Acquisition of New Instrumentation for Atmospheric Aerosol Research at Storm Peak Laboratory

Nevada System Of Higher Education, Desert Research Institute, Reno NV

Investigators

Abstract

This Major Research Infrastructure (MRI) award will provide instrumentation for atmospheric research at Storm Peak Laboratory (SPL). The instruments will focus on measurements of the physical characterization of the atmospheric particle size distribution over the complete size range from aerosol of diameter a few tens of nanometers up to and including cloud droplets. SPL, operated by the Desert Research Institute (DRI), is a mountain-top atmospheric research and teaching facility located at 3220 m elevation in the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The site is accessible year-round to researchers and educators who require an instrumented site in the middle troposphere to study the atmosphere and its physical, chemical, and biological properties. This project will permanently equip SPL with a set of instrumentation in the areas of research and teaching conducted by the principal investigators. An enhanced research focus will be developed regarding the mechanisms of aerosol interactions with physical, chemical, and radiative processes in the atmosphere.