An Observational Case Study on the Influence of Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Dynamics on New Particle Formation

Platis, Andreas; Altstädter, Barbara; Wehner, B.; Wildmann, Norman; Lampert, Astrid; Hermann, M.; Birmili, W.; Bange, Jens

doi:10.1007/s10546-015-0084-y

Cited by 82 publications

(85 citation statements)

References 44 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…UAS operation with two aircraft following different flight patterns was performed as well in the study of Platis et al [21]. For some meteorological experiments, the advantages of UAS and manned aircraft were combined to complete the overall picture (e.g., Neininger and Hacker [22], Lothon et al [23]).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The first setup of the UAS ALADINA has already been described in detail [26]. As the measurement system has undergone significant changes and improvements after several extended field experiments [21,26], the current system with additional instrumentation, the new data acquisition system deployed in the project Dynamics-aerosol-chemistry-cloud interaction in West Africa (DACCIWA) [27,28] and careful sensor characterization are presented here.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

New Setup of the UAS ALADINA for Measuring Boundary Layer Properties, Atmospheric Particles and Solar Radiation

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:The unmanned research aircraft ALADINA (Application of Light-weight Aircraft for Detecting in situ Aerosols) has been established as an important tool for boundary layer research. For simplified integration of additional sensor payload, a flexible and reliable data acquisition system was developed at the Institute of Flight Guidance, Technische Universität (TU) Braunschweig. The instrumentation consists of sensors for temperature, humidity, three-dimensional wind vector, position, black carbon, irradiance and atmospheric particles in the diameter range of ultra-fine particles up to the accumulation mode. The modular concept allows for straightforward integration and exchange of sensors. So far, more than 200 measurement flights have been performed with the robustly-engineered system ALADINA at different locations. The obtained datasets are unique in the field of atmospheric boundary layer research. In this study, a new data processing method for deriving parameters with fast resolution and to provide reliable accuracies is presented. Based on tests in the field and in the laboratory, the limitations and verifiability of integrated sensors are discussed.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

New Setup of the UAS ALADINA for Measuring Boundary Layer Properties, Atmospheric Particles and Solar Radiation

et al. 2018

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Since most air pollutants are emitted or chemically produced within this layer, its evolution plays an important role in the transport, dispersion and deposition of air pollutants Fan et al, 2008;Whiteman et al, 2014;Platis et al, 2016;Wolf et al, 2014;Wu et al, 2013). The ABL structure is determined by complex interactions between atmosphere static stability and those mechanical processes (such as wind shear from synoptic or terrain-induced flows) (Stull, 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-organized classification of boundary layer meteorology and associated characteristics of air quality in Beijing

et al. 2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Self-organizing maps (SOMs; a feature-extracting technique based on an unsupervised machine learning algorithm) are used to classify atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) meteorology over Beijing through detecting topological relationships among the 5-year (2013-2017) radiosondebased virtual potential temperature profiles. The classified ABL types are then examined in relation to near-surface pollutant concentrations to understand the modulation effects of the changing ABL meteorology on Beijing's air quality. Nine ABL types (i.e., SOM nodes) are obtained through the SOM classification technique, and each is characterized by distinct dynamic and thermodynamic conditions. In general, the selforganized ABL types are able to distinguish between high and low loadings of near-surface pollutants. The average concentrations of PM 2.5 , NO 2 and CO dramatically increased from the near neutral (i.e., Node 1) to strong stable conditions (i.e., Node 9) during all seasons except for summer. Since extremely strong stability can isolate the near-surface observations from the influence of elevated SO 2 pollution layers, the highest average SO 2 concentrations are typically observed in Node 3 (a layer with strong stability in the upper ABL) rather than Node 9. In contrast, near-surface O 3 shows an opposite dependence on atmospheric stability, with the lowest average concentration in Node 9. Analysis of three typical pollution months (i.e., January 2013, December 2015 and December 2016 suggests that the ABL types are the primary drivers of day-to-day variations in Beijing's air quality. Assuming a fixed relationship between ABL type and PM 2.5 loading for different years, the relative (absolute) contributions of the ABL anomaly to elevated PM 2.5 levels are estimated to be

show abstract

“…Interest in such deployments stems from the ability of these platforms to collect information on spatial variability of key atmospheric properties and the underlying surface, and provide profiles of atmospheric quantities related to aerosols (e.g., Corrigan et al, 2008;Bates et al, 2013;Platis et al, 2015), clouds (e.g., Ramana et al, 2007), thermodynamics (e.g., Lawrence and Balsley, 2013), turbu-lence (e.g., van den Kroonenberg et al, 2012), and radiation (e.g., Ramana et al, 2007;Valero et al, 1996). Additionally, their use has been buoyed by the potential to deploy these aircraft to areas difficult to sample with manned platforms (e.g., Lin, 2006;Elston et al, 2011), including the near surface environment at high latitudes (e.g., Curry et al, 2004;Cassano et al, 2010), and by the potential for significant cost-savings relative to routine deployment of manned aircraft with continued miniaturization of instrumentation and platforms alike.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While such campaigns can provide substantial insight and have the unique ability to deploy a variety of instruments to the same location, the cost of such efforts is unsustainable for routine observing. UAS can play a central role in decreasing the cost associated with making aerosol measurements at altitude in the high latitude atmosphere, and to date there have been limited UAS-based measurement campaigns (e.g., Bates et al, 2013;Platis et al, 2015;Altstädter et al, 2015). Of additional interest is the impact of the aerosol and associated cloud particles on the transfer of energy through the Earth's atmosphere.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

et al. 2016

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. This paper presents details of the University of Colorado (CU) "Pilatus" unmanned research aircraft, assembled to provide measurements of aerosols, radiation and thermodynamics in the lower troposphere. This aircraft has a wingspan of 3.2 m and a maximum take-off weight of 25 kg, and it is powered by an electric motor to reduce engine exhaust and concerns about carburetor icing. It carries instrumentation to make measurements of broadband up-and downwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, aerosol particle size distribution, atmospheric temperature, relative humidity and pressure and to collect video of flights for subsequent analysis of atmospheric conditions during flight. In order to make the shortwave radiation measurements, care was taken to carefully position a high-quality compact inertial measurement unit (IMU) and characterize the attitude of the aircraft and its orientation to the upward-looking radiation sensor. Using measurements from both of these sensors, a correction is applied to the raw radiometer measurements to correct for aircraft attitude and sensor tilt relative to the sun. The data acquisition system was designed from scratch based on a set of key driving requirements to accommodate the variety of sensors deployed. Initial test flights completed in Colorado provide promising results with measurements from the radiation sensors agreeing with those from a nearby surface site. Additionally, estimates of surface albedo from onboard sensors were consistent with local surface conditions, including melting snow and bright runway surface. Aerosol size distributions collected are internally consistent and have previously been shown to agree well with larger, surface-based instrumentation. Finally the atmospheric state measurements evolve as expected, with the near-surface atmosphere warming over time as the day goes on, and the atmospheric relative humidity decreasing with increased temperature. No directional bias on measured temperature, as might be expected due to uneven heating of the sensor housing over the course of a racetrack pattern, was detected. The results from these flights indicate that the CU Pilatus platform is capable of performing research-grade lower tropospheric measurement missions.

show abstract

An Observational Case Study on the Influence of Atmospheric Boundary-Layer Dynamics on New Particle Formation

Cited by 82 publications

References 44 publications

New Setup of the UAS ALADINA for Measuring Boundary Layer Properties, Atmospheric Particles and Solar Radiation

New Setup of the UAS ALADINA for Measuring Boundary Layer Properties, Atmospheric Particles and Solar Radiation

Self-organized classification of boundary layer meteorology and associated characteristics of air quality in Beijing

The Pilatus unmanned aircraft system for lower atmospheric research

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About