Volatility of Aerosols in the Western European Environment

Abstract

Volatile properties of marine and modified maritime aerosol were measured at the remote site of Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland, located on the eastern edge of the North Atlantic Ocean. The volatility measurements were made with a light scattering counter equipped with a temperature-controlled heated intake. The work extends the temperature range from 300 deg C to 850 deg C for the first time for aerosol volatility studies. Representative measurements made over the period of nearly two years show that the submicrometer particles with radius < 0.2 micrometer are highly volatile for the maritime aerosol and show temperature-fractionation features of ammonium sulphate (or ammonium bisulphate). It is estimated that 85-95% of this size fraction (by volume) is composed of these sulphates. For the higher temperatures, temperature- fractionation characteristics of sodium chloride are shown for the supermicron and also for the submicron maritime particles. About 80% of the particle size interval of 0.3 - 1.5 micrometers radius is composed of sodium chloride. Keywords: Temperature profile curves, Mixtures, Volatility of aerosols, Western Europe, Physical chemistry.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Dec 01, 1989
Accession Number
ADA222786

Entities

People

  • S. G. Jennings

Organizations

  • New York University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Masses
  • Atlantic Ocean
  • Chemistry
  • Climate Change
  • Electromagnetic Radiation
  • High Temperature
  • Light Scattering
  • Measurement
  • Micrometers
  • New York
  • North Atlantic Ocean
  • Particle Counters
  • Particle Size
  • Particles
  • Scientists
  • Sodium Compounds
  • United States

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Aerosol Science/Aerosol Physics
  • Analytical Chemistry
  • Oceanography.