1,037 research outputs found
An investigation of processes controlling the evolution of the boundary layer aerosol size distribution properties at the Swedish background station Aspvreten
International audienceAerosol size distributions have been measured at the Swedish background station Aspvreten (58.8° N, 17.4° E). Different states of the aerosol were determined using a novel application of cluster analysis. The analysis resulted in eight different clusters capturing different stages of the aerosol lifecycle. The atmospheric aerosol size distributions were interpreted as belonging to fresh, intermediate and aged types of size distribution. With aid of back trajectory analysis we present statistics concerning the relation of source area and different meteorological parameters using a non-Lagrangian approach. Source area is argued to be important although not sufficient to describe the observed aerosol properties. Especially processing by clouds and precipitation is shown to be crucial for the evolution of the aerosol size distribution. As much as 60% of the observed size distributions present features that are likely to be related to cloud processes or wet deposition. The lifetime properties of different sized aerosols are discussed by means of measured variability of the aerosol size distribution. Processing by clouds and precipitation is shown to be especially crucial in the size range 100 nm and larger. This indicates an approximate limit for activation in clouds to 100 nm in this type of environment. The aerosol lifecycle is discussed. Size distributions indicating signs of recent new particle formation (~30% of the observed size distributions) represent the first stage in the lifecycle. Aging of the aerosol size distribution may follow two branches: either growth by condensation and coagulation or processing by non-precipitating clouds. In both cases mass is accumulated. Wet removal is the main process capable of removing aerosol mass. Wet deposition is argued to be an important mechanism in reaching a state where nucleation may occur (i.e. sufficiently low aerosol surface area) in environments similar to the one studied
Seasonal variation of aerosol water uptake and its impact on the direct radiative effect at Ny-Ă lesund, Svalbard
© Author(s) 2014. This work is distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 LicenseIn this study we investigated the impact of water uptake by aerosol particles in ambient atmosphere on their optical properties and their direct radiative effect (ADRE, W m-2) in the Arctic at Ny-Ă
lesund, Svalbard, during 2008. To achieve this, we combined three models, a hygroscopic growth model, a Mie model and a radiative transfer model, with an extensive set of observational data. We found that the seasonal variation of dry aerosol scattering coefficients showed minimum values during the summer season and the beginning of fall (July-August-September), when small particles (< 100 nm in diameter) dominate the aerosol number size distribution. The maximum scattering by dry particles was observed during the Arctic haze period (March-April-May) when the average size of the particles was larger. Considering the hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles in the ambient atmosphere had a significant impact on the aerosol scattering coefficients: the aerosol scattering coefficients were enhanced by on average a factor of 4.30 ± 2.26 (mean ± standard deviation), with lower values during the haze period (March-April-May) as compared to summer and fall. Hygroscopic growth of aerosol particles was found to cause 1.6 to 3.7 times more negative ADRE at the surface, with the smallest effect during the haze period (March-April-May) and the highest during late summer and beginning of fall (July-August-September).Peer reviewe
Contribution of residential wood combustion to hourly winter aerosol in Northern Sweden determined by positive matrix factorization
International audienceThe combined effect of residential wood combustion (RWC) emissions with stable atmospheric conditions, which is a frequent occurrence in Northern Sweden during wintertime, can deteriorate the air quality even in small towns. To estimate the contribution of RWC to the total atmospheric aerosol loading, the positive matrix factorization (PMF) method was applied to hourly mean particle number size distributions measured in a residential area in Lycksele during winter 2005/2006. The sources were identified based on the particle number size distribution profiles of the PMF factors, the diurnal contributions patterns estimated by PMF for both weekends and weekdays, and correlation of the modeled particle number concentration per factor with measured aerosol mass concentrations (PM10, PM1, and light-absorbing carbon MLAC). Through these analyses, the factors were identified as local traffic (factor 1), local RWC (factor 2), and local RWC plus long-range transport (LRT) of aerosols (factor 3). In some occasions, it was difficult to detach the contributions of local RWC from background concentrations since their particle number size distributions partially overlapped and the model was not able to separate these two sources. As a consequence, we report the contribution of RWC as a range of values, being the minimum determined by factor 2 and the possible maximum as the contributions of both factors 2 and 3. A multiple linear regression (MLR) of observed PM10, PM1, total particle number, and MLAC concentrations is carried out to determine the source contribution to these aerosol variables. The results reveal RWC is an important source of atmospheric particles in the size range 25?606 nm (44?57%), PM10 (36?82%), PM1 (31?83%), and MLAC (40?76%) mass concentrations in the winter season. The contribution from RWC is especially large on weekends between 18:00 LT and midnight whereas local traffic emissions show similar contributions every day
A review of sea-spray aerosol source functions using a large global set of sea salt aerosol concentration measurements
Sea-spray aerosols (SSA) are an important part of the climate system because
of their effects on the global radiative budget â both directly as scatterers and
absorbers of solar and terrestrial radiation, and indirectly as cloud
condensation nuclei (CCN) influencing cloud formation, lifetime, and
precipitation. In terms of their global mass, SSA have the largest
uncertainty of all aerosols. In this study we review 21 SSA source functions
from the literature, several of which are used in current climate models. In
addition, we propose a~new function. Even excluding outliers, the global annual
SSA mass produced spans roughly 3â70 Pg yr<sup>â1</sup> for the different
source functions, for particles with dry diameter <i>D</i><sub>p</sub> < 10 ÎŒm,
with relatively little interannual variability for a given
function. The FLEXPART Lagrangian particle dispersion model was run in
backward mode for a large global set of observed SSA concentrations,
comprised of several station networks and ship cruise measurement campaigns.
FLEXPART backward calculations produce gridded emission sensitivity fields,
which can subsequently be multiplied with gridded SSA production fluxes in order to
obtain modeled SSA concentrations. This allowed us to efficiently and simultaneously evaluate all
21 source functions against the measurements. Another
advantage of this method is that source-region information on wind speed and
sea surface temperatures (SSTs) could be stored and used for improving the
SSA source function parameterizations. The best source functions reproduced
as much as 70% of the observed SSA concentration variability at
several stations, which is comparable with "state of the art" aerosol
models. The main driver of SSA production is wind, and we found that the best
fit to the observation data could be obtained when the SSA production is
proportional to <i>U</i><sub>10</sub><sup>3.5</sup>, where
<i>U</i><sub>10</sub> is the source region averaged
10 m wind speed. A strong influence of SST on SSA production, with
higher temperatures leading to higher production, could be detected as well,
although the underlying physical mechanisms of the SST influence remains
unclear. Our new source function with wind speed and temperature dependence
gives a global SSA production for particles smaller than
<i>D</i><sub>p</sub> < 10 ÎŒm of 9 Pg yr<sup>â1</sup>, and is the best fit to the observed
concentrations
Sputtering of polished EUROFER97 steel: Surface structure modification and enrichment with tungsten and tantalum
A pseudo-Lagrangian model study of the size distribution properties over Scandinavia: transport from Aspvreten to VÀrriö
International audienceThe evolution of the aerosol size distribution during transport between Aspvreten (58.8° N, 17.4° E) and VÀrriö (67.46° N, 29.35° E) was studied using a pseudo-Lagrangian approach. Aerosol dynamic processes were studied and interpreted utilizing a state-of-the-art aerosol dynamic box model UHMA (University of Helsinki Multicomponent Aerosol model) complemented with OH, NO3, O3 and terpene chemistry. In the model simulations, the growth and formation of aerosol particles was controlled by sulphuric acid, ammonia, water and an unidentified low volatile organic compound. This organic compound was assumed to be a product of terpene oxidation with a yield of 13% in the base case conditions. Changes of aerosol size distribution properties during transport between the stations were examined in twelve clear sky cases. On average, the modelled number agreed fairly well with observations. Mass concentration was overestimated by 10%. Apart from dilution, the only removal mechanism for aerosol mass is dry deposition. A series of sensitivity tests performed revealed that the absolute magnitude of dry deposition effects on the aerosol size distribution is slow overall. Furthermore, nucleation does not leave a significant contribution to aerosol number in the selected cases. The sensitivity of the modelled size distribution to concentration of precursor gases and oxidants is, however, obvious. In order to explain observed mass increase during transport we conclude that a yield of low volatile products from oxidation of terpenes of 10?15% is required to explain observed growth rates. Coagulation is acknowledged to be highly important in modelled cases
Ethylcellulose-stabilized fat-tissue phantom for quality assurance in clinical hyperthermia
Background: Phantoms accurately mimicking the electromagnetic and thermal properties of human tissues are essential for the development, characterization, and quality assurance (QA) of clinically used equipment for Hyperthermia Treatment (HT). Currently, a viable recipe for a fat equivalent phantom is not available, mainly due to challenges in the fabrication process and fast deterioration. Materials and methods: We propose to employ a glycerol-in-oil emulsion stabilized with ethylcellulose to develop a fat-mimicking material. The dielectric, rheological, and thermal properties of the phantom have been assessed by state-of-the-art measurement techniques. The full-size phantom was then verified in compliance with QA guidelines for superficial HT, both numerically and experimentally, considering the properties variability. Results: Dielectric and thermal properties were proven equivalent to fat tissue, with an acceptable variability, in the 8 MHz to 1 GHz range. The rheology measurements highlighted enhanced mechanical stability over a large temperature range. Both numerical and experimental evaluations proved the suitability of the phantom for QA procedures. The impact of the dielectric property variations on the temperature distribution has been numerically proven to be limited (around 5%), even if higher for capacitive devices (up to 20%). Conclusions: The proposed fat-mimicking phantom is a good candidate for hyperthermia technology assessment processes, adequately representing both dielectric and thermal properties of the human fat tissue while maintaining structural stability even at elevated temperatures. However, further experimental investigations on capacitive heating devices are necessary to better assess the impact of the low electrical conductivity values on the thermal distribution
Determination of tungsten sources in the JET-ILW divertor by spectroscopic imaging in the presence of a strong plasma continuum
The identification of the sources of atomic tungsten and the measurement of their radiation distribution in front of all plasma-facing components has been performed in JET with the help of two digital cameras with the same two-dimensional view, equipped with interference filters of different bandwidths centred on the W I (400.88 nm) emission line. A new algorithm for the subtraction of the continuum radiation was successfully developed and is now used to evaluate the W erosion even in the inner divertor region where the strong recombination emission is dominating over the tungsten emission. Analysis of W sputtering and W redistribution in the divertor by video imaging spectroscopy with high spatial resolution for three different magnetic configurations was performed. A strong variation of the emission of the neutral tungsten in toroidal direction and corresponding W erosion has been observed. It correlates strongly with the wetted area with a maximal W erosion at the edge of the divertor tile.EURATOM 63305
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