Search Results

Now showing 1 - 7 of 7
  • Item
    Infrequent 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
  • Item
    Expressing stemflow commensurate with its ecohydrological importance
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Carlyle-Moses, Darryl E.; Iida, Shin'ichi; Germer, Sonja; Llorens, Pilar; Michalzik, Beate; Nanko, Kazuki; Tischer, Alexander; Levia, Delphis F.
    Despite some progress, the importance of stemflow remains obscured partly due to computations emphasizing canopy interception loss. We advocate for two metrics—the stand-scale funneling ratio and the stand-scale infiltration funneling ratio—to more accurately portray stemflow inputs and increase comparability across ecosystems. These metrics yield per unit area stemflow inputs orders of magnitude greater than what would have been delivered by throughfall or precipitation alone. We recommend that future studies employ these stand-scale funnelling metrics to express stemflow commensurate with its ecohydrological importance and better conceptualize the role of stemflow in plant-soil interactions, permitting advances in critical zone science. © 2018 The Authors
  • Item
    Do new sea spray aerosol source functions improve the results of a regional aerosol model?
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Barthel, Stefan; Tegen, Ina; Wolke, Ralf
    Sea spray aerosol particle is a dominating part of the global aerosol mass load of natural origin. Thus, it strongly influences the atmospheric radiation balance and cloud properties especially over the oceans. Uncertainties of the estimated climate impacts by this aerosol type are partly caused by the uncertainties in the particle size dependent emission fluxes of sea spray aerosol particle. We present simulations with a regional aerosol transport model system in two domains, for three months and compared the model results to measurements at four stations using various sea spray aerosol particle source source functions. Despite these limitations we found the results using different source functions are within the range of most model uncertainties. Especially the model's ability to produce realistic wind speeds is crucial. Furthermore, the model results are more affected by a function correcting the emission flux for the effect of the sea surface temperature than by the use of different source functions. © 2018 The Authors
  • Item
    Variability of black carbon mass concentrations, sub-micrometer particle number concentrations and size distributions: results of the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network ranging from city street to High Alpine locations
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Sun, J.; Birmili, W.; Hermann, M.; Tuch, T.; Weinhold, K.; Spindler, G.; Schladitz, A.; Bastian, S.; Löschau, G.; Cyrys, J.; Gu, J.; Flentje, H.; Briel, B.; Asbac, C.; Kaminski, H.; Ries, L.; Sohme, R.; Gerwig, H.; Wirtz, K.; Meinhardt, F.; Schwerin, A.; Bath, O.; Ma, N.; Wiedensohler, A.
    This work reports the first statistical analysis of multi-annual data on tropospheric aerosols from the German Ultrafine Aerosol Network (GUAN). Compared to other networks worldwide, GUAN with 17 measurement locations has the most sites equipped with particle number size distribution (PNSD) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) instruments and the most site categories in Germany ranging from city street/roadside to High Alpine. As we know, the variations of eBC and particle number concentration (PNC) are influenced by several factors such as source, transformation, transport and deposition. The dominant controlling factor for different pollutant parameters might be varied, leading to the different spatio-temporal variations among the measured parameters. Currently, a study of spatio-temporal variations of PNSD and eBC considering the influences of both site categories and spatial scale is still missing. Based on the multi-site dataset of GUAN, the goal of this study is to investigate how pollutant parameters may interfere with spatial characteristics and site categories. © 2019 The Authors
  • Item
    Structural and mechanical characterization of heterogeneities in a CuZr-based bulk metallic glass processed by high pressure torsion
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Ebner, Christian; Escher, Benjamin; Gammer, Christoph; Eckert, Jürgen; Pauly, Simon; Rentenberger, Christian
    Cu45Zr45Al5Ag5 bulk metallic glass samples, processed by high pressure torsion (HPT) under various conditions, were characterized using synchrotron X-ray diffraction, nanoindentation, differential scanning calorimetry, atomic force and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results clearly show that HPT modifies the amorphous structure by increasing the mean atomic volume. The level of rejuvenation, correlated with the excess mean atomic volume, is enhanced at higher shear strains as inferred from relaxation enthalpies. By mapping of structural and mechanical quantities, the strain-induced rejuvenated state is characterized on cross-sectional HPT samples on a local scale. A clear correlation both between elastic and plastic softening and between softening and excess mean atomic volume is obtained. But also the heterogeneity of the HPT induced rejuvenation is revealed, resulting in the formation of highly strain-softened regions next to less-deformed ones. A hardness drop of up to 20% is associated with an estimated increase of the mean atomic volume of up to 0.75%. Based on synchrotron X-ray diffraction and nanoindentation measurements it is concluded that elastic fluctuations are enhanced in the rejuvenated material on different length scales down to atomic scale. Furthermore, the calculated flexibility volume and the corresponding average mean square atomic displacement is increased. The plastic response during nanoindentation indicates that HPT processing promotes a more homogeneous-like deformation.
  • Item
    Looking under the hood: A comparison of techno-economic assumptions across national and global integrated assessment models
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Krey, Volker; Guo, Fei; Kolp, Peter; Zhou, Wenji; Schaeffer, Roberto; Awasthy, Aayushi; Bertram, Christoph; de Boer, Harmen-Sytze; Fragkos, Panagiotis; Fujimori, Shinichiro; He, Chenmin; Iyer, Gokul; Keramidas, Kimon; Köberle, Alexandre C.; Oshiro, Ken; Reis, Lara Aleluia; Shoai-Tehrani, Bianka; Vishwanathan, Saritha; Capros, Pantelis; Drouet, Laurent; Edmonds, James E.; Garg, Amit; Gernaat, David E.H.J.; Jiang, Kejun; Kannavou, Maria; Kitous, Alban; Kriegler, Elmar; Luderer, Gunnar; Mathur, Ritu; Muratori, Matteo; Sano, Fuminori; van Vuuren, Detlef P.
    Integrated assessment models are extensively used in the analysis of climate change mitigation and are informing national decision makers as well as contribute to international scientific assessments. This paper conducts a comprehensive review of techno-economic assumptions in the electricity sector among fifteen different global and national integrated assessment models. Particular focus is given to six major economies in the world: Brazil, China, the EU, India, Japan and the US. The comparison reveals that techno-economic characteristics are quite different across integrated assessment models, both for the base year and future years. It is, however, important to recognize that techno-economic assessments from the literature exhibit an equally large range of parameters as the integrated assessment models reviewed. Beyond numerical differences, the representation of technologies also differs among models, which needs to be taken into account when comparing numerical parameters. While desirable, it seems difficult to fully harmonize techno-economic parameters across a broader range of models due to structural differences in the representation of technology. Therefore, making techno-economic parameters available in the future, together with of the technology representation as well as the exact definitions of the parameters should become the standard approach as it allows an open discussion of appropriate assumptions. © 2019 The Authors
  • Item
    Cold atmospheric pressure plasma and low energy electron beam as alternative nonthermal decontamination technologies for dry food surfaces: A review
    (Amsterdam [u.a.] : Elsevier Science, 2018) Hertwig, Christian; Meneses, Nicolas; Mathys, Alexander
    Background: Dry food products are often highly contaminated, and dry stress-resistant microorganisms, such as certain types of Salmonella and bacterial spores, can be still viable and multiply if the product is incorporated into high moisture food products or rehydrated. Traditional technologies for the decontamination of these products have certain limitations and drawbacks, such as alterations of product quality, environmental impacts, carcinogenic potential and/or lower consumer acceptance. Cold atmospheric pressure plasma (CAPP) and low energy electron beam (LEEB) are two promising innovative technologies for microbial inactivation on dry food surfaces, which have shown potential to solve these certain limitations. Scope and approach: This review critically summarizes recent studies on the decontamination of dry food surfaces by CAPP and LEEB. Furthermore, proposed inactivation mechanisms, product-process interactions, current limitations and upscaling potential, as well as future trends and research needs for both emerging technologies, are discussed. Key findings and conclusions: CAPP and LEEB are nonthermal technologies with a high potential for the gentle decontamination of dry food surfaces. Both technologies have similarities in their inactivation mechanisms. Due to the limited penetration depth of both technologies, product-process interactions can be minimized by maintaining product quality. A first demonstrator with Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 for LEEB has already been introduced into the food industry for the decontamination of herbs and spices. Compared with LEEB, CAPP is at the advanced development stage with TRL 5, for which further work is essential to design systems that are scalable to industrial requirements. © 2018 The Authors