A reanalysis of the Apollo light scattering observations, and implications for lunar exospheric dust

Conspicuous excess brightness, exceeding that expected from coronal and zodiacal light (CZL), was observed above the lunar horizon in the Apollo 15 coronal photographic sequence acquired immediately after orbital sunset (surface sunrise). This excess brightness systematically faded as the Command Module moved farther into shadow, eventually becoming indistinguishable from the CZL background. These observations have previously been attributed to scattering by ultrafine dust grains (radius ∼0.1 microns) in the lunar exosphere, and used to obtain coarse estimates of dust concentration at several altitudes and an order-of-magnitude estimate of ∼10⁻⁹ g cm⁻² for the column mass of dust near the terminator, collectively referred to as model “0”.We have reanalyzed the Apollo 15 orbital sunset sequence by incorporating the known sightline geometries in a Mie-scattering simulation code, and then inverting the measured intensities to retrieve exospheric dust concentration as a function of altitude and distance from the terminator. Results are presented in terms of monodisperse (single grain size) dust distributions. For a grain radius of 0.10 microns, our retrieved dust concentration near the terminator (∼0.010 cm⁻³) is in agreement with model “0” at z=10 km, as is the dust column mass (∼3–6×10⁻¹⁰ g cm⁻²), but the present results indicate generally larger dust scale heights, and much lower concentrations near 1 km (<0.08 cm⁻³ vs. a few times 0.1 cm⁻³ for model “0"). The concentration of dust at high altitudes (z>50 km) is virtually unconstrained by the measurements. The dust exosphere extends into shadow a distance somewhere between 100 and 200 km from the terminator, depending on the uncertain contribution of CZL to the total brightness. These refined estimates of the distribution and concentration of exospheric dust above the lunar sunrise terminator should place new and more rigorous constraints on exospheric dust transport models, as well as provide valuable support for upcoming missions such as the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE).     

Excitation of ion waves by charged dust beams in ionospheric aerosol release experiments

Ion waves excited by charged dust beams streaming across or along the geomagnetic field in the ionosphere may be generated by plasma instabilities during aerosol release experiments. The injection speed of the dust and gas is comparable to or larger than the ion thermal speed in the background plasma. The dust grains can get charged by plasma collection from the ambient ionosphere, and can thus act as a charged beam that excites instabilities in the background plasma. The theory is applied to relatively early time scales of the order of in the dust-gas cloud expansion, with wave frequencies that are larger than the ion gyrofrequency, and collisions with neutrals are included.     

Meteorological causes of Harmattan dust in West Africa

We investigated the temporal dynamics of dust entrainment in the Bodélé Depression, Central Sahara, to better understand the intra-annual variability of aerosol emission in the world's largest dust source. The linkages between dust entrainment and large-scale meteorological factors were examined by correlating several meteorological variables in the Mediterranean and Africa north of the equator with the aerosol concentrations in the Bodélé Depression separately for winter and summer. The methodological tools applied are NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the aerosol index of the Total Ozone Mapping Spectrometer (TOMS-AI), available for 15 years from 1978 to 1993. We found that dust mobilisation during the Harmattan season is highly dependent on air pressure variability in the Mediterranean area. High pressure to the north of the Bodélé intensifies the NE trade winds, leading to an increased entrainment of dust in the Bodélé Depression. In summer, dust mobilization cannot be explained by the large scale meteorological conditions. This highlights the importance of local to regional wind systems linked to the northernmost position of the intertropical convection zone (ITCZ) during this time.     

天空光遮挡法水体光谱测量便携版漂浮式光学浮标研发与应用

离水辐亮度Lw(Water-leaving radiance)是水色遥感现场观测中的关键物理量之一,由其计算获得的遥感反射率Rrs(Remote sensing reflectance)是水色遥感参数反演的最基本参数.天空光遮挡法SBA(Skylight-blocked approach)可以直接测量水体离水辐亮度,作...     

2010年民勤沙地近地面沙尘气溶胶浓度特征

为了更好地研究沙尘气溶胶起沙和输送特征,2010年4—5月,在民勤周边沙地利用EZ LIDAR ALS300&ALS450型激光雷达和 GRIMM 180型颗粒物采样器进行了大气气溶胶的外场连续观测,取得了晴天、浮尘、扬沙和沙尘暴天气条件下沙尘气溶胶总后向散射垂直剖面图和PM₁₀、PM_2.5、PM_1.0质量浓度采样资料,其中包含“0424”特强沙尘暴过程资料。结果表明：春季民勤近地层大气中沙尘气溶胶浓度较高,且随气象要素的变化很大;在整个观测期内,PM₁₀、PM_2.5、PM_1.0的平均质量浓度分别为202.3、57.4 μg/m³、16.7 μg/m³。在不同天气条件下,PM₁₀、PM_2.5、PM_1.0质量浓度的变化有很好的相关性,但变化趋势有所不同。在沙尘暴天气条件下,PM₁₀的日平均质量浓度高达2469.1μg/m³,是背景天气条件下PM10日平均质量浓度的100多倍,是浮尘天气条件下PM10日平均质量浓度的8倍,是扬沙天气条件下PM₁₀日平均质量浓度的2倍。PM_2.5在沙尘暴天气下日平均质量浓度为460.3 μg/m³,是背景天气条件下PM_2.5日平均质量浓度的45倍,是浮尘天气条件下PM_2.5日平均质量浓度的6倍,是扬沙天气条件下PM_2.5日平均质量浓度的1.4倍。PM_1.0在沙尘暴天气条件下的日平均浓度为92.7 μg/m³,是背景天气条件下PM_1.0日平均浓度的13倍,是浮尘天气条件下PM_1.0日平均浓度的7倍,是扬沙天气条件下PM_1.0日平均浓度的1.3倍。可见,风速增大时沙尘粒子浓度的增加对粒子粒径是有选择的,小粒子比重随沙尘浓度增加而相对减小,大粒子比重随沙尘浓度增加而相对增多;通过对“0424”特强沙尘暴过程的研究表明,一次沙尘暴过程往往包括沙尘暴、扬沙和浮尘天气中的两种类型;通过对激光雷达数据分析发现,在强沙尘暴发生过程当中,民勤沙地发生了非常严重的风蚀起沙现象。     

Lead concentrations and isotopes in aerosols from Xiamen, China

To investigate the magnitude and origin of lead (Pb) pollution in the atmosphere of Xiamen, China, 40 aerosol samples were collected from the coast of Xiamen from January to December 2003. All these samples were measured for Pb isotopic compositions (²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁶Pb = 2.10897 ± 0.00297, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb = 0.85767 ± 0.00159, n = 40) using a Multi-collector-Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometer (MC-ICPMS). Thirty-five out of forty samples were also measured for Pb concentrations (79.1 ± 38.3 ng/m³, n = 35) by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS). The results indicate that the Pb concentrations display significant seasonal variations while Pb isotopic ratios remain relatively constant. The Pb concentrations were high in January and February, abruptly decreased in March, remained relatively constant (but low) from April to August, and then gradually increased from September to December. This corresponds to the rainless climate in winter and rain scavenging in summer. The higher Pb concentration of Xiamen aerosols in winter and spring may be also caused by long-range transferred anthropogenic Pb during the northeastern monsoon seasons. Although the use of leaded gasoline in Xiamen was banned in 2000, our new data indicate that the Pb annual concentrations of aerosols in Xiamen increased about 12% when compared to the data measured between 1991 and 1993. Thus, Pb pollution in the atmosphere of Xiamen has not receded even after the phase-out of leaded gasoline. Our results further confirm the previous studies’ conclusion that the primary source of atmospheric Pb in China, especially in South China, is the vast combustion of lead-containing coal, not leaded gasoline.     

WRF-chem sensitivity to vertical resolution during a saharan dust event

The Saharan dust event that occurred between the 22nd and 30th of June 2012 influenced the atmospheric radiative properties over North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, the Western Mediterranean basin, extending its effects to France and Southern England. This event is well documented in satellite imagery, as well as on the air quality stations over the Iberian Peninsula and the AERONET NASA network. In order to assess the effect of the model vertical resolution on the extinction coefficient fields, as a proxy to the particulate matter concentrations in the atmosphere, the WRF-Chem model was applied during this period over a mother domain with a resolution of 18 km, covering Europe and North Africa. To this end five model setups differing in the number of vertical levels were tested. Model skills were evaluated by comparing the model results with CALIPSO and EARLINET LIDAR data. Results show that the model is able to simulate the higher level aerosol transport but it is susceptible to the vertical resolution used. This is due to the thickness of the transport layers which is, eventually, thinner than the vertical resolution of the model. When comparing model results to the observed vertical profiles, it becomes evident that the broad features of the extinction coefficient profile are generally reproduced in all model configurations, but finer details are captured only by the higher resolution simulations.     

基于AERONET和OMI数据分析中国北方典型地区气溶胶单次散射反照率的变化趋势

气溶胶单次散射反照率（SSA）表征气溶胶吸收特性,很大程度上决定了气溶胶辐射强迫的正负,对准确评估气候变化中的气溶胶辐射强迫具有重要意义。根据2004年10月至2016年12月地基AERONET（AERosol RObotic NETwork）和OMI（Ozone Monitoring Instrument）卫星数据,分析了中国北方典型地区（北京、香河、兴隆和兰州郊区）SSA的变化趋势以及两组数据的一致性。4个站AERONET和OMI 的SSA年均值分别为:北京0.89±0.04和0.90±0.04,香河0.89±0.04和0.91±0.04,兴隆0.92±0.04和0.91±0.04,兰州0.91±0.04和0.90±0.04。4个站点SSA季节变化一致,夏季高冬季低。SSA年际变化趋势分析时,因有效数据较少且为非正态分布,用月中位数代替月均值,同时需对数据进行筛选和去季节变化,结果显示北京和香河均有地基和卫星有效数据时间尺度不同的情况,而兴隆OMI和兰州AERONET满足趋势分析要求。在研究期间,4站SSA均呈上升趋势,说明近年来中国北方气溶胶的吸收性减弱,散射特性增强,尤其北京四季地基和卫星数据均呈上升趋势,但香河秋冬吸收性增强。同时,对AERONET和OMI两种反演算法得到的SSA一致性进行分析。香河结果差异较大,仅30%的数据在误差±0.03的范围内,55%在±0.05的范围内;北京分别为46%（±0.03）和68%（±0.05）,兴隆分别为50%（±0.03）和76%（±0.05）,兰州数据一致性较好,分别为51%（±0.03）和86%（±0.05）,总体来说是受人为活动影响比较明显的地区,数据一致性较差。     

GPS-RTK配合数字测深仪在浍河河道横断面测量的应用

GPS-RTK配合数字测深仪与相应的计算机软件,可以快速、准确地进行水下横断面测量。该文以浍河河道横断面测量为例,介绍了GPS-RTK配合数字测深仪的作业过程并提出了相应的注意事项。通过对成果的检核分析,凸显出GPS-RTK配合数字测深仪进行河道横断面测量的极大优越性,并证明该项技术手段先进,方法可行。     

Phytoplankton biomass and primary production responses to physico-chemical forcing across the northeastern New Zealand continental shelf

Phytoplankton biomass and primary production were monitored in the Hauraki Gulf and on the northeastern continental shelf, New Zealand - using ship surveys, moored instruments and satellite observations (1998-2001) - capturing variability across a range of space and time scales. A depth-integrated primary production model (DIM) was used to predict integrated productivity from surface parameters, enabling regional-specific estimates from satellite data. The shelf site was dominated by pico-phytoplankton, with low chlorophyll-a (<1 mg m⁻³) and annual production (136 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹). In contrast, the gulf contained a micro/nano-phytoplankton-dominated community, with relatively high chlorophyll-a (>1 mg m⁻³) and annual production (178 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹). Biomass and productivity responded to physico-chemical factors; a combination of light, critical mixing depths and/or nutrient limitation—particularly new nitrate-N. Relatively low biomass and production was observed during 1999. This coincided with inter-annual variability in the timing and extent of upwelling- and downwelling-favourable along-shelf wind-stress, influencing the fluxes of new nitrate-N to the shelf and gulf. Relationships with the Southern Oscillation Index are also discussed. Our multi-scaled sampling highlighted details associated with stratification and de-stratification events, and deep sub-surface chlorophyll-a not visible to satellite sensors. This study demonstrates the importance of multi-scaled sampling in gaining estimates of regional production and its responses to physico-chemical forcing.