AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Overview of ClearfLo Detling Site: Study of Aerosol Sources and Processing at a Rural Site Southeast of London
LEAH WILLIAMS, Scott Herndon, John Jayne, Andrew Freedman, William Brooks, Jonathan Franklin, Paola Massoli, Edward Fortner, Puneet Chhabra, Mark Zahniser, Harald Stark, Timothy Onasch, Douglas Worsnop, Felipe Lopez-Hilfiker, Claudia Mohr, Joel A. Thornton, Nga Lee Ng, Lu Xu, Matthew Kollman, Berk Knighton, Mavendra Dubey, Allison Aiken, Kyle Gorkowski, Timothy Martin, Richard Coulter, Aerodyne Research, Inc.
Abstract Number: 647 Working Group: Urban Aerosols
Abstract Clean Air for London (ClearfLo) is a large, multidisciplinary study of the London urban atmosphere aimed at understanding the relationships between surface meteorology, gas-phase composition and particulate matter at a city street site, a city background site (away from local traffic sources) and at a rural location that samples the outflow from the London urban area. We deployed a suite of instruments at a rural site approximately 50 km southeast of London in Detling, UK during January-February, 2012. Measurements included aerosol chemistry and microphysics, gas-phase tracers, secondary organic aerosol (SOA) precursors, and radiative and meteorological conditions. During the six week campaign, we sampled air masses from several distinct sources. Winds from the southwest passed over a large road 200 m from the site and brought air masses characterized by highly variable CO, indicating local sources, high black carbon, and hydrocarbon-like aerosol chemical composition. When the wind was from the east and northeast, we sampled outflow from the European continent. The gas-phase composition indicated an aged air mass, and particle composition was predominately oxygenated organics, nitrate and sulfate. Although the goal of the site was to sample outflow from London, we sampled air masses from the northwest on only a few occasions. In addition to regional air quality, the winter time studies provided information on gas and particle emissions from home heating solid fuels. Here we present a summary of the different sources observed at Detling.
Funding was provided by the US Department of Energy Atmospheric System Research Program and the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science.