In situ derived aerosol optical properties during the TCAP Phase-I campaign

 

Authors

Duli Chand — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Larry Berg — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Jerome D Fast — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Beat Schmid — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
James Barnard — University of Nevada Reno
Carl M. Berkowitz — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Elaine Chapman — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Jennifer M. Comstock — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Connor J. Flynn — University of Oklahoma
John Hubbe — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Evgueni Kassianov — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Celine Delphine Kluzek — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Mikhail S. Pekour — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Arthur J Sedlacek — Brookhaven National Laboratory
John E Shilling — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Yohei Shinozuka — NASA ARC-CREST BAERI
Jason Tomlinson — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Jacqueline Mary Wilson — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Alla Zelenyuk-Imre — Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Category

Aerosol Properties

Description

The uncertainties in atmospheric radiative forcing are in part a result of limited knowledge of aerosol optical properties. In this presentation, we discuss in situ measurements of aerosol optical properties obtained during Phase I of the Two-Column Aerosol Project (TCAP) and explore their links with aerosol chemical and physical properties. The TCAP field campaign is designed to provide observations of the size distribution, chemical composition, and optical properties of aerosols within and between two atmospheric columns off the eastern seaboard of the United States. These columns are separated by 200–300 km and were sampled in July 2012 during a summer intensive operation period (IOP) using the U.S. Department of Energy’s Gulfstream-1 (G-1) and NASA’s B200 aircraft and the surface-based DOE Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s Mobile Facility (AMF) located at Cape Cod. Initial analysis indicates that the type and/or composition of aerosols at lower altitudes (below 3 km) and higher altitudes (3–4 km) were different, yielding different aerosol optical properties. For example, aerosols observed at higher elevations are more hygroscopic with lower single-scattering albedo than aerosols observed at lower altitudes. Initial results will be presented at the ASR Science Team Meeting.