Patterns in the composition of ground level aerosols during a biomass burning event at the T3 site on October 6, 2015, determined from Aerosol Chemical Species Monitor data

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Description

The Aerosol Chemical Species Monitor (ACSM) was operated at the GOAmazon T3 site near Manacapuru, Amazonia, Brazil from February 2014 through November 15 2015. The ACSM measures particulate sulfate, nitrate, chloride, ammonium, and organic species with half hour time resolution. This poster is a case study of a significant biomass burning event that occurred on October 6, 2015 and that resulted in aerosol mass loadings in excess of 1000 µg m-3 which were composed primarily of organic species. The patterns in aerosol composition in terms of oxidized organic aerosol (OOA), hydrocarbon organic aerosol (HOA), and inorganic aerosol determined from the ACSM will be presented along with comparisons of these data to the measurements of other instruments operated at the T3 site including the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), Aethalometer, Nephelometer, and Hygroscopic Tandem Differential Mobility Analyzer (HTDMA), and carbon monoxide analyzer. The comparisons will be used to determine mass closure and identify patterns in the HTDMA growth factors and aerosol composition. The comparisons with aerosol mass determined from the SMPS, Aethalometer, and estimated from the Nephelometer data are important to validate the ACSM mass loading data and to differentiate between the non-refractory mass measured with the ACSM and the black carbon mass measured with the Aethalometer. The correlation of aerosol composition with the HTDMA growth factors will be useful in determining the relationship of particle composition and hygroscopicity which is important in the determination of cloud condensation nucleus activity.