Highlights will be written for high-level accomplishments and published journal articles of ASR research. Each ASR principal investigator (PI) is expected to submit at least one highlight per fiscal year.
Research Highlights
Recent Highlights
Regional moisture budget and land-atmosphere coupling over the U.S. Southern Great Plains
13 January 2020
Zhang, Yunyan
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud Processes
Using 10-year warm-season observations at the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Southern Great Plains (SGP) site, U.S. Department of Energy scientists and collaborators investigated the large-scale atmospheric moisture budget for remotely and locally forced convective events. For each locally generated convection regime, they also quantified the strength of land-atmosphere (L-A) coupling [...]
Chemical imaging of atmospheric particles
11 December 2019
Laskin, Alexander; Moffet, Ryan
Supported by:
Research area: Aerosol Properties
This invited review paper presents a synopsis of modern advances in chemical imaging of atmospheric particles collected on substrates during field and laboratory experiments. Discussed chemical imaging approaches provide unique experimental insights on the nature and sources of particles, understanding their physical properties, atmospheric reactivity, and transformations.
LASIC data indicate how enhanced decoupling within a smoky MBL alters the low-cloud diurnal cycle
11 December 2019
Zhang, Jianhao; Zuidema, Paquita
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Interactions
Surface-based measurements collected at Ascension Island (8° S, 15° W) during August as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Layered Atlantic Smoke Interactions with Clouds (LASIC) campaign indicate the boundary layer remains decoupled throughout the night, building up moisture near the surface. The moisture is ventilated upwards after [...]
Molecular explanation of new particle growth rates
4 December 2019
Thornton, Joel
Supported by:
Research area: Aerosol Processes
The formation and growth of cloud condensation nuclei in the atmosphere (as opposed to direct emission) is estimated to account for up to half of global cloud condensation nuclei that influence cloud optical properties and thus climate. The process requires gas-to-particle conversion of organic vapors, the identity of which has [...]
Characteristics of ice nucleating particles in and around California winter storms
27 November 2019
DeMott, Paul J.; Kreidenweis, Sonia
Supported by:
Research area: Cloud-Aerosol-Precipitation Interactions
Using a suite of ground-, ship- and aircraft-based measurements collected in DOE campaigns, this study characterized the spatiotemporal abundance and composition of ice nucleating particles (INPs), the vital seeds for ice crystal and precipitation formation in winter storms in California. Ocean-sourced INPs were diagnosed to dominate periods of study, with [...]