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- ItemVariability in the mass absorption cross section of black carbon (BC) aerosols is driven by BC internal mixing state at a central European background site (Melpitz, Germany) in winter(Katlenburg-Lindau : European Geosciences Union, 2021) Yuan, Jinfeng; Modini, Robin Lewis; Zanatta, Marco; Herber, Andreas B.; Müller, Thomas; Wehner, Birgit; Poulain, Laurent; Tuch, Thomas; Baltensperger, Urs; Gysel-Beer, MartinProperties of atmospheric black carbon (BC) particles were characterized during a field experiment at a rural background site (Melpitz, Germany) in February 2017. BC absorption at a wavelength of 870 nm was measured by a photoacoustic extinctiometer, and BC physical properties (BC mass concentration, core size distribution and coating thickness) were measured by a single-particle soot photometer (SP2). Additionally, a catalytic stripper was used to intermittently remove BC coatings by alternating between ambient and thermo-denuded conditions. From these data the mass absorption cross section of BC (MACBC) and its enhancement factor (EMAC) were inferred for essentially waterfree aerosol as present after drying to low relative humidity (RH). Two methods were applied independently to investigate the coating effect on EMAC: A correlation method (MACBC; ambient vs. BC coating thickness) and a denuding method (MACBC; ambient vs. MACBC; denuded). Observed EMAC values varied from 1.0 to 1.6 (lower limit from denuding method) or 1:2 to 1.9 (higher limit from correlation method), with the mean coating volume fraction ranging from 54% to 78% in the dominating mass equivalent BC core diameter range of 200?220 nm.MACBC and EMAC were strongly correlated with coating thickness of BC. By contrast, other potential drivers of EMAC variability, such as different BC sources (air mass origin and absorption Angström exponent), coating composition (ratio of inorganics to organics) and BC core size distribution, had only minor effects. These results for ambient BC measured at Melpitz during winter show that the lensing effect caused by coatings on BC is the main driver of the variations in MACBC and EMAC, while changes in other BC particle properties such as source, BC core size or coating composition play only minor roles at this rural background site with a large fraction of aged particles. Indirect evidence suggests that potential dampening of the lensing effect due to unfavorable morphology was most likely small or even negligible.
- ItemAerosol activation characteristics and prediction at the central European ACTRIS research station of Melpitz, Germany(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2022) Wang, Yuan; Henning, Silvia; Poulain, Laurent; Lu, Chunsong; Stratmann, Frank; Wang, Yuying; Niu, Shengjie; Pöhlker, Mira L.; Herrmann, Hartmut; Wiedensohler, AlfredUnderstanding aerosol particle activation is essential for evaluating aerosol indirect effects (AIEs) on climate. Long-term measurements of aerosol particle activation help to understand the AIEs and narrow down the uncertainties of AIEs simulation. However, they are still scarce. In this study, more than 4 years of comprehensive aerosol measurements were utilized at the central European research station of Melpitz, Germany, to gain insight into the aerosol particle activation and provide recommendations on improving the prediction of number concentration of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN, NCCN). (1) The overall CCN activation characteristics at Melpitz are provided. As supersaturation (SS) increases from 0.1% to 0.7%, the median NCCN increases from 399 to 2144cm-3, which represents 10% to 48% of the total particle number concentration with a diameter range of 10-800nm, while the median hygroscopicity factor (κ) and critical diameter (Dc) decrease from 0.27 to 0.19 and from 176 to 54nm, respectively. (2) Aerosol particle activation is highly variable across seasons, especially at low-SS conditions. At SSCombining double low line0.1%, the median NCCN and activation ratio (AR) in winter are 1.6 and 2.3 times higher than the summer values, respectively. (3) Both κ and the mixing state are size-dependent. As the particle diameter (Dp) increases, κ increases at Dp of 1/440 to 100nm and almost stays constant at Dp of 100 to 200nm, whereas the degree of the external mixture keeps decreasing at Dp of 1/440 to 200nm. The relationships of κ vs. Dp and degree of mixing vs. Dp were both fitted well by a power-law function. (4) Size-resolved κ improves the NCCN prediction. We recommend applying the κ-Dp power-law fit for NCCN prediction at Melpitz, which performs better than using the constant κ of 0.3 and the κ derived from particle chemical compositions and much better than using the NCCN (AR) vs. SS relationships. The κ-Dp power-law fit measured at Melpitz could be applied to predict NCCN for other rural regions. For the purpose of improving the prediction of NCCN, long-term monodisperse CCN measurements are still needed to obtain the κ-Dp relationships for different regions and their seasonal variations.
- ItemDecreasing trends of particle number and black carbon mass concentrations at 16 observational sites in Germany from 2009 to 2018(Katlenburg-Lindau : EGU, 2020) Sun, Jia; Birmili, Wolfram; Hermann, Markus; Tuch, Thomas; Weinhold, Kay; Merkel, Maik; Rasch, Fabian; Müller, Thomas; Schladitz, Alexander; Bastian, Susanne; Löschau, Gunter; Cyrys, Josef; Gu, Jianwei; Flentje, Harald; Briel, Björn; Asbach, Christoph; Kaminski, Heinz; Ries, Ludwig; Sohmer, Ralf; Gerwig, Holger; Wirtz, Klaus; Meinhardt, Frank; Schwerin, Andreas; Bath, Olaf; Ma, Nan; Wiedensohler, AlfredAnthropogenic emissions are dominant contributors to air pollution. Consequently, mitigation policies have been attempted since the 1990s in Europe to reduce pollution by anthropogenic emissions. To evaluate the effectiveness of these mitigation policies, the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN) was established in 2008, focusing on black carbon (BC) and sub-micrometre aerosol particles. In this study, long-term trends of atmospheric particle number concentrations (PNCs) and equivalent BC (eBC) mass concentration over a 10-year period (2009-2018) were determined for 16 GUAN sites ranging from roadside to high Alpine environments. Overall, statistically significant decreasing trends are found for most of these parameters and environments in Germany. The annual relative slope of eBC mass concentration varies between-13.1% and-1.7% per year. The slopes of the PNCs vary from-17.2% to-1.7 %,-7.8% to-1.1 %, and-11.1% to-1.2% per year for 10-30, 30-200, and 200-800 nm size ranges, respectively. The reductions in various anthropogenic emissions are found to be the dominant factors responsible for the decreasing trends of eBC mass concentration and PNCs. The diurnal and seasonal variations in the trends clearly show the effects of the mitigation policies for road transport and residential emissions. The influences of other factors such as air masses, precipitation, and temperature were also examined and found to be less important or negligible. This study proves that a combination of emission mitigation policies can effectively improve the air quality on large spatial scales. It also suggests that a long-term aerosol measurement network at multi-type sites is an efficient and necessary tool for evaluating emission mitigation policies. © 2020 Author(s).