Abstract. Measurements of relative humidity (RH) and aerosol parameters (scattering cross section, size distributions and chemical composition), performed in ambient atmospheric conditions, have been used to study the influence of relative humidity on aerosol properties. The data were acquired in a suburban area south of Paris, between 18 and 24 July 2000, in the framework of the "Etude et Simulation de la Qualité de l'air en Ile-de-France" (ESQUIF) program. According to the origin of the air masses arriving over the Paris area, the aerosol hygroscopicity is more or less pronounced. The aerosol chemical composition data were used as input of a thermodynamic model to simulate the variation of the aerosol water mass content with ambient RH and to determine the main inorganic salt compounds. The coupling of observations and modelling reveals the presence of deliquescence processes with hysteresis phenomenon in the hygroscopic growth cycle. Based on the Hänel model, parameterisations of the scattering cross section, the modal radius of the accumulation mode of the size distribution and the aerosol water mass content, as a function of increasing RH, have been assessed. For the first time, a crosscheck of these parameterisations has been performed and shows that the hygroscopic behaviour of the accumulation mode can be coherently characterized by combined optical, size distribution and chemical measurements.

No abstract

[1] This study is dedicated to the direct radiative impact assessment of the pollution aerosol particles during the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX). We use here an instrumental synergy based on active and passive ground-based (Goa University, India), airborne (Mystere 20 research aircraft), and spaceborne devices. An original method based on ground-based active actinic flux measurements is developed to assess the atmospheric, columnar aerosol single scattering albedo. This parameter has been found between 0.88 and 0.93 (at 440 nm) with an absolute uncertainty of 0.04 during the operating period from 11 to 23 March 1999. We have also assessed this parameter off the West Indian coast by comparing simultaneous airborne lidar and flux measurements with radiative transfer simulations. The value retrieved for the atmospheric column is close to 0.83 ± 0.05 (at 523 nm) in agreement with the coastal value. The horizontal and vertical extent of the aerosol plume is investigated using airborne lidar and Meteosat-5 satellite. Using the Meteosat-5-derived aerosol optical thickness, we have estimated the regional extent of the shortwave aerosol direct radiative forcing. The vertical profile of the aerosol extinction coefficient derived from lidar sounding is used to assess the atmospheric shortwave heating rate induced by the aerosol layer. For an aerosol optical thickness of 0.6 (±0.12), as it has been observed in the aerosol plume in late March, the top of atmosphere direct aerosol forcing is À17 (±5) W m À2 . The surface forcing is between 2.5 and 4.5 higher than the top of atmosphere forcing. This difference leads to a significant heating of the three lowest kilometers of the atmosphere by the aerosols. For an aerosol optical thickness of 0.6, the atmospheric heating rate induced by aerosols is between 0.8 and 1.2 Kd À1 depending on the aerosol single scattering albedo value.