Cloud condensation nuclei measurements at Mace Head, Ireland, over the period 1994–2002

Analyses of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations (cm^− 3) measured at the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station, near Carna, County Galway, Ireland, using a DH Associates Model M1 static thermal diffusion cloud chamber over the period from March 1994 to September 2002 are presented in this work. Air masses are defined as being ‘marine’ if they originate from a wind direction of 180–300° and ‘continental’ air masses are defined as originating from a wind direction of 45–135°. Air masses without such filtering were classified as ‘undefined’ air masses. Air masses were found to be dominated by marine sector air, re-affirming Mace Head as a baseline atmospheric research station. CCN levels for specific air masses at Mace Head were found to be comparable with earlier studies both at Mace Head and elsewhere. Monthly averaged clean marine (wind direction of 180–300° and black carbon absorption coefficient < 1.425 Mm^− 1) CCN and marine CCN varied between 15–247 cm^− 3 and 54–670 cm^− 3, respectively. As expected, significant increases in number concentration were found in continentally sourced CCN over that of marine CCN and were found to follow a log-normal distribution significantly tighter than that of clean marine air masses. No significant trend was found for CCN over the 9-year period. While polluted continental air masses showed a slight increase in CCN concentrations over the winter months, most likely due to increased fuel usage and a lower mixed boundary layer, the dominance of marine sector air arriving at Mace Head, which generally consists of background CCN concentrations, reduced seasonal differences for polluted air. Marine air showed a distinct seasonal pattern, with elevated values occurring over the spring and summer seasons. This is thought to be due to enhanced biogenic aerosol production as a result of phytoplankton bloom activity in the North Atlantic.     

Characteristic features of air ions at Mace Head on the west coast of Ireland

Coastal nucleation events and behavior of cluster ions were characterized through the measurements of air ion mobility distributions at the Mace Head research station on the west coast of Ireland in 2006. We measured concentrations of cluster ions and charged aerosol particles in the size range of 0.34–40 nm. These measurements allow us to characterize freshly nucleated charged particles with diameters smaller than 3 nm. The analysis shows that bursts of intermediate ions (1.6–7 nm) are a frequent phenomenon in the marine coastal environment. Intermediate ion concentrations were generally close to zero, but during some nucleation episodes the concentrations increased to several hundreds per cm³. Nucleation events occurred during most of the measurement days. We classified all days into one of seven classes according to the occurrence and type of new particle formation. Nucleation events were observed during 207 days in 2006, most prominently in the spring and summer months. Rain-induced events, in turn, were observed during 132 days. Particle formation and growth events mostly coincided with the presence of low tide. Also small cluster ions (0.34–1.6 nm) were characterized. Average concentrations of small ions were 440 cm^− 3 for the negative ions and 423 cm^− 3 for the positive ions. Average mean mobilities of small ions were 1.86 cm²V^− 1s^− 1 and 1.49 cm²V^− 1s^− 1 for the negative and positive polarities, respectively. Concentrations of small ions were observed to be strongly dependent on the variations of meteorological parameters including wind speed and direction.     

Physicochemical properties of fine aerosols at Plan d'Aups during ESCOMPTE

The physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles were investigated at Plan d'Aups, one of the ESCOMPTE sites located in the St. Baume mountain area (700 m a.s.l.), 50 km east of Marseilles (France). The site is ideally located for assessing the vertical and horizontal extent of the pollution plume from the Marseilles–Berre area.Our study showed that polluted air masses from the Marseilles–Berre area are advected to Plan d'Aups in the early afternoon. Average daily concentration of particles reaches up to 40 μg m⁻³ while 1-h average particle number concentration is greater than 30,000 cm⁻³. Most of the particle mass is composed of SO₄²⁻ and organic carbon (OC). The chemical properties of the particles revealed that an additional source, possibly from the industrial area of Gardanne, contributes to the aerosol mass. This last source is characterised by significant emissions of elements, such as Zn, V, Al and Si.In addition to transport, we found that gas-to-particle conversion takes place at the interface between the free troposphere and the boundary layer. We estimated that on average, 30% of the particle number is accounted for by direct nucleation. This is potentially a major aerosol source to the free troposphere.     

Segregation and Interpretation of Ozone and Carbon Monoxide Measurements by Air Mass Origin at the TOR Station Mace Head, Ireland from 1987 to 1995

Three independent methods have been used to sort the ozone, carbonmonoxide, and other radiatively important trace gases measured at Mace Head,Ireland, and thereby distinguish clean air masses transported over the NorthAtlantic from the more polluted air masses which have recently travelledfrom the European continent. Over the period April 1987–June 1995 theNorthern Hemisphere surface ozone baseline concentrations exhibited a meanconcentration of 34.8 ppb, with a small positive trend (+0.19 ppbyr^-1), while the corresponding trend in air originating fromthe polluted European areas was negative (–0.39 ppbyr^-1). Carbon monoxide measurements from March 1990 toDecember 1994 showed negative trends for both the unpolluted (–0.17ppb yr^-1) and polluted data (–13.6 ppbyr^-1). Overall the continent of Europe was shown to be a smallnet sink of 2.6 ppb for all occasions when European air was transported tothe North Atlantic.     

A numerical investigation of wind speed effects on lake-effect storms

Observations of lake-effect storms that occur over the Great Lakes region during late autumn and winter indicate a high sensitivity to ambient wind speed and direction. In this paper, a two-dimensional version of the Penn State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research (PSU/NCAR) model is used to investigate the wind speed effects on lake-effect snowstorms that occur over the Great Lakes region.Theoretical initial conditions for stability, relative humidity, wind velocity, and lake/land temperature distribution are specified. Nine different experiments are performed using wind speeds ofU=0, 2, 4,..., 16 m s^–1. The perturbation wind, temperature, and moisture fields for each experiment after 36 h of simulation are compared.It is determined that moderate (4–6 m s^–1) wind speeds result in maximum precipitation (snowfall) on the lee shore of the model lake. Weak wind speeds (0U<4 m s^–1) yield significantly higher snowfall amounts over the lake along with a spatially concentrated and intense response. Strong wind speeds (6<U16 m s^–1), yield very little, if any, significant snowfall, although significant increases in cloudiness, temperature, and perturbation wind speed occur hundreds of kilometers downwind from the lake.     

Convective heat transfer measurements of plants in a wind tunnel

Heat transfer was studied between intact leaves of various sizes and shapes in vivo under free and forced air conditions. Use of a wind tunnel and a microwave transmitter to heat the leaves facilitated measurements of convective, along with radiative and evaporative, heat losses from plant leaves. Knowledge of input energy, analysis of cooling curves, and established formulae, respectively, formed the basis of the steady-state, unsteady-state, and analytical methods for the determination of heat transfer coefficients.Typical values of steady-state free convection coefficients for Peperomia obtusifolia varied from 1.5 × 10^–4 to 1.9 × 10^–4 cal cm^–2 s^–1 C^–1 as the temperature difference was increased from 5.9 to 9.6°C, whereas the forced convection coefficient was found to be 4.2 × 10^–4 cal cm^–2 s^–1 C^–1 at 122 cm s^–1 wind velocity. For egg-plant, this value was about 9 × 10^–4 cal cm^–2 s^–1 C^–1 at 488 cm s^–1 wind velocity. Convection coefficients as determined under steady-state conditions are compared with those of the unsteady-state and with analytical values for a single leaf and leaves of three different plants. In general, experimental values were found to be higher than the analytical ones.     

A numerical modeling study of the marine boundary layer over the Gulf Stream during cold air advection

A two-dimensional mesoscale model has been developed to simulate the air flow over the Gulf Stream area where typically large gradients in surface temperature exist in the winter. Numerical simulations show that the magnitude and the maximum height of the mesoscale circulation that develops downwind of the Gulf Stream depends on both the initial geostrophic wind and the large-scale moisture. As expected, a highly convective Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) develops over this area and it was found that the Gulf Stream plays an important role in generating the strong upward heat fluxes causing a farther seaward penetration as cold air advection takes place. Numerical results agree well with the observed surface fluxes of momentum and heat and the mesoscale variation of vertical velocities obtained using Doppler Radars for a typical cold air outbreak. Precipitation pattern predicted by the numerical model is also in agreement with the observations during the Genesis of Atlantic Lows Experiment (GALE).List of Symbols u east-west velocity [m s^–1] - v north-south velocity [m s^–1] - vertical velocity in coordinate [m s^–1] - w vertical velocity inz coordinate [m s^–1] - gq potential temperature [K] - q moisture [kg kg^–1] - scaled pressure [J kg^–1 K^–1] - U _g the east-south component of geostrophic wind [m s^–1] - V _g the north-south component of geostrophic wind [m s^–1] - vertical coordinate following terrain - x east-west spatial coordinate [m] - y north-south spatial coordinate [m] - z vertical spatial coordinate [m] - t time coordinate [s] - g gravity [m² s^–1] - E terrain height [m] - H total height considered in the model [m] - q _s saturated moisture [kg kg^–1] - p pressure [mb] - p ₀₀ reference pressure [mb] - P precipitation [kg m^–2] - vertical lapse rate for potential temperature [K km^–1] - L latent heat of condensation [J kg^–1] - C _p specific heat at constant pressure [J kg^–1 K^–1] - R gas constant for dry air [J kg^–1 K^–1] - R _v gas constant for water vapor [J kg^–1 K^–1] - f Coriolis parameter (2 sin ) [s^–1] - angular velocity of the earth [s^–1] - latitude [^o] - K _H horizontal eddy exchange coefficient [m² s^–1] - t integration time interval [s] - x grid interval distance inx coordinate [m] - y grid interval distance iny coordinate [m] - adjustable coefficient inK _H - subgrid momentum flux [m² s^–2] - subgrid potential temperature flux [m K s^–1] - subgrid moisture flux [m kg kg^–1 s^–1] - u _* friction velocity [m s^–1] - _* subgrid flux temperature [K] - q _* subgrid flux moisture [kg kg^–1] - w _* subgrid convective velocity [m s^–1] - z ₀ surface roughness [m] - L Monin stability length [m] - _s surface potential temperature [K] - k von Karman's constant (0.4) - v air kinematic viscosity coefficient [m² s^–1] - K _M subgrid vertical eddy exchange coefficient for momentum [m² s^–1] - K subgrid vertical eddy exchange coefficient for heat [m² s^–1] - K _q subgrid vertical eddy exchange coefficient for moisture [m² s^–1] - z _i the height of PBL [m] - h _s the height of surface layer [m]     

An inverse method for determining wind stress from water-level fluctuations

The hydrodynamic equations governing the water-level response of a lake to wind stress are inverted to determine wind stress from water-level fluctuations. In order to obtain a unique solution, the wind-stress field is represented in terms of a finite number of spatially dependent basis functions with time-dependent coefficients. The discretized version of the inverse equation is solved by a least-squares procedure to obtain the coefficients, and thereby the stress. The method is tested for several ideal cases with Lake Erie topography. Real water-level data is then used to determine hourly values of vector wind stress over Lake Erie for the period 5 May–31 October, 1979. Results are compared with measurements of wind speed and direction from buoys deployed in the lake. Calculated stress direction agrees with observed wind direction for wind speeds > 7.5 m s⁻¹. Under neutral conditions, calculated drag coefficients increase with the wind speed from 1.53 × 10⁻³ for 7.5−10 m s⁻¹ winds to 2.04 × 10⁻³ for 15−17.5 m s⁻¹ winds. Drag coefficients are lower for stable conditions and higher for unstable conditions.     

Ship measurements of submicron aerosol size distributions over the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea

During the spring of 2005, the total particle concentrations and the submicron aerosol size distributions were measured on board the research vessel over the south sea of Korea and the Korean sector of the Yellow Sea. Similar measurements were made over the East China Sea in autumn 2005. The aerosol properties varied dynamically according to the meteorological conditions, the proximity to the land masses and the air mass back trajectories. The average total particle concentration was the lowest over the East China Sea, 4335 ± 2736 cm^− 3, but the instantaneous minimum, 837 cm^− 3, for the entire ship measurement was recorded during the Yellow Sea cruise. There was also a long (more than 6 h) stretch of low total particle concentrations that fell as low as 1025 cm^− 3 during the East China Sea cruise when the ship was the farthest from the shores and the air mass back trajectories resided long hours over the sea. These observations lead to the suggestion of ~ 1000 cm^− 3 as the background total particle concentration over the marine boundary layer in the studied region of the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea, implying significant anthropogenic influence even for the background value. In the mean time, average aerosol size distributions were unimodal and the mode diameter ranged between 52 and 86 nm, excluding the fog periods, which suggests that the aerosols measured in this study experienced relatively less aging processes within the marine boundary layer.     

南京不同天气和能见度下云凝结核的观测分析

利用美国DMT公司生产的云凝结核(Cloud Condensation Nuclei,CCN)计数器(DMTCCNC),对2013年4—12月南京地区CCN进行观测。对不同天气条件下CCN活化谱拟合,霾天C值最高,为13 085 cm-3,雨后C值降至8 054 cm-3,属于大陆性核谱。不同能见度条件下CCN活化谱特征有明显差异,南京地区不同程度霾天CCN数浓度均远高于轻雾天,浓雾时期CCN数浓度显著偏高。CCN数浓度受到气象要素和天气状况、气溶胶源排放等因素影响。南京地区气溶胶凝结核(Condensation Nuclei,CN)数浓度和CCN数浓度的拟合结果显示出较好的相关性。CCN数浓度值:冬季春季秋季夏季,春季CCN数浓度日变化有三峰趋势,夏季基本呈单峰型,秋季、冬季双峰特征突出。气溶胶源排放、环境气象条件和气溶胶理化特性均会影响CCN数浓度的季节变化。     

Latitudinal variation of measured NO2 photolysis frequencies over the Atlantic Ocean between 50° N and 30° S

Using a filter radiometer, the meridional profile of the NO₂ photolysis frequency, J(NO₂), was measured between 50° N and 30° S during the cruise ANTVII/1 September/October 1988 of the research vessel Polarstern on the Atlantic Ocean. Simultaneously, global broadband irradiance and acrosol were monitored. Clean marine background air with low aerosol loads (b _sp=(1–2)×10^-5 m^-1) was encountered at the latitudes 25° N–30° N and 18° S–27° S, respectively. Under these conditions and an almost cloudless sky J(NO₂) reached 7.3×10^-3 s^-1 (2 sr) for a zenith angle of 30°. Between 30° N and 30° S, the latitudinal variation of the J(NO₂) noontime maxima was less than ± 10%, while the mean value at noon was 7.8×10^-3 s^-1. For the set of all data between 50° N and 30° S, a nearly linear correlation of J(NO₂) vs. global broadland irradiance was found. The slope of (8.24±0.03)×10^-5 s^-1/mW cm^-2 agrees within 10% with observations in Jülich (51° N, 6.2° E).     

Continuous scanning of the mobility and size distribution of charged clusters and nanometer particles in atmospheric air and the Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzer BSMA

Measuring of charged nanometer particles in atmospheric air is a routine task in research on atmospheric electricity, where these particles are called the atmospheric ions. An aspiration condenser is the most popular instrument for measuring atmospheric ions. Continuous scanning of a mobility distribution is possible when the aspiration condenser is connected as an arm of a balanced bridge. Transfer function of an aspiration condenser is calculated according to the measurements of geometric dimensions, air flow rate, driving voltage, and electric current. The most complicated phase of the calibration is the estimation of the inlet loss of ions due to the Brownian deposition. The available models of ion deposition on the protective inlet screen and the inlet control electrofilter have the uncertainty of about 20%. To keep the uncertainty of measurements low the adsorption should not exceed a few tens of percent. The online conversion of the mobility distribution to the size distribution and a correct reduction of inlet losses are possible when air temperature and pressure are measured simultaneously with the mobility distribution. Two instruments called the Balanced Scanning Mobility Analyzers (BSMA) were manufactured and tested in routine atmospheric measurements. The concentration of atmospheric ions of the size of about a few nanometers is very low and a high air flow rate is required to collect enough of ion current. The air flow of 52 l/s exceeds the air flow in usual aerosol instruments by 2–3 orders of magnitude. The high flow rate reduces the time of ion passage to 60 ms and the heating of air in an analyzer to 0.2 K, which suppresses a possible transformation of ions inside the instrument. The mobility range of the BSMA of 0.032–3.2 cm² V^− 1 s^− 1 is logarithmically uniformly divided into 16 fractions. The size distribution is presented by 12 fractions in the diameter range of 0.4–7.5 nm. The measurement noise of a fraction concentration is typically about 5 cm^− 3 and the time resolution is about 10 min when measuring simultaneously both positive and negative ions in atmospheric air.     

黄山地区不同高度云凝结核的观测分析

为研究华东高山地区云凝结核（Cloud Condensation Nuclei,CCN）沿山峰的垂直变化特征,2011年6月利用云凝结核计数器（Cloud Condensation Nuclei Counter,CCNC）在黄山三个不同高度处对CCN进行观测。观测结果表明,不同高度的CCN浓度随时间的变化趋势基本一致,CCN浓度随高度的升高而减小,过饱和度为0.8%时山顶、山腰、山底CCN浓度平均值分别为1105.62、1218.39和1777.78 cm-3,山底的高CCN浓度（大于1000 cm-3）出现频率大于山腰和山顶,表明山底受周边污染源的影响较山顶和山腰大。山顶和山底的日变化曲线均为双峰型,两个峰值分别出现在午前和午后,与大气边界层高度及山谷风变化有关。利用公式N=CSk拟合了山顶在不同天气条件下CCN活化谱,并分析了其变化特征。结果显示,晴天、雨天和雾天的C值分别为2798、384、765,小于一些污染城市,属于清洁大陆型核谱。本文结果有助于改进对华东背景地区云凝结核时空分布的认识,为该地区云雾核化在数值模式中的表达提供观测依据和参数化方案。     

Determination of the Tropospheric Hydroxyl Radical by Liquidphase Scrubbing and HPLC: Preliminary Results

A preliminary study was carried out toexamine the feasibility of measuring tropospherichydroxyl radicals (OH) by liquidphase scrubbing andhigh performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Thepotential advantages of this approach are itssimplicity, portability, and low expense. Thesampling system employs glass bubblers to trapatmospheric OH into a buffered solution of salicylicacid (o-hydroxybenzoic acid, OHBA). Rapidreaction of OH with OHBA produces a stable fluorescentproduct, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (2,5-DHBA), whichis determined by reverse-phase HPLC and fluorescencedetection. Our preliminary field results indicatethat this method is most suitable for OH measurementsin clean tropospheric air, where interferences fromother atmospheric species appear to be negligible orminor relative to polluted air. In clean air, thesampling period is about 45–90 minutes, which yieldsa detection limit of approximately 3–6 ×10⁵ radicalscm^-3. During an OHintercomparison experiment at the Caribou samplingsite in Colorado, our liquidphase scrubber method wascompared with the ion-assisted mass spectrometry (MS)method. Our results were within the same range asthose of the ion-assisted MS method (1–5 ×10⁶ radicals cm^-3) within our precision atthat time (about ±30–50%). Preliminary testsin Pullman, WA indicated that the method might alsofunction in moderately polluted air by acidifying thescrubbing solution or by adding a scavenger tosuppress interferences. In Pullman, mid-day OHconcentrations were usually in the range of 2–20 ×10⁶ radicals cm^-3. Nighttime OHconcentrations were always low, either at or slightlyabove the detection limit.     

Sulfur dioxide plume dispersion and subsequent absorption by coniferous forests: Field measurements and model calculations

A Forest SO₂ Absorption Model (ForSAM) was developed to simulate (1) SO₂ plume dispersion from an emission source, (2) subsequent SO₂ absorption by coniferous forests growing downwind from the source. There are three modules: (1) a buoyancy module, (2) a dispersion module, and (3) a foliar absorption module. These modules were used to calculate hourly abovecanopy SO₂ concentrations and in-canopy deposition velocities, as well as daily amounts of SO₂ absorbed by the forest canopy for downwind distances to 42 km. Model performance testing was done with meteorological data (including ambient SO₂ concentrations) collected at various locations downwind from a coal-burning power generator at Grand Lake in central New Brunswick, Canada. Annual SO₂ emissions from this facility amounted to about 30,000 tonnes. Calculated SO₂ concentrations were similar to those obtained in the field. Calculated SO₂ deposition velocities generally agreed with published values.Notation c air parcel cooling parameter (non-dimensional) - E foliar absorption quotient (non-dimensional) - f areal fraction of foliage free from water (non-dimensional) - f _w SO₂ content of air parcel - h height of the surface layer (m) - H height of the convective mixing layer (m) - H _stack stack height (m) - k time level - k _drag coefficient of drag on the air parcel (non-dimensional) - K _z eddy viscosity coefficient for SO₂ (m²·s^–1) - L Monin-Obukhov length scale (m) - L _A single-sided leaf area index (LAI) - n degree-of-sky cloudiness (non-dimensional) - N number of parcels released with every puff (non-dimensional) - PAR photosynthetically active radiation (W m^–2) - Q emission rate (kg s^–2) - r _b diffusive boundary-layer resistance (s m^–1) - r _c canopy resistance (s m^–1) - r _cuticle cuticular resistance (s m^–1) - r _m mesophyllic resistance (s m^–1) - r _s stomatal resistance (s m^–1) - r _exit smokestack exit radius (m) - R normally distributed random variable with mean of zero and variance of t (s) - u _* frictional velocity scale, (m s^–1) - v lateral wind vector (m s^–1) - v _d SO₂ dry deposition velocity (m s^–1) - VCD water vapour deficit (mb) - z _can mean tree height (m) - Z zenith position of the sun (deg) - environmental lapse rate (°C m^–1) - dry adiabatic lapse rate (0.00986°C m^–1) - von Kármán's constant (0.04) - _B vertical velocities initiated by buoyancy (m s^–1) - canopy extinction coefficient (non-dimensional) - ()a denotes ambient conditions - ()can denotes conditions at the top of the forest canopy - ()h denotes conditions at the top of the surface layer - ()H denotes conditions at the top of the mixed layer - ()s denotes conditions at the canopy surface - ()p denotes conditions of the air parcels     

Mechanistic and Kinetic Study of the Gas-Phase Reaction of Atomic Chlorine with Cyclohexanone using an Absolute and a Relative Technique; Influence of Temperature

The reaction of Cl with cyclohexanone (1) was investigated, for the first time, as a function of temperature (273–333 K) and at a low total pressure (1 Torr) with helium as a carrier gas using a discharge flow-mass spectrometry technique (DF-MS). The resulting Arrhenius expression is proposed, k ₁= (7.7 ± 4.1) × 10^–10 exp[–(540 ± 169)/T]. We also report a mechanistic study with the quantitative determination of the products of the reaction of Cl with cyclohexanone. The absolute rate constant derived from this study at 1 Torr of total pressure and room temperature is (1.3 ± 0.2) × 10^–10 cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1. A yield of 0.94 ± 0.10 was found for the H-abstraction channel giving HCl. In relative studies, using a newly constructed relative rate system, the decay of cyclohexanone was followed by gas chromatography coupled with flame-ionisation detection. These relative measurements were performed at atmospheric pressure with synthetic air and room temperature. Rate constant measured using the relative method for reaction (1) is: (1.7 ± 0.3) × 10^–10 cm³ molecule^–1 s^–1. Finally, results and atmospheric implications are discussed and compared with the reactivity with OH radicals.     

Importance of sulfate emission to sulfur deposition at urban and rural sites in China

Throughfall (TF) and wet only (WO) deposition along with SO₂ and sulfate (SO₄²⁻) concentration in air at 4 urban and rural sites in southwestern China were monitored in order to understand the role of different forms of sulfur (S) emission to the S deposition and its effect in China. The sites were located in Chongqing, Hunan, and Guizhou provinces. S deposition at the most polluted site reached 15 g S m^− 2 yr^− 1. At three of the sites, located in the vicinity of several emission sources, dry S deposition is 2.1–4.2 times that of wet deposition, which is significantly higher than what is found in most other parts of the world.Main components in airborne particles (PM₁₀) are (NH₄)₂SO₄ and CaSO₄ at the highly polluted Tie Shan Ping (TSP) site. Dust particles of gypsum (CaSO₄) in the air are partly due to direct emission and partly from the reaction of calcium oxides and carbonates with sulfuric acid in the air. To illustrate the importance of sulfate emission to total S deposition we analyzed the source of S deposition based on both measurements and models. Results indicated that direct emission of SO₄²⁻ particles could account for high proportion in total S deposition at the three most polluted sites.     

Microphysical, chemical and optical aerosol properties in the Baltic Sea region

The microphysical structure, chemical composition and prehistory of aerosol are related to the aerosol optical properties and radiative effect in the UV spectral range. The aim of this work is the statistical mapping of typical aerosol scenarios and adjustment of regional aerosol parameters. The investigation is based on the in situ measurements in Preila (55.55° N, 21.00° E), Lithuania, and the AERONET data from the Gustav Dalen Tower (58 N, 17 E), Sweden.Clustering of multiple characteristics enabled to distinguish three aerosol types for clear-sky periods: 1) clean maritime–continental aerosol; 2) moderately polluted maritime–continental aerosol; 3) polluted continental aerosol. Differences between these types are due to significant differences in aerosol number and volume concentration, effective radius of volume distribution, content of SO₄⁻ ions and Black Carbon, as well as different vertical profiles of atmospheric relative humidity. The UV extinction, aerosol optical depth (AOD) and the Ångstrom coefficient α increased with the increasing pollution. The value α = 1.96 was observed in the polluted continental aerosol that has passed over central and eastern Europe and southern Russia. Reduction of the clear-sky UV index against the aerosol-free atmosphere was of 4.5%, 27% and 41% for the aerosol types 1, 2 and 3, respectively.     

Effects of prescribed initial cloud droplet spectra on convective cloud and precipitation developments under different thermodynamic conditions: A modeling and observational study

A two-dimensional cloud model with bin microphysics was used to investigate the effects of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations and thermodynamic conditions on convective cloud and precipitation developments. Two different initial cloud droplet spectra were prescribed based on the total CCN concentrations of maritime (300 cm^− 3) and continental (1000 cm^− 3) air masses, and the model was run on eight thermodynamic conditions obtained from observational soundings. Six-hourly sounding data and 1-hourly precipitation data from two nearby weather stations in Korea were analyzed for the year 2002 to provide some observational support for the model results.For one small Convective Available Potential Energy (CAPE) ( 300 J kg^− 1) sounding, the maritime and continental differences were incomparably large. The crucial difference was the production of ice phase hydrometeors in the maritime cloud and only water drops in the continental cloud. Ice phase hydrometeors and intrinsically large cloud drops of the maritime cloud eventually lead to significant precipitation. Meanwhile negligible precipitation developed from the continental cloud. For the three other small CAPE soundings, generally weak convective clouds developed but the maritime and continental clouds were of the same phases (both warm or both cold) and their differences were relatively small.Model runs with the four large CAPE ( 3000 J kg^− 1) soundings demonstrated that the depth between the freezing level (FL) and the lifting condensation level (LCL) was crucial to determine whether a cloud becomes a cold cloud or not, which in turn was found to be a crucial factor to enhance cloud invigoration with the additional supply of freezing latent heat. For two large CAPE soundings, FL–LCL was so deep that penetration of FL was prohibitive, and precipitation was only mild in the maritime clouds and negligible in the continental clouds. Two other soundings of similarly large CAPE had small FL–LCL, and both the maritime and continental clouds became cold clouds. Precipitation was strong for both but much more so in the maritime clouds, while the maximum updraft velocity and the cloud top were slightly higher in continental clouds. Although limited to small CAPE cases, more precipitation for smaller FL–LCL for a selected group of precipitation and thermodynamic sounding data from Korea was in support of these model results in its tendency.These results clearly demonstrated that the CCN effects on cloud and precipitation developments critically depended on the given thermodynamic conditions and not just the CAPE but the entire structure of the thermodynamic profiles had to be taken into account.     

The effects of in-cloud mass production on atmospheric light scatter

Direct physical measurements of particle mass and number concentration indicate an increase in overall aerosol mass resulting from cloud processing, most likely through aqueous-phase chemistry (e.g., SO₂ oxidation). Measurements conducted in the Pennines of Northern England reveal an average increase of 14 to 20% in dry aerosol mass (0.003<particle diameter<0.9 μm) after aerosol passage through an orographic cloud. The rate of in-cloud mass production is most sensitive to changes in upwind particle size distributions, SO₂ concentration, and cloud water acidity. Newly-formed mass appears in size range between 200 and 600 nm and enhances the bimodality of the particle number distribution after cloud processing. Furthermore, the cloud-produced mass is estimated to increase total light scattering, b_sp, by 18 to 24%. The scattering efficiency of the dry, cloud-generated aerosol is 5.0±0.3 m² g⁻¹ and increases to 7.4±0.7 m² g⁻¹ when adjusted to 90% relative humidity by incorporating particle hygroscopicity data.