Dataset Information

Substantial Seasonal Contribution of Observed Biogenic Sulfate Particles to Cloud Condensation Nuclei.

ABSTRACT: Biogenic sources contribute to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the clean marine atmosphere, but few measurements exist to constrain climate model simulations of their importance. The chemical composition of individual atmospheric aerosol particles showed two types of sulfate-containing particles in clean marine air masses in addition to mass-based Estimated Salt particles. Both types of sulfate particles lack combustion tracers and correlate, for some conditions, to atmospheric or seawater dimethyl sulfide (DMS) concentrations, which means their source was largely biogenic. The first type is identified as New Sulfate because their large sulfate mass fraction (63% sulfate) and association with entrainment conditions means they could have formed by nucleation in the free troposphere. The second type is Added Sulfate particles (38% sulfate), because they are preexisting particles onto which additional sulfate condensed. New Sulfate particles accounted for 31% (7?cm-3) and 33% (36?cm-3) CCN at 0.1% supersaturation in late-autumn and late-spring, respectively, whereas sea spray provided 55% (13?cm-3) in late-autumn but only 4% (4?cm-3) in late-spring. Our results show a clear seasonal difference in the marine CCN budget, which illustrates how important phytoplankton-produced DMS emissions are for CCN in the North Atlantic.

SUBMITTER: Sanchez KJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5818515 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Substantial Seasonal Contribution of Observed Biogenic Sulfate Particles to Cloud Condensation Nuclei.

Sanchez Kevin J KJ Chen Chia-Li CL Russell Lynn M LM Betha Raghu R Liu Jun J Price Derek J DJ Massoli Paola P Ziemba Luke D LD Crosbie Ewan C EC Moore Richard H RH Müller Markus M Schiller Sven A SA Wisthaler Armin A Lee Alex K Y AKY Quinn Patricia K PK Bates Timothy S TS Porter Jack J Bell Thomas G TG Saltzman Eric S ES Vaillancourt Robert D RD Behrenfeld Mike J MJ

Scientific reports 20180219 1

Biogenic sources contribute to cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) in the clean marine atmosphere, but few measurements exist to constrain climate model simulations of their importance. The chemical composition of individual atmospheric aerosol particles showed two types of sulfate-containing particles in clean marine air masses in addition to mass-based Estimated Salt particles. Both types of sulfate particles lack combustion tracers and correlate, for some conditions, to atmospheric or seawater di ...[more]

PMID: 29459666

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Project description:Coastal southeast Florida experiences a wide range of aerosol conditions, including African dust, biomass burning (BB) aerosols, as well as sea salt and other locally-emitted aerosols. These aerosols are important sources of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), which play an essential role in governing cloud radiative properties. As marine environments dominate the surface of Earth, CCN characteristics in coastal southeast Florida have broad implications for other regions with the added feature that this site is perturbed by both natural and anthropogenic emissions. This study investigates the influence of different air mass types on CCN concentrations at 0.2% (CCN0.2%) and 1.0% (CCN1.0%) supersaturation (SS) based on ground site measurements during selected months in 2013, 2017, and 2018. Average CCN0.2% and CCN1.0% concentrations were 373 ± 200 cm-3 and 584 ± 323 cm-3, respectively, for four selected days with minimal presence of African dust and BB (i.e., background days). CCN concentrations were not elevated on the four days with highest influence of African dust (289 ± 104 cm-3 [0.2% SS] and 591 ± 302 cm-3 [1.0% SS]), consistent with high dust mass concentrations comprised of coarse particles that are few in number. In contrast, CCN concentrations were substantially enhanced on the five days with the greatest impact from BB (1408 ± 976 cm-3 [0.2% SS] and 3337 ± 1252 cm-3 [1.0% SS]). Ratios of CCN0.2%:CCN1.0% were used to compare the hygroscopicity of the aerosols associated with African dust, BB, and background days. Average ratios were similar for days impacted by African dust and BB (0.54 ± 0.17 and 0.55 ± 0.17, respectively). A 29% higher average ratio was observed on background days (0.71 ± 0.14), owing in part to a strong presence of sea salt and reduced presence of more hydrophobic species such as those of a carbonaceous or mineral-dust nature. Finally, periods of heavy rainfall were shown to effectively decrease both CCN0.2% and CCN1.0% concentrations. However, the rate varied at which such concentrations increased after the rain. This work contributes knowledge on the nucleating ability of African dust and BB in a marine environment after varying periods of atmospheric transport (days to weeks). The results can be used to understand the hygroscopicity of these air mass types, predict how they may influence cloud properties, and provide a valuable model constraint when predicting CCN concentrations in comparable situations.

Dataset Information

Substantial Seasonal Contribution of Observed Biogenic Sulfate Particles to Cloud Condensation Nuclei.

Publications

Substantial Seasonal Contribution of Observed Biogenic Sulfate Particles to Cloud Condensation Nuclei.

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