Source Strength and Scattering Properties of Organic Marine Aerosols

Abstract

LONG-TERM GOAL. My long term goal is to quantify the role played by sea salt in radiative scattering in the marine environment. This project studies the number of aerosol particles produced from sea salt under different marine conditions. Studying the chemical composition of those particles provides important information about their behavior in the atmosphere. OBJECTIVES. I would like to see whether the number of sea salt particles observed in field projects can be predicted by current parameterizations of particle flux based on wind speed. I will test whether other parameters are also important determinants of sea salt particle concentrations. I also want to establish what the compositions of sea salt particles are. To this end, I will need to design and build an accurate instrument for measuring sea salt aerosol. APPROACH. We have completed analyses of the chemical composition of aerosol samples collected as part of the Aerosol Characterization Experiment (ACE) 2 in Tenerife in 1997. We have also studied the role of sea salt particles in layers other than the boundary layer by quantifying the rate of entrainment of particles to and from the marine boundary layer. We have designed and built a new salt particle counter to make direct measurements of sea salt more accurately.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 20, 1999
Accession Number
ADA629809

Entities

People

  • Lynn M Russell

Organizations

  • Princeton University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Masses
  • Aircrafts
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Layer
  • Chemical Composition
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Entrainment
  • Layers
  • Measurement
  • Optical Properties
  • Particle Counters
  • Particle Flux
  • Particles
  • Patent Applications
  • Refractive Index
  • Scattering
  • Uncertainty

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Coastal Oceanography
  • Solar Physics
  • Surface Engineering/Surface Coating Technology.