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Lawrence I. Kleinman Brookhaven National Laboratory Atmospheric Sciences Division Bldg. 815E, 75 Rutherford Drive Upton, NY 11973-5000 Tel: 631-344-3796 Fax: 631-344-2887 email: kleinman@bnl.gov The Department of Energy (DOE) G-1 aircraft will be used as the primary measurement platform in a series of field campaigns directed at obtaining a process-level understanding of aerosol production in diverse chemical and meteorological environments. Broadly speaking, the goal is to understand the processes controlling ambient levels of aerosols and their properties to the extent needed to predict their direct effect on the radiation balance of the atmosphere. Properties that are important include size distribution, chemical composition, light scattering, light absorption, and hygroscopicity. A focus of the proposed field work will be on the time evolution of aerosol properties downwind of various source regions to gain an understanding of the important processes that control aerosol properties, and the effects that these source regions have on modifying the properties of background aerosol. Measurements will be used to elucidate the processes responsible for creating cloud condensation nuclei. The activities will include the planning and execution of field campaigns, followed by data analysis. Proposed venues include the Midwest United States (US), Houston, Texas, and Mexico City, Mexico. By providing information that links emissions with the concentration and optical properties of ambient aerosols, the direct radiative impact of these aerosols can be predicted, which will allow a more accurate assessment of the effects of increasing greenhouse gasses on climate. Keywords: atmospheric aerosols, direct radiative effect, aerosol composition, aerosol microphysics [back to ASP ST Membership] |