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- ItemA synthesis of cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) measurements within the EUCAARI network(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Paramonov, M.; Kerminen, V.-M.; Gysel, M.; Aalto, P.P.; Andreae, M.O.; Asmi, E.; Baltensperger, U.; Bougiatioti, A.; Brus, D.; Frank, G.P.; Good, N.; Gunthe, S.S.; Hao, L.; Irwin, M.; Jaatinen, A.; Jurányi, Z.; King, S.M.; Kortelainen, A.; Kristensson, A.; Lihavainen, H.; Kulmala, M.; Lohmann, U.; Martin, S.T.; McFiggans, G.; Mihalopoulos, N.; Nenes, A.; O'Dowd, C.D.; Ovadnevaite, J.; Petäjä, T.; Pöschl, U.; Roberts, G.C.; Rose, D.; Svenningsson, B.; Swietlicki, E.; Weingartner, E.; Whitehead, J.; Wiedensohler, A.; Wittbom, C.; Sierau, B.Cloud condensation nuclei counter (CCNC) measurements performed at 14 locations around the world within the European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) framework have been analysed and discussed with respect to the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activation and hygroscopic properties of the atmospheric aerosol. The annual mean ratio of activated cloud condensation nuclei (NCCN) to the total number concentration of particles (NCN), known as the activated fraction A, shows a similar functional dependence on supersaturation S at many locations – exceptions to this being certain marine locations, a free troposphere site and background sites in south-west Germany and northern Finland. The use of total number concentration of particles above 50 and 100 nm diameter when calculating the activated fractions (A50 and A100, respectively) renders a much more stable dependence of A on S; A50 and A100 also reveal the effect of the size distribution on CCN activation. With respect to chemical composition, it was found that the hygroscopicity of aerosol particles as a function of size differs among locations. The hygroscopicity parameter κ decreased with an increasing size at a continental site in south-west Germany and fluctuated without any particular size dependence across the observed size range in the remote tropical North Atlantic and rural central Hungary. At all other locations κ increased with size. In fact, in Hyytiälä, Vavihill, Jungfraujoch and Pallas the difference in hygroscopicity between Aitken and accumulation mode aerosol was statistically significant at the 5 % significance level. In a boreal environment the assumption of a size-independent κ can lead to a potentially substantial overestimation of NCCN at S levels above 0.6 %. The same is true for other locations where κ was found to increase with size. While detailed information about aerosol hygroscopicity can significantly improve the prediction of NCCN, total aerosol number concentration and aerosol size distribution remain more important parameters. The seasonal and diurnal patterns of CCN activation and hygroscopic properties vary among three long-term locations, highlighting the spatial and temporal variability of potential aerosol–cloud interactions in various environments.
- ItemSize-resolved measurement of the mixing state of soot in the megacity Beijing, China: Diurnal cycle, aging and parameterization(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2012) Cheng, Y.F.; Su, H.; Rose, D.; Gunthe, S.S.; Berghof, M.; Wehner, B.; Achtert, P.; Nowak, A.; Takegawa, N.; Kondo, Y.; Shiraiwa, M.; Gong, Y.G.; Shao, M.; Hu, M.; Zhu, T.; Zhang, Y.H.; Carmichael, G.R.; Wiedensohler, A.; Andreae, M.O.; Pöschl, U.Soot particles are the most efficient light absorbing aerosol species in the atmosphere, playing an important role as a driver of global warming. Their climate effects strongly depend on their mixing state, which significantly changes their light absorbing capability and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) activity. Therefore, knowledge about the mixing state of soot and its aging mechanism becomes an important topic in the atmospheric sciences. The size-resolved (30–320 nm diameter) mixing state of soot particles in polluted megacity air was measured at a suburban site (Yufa) during the CAREBeijing 2006 campaign in Beijing, using a volatility tandem differential mobility analyzer (VTDMA). Particles in this size range with non-volatile residuals at 300 °C were considered to be soot particles. On average, the number fraction of internally mixed soot in total soot particles (Fin), decreased from 0.80 to 0.57 when initial Dp increased from 30 to 320 nm. Further analysis reveals that: (1) Fin was well correlated with the aerosol hygroscopic mixing state measured by a CCN counter. More externally mixed soot particles were observed when particles showed more heterogeneous features with regard to hygroscopicity. (2) Fin had pronounced diurnal cycles. For particles in the accumulation mode (Dp at 100–320 nm), largest Fin were observed at noon time, with "apparent" turnover rates (kex → in) up to 7.8% h−1. (3) Fin was subject to competing effects of both aging and emissions. While aging increases Fin by converting externally mixed soot particles into internally mixed ones, emissions tend to reduce Fin by emitting more fresh and externally mixed soot particles. Similar competing effects were also found with air mass age indicators. (4) Under the estimated emission intensities, actual turnover rates of soot (kex → in) up to 20% h−1 were derived, which showed a pronounced diurnal cycle peaking around noon time. This result confirms that (soot) particles are undergoing fast aging/coating with the existing high levels of condensable vapors in the megacity Beijing. (5) Diurnal cycles of Fin were different between Aitken and accumulation mode particles, which could be explained by the faster growth of smaller Aitken mode particles into larger size bins. To improve the Fin prediction in regional/global models, we suggest parameterizing Fin by an air mass aging indicator, i.e., Fin = a + bx, where a and b are empirical coefficients determined from observations, and x is the value of an air mass age indicator. At the Yufa site in the North China Plain, fitted coefficients (a, b) were determined as (0.57, 0.21), (0.47, 0.21), and (0.52, 0.0088) for x (indicators) as [NOz]/[NOy], [E]/[X] ([ethylbenzene]/[m,p-xylene]) and ([IM] + [OM])/[EC] ([inorganic + organic matter]/[elemental carbon]), respectively. Such a parameterization consumes little additional computing time, but yields a more realistic description of Fin compared with the simple treatment of soot mixing state in regional/global models.
- ItemScanning supersaturation condensation particle counter applied as a nano-CCN counter for size-resolved analysis of the hygroscopicity and chemical composition of nanoparticles(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2015) Wang, Z.; Su, H.; Wang, X.; Ma, N.; Wiedensohler, A.; Pöschl, U.; Cheng, Y.Knowledge about the chemical composition of aerosol particles is essential to understand their formation and evolution in the atmosphere. Due to analytical limitations, however, relatively little information is available for sub-10 nm particles. We present the design of a nano-cloud condensation nuclei counter (nano-CCNC) for measuring size-resolved hygroscopicity and inferring chemical composition of sub-10 nm aerosol particles. We extend the use of counting efficiency spectra from a water-based condensation particle counter (CPC) and link it to the analysis of CCN activation spectra, which provides a theoretical basis for the application of a scanning supersaturation CPC (SS-CPC) as a nano-CCNC. Measurement procedures and data analysis methods are demonstrated through laboratory experiments with monodisperse particles of diameter down to 2.5 nm, where sodium chloride, ammonium sulfate, sucrose and tungsten oxide can be easily discriminated by different characteristic supersaturations of water droplet formation. A near-linear relationship between hygroscopicity parameter κ and organic mass fraction is also found for sucrose-ammonium sulfate mixtures. The design is not limited to the water CPC, but also applies to CPCs with other working fluids (e.g. butanol, perfluorotributylamine). We suggest that a combination of SS-CPCs with multiple working fluids may provide further insight into the chemical composition of nanoparticles and the role of organic and inorganic compounds in the initial steps of atmospheric new particle formation and growth.
- ItemCloud condensation nuclei in polluted air and biomass burning smoke near the mega-city Guangzhou, China – Part 2: Size-resolved aerosol chemical composition, diurnal cycles, and externally mixed weakly CCN-active soot particles(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Rose, D.; Gunthe, S.S.; Su, H.; Garland, R.M.; Yang, H.; Berghof, M.; Cheng, Y.F.; Wehner, B.; Achtert, P.; Nowak, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Takegawa, N.; Kondo, Y.; Hu, M.; Zhang, Y.; Andreae, M.O.; Pöschl, U.Size-resolved chemical composition, mixing state, and cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) activity of aerosol particles in polluted mega-city air and biomass burning smoke were measured during the PRIDE-PRD2006 campaign near Guangzhou, China, using an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS), a volatility tandem differential mobility analyzer (VTDMA), and a continuous-flow CCN counter (DMT-CCNC). The size-dependence and temporal variations of the effective average hygroscopicity parameter for CCN-active particles (κa) could be parameterized as a function of organic and inorganic mass fractions (forg, finorg) determined by the AMS: κa,p=κorg·forg + κinorg·finorg. The characteristic κ values of organic and inorganic components were similar to those observed in other continental regions of the world: κorg≈0.1 and κinorg≈0.6. The campaign average κa values increased with particle size from ~0.25 at ~50 nm to ~0.4 at ~200 nm, while forg decreased with particle size. At ~50 nm, forg was on average 60% and increased to almost 100% during a biomass burning event. The VTDMA results and complementary aerosol optical data suggest that the large fractions of CCN-inactive particles observed at low supersaturations (up to 60% at S≤0.27%) were externally mixed weakly CCN-active soot particles with low volatility (diameter reduction <5% at 300 °C) and effective hygroscopicity parameters around κLV≈0.01. A proxy for the effective average hygroscopicity of the total ensemble of CCN-active particles including weakly CCN-active particles (κt) could be parameterized as a function of κa,p and the number fraction of low volatility particles determined by VTDMA (φLV): κt,p=κa,p−φLV·(κa,p−κLV). Based on κ values derived from AMS and VTDMA data, the observed CCN number concentrations (NCCN,S≈102–104 cm−3 at S = 0.068–0.47%) could be efficiently predicted from the measured particle number size distribution. The mean relative deviations between observed and predicted CCN concentrations were ~10% when using κt,p, and they increased to ~20% when using only κa,p. The mean relative deviations were not higher (~20%) when using an approximate continental average value of κ≈0.3, although the constant κ value cannot account for the observed temporal variations in particle composition and mixing state (diurnal cycles and biomass burning events). Overall, the results confirm that on a global and climate modeling scale an average value of κ≈0.3 can be used for approximate predictions of CCN number concentrations in continental boundary layer air when aerosol size distribution data are available without information about chemical composition. Bulk or size-resolved data on aerosol chemical composition enable improved CCN predictions resolving regional and temporal variations, but the composition data need to be highly accurate and complemented by information about particle mixing state to achieve high precision (relative deviations <20%).
- ItemCloud condensation nuclei (CCN) from fresh and aged air pollution in the megacity region of Beijing(München : European Geopyhsical Union, 2011) Gunthe, S.S.; Rose, D.; Su, H.; Garland, R.M.; Achtert, P.; Nowak, A.; Wiedensohler, A.; Kuwata, M.; Takegawa, N.; Kondo, Y.; Hu, M.; Shao, M.; Zhu, T.; Andreae, M.O.; Pöschl, U.Atmospheric aerosol particles serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are key elements of the hydrological cycle and climate. CCN properties were measured and characterized during the CAREBeijing-2006 campaign at a regional site south of the megacity of Beijing, China. Size-resolved CCN efficiency spectra recorded for a supersaturation range of S=0.07% to 0.86% yielded average activation diameters in the range of 190 nm to 45 nm. The corresponding effective hygroscopicity parameters (κ) exhibited a strong size dependence ranging from ~0.25 in the Aitken size range to ~0.45 in the accumulation size range. The campaign average value (κ =0.3 ± 0.1) was similar to the values observed and modeled for other populated continental regions. The hygroscopicity parameters derived from the CCN measurements were consistent with chemical composition data recorded by an aerosol mass spectrometer (AMS) and thermo-optical measurements of apparent elemental and organic carbon (EC and OC). The CCN hygroscopicity and its size dependence could be parameterized as a function of only AMS based organic and inorganic mass fractions (forg, finorg) using the simple mixing rule κp ≈ 0.1 · forg + 0.7 · finorg. When the measured air masses originated from the north and passed rapidly over the center of Beijing (fresh city pollution), the average particle hygroscopicity was reduced (κ = 0.2 ± 0.1), which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions of organic compounds (~50%) and EC (~30%) in the fine particulate matter (PM1). Moreover, substantial fractions of externally mixed weakly CCN-active particles were observed at low supersaturation (S=0.07%), which can be explained by the presence of freshly emitted soot particles with very low hygroscopicity (κ < 0.1). Particles in stagnant air from the industrialized region south of Beijing (aged regional pollution) were on average larger and more hygroscopic, which is consistent with enhanced mass fractions (~60%) of soluble inorganic ions (mostly sulfate, ammonium, and nitrate). Accordingly, the number concentration of CCN in aged air from the megacity region was higher than in fresh city outflow ((2.5–9.9) × 103 cm−3 vs. (0.4–8.3) × 103 cm−3 for S=0.07–0.86%) although the total aerosol particle number concentration was lower (1.2 × 104 cm−3 vs. 2.3 × 104 cm−3). A comparison with related studies suggests that the fresh outflow from Chinese urban centers generally may contain more, but smaller and less hygroscopic aerosol particles and thus fewer CCN than the aged outflow from megacity regions.