Open AccessT ‐matrix studies of aerosol particle shape effects on IR resonance spectral line profiles and comparison with an experiment
Author(s) -
Kleiber P. D.,
Grassian V. H.,
Young M. A.,
Hudson Paula K.
Publication year - 2009
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 - 10.1029/2009jd012710
Subject(s) - aerosol , particle (ecology) , resonance (particle physics) , line (geometry) , matrix (chemical analysis) , physics , environmental science , materials science , atmospheric sciences , meteorology , geology , atomic physics , geometry , mathematics , composite material , oceanography
Experimental infrared resonance absorption line profiles are compared with results from T ‐matrix theory calculations for several mineral components of atmospheric dust (illite, kaolinite, montmorillonite, quartz, and calcite). The model results are used to infer general characteristics of the aerosol particle shape distribution. For the silicate clays the spectral line profiles are best fit by a shape distribution of highly eccentric oblate spheroids, consistent with the expected sheet‐like nature of the clay minerals. For quartz dust the spectral line profiles are best fit by a very broad distribution including both extreme oblate and prolate spheroids. For calcite a spheroid model with moderate shape parameters gives the best fit. Our results suggest that high‐resolution IR extinction measurements may offer useful insight into the shape distributions of atmospheric mineral dust.