AAAR 35th Annual Conference October 17 - October 21, 2016 Oregon Convention Center Portland, Oregon, USA
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Black Carbon, Aerosol Water, Mixing States and CCN
Diep Vu, Shaokai Gao, Tyler Berte, Desiree Smith, Mary Kacarab, AKUA ASA-AWUKU, University of California, Riverside
Abstract Number: 410 Working Group: Aerosols, Clouds, and Climate
Abstract To characterize and modify mixing states, a new laminar flow tube apparatus was developed to control the extent of mixing of black carbon, organic and inorganic fractions under different relative humidity environmental conditions. Data sets yielding multiple activation curves have been recreated by mixing multiple inorganic and organic compounds in the flow tube. Results show that aerosol water is a significant factor; under dry conditions, the aerosols remained externally mixed while humid conditions facilitated internal mixing. For example, ammonium sulfate (inorganic) and succinic acid (organic) when dry, maintained an external mixture and multiple activation curves were observed to be constant. Under humid conditions,external mixing was initially observed; however, the aerosol water promoted internal mixing and the activation curves were observed to converge onto a single curve. The data agree well with Kohler Theory and single parameter (kappa) theory thermodynamic predictions of droplet activation. The method of analysis and the effect of mixing states of multiple components on the supersaturated hygroscopic properties of aerosols are presented.