The Role of Organic Sea Salt Aerosol in Cloud Processing

Abstract

LONG-TERM GOAL. My long term goal is to quantify the role of organic compounds in sea salt aerosol. This project studies the effect of organic compounds on the uptake of water by sea salt aerosol particles. Studying the chemical composition of those particles provides important information about their behavior in the atmosphere. OBJECTIVES. I want to know what role the presence of organic species may play in the hygroscopicity of particles. In particular, I want to know how the organic composition of particles affects their ability to serve as cloud condensation nuclei. APPROACH. We have studied the empirical relationship between the organic composition of particles and their size. We are now constructing a thermodynamic model that accounts for the effect of organics on the uptake of water by particles. We will also develop an enhanced method of measuring the organic fraction of particles, in order to collect airborne measurements of the organic fraction of particles.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 30, 1999
Accession Number
ADA629810

Entities

People

  • Lynn M Russell

Organizations

  • Princeton University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Masses
  • Aromatic Hydrocarbons
  • Atmospheric Sciences
  • Boundary Layer
  • Chemical Composition
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Combustion
  • Combustion Products
  • Condensation
  • Condensation Nuclei
  • Cyclic Hydrocarbons
  • Data Sets
  • Engineering
  • Measurement
  • Organic Compounds
  • Organic Materials
  • Particles

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Remote Sensing.
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science