Airborne measurements of aerosol extinction in the lower and middle troposphere over Wyoming, USA

Abstract

Particle size distributions, and scattering and absorption coefficients were measured over the Green River basin of Wyoming during the Southwest Wyoming Visibility Study (SWYVIS) in February and March 1996. Eleven flights were carried out, using the Wyoming King Air research aircraft. In the least polluted regions of the planetary boundary layer, particle number densities detected in the diameter range 0.13-3.0μm were <100cm-3. Aloft, in the stable air of the free troposphere, they were generally even lower, often falling to a few tens of particles per cm3. Analyses of bulk aerosol filter samples showed that organic carbonaceous material was the dominant chemical component, with sulfate and refractory species being the largest inorganic components. Combining the filter data with separately measured black carbon mass loading values allowed refractive indices for the aerosol to be calculated, so that PCASP measured size distributions could be revised. Characterizing size parameters were obtained by fitting particle populations to bimodal lognormal distributions. Particle size distributions were somewhat broader at higher altitudes so that larger particles made greater contributions to extinction. Optical closure was attempted by comparing scattering and total extinctions computed by Mie theory with the corresponding values derived from the observations. While the calculated and measured single scattering albedo average values were in reasonably good agreement, even though individual pairs of values sometimes differed significantly, computed scattering coefficients often exceeded those derived from the measurements, by an average of 60%. Reasons for this discrepancy are explored, including the possible modification of the size distribution by partial or total volatilization of particles within the nephelometer and its inlet. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.