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    Development of an online-coupled MARGA upgrade for the 2 h interval quantification of low-molecular-weight organic acids in the gas and particle phases
    (Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2019) Stieger, B.; Spindler, G.; Van Pinxteren, D.; Grüner, A.; Wallasch, M.; Herrmann, H.
    A method is presented to quantify the lowmolecular- weight organic acids such as formic, acetic, propionic, butyric, pyruvic, glycolic, oxalic, malonic, succinic, malic, glutaric, and methanesulfonic acid in the atmospheric gas and particle phases, based on a combination of the Monitor for AeRosols and Gases in ambient Air (MARGA) and an additional ion chromatography (Compact IC) instrument. Therefore, every second hourly integrated MARGA gas and particle samples were collected and analyzed by the Compact IC, resulting in 12 values per day for each phase. A proper separation of the organic target acids was initially tackled by a laboratory IC optimization study, testing different separation columns, eluent compositions and eluent flow rates for both isocratic and gradient elution. Satisfactory resolution of all compounds was achieved using a gradient system with two coupled anion-exchange separation columns. Online pre-concentration with an enrichment factor of approximately 400 was achieved by solid-phase extraction consisting of a methacrylate-polymer-based sorbent with quaternary ammonium groups. The limits of detection of the method range between 0.5 ngm3 for malonate and 17.4 ngm3 for glutarate. Precisions are below 1.0 %, except for glycolate (2.9 %) and succinate (1.0 %). Comparisons of inorganic anions measured at the TROPOS research site in Melpitz, Germany, by the original MARGA and the additional Compact IC are in agreement with each other (R2 D0.95-0.99). Organic acid concentrations from May 2017 as an example period are presented. Monocarboxylic acids were dominant in the gas phase with mean concentrations of 306 ngm3 for acetic acid, followed by formic (199 ngm3), propionic (83 ngm3), pyruvic (76 ngm3), butyric (34 ngm3) and glycolic acid (32 ngm3). Particulate glycolate, oxalate and methanesulfonate were quantified with mean concentrations of 26, 31 and 30 ngm3, respectively. Elevated concentrations of gas-phase formic acid and particulate oxalate in the late afternoon indicate photochemical formation as a source.
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    Combining cloud radar and radar wind profiler for a value added estimate of vertical air motion and particle terminal velocity within clouds
    (Göttingen : Copernicus GmbH, 2018) Radenz, M.; Bühl, J.; Lehmann, V.; Görsdorf, U.; Leinweber, R.
    Vertical-stare observations from a 482MHz radar wind profiler and a 35GHz cloud radar are combined on the level of individual Doppler spectra to measure vertical air motions in clear air, clouds and precipitation. For this purpose, a separation algorithm is proposed to remove the influence of falling particles from the wind profiler Doppler spectra and to calculate the terminal fall velocity of hydrometeors. The remaining error of both vertical air motion and terminal fall velocity is estimated to be better than 0.1ms-1 using numerical simulations. This combination of instruments allows direct measurements of in-cloud vertical air velocity and particle terminal fall velocity by means of ground-based remote sensing. The possibility of providing a profile every 10s with a height resolution of < 100m allows further insight into the process scale of in-cloud dynamics. The results of the separation algorithm are illustrated by two case studies, the first covering a deep frontal cloud and the second featuring a shallow mixed-phase cloud.