Shipboard Measurements of Size-Resolved Single Particle Chemistry with a Transportable Aerosol Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer during the 2001 ACE-Asia Intensive Field Operations

University Of California-Riverside, Riverside CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project involves the shipboard measurement of real-time individual particle size and chemical composition during the ACE-Asia field experiment. These measurements will be made aboard the NOAA research vessel Ron Brown using a transportable aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS). The measurements will provide physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles, quantification of physical and chemical processes controlling their evolution, and assessment of the role of chemical composition of aerosol particles in climate change. Of particular interest will be to assess the degree of mixing and reaction/aging of the particles present in the sampling locations in order to evaluate their temporal and chemical variability. The proposed ATOFMS single particle analysis will help identify and allocate relative contributions from different sources, using distinct combinations of ion markers from the single particle mass spectra.