New-particle formation events in a continental boundary layer: first results from the SATURN experiment

Abstract

Abstract. During the SATURN experiment, which took place from 27 May to 14 June 2002, new particle formation in the continental boundary layer was investigated. Simultaneous ground-based and tethered-balloon-borne measurements were performed, including meteorological parameters, particle number concentrations and size distributions, gaseous precursor concentrations and SODAR and LIDAR observations.Newly formed particles were observed inside the residual layer, before the break-up process of the nocturnal inversion, and inside the mixing layer throughout the break-up of the nocturnal inversion and during the evolution of the planetary boundary layer.

First observations of increased ultrafine particle number concentrations near the inversion of a continental planetary boundary layer and its relation to ground‐based measurements

“…[4] In contrast to Stratmann et al [2003], who discussed observations of ultrafine particles in the nocturnal residual layer and in the well-mixed layer during SATURN, our report here includes the first fine-scale observations of enhanced concentrations of ultrafine particles near the inversion layer. Such enhanced concentrations are indicators of new particle formation in those layers.…”

“…The TDMPS was operated at the same site where the balloon was launched. A comprehensive description of all instruments and systems used during SATURN is given by Stratmann et al [2003].…”

“…[3] As a consequence of these discussions, in 2002, the SATURN experiment [Stratmann et al, 2003] was done, where tethered balloon-borne measurements of ultrafine particle number concentrations and highly resolved measurements of dynamic and thermodynamic parameters were obtained together with ground-based measurements. The combination of a tethered balloon-borne payload with stateof-the-art instrumentation for submeter resolution and ground-based measurements comprised a unique setup to investigate nucleation events in the PBL.…”

MALTE – model to predict new aerosol formation in the lower troposphere

“…During this work, the input aerosol background was the measured aerosol distribution during the night which gave the best correlation to the aerosol loading for the corresponding day. However, although new particle formation has often been observed over distances ranging from approximately 50 km to the synoptic scale (>1000 km) (Stratmann et al, 2003;Komppula et al, 2003), the particle distribution and number concentration will be influenced to some extent by horizontal advection during the day. This effect will not be reproduced by a one dimensional model and some uncertainties concerning the formation and growth of particles will always result from the diurnal pattern of the background aerosols.…”

Vertical distributions of aerosol optical properties during the spring 2016 ARIAs airborne campaign in the North China Plain

“…Given the potential impact of aerosols on climate, additional accurate measurements of the vertical profiles of aerosol optical properties are needed. These data can be obtained directly or indirectly from platforms such as meteorological towers (Zhao et al, 2017), tethered balloons (Stratmann et al, 2003;Ferrero et al, 2010), and unmanned aerial vehicles (Corrigan et al, 2008). Although limited in terms of temporal and geographic coverage, airborne sensing provides direct, highresolution, in situ aerosol vertical profiles, used to evaluate numerical models and satellite retrievals (Chazette and Liousse, 2001).…”