Studies of aerosol physical properties in coastal areas

Abstract

The results presented in this article were obtained from measurements taken using a lidar system FLS-12 and laser particle counters (CSASP-100-HV-SP) at seven stations in the coastal area of the southern Baltic Sea and in Duck, North Carolina on the Atlantic coast of the U.S.; the latter was within the scope of an international experiment EOPACE. The studies indicated that aerosol concentration with offshore winds was approximately three-fold higher in all locations than that with onshore winds. However, it was also determined that the location of the measurement within the coastal area (surf zone versus further offshore location) can have an important impact on the result due to the enhanced production of marine aerosols from the sea surface, even with offshore winds. Aerosol concentrations with onshore winds were comparable at all measurement sites, which leads to the conclusion that the aerosol concentration is only slightly dependent on the salinity of the upper water layers. The results obtained using the lidar under similar meteorological conditions in various regions can be compared and used to determine the impact of regional and meteorological conditions on the concentration and shape of aerosol size distributions.