Atmospheric visibility related to aerosol mass concentration: review

Charlson, Robert J.

doi:10.1021/es60033a002

Cited by 127 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Middleton's book Vision through the Atmosphere, is a classic treatment of the subject. Charlson (1969) has summarized more recent advances in this area. However, the effect of power plant plumes on visual range has been only recently addressed.…”

Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Latimer

Samuelsen

1978

Atmospheric Environment (1967)

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-Theoretical relationships have been derived and transformed into a computer model to describe plume visual impact at various observer vantage points resulting from power plant boiler operation. Plume visual impact results from a reduction in visual range (visibility) and plume cotoration. The model considers plume transport and diffusion, light scattering and absorption by aerosols and gases, and chemical transformation in the plume of nitric oxide to nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide to sulfates, and nitrogen oxides to nitrates.The model is applied in a parametric study to explore the effect of emissions and environmental conditions on plume visual impact. The case selected is a hypothetical 1500 Mwe coal-fired power plant equipped with efficient particulate abatement equipment. The results establish that visual range is not significantly affected unless the observer is viewing along the plume axis or unless significant amounts of secondary particles are formed in the plume. Yellow-brown plume coloration is shown to result from the net production of nitrogen dioxide gas in the plume. The coloration is most apparent during stable and clear atmospheric conditions and effectively masked for elevated concentrations of background or plume aerosol.

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Section: Previous Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Latimer

Samuelsen

1978

Atmospheric Environment (1967)

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“…Charlson, 1969;Horvath, 1993;Laden et al, 2006;Lohmann and Feichter, 2005;Pope and Dockery, 2006;Stevens and Feingold, 2009). To understand the effects of aerosol particles on climate and health, measurements of their chemical and physical properties, e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Number size distributions and seasonality of submicron particles in Europe 2008–2009

et al. 2011

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Abstract.Two years of harmonized aerosol number size distribution data from 24 European field monitoring sites have been analysed. The results give a comprehensive overview of the European near surface aerosol particle number concentrations Correspondence to: A. Asmi (ari.asmi@helsinki.fi) and number size distributions between 30 and 500 nm of dry particle diameter. Spatial and temporal distribution of aerosols in the particle sizes most important for climate applications are presented. We also analyse the annual, weekly and diurnal cycles of the aerosol number concentrations, provide log-normal fitting parameters for median number size distributions, and give guidance notes for data users. Emphasis is placed on the usability of results within the aerosol modelling community.Published by Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geosciences Union. We also show that the aerosol number concentrations of Aitken and accumulation mode particles (with 100 nm dry diameter as a cut-off between modes) are related, although there is significant variation in the ratios of the modal number concentrations. Different aerosol and station types are distinguished from this data and this methodology has potential for further categorization of stations aerosol number size distribution types.The European submicron aerosol was divided into characteristic types: Central European aerosol, characterized by single mode median size distributions, unimodal number concentration histograms and low variability in CCN-sized aerosol number concentrations; Nordic aerosol with low number concentrations, although showing pronounced seasonal variation of especially Aitken mode particles; Mountain sites (altitude over 1000 m a.s.l.) with a strong seasonal cycle in aerosol number concentrations, high variability, and very low median number concentrations. Southern and Western European regions had fewer stations, which decreases the regional coverage of these results. Aerosol number concentrations over the Britain and Ireland had very high variance and there are indications of mixed air masses from several source regions; the Mediterranean aerosol exhibit high seasonality, and a strong accumulation mode in the summer. The greatest concentrations were observed at the Ispra station in Northern Italy with high accumulation mode number concentrations in the winter. The aerosol number concentrations at the Arctic station Zeppelin in Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard have also a strong seasonal cycle, with greater concentrations of accumulation mode particles in winter, and dominating summer Aitken mode indicating more recently formed particles. Observed particles did not show any statistically significant regional work-week or weekday related variation in number concentrations studied.Analysis products are made for open-access to the research community, available in a freely accessible internet site. The results give to the modelling community a reliable, easy-touse and freely available comparison dataset of aerosol size distributions.

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“…Furthermore, the physicochemical properties of aerosols can lead to variable hygroscopic growth, and the extinction associated with different particles (with differences in size and chemistry) is significantly different under the same RH. Overall, visibility will decrease when the RH increases (Charlson, 1969;Covert et al, 1972;Stock et al, 2011;Day and Malm, 2001). Some studies show that extinction can increase by more than 100 % when the RH exceeds 70-80 % (Mcmurry, 2000;Zhang and Mcmurry, 1992;Tang, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of extinction properties as a function of relative humidity using a <i>κ</i>-EC-Mie model in Nanjing

Zhang

Shen²,

et al. 2017

Atmos. Chem. Phys.

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Abstract. The relationship between relative humidity (RH) and extinction properties is of widespread concern. In this study, a hygroscopic parameter (κ) and the volume fraction of elemental carbon (EC) were used to characterize the chemical characteristics of particles, and a core-shell model was built based on these characteristics. The size distribution, chemical composition, and RH were measured in Nanjing from 15 October to 13 November 2013. The modelderived extinction coefficients of particles were fit with the program of coated spheres according to Bohren and Huffman (2008) (BHCOAT), and the modeled values correlated well with the measurement-derived extinction coefficients (r 2 = 0.81), which suggested that the core-shell model produced reasonable results. The results show that more than 81 % of the extinction coefficient in Nanjing was due to particles in the 0.2-1.0 µm size range. Under dry conditions, the higher mass fraction of particles in the 0.2-1.0 µm size range caused the higher extinction coefficient. An increase in RH led to a significant increase in the extinction coefficient, although the increases differed among the different size segments. For λ = 550 nm, the extinction coefficient from the 0.01-0.2, 0.2-0.5, and 1.0-2.0 µm size ranges increased significantly with the increase in RH, whereas the extinction contributions from the 0.5-1.0 and 2.0-10.0 µm size ranges to the extinction coefficient decreased slightly.

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Atmospheric visibility related to aerosol mass concentration: review

Cited by 127 publications

References 16 publications

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Number size distributions and seasonality of submicron particles in Europe 2008–2009

Analysis of extinction properties as a function of relative humidity using a <i>κ</i>-EC-Mie model in Nanjing

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Atmospheric visibility related to aerosol mass concentration: review

Cited by 127 publications

References 16 publications

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Visual impact of plumes from power plants: A theoretical model

Number size distributions and seasonality of submicron particles in Europe 2008–2009

Analysis of extinction properties as a function of relative humidity using a &lt;i&gt;κ&lt;/i&gt;-EC-Mie model in Nanjing

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Analysis of extinction properties as a function of relative humidity using a <i>κ</i>-EC-Mie model in Nanjing