Open AccessClosure between aerosol particles and cloud condensation nuclei at Kaashidhoo Climate Observatory
Author(s) -
Cantrell Will,
Shaw Glenn,
Cass Glen R.,
Chowdhury Zohir,
Hughes Lara S.,
Prather Kimberly A.,
Guazzotti Sergio A.,
Coffee Keith R.
Publication year - 2001
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 - 10.1029/2000jd900781
Subject(s) - aerosol , cloud condensation nuclei , supersaturation , condensation , atmospheric sciences , mass spectrum , spectral line , environmental science , range (aeronautics) , sea spray , meteorology , materials science , chemistry , physics , mass spectrometry , thermodynamics , astronomy , chromatography , composite material
Predicting the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) supersaturation spectrum from aerosol properties is a fairly straightforward matter, as long as those properties are simple. During the Indian Ocean Experiment we measured CCN spectra, size‐resolved aerosol chemical composition, and aerosol number distributions and attempted to reconcile them using a modified form of Köhler theory. We obtained general agreement between our measured and modeled CCN spectra. However, the agreement was not as good during a time period when organic carbon comprised a quarter of the total mass of the aerosol in the submicron size range. The modeled concentrations overpredict those actually measured during that time period. This suggests that some component, presumably organic material, can inhibit the uptake of water by the electrolytic fraction of the mass.