Aerosols over the Eastern North Pacific – Results from MAGIC
Authors
Ernie R. Lewis — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Gunnar I. Senum — Brookhaven National Laboratory
Category
Warm Low Clouds and Interactions with Aerosol
Description
Aerosol number concentrations measured with the UHSAS for the first nine transects
During the MAGIC field campaign in the Eastern North Pacific that occurred from October, 2012 to October, 2013, aerosol properties were measured with the ACRF Aerosol Observing System (AOS) and aerosol samples were collected for analysis of individual particle morphology and chemical composition using electron microscopy and of bulk chemical composition. Number concentrations are typically in the range of several hundred per cubic centimeter, exhibit large variation among different legs, and display no obvious geographic trends. There are occurrences of higher concentration that last for very short times (of order minutes or less) and for which the concentration of particles with diameters less than 60 micrometers increases more than that of larger particles. These occurrences are hypothesized to result from plumes of other ship emissions, and the aerosol particles in these plumes might be hydrophobic and have chemical compositions very different from ambient aerosol particles, with implications for cloud formation and aerosol-cloud indirect effect.
