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- ItemMeasurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during spring-summer transition in May 2014(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2018) Herenz, Paul; Wex, Heike; Henning, Silvia; Kristensen, Thomas Bjerring; Rubach, Florian; Roth, Anja; Borrmann, Stephan; Bozem, Heiko; Schulz, Hannes; Stratmann, FrankWithin the framework of the RACEPAC (Radiation-Aerosol-Cloud Experiment in the Arctic Circle) project, the Arctic aerosol, arriving at a ground-based station in Tuktoyaktuk (Mackenzie River delta area, Canada), was characterized during a period of 3 weeks in May 2014. Basic meteorological parameters and particle number size distributions (PNSDs) were observed and two distinct types of air masses were found. One type were typical Arctic haze air masses, termed accumulation-type air masses, characterized by a monomodal PNSD with a pronounced accumulation mode at sizes above 100 nm. These air masses were observed during a period when back trajectories indicate an air mass origin in the north-east of Canada. The other air mass type is characterized by a bimodal PNSD with a clear minimum around 90ĝ€†nm and with an Aitken mode consisting of freshly formed aerosol particles. Back trajectories indicate that these air masses, termed Aitken-type air masses, originated from the North Pacific. In addition, the application of the PSCF receptor model shows that air masses with their origin in active fire areas in central Canada and Siberia, in areas of industrial anthropogenic pollution (Norilsk and Prudhoe Bay Oil Field) and the north-west Pacific have enhanced total particle number concentrations (N CN). Generally, N CN ranged from 20 to 500 cmg'3, while cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations were found to cover a range from less than 10 up to 250 cmg'3 for a supersaturation (SS) between 0.1 and 0.7 %. The hygroscopicity parameter of the CCN was determined to be 0.23 on average and variations in were largely attributed to measurement uncertainties.
Furthermore, simultaneous PNSD measurements at the ground station and on the Polar 6 research aircraft were performed. We found a good agreement of ground-based PNSDs with those measured between 200 and 1200 m. During two of the four overflights, particle number concentrations at 3000 m were found to be up to 20 times higher than those measured below 2000 m; for one of these two flights, PNSDs measured above 2000 m showed a different shape than those measured at lower altitudes. This is indicative of long-range transport from lower latitudes into the Arctic that can advect aerosol from different regions in different heights. - ItemOptimizing the detection, ablation, and ion extraction efficiency of a single-particle laser ablation mass spectrometer for application in environments with low aerosol particle concentrations(Katlenburg-Lindau : Copernicus, 2020) Clemen, Hans-Christian; Schneider, Johannes; Klimach, Thomas; Helleis, Frank; Köllner, Franziska; Hünig, Andreas; Rubach, Florian; Mertes, Stephan; Wex, Heike; Stratmann, Frank; Welti, André; Kohl, Rebecca; Frank, Fabian; Borrmann, StephanThe aim of this study is to show how a newly developed aerodynamic lens system (ALS), a delayed ion extraction (DIE), and better electric shielding improve the efficiency of the Aircraft-based Laser ABlation Aerosol MAss spectrometer (ALABAMA). These improvements are applicable to single-particle laser ablation mass spectrometers in general. To characterize the modifications, extensive sizeresolved measurements with spherical polystyrene latex particles (PSL; 150-6000 nm) and cubic sodium chloride particles (NaCl; 400-1700 nm) were performed. Measurements at a fixed ALS position show an improved detectable particle size range of the new ALS compared to the previously used Liu-type ALS, especially for supermicron particles. At a lens pressure of 2.4 hPa, the new ALS achieves a PSL particle size range from 230 to 3240 nm with 50% detection efficiency and between 350 and 2000 nm with 95% detection efficiency. The particle beam divergence was determined by measuring the detection efficiency at variable ALS positions along the laser cross sections and found to be minimal for PSL at about 800 nm. Compared to measurements by singleparticle mass spectrometry (SPMS) instruments using Liutype ALSs, the minimum particle beam divergence is shifted towards larger particle sizes. However, there are no disadvantages compared to the Liu-type lenses for particle sizes down to 200 nm. Improvements achieved by using the DIE and an additional electric shielding could be evaluated by size-resolved measurements of the hit rate, which is the ratio of laser pulses yielding a detectable amount of ions to the total number of emitted laser pulses. In particular, the hit rate for multiply charged particles smaller than 500 nm is significantly improved by preventing an undesired deflection of these particles in the ion extraction field. Moreover, it was found that by using the DIE the ion yield of the ablation, ionization, and ion extraction process could be increased, resulting in up to 7 times higher signal intensities of the cation spectra. The enhanced ion yield results in a larger effective width of the ablation laser beam, which in turn leads to a hit rate of almost 100% for PSL particles in the size range from 350 to 2000 nm. Regarding cubic NaCl particles the modifications of the ALABAMA result in an up to 2 times increased detection efficiency and an up to 5 times increased hit rate. The need for such instrument modifications arises in particular for measurements of particles that are present in low number concentrations such as ice-nucleating particles (INPs) in general, but also aerosol particles at high altitudes or in pristine environments. Especially for these low particle number concentrations, improved efficiencies help to overcome the statistical limitations of single-particle mass spectrometer measurements. As an example, laboratory INP measurements carried out in this study show that the appli- cation of the DIE alone increases the number of INP mass spectra per time unit by a factor of 2 to 3 for the sampled substances. Overall, the combination of instrument modifications presented here resulted in an increased measurement efficiency of the ALABAMA for different particle types and particles shape as well as for highly charged particles. © 2020 Copernicus GmbH. All rights reserved.