American Association for Aerosol Research - Abstract Submission

AAAR 35th Annual Conference
October 17 - October 21, 2016
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA

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Single-Particle Morphology from Two-Dimensional Autocorrelation of Angularly-Resolved Light Scattering

KEVIN APTOWICZ, Daniel Landgraf, Jason Zallie, Gorden Videen, Steven Hill, Ronald Pinnick, Yong-Le Pan, West Chester University

     Abstract Number: 338
     Working Group: Single Aerosol Particle Studies - Techniques and Instrumentation

Abstract
The morphology of atmospheric aerosol particles varies greatly from homogenous spheres to complex agglomerates. This diversity of particles morphologies challenges radiative models and remote sensing techniques since the light scattering behavior of aerosols is greatly influenced by particle morphology. In this work, we explore aerosol morphology at the single-particle level by capturing and analyzing angularly-resolved light scattering patterns. In particular, we calculate the two-dimensional autocorrelation of over 30,000 single-particle light-scattering patterns from atmospheric aerosol particles in Las Cruces, NM. The size and shape of the central peak of the autocorrelation function provides insight into particle morphology. By parameterizing the central peak of the autocorrelation function, the diverse range of particles morphologies in our dataset can be grouped into subpopulations. Preliminary results suggest one population consists of sphere and sphere-like particles such as liquid particles with or without inclusions. The second population appears to represent complex agglomerates, which are likely solid-like particles. We also explore how the optical properties, like the scattering phase function, vary between the different subpopulations.