Aerosol plume transport and transformation in high spectral resolution lidar measurements and WRF-Flexpart simulations during the MILAGRO Field Campaign
Name
Molina-2011-Aerosol plume transport and transformation.pdf
Size
6.89 MB
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Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
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Author(s)
de Foy, B.
Burton, S. P.
Ferrare, R. A.
Hostetler, C. A.
Hair, J. W.
Wiedinmyer, C.
Molina, Luisa Tan
Date Issued
April 2011
Journal
Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Publisher
Copernicus Publications on behalf of the European Geophysical Society
Citation
de Foy, B. et al. “Aerosol plume transport and transformation in high spectral resolution lidar measurements and WRF-Flexpart simulations during the MILAGRO Field Campaign.” Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics 11 (2011): 3543-3563.
Version
Final published version
Abstract
The Mexico City Metropolitan Area (MCMA) experiences high loadings of atmospheric aerosols from anthropogenic sources, biomass burning and wind-blown dust. This paper uses a combination of measurements and numerical simulations to identify different plumes affecting the basin and to characterize transformation inside the plumes. The High Spectral Resolution Lidar on board the NASA LaRC B-200 King Air aircraft measured extinction coefficients and extinction to backscatter ratio at 532 nm, and backscatter coefficients and depolarization ratios at 532 and 1064 nm. These can be used to identify aerosol types. The measurement curtains are compared with particle trajectory simulations using WRF-Flexpart for different source groups. The good correspondence between measurements and simulations suggests that the aerosol transport is sufficiently well characterized by the models to estimate aerosol types and ages. Plumes in the basin undergo complex transport, and are frequently mixed together. Urban aerosols are readily identifiable by their low depolarization ratios and high lidar ratios, and dust by the opposite properties. Fresh biomass burning plumes have very low depolarization ratios which increase rapidly with age. This rapid transformation is consistent with the presence of atmospheric tar balls in the fresh plumes.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Terms of Use
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
Persistent DSpace Link
DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-11-3543-2011
