Open AccessRelationships between cloud condensation nuclei spectra and aerosol particles on a south‐north transect of the Indian Ocean
Author(s) -
Cantrell Will,
Shaw Glenn,
Leck Caroline,
Granat Lenart,
Cachier Hélène
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2000jd900219
Subject(s) - cloud condensation nuclei , aerosol , intertropical convergence zone , supersaturation , transect , atmospheric sciences , oceanography , environmental science , condensation , sulfate , chemistry , meteorology , geology , geography , precipitation , organic chemistry
Do anthropogenic emissions affect cloud microphysical properties? One parameter needed to answer the preceding question is a link between the aerosol number distribution and the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) supersaturation spectrum for polluted and unpolluted air masses. On a south‐north cruise in the Indian Ocean in March of 1998, we found that measured CCN spectra and CCN spectra calculated from the ambient aerosol number distributions disagreed by as much as a factor of 2. The aerosol soluble fraction inferred from the relationship between measured and calculated CCN spectra ranged from 0.2 to 0.05 and exhibited a broad minimum at the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The concentration of CCN, non‐sea‐salt SO 4 2− , NH 4 + , black carbon, and organic carbon increased by an order of magnitude as we passed through the ITCZ.