RAPID: Airborne Measurements of Black Carbon Aerosol and Its Mixing State over the Eastern Pacific/Central Coast of California

Clemson University, Clemson SC

Investigators

Abstract

This project supports the deployment of an instrument to measure black carbon (BC) in the atmosphere during a field study that is planned to take place during mid-June through mid-July 2018, near Monterey, California. The instrument will be part of a broader suite of aerosol, cloud, and precipitation probes to be flown on the Office of Naval Research Twin Otter aircraft with the goal of assessing the effects of aerosol particles on marine clouds. These data will be used to assess the influence of ship exhaust and biomass burning on the marine atmosphere. Detailed analysis of Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) data will be used to determine the mixing state of black carbon aerosol; that is, the amount of non-refractory material mixed with black carbon on a per-particle basis. The nature of black carbon aerosol will be used with back trajectory analysis of the sampled air masses to determine if different types of black carbon particles can be attributed to different sources. The measurements made through this project will address questions such as: (1) How does the nature (size distribution and mixing state) of BC aerosol in the Eastern Pacific compare to that in other remote, marine environments where similar measurements have been performed? (2) Can the nature of BC aerosol be used to determine the source of that aerosol? And (3) What is the relationship between BC aerosol mixing state and particle scavenging in the marine boundary layer? This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.