Abstract View
Size Distributions of Biomass Burning Aerosol as a Function of Age and Comparisons to Models
GREGORY SCHILL, Karl D. Froyd, Daniel Murphy, Charles Brock, Christina Williamson, Agnieszka Kupc, Eric Ray, Huisheng Bian, Mian Chin, Peter Colarco, NOAA ESRL and CIRES, University of Colorado Boulder
Abstract Number: 575
Working Group: Wildfire Aerosols
Abstract
We have recently developed a new technique to couple single-particle mass spectrometry data with concurrently measured quantitative size distributions. This allows us to determine the size distribution of different particle types (e.g., sea salt, dust, biomass burning). Using data from the NASA ATmospheric tomography missions (ATom), Studies of Emissions, Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS), Deep Convective Clouds and Chemistry Project (DC3), and Mid-latitude Airborne Cirrus Properties Experiment (MACPEX) field missions, we present size distributions of biomass burning aerosol as a function of age. Missions were chosen to represent fresh wildfire plumes, background continental air, remote tropospheric air, and stratospheric air.
We employ several metrics of age including gas phase tracers, their ratios, and back trajectory products. Additionally, subcomponents of biomass burning aerosol, including organic-to-sulfate mass ratios, were analyzed as a function of size and age. These results are then compared to output from global chemistry/climate models with aerosol modules, including the Goddard Earth Observing System Model (GEOS) coupled to the Goddard Chemistry Aerosol Radiation and Transport (GOCART) aerosol module or the 7-mode Modal Aerosol Model (MAM7). In particular, the shape of the measured size distributions will be compared to parameters prescribed or output by the model. Additionally direct comparisons of extinction calculated in the model and it situ measurements of biomass burning only extinction are compared as a function of age for both dry and wet conditions.