ASP Participation in TEXAQS II

PNNL participation

The objective is to characterize hydrocarbon mixing ratios at multiple heights within the planetary boundary layer (PBL) over Houston, Texas, during the August - September 2006 intensive field operation of TEXAQS II. It is intended to deploy a set of Proton Transfer Reaction- Mass Spectrometers (PTR-MS) at multiple levels of a skyscraper tall enough so that its upper levels are above the early morning planetary boundary layer. The continuous set of PTR-MS observations will be supplemented by canister samples to measure hydrocarbon species that cannot be measured by the PTR-MS (e.g. ethylene) and also to provide a check against the PTR-MS measurements. As resources and collaboration with other investigators allow, measurements of solar insolation and co-located measurements of CO, NO_x and other trace gas species relevant to O₃ formation will be made. It is intended also to release radiosondes in the vicinity of the selected skyscraper to characterize the vertical structure of temperature and humidity. Also participating will be investigators from Texas A & M University and Washington State University. An invitation is extended to investigators from other organizations (including ASP investigators) to participate in this project to take advantage of the skyscraper platform and the basic sampling infrastructure, and the numerous co-located measurements. Tentative dates for these measurements are August 15 - September 15th, 2006, these dates coinciding with the planned deployment of NOAA's P-3 Orion aircraft and their airborne lidar system.

For further information see the Powerpoint (R) presentation describing these activities. Potential participants are invited to contact Carl Berkowitz (Carl.Berkowitz@pnl.gov) to initiate discussions.

For further information about TEXAQS II see http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/texaqsII/


LANL participation

A key goal of the NOAA/DOE supported 2006-TexAQS-GoMACCS/MaxTex campaign is to quantify the distribution of anthropogenic light absorbing aerosols such as black carbon (BC) produced by combustion and industrial activity over Houston and the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the key questions that will be addressed in this field campaign include:

1. What is the rate of mixing of combustion aerosols (BC with sulfate and chloride) and how does it effect the optical property and atmospheric heating rates?

2. How does BC containing aerosol effect clouds and how do cloud processes influence aerosols?

3. How does BC effect the macroscopic cloud single scatter albedo in a regime much more polluted than interrogated by DOE during MASE?

To help answer these questions the Los Alamos team that is part of the ASP adjunct science team and funded by the Los Alamos LDRD program will deploy its in situ photo-acoustic instrument together with their fast CO2 and CO instruments on the CIRPAS Twin Otter in August 2006. Simultaneous measurements of aerosol optical properties (absorption, scattering and single scatter albedo) and gas phase species should allow the determination of emission factors as well as aging influences on aerosol optical properties. The CIRPAS Twin Otter will have a host of other in situ microphysical measurements including a time of flight AMS. The combination of this rich in situ data set with models will be used to quantify the radiative effects of BC on the local, regional, and global climate.

The project is co-led by John Seinfeld of Caltech and Graham Feingold of NOAA. The Los Alamos team includes Manvendra Dubey (PI), Claudio Mazzoleni and Thom Rahn who were also part of the DOE's recent MAX-Mex and MASE campaigns.

For more on the planned research see the Powerpoint (R) presentation describing these activities.

For further information on research to be carried out in the 2006 TexAQS/GoMACCS project see http://www.utexas.edu/research/ceer/texaqsII/



NASA Langley participation

The NASA Langley group will be participating in TEXAQS II/GoMACCS with the King Air. It is intended to fly the same combination of instruments in MILAGRO, the primary instrument being the High Spectral Resolution Lidar. The dates for the deployment are 15 August through 15 September, and the objectives are as follows.

- Augment TEXAQS/GoMACCS radiation and air quality science objectives

- Validate CALIOP lidar on the CALIPSO satellite

- Assess aerosol measurements of existing passive satellite sensors:
          MODIS, MISR, PARASOL

- Investigate new remote sensing strategies and retrieval techniques

Point of contact is Chris Hostetler (Chris.A.Hostetler@nasa.gov), who looks forward to participation with ASP colleagues in planning/coordinating flights with other platforms and overflights of the ground stations as well as analysis of the data collected. For more on the planned research see the viewgraphs describing these activities.

G-1 participation in 2006 summer field campaign in Houston (MAX-TEX) canceled

As outlined below, it had been intended to carry out a field study in Houston in Summer 2006 examining the time evolution of aerosols, their physical properties, and their impact on the energy balance of the atmosphere.

Because of unavailability of anticipated funding, participation by the DOE G-1 Aircraft in this project has had to be cancelled

Objectives and motivation for an ASP field campaign in Houston

Houston has a unique mixture of aerosol-producing emission sources. In addition to normal urban emission sources, Houston has nearby power plants and one of the largest concentrations of petrochemical facilities in the world. Because of its large point sources of SO₂ and hydrocarbons, Houston is a natural laboratory for studying the time evolution of aerosols, their physical properties, and their impact on the energy balance of the atmosphere. In the late summer of 2006 the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, in conjunction with the NOAA Aeronomy Laboratory and the EPA, will be conducting TexAQS 2006, a major field campaign that seeks to understand ozone non-attainment in several of the major cities in East Texas, and the origin and properties of the Texas regional haze problem. TexAQS 2006 plans currently call for the participation of four aircraft, an array of profilers to measure winds, and a number of surface sites spread throughout East Texas to measure aerosols, oxidants and their precursors. Although the objectives of TexAQS 2006 and the ASP are quite different, an ASP aircraft and ground based study focusing on aerosol properties pertinent to radiative forcing could effectively leverage the TexAQS 2006 resources.

Proposed ASP aircraft measurements would include sampling power plant, urban, and industrial plume segments at various downwind distances to determine the rates and yields for secondary aerosol formation, conversion rates of hydrophobic primary aerosol to hydrophilic coated or internally mixed aerosol, and the effects of these processes on aerosol optical and CCN properties. Cumulus convection, which is common throughout southeast Texas during the summer months, is an important mechanism for the vertical transport, transformation, and removal of both gas-phase and particulate material from the atmosphere. The numerous, varied, and intense emissions sources characterizing the region together with the high frequency of occurrence of cumulus clouds make Houston an ideal site for field campaigns designed to quantify a variety of cloud and aerosol processes and to evaluate models designed to simulate these processes. By measuring vertical profiles of reactive and non-reactive species and soluble and insoluble species, an ASP field experiment in Houston could provide data needed to understand vertical transport, aqueous-phase transformation, and wet removal of trace substances by cumulus convection and to represent these processes in numerical models of the impact of aerosols on climate. Conducting this project in conjunction with the other participants in TEXAQS 2006 could result in substantial benefits to both ASP and the other participants through data sharing, logistics, and the like.
 

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