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Massive positive and negative ions in the wake of a jet aircraft: Detection by a novel aircraft‐based large ion mass spectrometer (LIOMAS)
Author(s) -
Wohlfrom K.H.,
Eichkorn S.,
Arnold F.,
Schulte P.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2000gl011974
Subject(s) - sulfur , ion , plume , mass spectrometry , jet fuel , volatility (finance) , analytical chemistry (journal) , jet (fluid) , sulfuric acid , chemistry , environmental science , materials science , environmental chemistry , physics , meteorology , inorganic chemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry , financial economics , economics , thermodynamics
Negative and positive chemiions (CI) were measured by an aircraft‐based large ion mass spectrometer (LIOMAS) in the wake of a jet aircraft (ATTAS) at an altitude of 8 km and at plume ages between 0.6 and 6.2s. CI mass distributions were measured for mass numbers m up to 8500 atomic mass units, and additionally total fractional CI abundances f M for CI with m > 8500 were obtained. Very massive CI were observed even when nearly sulfur free jet fuel was burnt in the ATTAS engines (fuel sulfur content FSC = 2mg/kg). This indicates that a CI growth process was operative which did not involve sulfur, but more likely low volatility organic compounds (LVOC). However, when fuel with an FSC = 118mg/kg was used a significant additional negative CI growth was observed which must be due to sulfur‐bearing molecules, probably sulfuric acid which is formed by oxidation of fuel sulfur. Use of the fuel with higher FSC did not change the size distribution of positive ions significantly. For both FSC the negative ions had a larger mean m compared to the positive ions.