.; Sirevaag, A.; Sjogren, S.; Stetzer, O.; Swietlicki, E.; Szczodrak, M.; Vaattovaara, P.; Wahlberg, N.; Westberg, M.; Wheeler, C.R.The climate in the Arctic is changing faster than anywhere else on earth. Poorly understood feedback processes relating to Arctic clouds and aerosol–cloud interactions contribute to a poor understanding of the present changes in the Arctic climate system, and also to a large spread in projections of future climate in the Arctic. The problem is exacerbated by the paucity of research-quality observations in the central Arctic. Improved formulations in climate models require such observations, which can only come from measurements in situ in this difficult-to-reach region with logistically demanding environmental conditions. The Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) was the most extensive central Arctic Ocean expedition with an atmospheric focus during the International Polar Year (IPY) 2007–2008. ASCOS focused on the study of the formation and life cycle of low-level Arctic clouds. ASCOS departed from Longyearbyen on Svalbard on 2 August and returned on 9 September 2008. In transit into and out of the pack ice, four short research stations were undertaken in the Fram Strait: two in open water and two in the marginal ice zone. After traversing the pack ice northward, an ice camp was set up on 12 August at 87°21' N, 01°29' W and remained in operation through 1 September, drifting with the ice. During this time, extensive measurements were taken of atmospheric gas and particle chemistry and physics, mesoscale and boundary-layer meteorology, marine biology and chemistry, and upper ocean physics. ASCOS provides a unique interdisciplinary data set for development and testing of new hypotheses on cloud processes, their interactions with the sea ice and ocean and associated physical, chemical, and biological processes and interactions. For example, the first-ever quantitative observation of bubbles in Arctic leads, combined with the unique discovery of marine organic material, polymer gels with an origin in the ocean, inside cloud droplets suggests the possibility of primary marine organically derived cloud condensation nuclei in Arctic stratocumulus clouds. Direct observations of surface fluxes of aerosols could, however, not explain observed variability in aerosol concentrations, and the balance between local and remote aerosols sources remains open. Lack of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) was at times a controlling factor in low-level cloud formation, and hence for the impact of clouds on the surface energy budget. ASCOS provided detailed measurements of the surface energy balance from late summer melt into the initial autumn freeze-up, and documented the effects of clouds and storms on the surface energy balance during this transition. In addition to such process-level studies, the unique, independent ASCOS data set can and is being used for validation of satellite retrievals, operational models, and reanalysis data sets.
- ItemCivil Aircraft for the regular investigation of the atmosphere based on an instrumented container: The new CARIBIC system(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2007) Brenninkmeijer, C.A.M.; Crutzen, P.; Boumard, F.; Dauer, T.; Dix, B.; Ebinghaus, R.; Filippi, D.; Fischer, H.; Franke, H.; Frieß, U.; Heintzenberg, J.; Helleis, F.; Hermann, M.; Kock, H.H.; Koeppel, C.; Lelieveld, J.; Leuenberger, M.; Martinsson, B.G.; Miemczyk, S.; Moret, H.P.; Nguyen, H.N.; Nyfeler, P.; Oram, D.; O'Sullivan, D.; Penkett, S.; Platt, U.; Pupek, M.; Ramonet, M.; Randa, B.; Reichelt, M.; Rhee, T.S.; Rohwer, J.; Rosenfeld, K.; Scharffe, D.; Schlager, H.; Schumann, U.; Slemr, F.; Sprung, D.; Stock, P.; Thaler, R.; Valentino, F.; van Velthoven, P.; Waibel, A.; Wandel, A.; Waschitschek, K.; Wiedensohler, A.; Xueref-Remy, I.; Zahn, A.; Zech, U.; Ziereis, H.An airfreight container with automated instruments for measurement of atmospheric gases and trace compounds was operated on a monthly basis onboard a Boeing 767-300 ER of LTU International Airways during long-distance flights from 1997 to 2002 (CARIBIC, Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container, http://www.caribic-atmospheric.com). Subsequently a more advanced system has been developed, using a larger capacity container with additional equipment and an improved inlet system. CARIBIC phase #2 was implemented on a new long-range aircraft type Airbus A340-600 of the Lufthansa German Airlines (Star Alliance) in December 2004, creating a powerful flying observatory. The instrument package comprises detectors for the measurement of O3, total and gaseous H2O, NO and NOy, CO, CO2, O2, Hg, and number concentrations of sub-micrometer particles (>4 nm, >12 nm, and >18 nm diameter). Furthermore, an optical particle counter (OPC) and a proton transfer mass spectrometer (PTR-MS) are incorporated. Aerosol samples are collected for analysis of elemental composition and particle morphology after flight. Air samples are taken in glass containers for laboratory analyses of hydrocarbons, halocarbons and greenhouse gases (including isotopic composition of CO2) in several laboratories. Absorption tubes collect oxygenated volatile organic compounds. Three differential optical absorption spectrometers (DOAS) with their telescopes mounted in the inlet system measure atmospheric trace gases such as BrO, HONO, and NO2. A video camera mounted in the inlet provides information about clouds along the flight track. The flying observatory, its equipment and examples of measurement results are reported.
- ItemCloud phase identification of Arctic boundary-layer clouds from airborne spectral reflection measurements: Test of three approaches(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2008) Ehrlich, A.; Bierwirth, E.; Wendisch, M.; Gayet, J.-F.; Mioche, G.; Lampert, A.; Heintzenberg, J.Arctic boundary-layer clouds were investigated with remote sensing and in situ instruments during the Arctic Study of Tropospheric Aerosol, Clouds and Radiation (ASTAR) campaign in March and April 2007. The clouds formed in a cold air outbreak over the open Greenland Sea. Beside the predominant mixed-phase clouds pure liquid water and ice clouds were observed. Utilizing measurements of solar radiation reflected by the clouds three methods to retrieve the thermodynamic phase of the cloud are introduced and compared. Two ice indices IS and IP were obtained by analyzing the spectral pattern of the cloud top reflectance in the near infrared (1500–1800 nm wavelength) spectral range which is characterized by ice and water absorption. While IS analyzes the spectral slope of the reflectance in this wavelength range, IS utilizes a principle component analysis (PCA) of the spectral reflectance. A third ice index IA is based on the different side scattering of spherical liquid water particles and nonspherical ice crystals which was recorded in simultaneous measurements of spectral cloud albedo and reflectance. Radiative transfer simulations show that IS, IP and IA range between 5 to 80, 0 to 8 and 1 to 1.25 respectively with lowest values indicating pure liquid water clouds and highest values pure ice clouds. The spectral slope ice index IS and the PCA ice index IP are found to be strongly sensitive to the effective diameter of the ice crystals present in the cloud. Therefore, the identification of mixed-phase clouds requires a priori knowledge of the ice crystal dimension. The reflectance-albedo ice index IA is mainly dominated by the uppermost cloud layer (τ<1.5). Therefore, typical boundary-layer mixed-phase clouds with a liquid cloud top layer will be identified as pure liquid water clouds. All three methods were applied to measurements above a cloud field observed during ASTAR 2007. The comparison with independent in situ microphysical measurements shows the ability of the three approaches to identify the ice phase in Arctic boundary-layer clouds.
- ItemEvaluation of a global aerosol microphysics model against size-resolved particle statistics in the marine atmosphere(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2007) Spracklen, D.V.; Pringle, K.J.; Carslaw, K.S.; Mann, G.W.; Manktelow, P.; Heintzenberg, J.A statistical synthesis of marine aerosol measurements from experiments in four different oceans is used to evaluate a global aerosol microphysics model (GLOMAP). We compare the model against observed size resolved particle concentrations, probability distributions, and the temporal persistence of different size particles. We attempt to explain the observed sub-micrometre size distributions in terms of sulfate and sea spray and quantify the possible contributions of anthropogenic sulfate and carbonaceous material to the number and mass distribution. The model predicts a bimodal size distribution that agrees well with observations as a grand average over all regions, but there are large regional differences. Notably, observed Aitken mode number concentrations are more than a factor 10 higher than in the model for the N Atlantic but a factor 7 lower than the model in the NW Pacific. We also find that modelled Aitken mode and accumulation mode geometric mean diameters are generally smaller in the model by 10–30%. Comparison with observed free tropospheric Aitken mode distributions suggests that the model underpredicts growth of these particles during descent to the marine boundary layer (MBL). Recent observations of a substantial organic component of free tropospheric aerosol could explain this discrepancy. We find that anthropogenic continental material makes a substantial contribution to N Atlantic MBL aerosol, with typically 60–90% of sulfate across the particle size range coming from anthropogenic sources, even if we analyse air that has spent an average of >120 h away from land. However, anthropogenic primary black carbon and organic carbon particles (at the emission size and quantity assumed here) do not explain the large discrepancies in Aitken mode number. Several explanations for the discrepancy are suggested. The lack of lower atmospheric particle formation in the model may explain low N Atlantic particle concentrations. However, the observed and modelled particle persistence at Cape Grim in the Southern Ocean, does not reveal a diurnal cycle consistent with a photochemically driven local particle source. We also show that a physically based cloud drop activation scheme better explains the observed change in accumulation mode geometric mean diameter with particle number.
- ItemInfrequent new particle formation over the remote boreal forest of Siberia(Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Wiedensohler, A.; Ma, N.; Birmili, W.; Heintzenberg, J.; Ditas, F.; Andreae, M.O.; Panov, A.Aerosol particle number size distributions (PNSD) were investigated to verify, if extremely low-volatility organic vapors (ELVOC) from natural sources alone could induce new particle formation and growth events over the remote boreal forest region of Siberia, hundreds of kilometers away from significant anthropogenic sources. We re-evaluated observations determined at a height of 300 m of the remote observatory ZOTTO (Zotino Tall Tower Observatory, http://www.zottoproject.org). We found that new particle formation events occurred only on 11 days in a 3-year period, suggesting that homogeneous nucleation with a subsequent condensational growth could not be the major process, maintaining the particle number concentration in the planetary boundary layer of the remote boreal forest area of Siberia. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd
- ItemIntercomparison and evaluation of global aerosol microphysical properties among AeroCom models of a range of complexity(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2014) Mann, G.W.; Carslaw, K.S.; Reddington, C.L.; Pringle, K.J.; Schulz, M.; Asmi, A.; Spracklen, D.V.; Ridley, D.A.; Woodhouse, M.T.; Lee, L.A.; Zhang, K.; Ghan, S.J.; Easter, R.C.; Liu, X.; Stier, P.; Lee, Y.H.; Adams, P.J.; Tost, H.; Lelieveld, J.; Bauer, S.E.; Tsigaridis, K.; van Noije, T.P.C.; Strunk, A.; Vignati, E.; Bellouin, N.; Dalvi, M.; Johnson, C.E.; Bergman, T.; Kokkola, H.; von Salzen, K.; Yu, F.; Luo, G.; Petzold, A.; Heintzenberg, J.; Clarke, A.; Ogren, J.A.; Gras, J.; Baltensperger, U.; Kaminski, U.; Jennings, S.G.; O'Dowd, C.D.; Harrison, R.M.; Beddows, D.C.S.; Kulmala, M.; Viisanen, Y.; Ulevicius, V.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Zdimal, V.; Fiebig, M.; Hansson, H.-C.; Swietlicki, E.; Henzing, J.S.Many of the next generation of global climate models will include aerosol schemes which explicitly simulate the microphysical processes that determine the particle size distribution. These models enable aerosol optical properties and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations to be determined by fundamental aerosol processes, which should lead to a more physically based simulation of aerosol direct and indirect radiative forcings. This study examines the global variation in particle size distribution simulated by 12 global aerosol microphysics models to quantify model diversity and to identify any common biases against observations. Evaluation against size distribution measurements from a new European network of aerosol supersites shows that the mean model agrees quite well with the observations at many sites on the annual mean, but there are some seasonal biases common to many sites. In particular, at many of these European sites, the accumulation mode number concentration is biased low during winter and Aitken mode concentrations tend to be overestimated in winter and underestimated in summer. At high northern latitudes, the models strongly underpredict Aitken and accumulation particle concentrations compared to the measurements, consistent with previous studies that have highlighted the poor performance of global aerosol models in the Arctic. In the marine boundary layer, the models capture the observed meridional variation in the size distribution, which is dominated by the Aitken mode at high latitudes, with an increasing concentration of accumulation particles with decreasing latitude. Considering vertical profiles, the models reproduce the observed peak in total particle concentrations in the upper troposphere due to new particle formation, although modelled peak concentrations tend to be biased high over Europe. Overall, the multi-model-mean data set simulates the global variation of the particle size distribution with a good degree of skill, suggesting that most of the individual global aerosol microphysics models are performing well, although the large model diversity indicates that some models are in poor agreement with the observations. Further work is required to better constrain size-resolved primary and secondary particle number sources, and an improved understanding of nucleation and growth (e.g. the role of nitrate and secondary organics) will improve the fidelity of simulated particle size distributions.
- ItemLaboratory study on new particle formation from the reaction OH + SO2: influence of experimental conditions, H2O vapour, NH3 and the amine tert-butylamine on the overall process(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2010) Berndt, T.; Stratmann, F.; Sipilä, M.; Vanhanen, J.; Petäjä, T.; Mikkilä, J.; Grüner, A.; Spindler, G.; Lee Mauldin III, R.; Curtius, J.; Kulmala, M.; Heintzenberg, J.Nucleation experiments starting from the reaction of OH radicals with SO2 have been performed in the IfT-LFT flow tube under atmospheric conditions at 293±0.5 K for a relative humidity of 13–61%. The presence of different additives (H2, CO, 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene) for adjusting the OH radical concentration and resulting OH levels in the range (4–300) ×105 molecule cm−3 did not influence the nucleation process itself. The number of detected particles as well as the threshold H2SO4 concentration needed for nucleation was found to be strongly dependent on the counting efficiency of the used counting devices. High-sensitivity particle counters allowed the measurement of freshly nucleated particles with diameters down to about 1.5 nm. A parameterization of the experimental data was developed using power law equations for H2SO4 and H2O vapour. The exponent for H2SO4 from different measurement series was in the range of 1.7–2.1 being in good agreement with those arising from analysis of nucleation events in the atmosphere. For increasing relative humidity, an increase of the particle number was observed. The exponent for H2O vapour was found to be 3.1 representing an upper limit. Addition of 1.2×1011 molecule cm−3 or 1.2×1012 molecule cm−3 of NH3 (range of atmospheric NH3 peak concentrations) revealed that NH3 has a measureable, promoting effect on the nucleation rate under these conditions. The promoting effect was found to be more pronounced for relatively dry conditions, i.e. a rise of the particle number by 1–2 orders of magnitude at RH = 13% and only by a factor of 2–5 at RH = 47% (NH3 addition: 1.2×1012 molecule cm−3). Using the amine tert-butylamine instead of NH3, the enhancing impact of the base for nucleation and particle growth appears to be stronger. Tert-butylamine addition of about 1010 molecule cm−3 at RH = 13% enhances particle formation by about two orders of magnitude, while for NH3 only a small or negligible effect on nucleation in this range of concentration appeared. This suggests that amines can strongly influence atmospheric H2SO4-H2O nucleation and are probably promising candidates for explaining existing discrepancies between theory and observations.
- ItemLACIS-measurements and parameterization of sea-salt particle hygroscopic growth and activation(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2008) Niedermeier, D.; Wex, H.; Voigtländer, J.; Stratmann, F.; Brüggemann, E.; Kiselev, A.; Henk, H.; Heintzenberg, J.The Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS) was used to investigate the hygroscopic growth and activation of sea-salt particles which were generated from three different sea-water samples. The measurements showed that the sea-salt particles exhibit a slightly reduced hygroscopic growth compared to pure NaCl particles. Köhler theory was utilized to model the hygroscopic growth of these particles. Some parameters used in this model are unknown for sea-salt. These parameters are combined in an "ionic density" ρion. For each sea-salt sample an average ρion was determined by fitting the Köhler equation to the data from the hygroscopic growth measurements. LACIS was also used to measure the activation of the sea-salt particles at three different supersaturations: 0.11%, 0.17% and 0.32%. A CCN-closure was tested by calculating the critical diameters Dcrit for the sea-salt particles at these supersaturations, using the Köhler model and the corresponding ρion as derived from the hygroscopic growth data. These calculated critical diameters were compared to the measured ones. Measured and calculated values of Dcrit agree within the level of uncertainty. Based on this successful closure, a new parameterization to describe sea-salt-particle hygroscopic growth (at RH>95%) and activation has been developed.
- ItemLong-term measurements of aerosol and carbon monoxide at the ZOTTO tall tower to characterize polluted and pristine air in the Siberian taiga(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2013) Chi, X.; Winderlich, J.; Mayer, J.-C.; Panov, A.V.; Heimann, M.; Birmili, W.; Heintzenberg, J.; Cheng, Y.; Andreae, M.O.Siberia is one of few continental regions in the Northern Hemisphere where the atmosphere may sometimes approach pristine background conditions. We present the time series of aerosol and carbon monoxide (CO) measurements between September 2006 and December 2011 at the Zotino Tall Tower Observatory (ZOTTO) in Central Siberia (61° N; 89° E). We investigate the seasonal, weekly and diurnal variations of aerosol properties (including absorption and scattering coefficients and derived parameters, such as equivalent black carbon (BCe), Ångström exponent, single scattering albedo, and backscattering ratio) and the CO mixing ratios. Criteria were established to distinguish polluted from near-pristine air masses, providing quantitative characteristics for each type. Depending on the season, 23–36% of the sampling time at ZOTTO was found to be representative of a clean atmosphere. The summer pristine data indicate that primary biogenic and secondary organic aerosol formation are quite strong particle sources in the Siberian taiga. The summer seasons 2007–2008 were dominated by an Aitken mode around 80 nm size, whereas the summer 2009 with prevailing easterly winds produced particles in the accumulation mode around 200 nm size. We found these differences to be mainly related to air temperature, through its effect on the production rates of biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOC) precursor gases. In winter, the particle size distribution peaked at 160 nm, and the footprint of clean background air was characteristic for aged particles from anthropogenic sources at great distances from ZOTTO and diluted biofuel burning emissions from domestic heating. The wintertime polluted air originates mainly from large cities south and southwest of the site; these particles have a dominant mode around 100 nm, and the ΔBCe / ΔCO ratio of 7–11 ng m−3 ppb−1 suggests dominant contributions from coal and biofuel burning for heating. During summer, anthropogenic emissions are the dominant contributor to the pollution particles at ZOTTO, while only 12% of the polluted events are classified as biomass-burning-dominated, but then often associated with extremely high CO concentrations and aerosol absorption coefficients. Two biomass-burning case studies revealed different ΔBCe / ΔCO ratios from different fire types, with the agricultural fires in April~2008 yielding a very high ratio of 21 ng m−3 ppb−1. Overall, we find that anthropogenic sources dominate the aerosol population at ZOTTO most of the time, even during nominally clean episodes in winter, and that near-pristine conditions are encountered only in the growing season and then only episodically.
- ItemNew-particle formation events in a continental boundary layer: First results from the SATURN experiment(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2003) Stratmann, F.; Siebert, H.; Spindler, G.; Wehner, B.; Althausen, D.; Heintzenberg, J.; Hellmuth, O.; Rinke, R.; Schmieder, U.; Seidel, C.; Tuch, T.; Uhrner, U.; Wiedensohler, A.; Wandinger, U.; Wendisch, M.; Schell, D.; Stohl, A.During the SATURN experiment, which took place from 27 May to 14 June 2002, new particle formation in the continental boundary layer was investigated. Simultaneous ground-based and tethered-balloon-borne measurements were performed, including meteorological parameters, particle number concentrations and size distributions, gaseous precursor concentrations and SODAR and LIDAR observations. Newly formed particles were observed inside the residual layer, before the break-up process of the nocturnal inversion, and inside the mixing layer throughout the break-up of the nocturnal inversion and during the evolution of the planetary boundary layer.
- ItemOrigin of aerosol particles in the mid-latitude and subtropical upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere from cluster analysis of CARIBIC data(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2009) Köppe, M.; Hermann, M.; Brenninkmeijer, C.A.M.; Heintzenberg, J.; Schlager, H.; Schuck, T.; Slemr, F.; Sprung, D.; van Velthoven, P.F.J.; Wiedensohler, A.; Zahn, A.; Ziereis, H.The origin of aerosol particles in the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere over the Eurasian continent was investigated by applying cluster analysis methods to in situ measured data. Number concentrations of submicrometer aerosol particles and trace gas mixing ratios derived by the CARIBIC (Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container) measurement system on flights between Germany and South-East Asia were used for this analysis. Four cluster analysis methods were applied to a test data set and their capability of separating the data points into scientifically reasonable clusters was assessed. The best method was applied to seasonal data subsets for summer and winter resulting in five cluster or air mass types: stratosphere, tropopause, free troposphere, high clouds, and boundary layer influenced. Other source clusters, like aircraft emissions could not be resolved in the present data set with the used methods. While the cluster separation works satisfactory well for the summer data, in winter interpretation is more difficult, which is attributed to either different vertical transport pathways or different chemical lifetimes in both seasons. The geographical distribution of the clusters together with histograms for nucleation and Aitken mode particles within each cluster are presented. Aitken mode particle number concentrations show a clear vertical gradient with the lowest values in the lowermost stratosphere (750–2820 particles/cm3 STP, minimum of the two 25% – and maximum of the two 75%-percentiles of both seasons) and the highest values for the boundary-layer-influenced air (4290–22 760 particles/cm3 STP). Nucleation mode particles are also highest in the boundary-layer-influenced air (1260–29 500 particles/cm3 STP), but are lowest in the free troposphere (0–450 particles/cm3 STP). The given submicrometer particle number concentrations represent the first large-scale seasonal data sets for the upper troposphere and lowermost stratosphere over the Eurasian continent.
- ItemOut of Africa: High aerosol concentrations in the upper troposphere over Africa(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2003) Heintzenberg, J.; Hermann, M.; Theiss, D.In the year 2000, six flights (three southbound and three northbound) of the CARIBIC project were conducted between Germany and two destinations in the southern hemisphere (Windhoek, Namibia and Cape Town, South Africa). In the present report, results on particle number concentrations are discussed in three size ranges (>4 nm, >12 nm, and >18 nm particle diameter) during the unique transequatorial Africa flights. The flights covered a total of about 80 h in May, July, and December. Thus, no claim can be made for long-term representativeness of the aerosol data. Nevertheless, they are the first upper systematic tropospheric transequatorial aerosol profiles over Africa. The average aerosol results show a broad maximum, roughly symmetrical to the equator, which compares well in latitudinal extent to a maximum of CO concentrations measured on the same flights. This export of continental surface aerosol to the upper troposphere will be dispersed on a global scale both with the easterly flow near the equator and with the westerlies in the adjacent subtropical regions. There was strong evidence of recent new particle formation before aerosol arrival at flight level, in particular during the time periods between 9:00 and 13:00 local time over Africa. Direct and indirect climate effects of the respective particulate matter remain to be investigated by future flights with the ongoing extension of the CARIBIC payload towards size-resolved measurements above 100 nm particle diameter. At the same time global chemical transport models and aerosol dynamics models need to be extended to be able to reproduce the CARIBIC findings over Africa.
- ItemOverview of the atmospheric research program during the International Arctic Ocean Expedition of 1991 (IAOE-91) and its scientific results(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Leck, C.; Bigg, E.K.; Covert, D.S.; Heintzenberg, J.; Maenhaut, W.; Nilsson, E.D.; Wiedensohler, A.The broad aim of the Atmospheric program of the International Arctic Ocean Expedition (IAOE-91) was to test the hypothesis that marine biogenically produced dimethyl sulfide (DMS) gas can exert a significant global climatic control. The hypothesis states that DMS is transferred to the atmosphere and is oxidised to form airborne particles. Some of these grow large enough to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) which help determine cloud droplet concentration. The latter has a strong influence on cloud albedo and hence on the radiation balance of the area affected. In summer, the central Arctic is a specially favourable region for studying the natural sulfur cycle in that the open waters surrounding the pack ice are the only significant sources of DMS and there are almost no anthropogenic particle sources. Concentrations of seawater and atmospheric DMS decreased at about the same rate during the period of measurements, (1 August to 6 October, latitudes 75°N to 90°N) spanning about three orders of magnitude. Methane sulfonate and nonsea salt sulfate in the submicrometer particles, which may be derived from atmospheric DMS, also decreased similarly, suggesting that the first part of the hypothesis under test was true. Influences on cloud droplet concentration and radiation balance could not be measured. Size-resolved aerosol chemistry showed a much lower proportion of methane sulfonate to be associated with supermicrometer particles than has been found elsewhere. Its molar ratio to nonsea salt sulfate suggested that the processes controlling the particulate chemistry do not exhibit a net temperature dependence. Elemental analysis of the aerosol also revealed the interesting possibility that debris from Siberian rivers transported on the moving ice represent a fairly widespread source of supermicrometer crustal material within the pack ice. Highly resolved measurements of aerosol number size distributions were made in the diameter range 3 nm to 500 nm. 3 distinct modal sizes were usually present, the “ultrafine”, “Aitken” and “accumulation” modes centred on 14, 45 and 170 nm diameter, respectively. The presence of ultrafine particles, implying recent production, was more frequent than has been found in lower latitude remote marine areas. Evidence suggests that they were mixed to the surface from higher levels. Sudden and often drastic changes in aerosol concentration and size distribution were surprisingly frequent in view of the relatively slowly changing meteorology of the central Arctic during the study period and the absence of strong pollution sources. They were most common in particles likely to have taken part in cloud formation (> 80 nm diameter). 2 factors appear to have been involved in these sudden changes. The 1st was the formation of vertical gradients in aerosol concentration due to interactions between particles and clouds or favoured regions for new particle production during periods of stability. The 2nd was sporadic localised breakdowns of the stability, bringing changed particle concentrations to the measurement level. Probable reasons for these sporadic mixing events were indicated by the structure of the Marine Boundary Layer (MBL) investigated with high resolution rawinsondes. Low level jets were present about 60% of the time, producing conditions conductive to turbulence and shear-induced waves. It is concluded that an even more detailed study of meteorological processes in the MBL in conjunction with more highly time-resolved measurements of gas-aerosol physics and chemistry appears to be essential in any future research aimed at studying the indirect, cloud mediated, effect of aerosol particles.
- ItemPotential source regions and processes of aerosol in the summer Arctic(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Heintzenberg, J.; Leck, C.; Tunved, P.Sub-micrometer particle size distributions measured during four summer cruises of the Swedish icebreaker Oden 1991, 1996, 2001, and 2008 were combined with dimethyl sulfide gas data, back trajectories, and daily maps of pack ice cover in order to investigate source areas and aerosol formation processes of the boundary layer aerosol in the central Arctic. With a clustering algorithm, potential aerosol source areas were explored. Clustering of particle size distributions together with back trajectories delineated five potential source regions and three different aerosol types that covered most of the Arctic Basin: marine, newly formed and aged particles over the pack ice. Most of the pack ice area with < 15% of open water under the trajectories exhibited the aged aerosol type with only one major mode around 40 nm. For newly formed particles to occur, two conditions had to be fulfilled over the pack ice: the air had spent 10 days while traveling over ever more contiguous ice and had traveled over less than 30% open water during the last 5 days. Additionally, the air had experienced more open water (at least twice as much as in the cases of aged aerosol) during the last 4 days before arrival in heavy ice conditions at Oden. Thus we hypothesize that these two conditions were essential factors for the formation of ultrafine particles over the central Arctic pack ice. In a comparison the Oden data with summer size distribution data from Alert, Nunavut, and Mt. Zeppelin, Spitsbergen, we confirmed the Oden findings with respect to particle sources over the central Arctic. Future more frequent broken-ice or open water patches in summer will spur biological activity in surface water promoting the formation of biological particles. Thereby low clouds and fogs and subsequently the surface energy balance and ice melt may be affected.
- ItemSize distribution and chemical composition of marine aerosols: A compilation and review(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2016) Heintzenberg, J.; Covert, D.C.; Van Dingenen, R.Some 30 years of physical and chemical marine aerosol data are reviewed to derive global-size distribution parameters and inorganic particle composition on a coarse 15°×15° grid. There are large gaps in geographical and seasonal coverage and chemical and physical aerosol characterisation. About 28% of the grid cells contain physical data while there are compositional data in some 60% of the cells. The size distribution data were parametrized in terms of 2 submicrometer log-normal distributions. The sparseness of the data did not allow zonal differentiation of the distributions. By segregating the chemical data according to the major aerosol sources, sea salt, dimethylsulfide, crustal material, combustion processes and other anthropogenic sources, much information on mass concentrations and contribution of natural and anthropogenic sources to the marine aerosol can be gleaned from the data base. There are significant meridional differences in the contributions of the different sources to the marine aerosol. Very clearly, we see though that the global marine surface atmosphere is polluted by anthropogenic sulfur. Only in the case of sulfur components did the coverage allow the presentation of very coarse seasonal distributions which reflect the spring blooms in the appropriate parts of the oceans. As an example of the potential value in comparing the marine aerosol data base to chemical transport models, global seasonal meridional MSA distributions were compared to modelled MSA distributions. The general good agreement in mass concentrations is encouraging while some latitudinal discrepancies warrant further investigations covering other aerosol components such as black carbon and metals.
- ItemSO2 oxidation products other than H2SO4 as a trigger of new particle formation. Part 1: Laboratory investigations(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2008) Berndt, T.; Stratmann, F.; Bräsel, S.; Heintzenberg, J.; Laaksonen, A.; Kulmala, M.Mechanistic investigations of atmospheric H2SO4 particle formation have been performed in a laboratory study taking either H2SO4 from a liquid reservoir or using the gas-phase reaction of OH radicals with SO2. Applying both approaches for H2SO4 generation simultaneously it was found that H2SO4 evaporated from the liquid reservoir acts considerably less effective for the process of particle formation and growth than the products originating from the reaction of OH radicals with SO2. Furthermore, for NOx concentrations >5×1011 molecule cm−3 the formation of new particles from the reaction of OH radicals with SO2 is inhibited. This suggests that substances other than H2SO4 (potentially products from sulphur-containing peroxy radicals) trigger lower tropospheric new particle formation and growth. The currently accepted mechanism for SO2 gas-phase oxidation does not consider the formation of such substances. The analysis of new particle formation for different reaction conditions in our experiment suggests that a contribution of impurities to the nucleation process is unlikely.
- ItemSubmicrometer aerosol particle distributions in the upper troposphere over the mid-latitude North Atlantic - Results from the third route of 'CARIBIC'(Milton Park : Taylor & Francis, 2017) Hermann, M.; Brenninkmeijer, C.A.M.; Slemr, F.; Heintzenberg, J.; Martinsson, B.G.; Schlager, H.; Van Velthoven, P.F.J.; Wiedensohler, A.; Zahn, A.; Ziereis, H.Particle number and mass concentrations of submicrometer aerosol particles were determined for the upper troposphere over the mid-latitude North Atlantic within the Civil Aircraft for Regular Investigation of the Atmosphere Based on an Instrument Container project (CARIBIC, http://www.caribic-atmospheric.com). Between May 2001 and April 2002, 22 flights from Germany to the Caribbean were conducted using an automated measurement container on a B767 passenger aircraft. Spatial and seasonal probability distributions for ultrafine and Aitken mode particles as well as mass concentrations of particulate sulphur in 8–12 km altitude are presented. High particle number concentrations (mostly 2500–15 000 particles cm-3 STP) are particularly found in summer over the western North Atlantic Ocean close to the North American continent. The distributions together with an analysis of particle source processes show that deep vertical transport is the dominant process leading to most of the events with high particle number concentrations (8000 particles cm-3 STP) for ultrafine particles as well as for Aitken mode particles. This study emphasizes the importance of deep vertical transport and cloud processing for the concentration of aerosol particles in the upper troposphere.
- ItemThe summer aerosol in the central Arctic 1991-2008: Did it change or not?(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2012) Heintzenberg, J.; Leck, C.In the course of global warming dramatic changes are taking place in the Arctic and boreal environments. However, physical aerosol data in from the central summer Arctic taken over the course of 18 yr from 1991 to 2008 do not show systematic year-to-year changes, albeit substantial interannual variations. Besides the limited extent of the data several causes may be responsible for these findings. The processes controlling concentrations and particle size distribution of the aerosol over the central Arctic perennial pack ice area, north of 80°, may not have changed substantially during this time. Environmental changes are still mainly effective in the marginal ice zone, the ice-free waters and continental rims and have not propagated significantly into the central Arctic yet where they could affect the local aerosol and its sources. The analysis of meteorological conditions of the four expedition summers reveal substantial variations which we see as main causes of the measured variations in aerosol parameters. With combined lognormal fits of the hourly number size distributions of the four expeditions representative mode parameters for the summer aerosol in the central Arctic have been calculated. The combined aerosol statistics discussed in the present paper provide comprehensive physical data on the summer aerosol in the central Arctic. These data are the only surface aerosol information from this region.