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Large Contribution of Coarse Mode to Aerosol Microphysical and Optical Properties: Evidence from Ground-Based Observations of a Transpacific Dust Outbreak at a High-Elevation North American Site
- Source :
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 74:1431-1443
- Publication Year :
- 2017
- Publisher :
- American Meteorological Society, 2017.
-
Abstract
- This work is motivated by previous studies of transatlantic transport of Saharan dust and the observed quasi-static nature of coarse mode aerosol with a volume median diameter (VMD) of approximately 3.5 μm. The authors examine coarse mode contributions from transpacific transport of dust to North American aerosol properties using a dataset collected at the high-elevation Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL) and the nearby Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility. Collected ground-based data are complemented by quasi-global model simulations and satellite and ground-based observations. The authors identify a major dust event associated mostly with a transpacific plume (about 65% of near-surface aerosol mass) in which the coarse mode with moderate (~3 μm) VMD is distinct and contributes substantially to total aerosol volume (up to 70%) and scattering (up to 40%). The results demonstrate that the identified plume at the SPL site has a considerable fraction of supermicron particles (VMD ~3 μm) and, thus, suggest that these particles have a fairly invariant behavior despite transpacific transport. If confirmed in additional studies, this invariant behavior may simplify considerably parameterizations for size-dependent processes associated with dust transport and removal.
Details
- ISSN :
- 15200469 and 00224928
- Volume :
- 74
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi...........e912be81b25232f66784e479accf7d31