Identification

Title

Individual aerosol particles in ambient and updraft conditions below convective cloud bases in the Oman mountain region

Abstract

An airborne study of cloud microphysics provided an opportunity to collect aerosol particles in ambient and updraft conditions of natural convection systems for transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Particles were collected simultaneously on lacey carbon and calcium-coated carbon (Ca-C) TEM grids, providing information on particle morphology and chemistry and a unique record of the particle's physical state on impact. In total, 22 particle categories were identified, including single, coated, aggregate, and droplet types. The fine fraction comprised up to 90% mixed cation sulfate (MCS) droplets, while the coarse fraction comprised up to 80% mineral-containing aggregates. Insoluble (dry), partially soluble (wet), and fully soluble particles (droplets) were recorded on Ca-C grids. Dry particles were typically silicate grains; wet particles were mineral aggregates with chloride, nitrate, or sulfate components; and droplets were mainly aqueous NaCl and MCS. Higher numbers of droplets were present in updrafts (80% relative humidity (RH)) compared with ambient conditions (60% RH), and almost all particles activated at cloud base (100% RH). Greatest changes in size and shape were observed in NaCl-containing aggregates (>0.3 µm diameter) along updraft trajectories. Their abundance was associated with high numbers of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and cloud droplets, as well as large droplet sizes in updrafts. Thus, compositional dependence was observed in activation behavior recorded for coarse and fine fractions. Soluble salts from local pollution and natural sources clearly affected aerosol-cloud interactions, enhancing the spectrum of particles forming CCN and by forming giant CCN from aggregates, thus, making cloud seeding with hygroscopic flares ineffective in this region.

Resource type

document

Resource locator

Unique resource identifier

code

http://n2t.net/ark:/85065/d7f76dhj

codeSpace

Dataset language

eng

Spatial reference system

code identifying the spatial reference system

Classification of spatial data and services

Topic category

geoscientificInformation

Keywords

Keyword set

keyword value

Text

originating controlled vocabulary

title

Resource Type

reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2016-01-01T00:00:00Z

Geographic location

West bounding longitude

East bounding longitude

North bounding latitude

South bounding latitude

Temporal reference

Temporal extent

Begin position

End position

Dataset reference date

date type

publication

effective date

2014-03-16T00:00:00Z

Frequency of update

Quality and validity

Lineage

Conformity

Data format

name of format

version of format

Constraints related to access and use

Constraint set

Use constraints

Limitations on public access

None

Responsible organisations

Responsible party

contact position

OpenSky Support

organisation name

UCAR/NCAR - Library

full postal address

PO Box 3000

Boulder

80307-3000

email address

opensky@ucar.edu

web address

http://opensky.ucar.edu/

name: homepage

responsible party role

pointOfContact

Metadata on metadata

Metadata point of contact