scholarly journals Technical Note: Mineralogical, chemical, morphological, and optical interrelationships of mineral dust re-suspensions

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Engelbrecht ◽  
Hans Moosmüller ◽  
Samuel Pincock ◽  
Radhakrishna M. Jayanty ◽  
Traci Lersch ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper promotes an understanding of the mineralogical, chemical, and physical interrelationships of re-suspended mineral dusts collected as grab samples from global dust sources. Surface soils were collected from arid regions, including the southwestern USA, Mali, Chad, Morocco, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Serbia, China, Namibia, Botswana, Australia, and Chile. The < 38 µm sieved fraction of each sample was re-suspended in a chamber, from which the airborne mineral dust could be extracted, sampled, and analyzed. Instruments integrated into the entrainment facility included two PM10 and two PM2.5 filter samplers, a beta attenuation gauge for the continuous measurement of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate mass fractions, an aerodynamic particle size (APS) analyzer, and a three wavelength (405, 532, 781 nm) photoacoustic instrument with integrating reciprocal nephelometer for monitoring absorption and scattering coefficients during the dust re-suspension process. Filter sampling media included Teflon® membrane and quartz fiber filters for chemical analysis, and Nuclepore® filters for individual particle analysis by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). The < 38 µm sieved fractions were also analyzed by X-ray diffraction for their mineral content while the > 75 µm, < 125 µm soil fractions were mineralogically assessed by optical microscopy. Presented here are results of the optical measurements, showing the interdependencies of single scattering albedos (SSA) at three different wavelengths and chemical as well as mineralogical content of the entrained dust samples. Relationships between the SSA of airborne dusts, and iron (Fe) in hematite, goethite, and clay minerals (montmorillonite, illite, palygorskite) are demonstrated. Differences in clay mineralogy between samples from Mali and those from other localities are highlighted. Results from this study can be integrated into a database of mineral dust properties, for applications in climate modeling, remote sensing, visibility, health (medical geology), ocean fertilization, and impact on equipment.

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (17) ◽  
pp. 10809-10830 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johann P. Engelbrecht ◽  
Hans Moosmüller ◽  
Samuel Pincock ◽  
R. K. M. Jayanty ◽  
Traci Lersch ◽  
...  

Abstract. This paper promotes an understanding of the mineralogical, chemical, and physical interrelationships of re-suspended mineral dusts collected as grab samples from global dust sources. Surface soils were collected from arid regions, including the southwestern USA, Mali, Chad, Morocco, Canary Islands, Cabo Verde, Djibouti, Afghanistan, Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, Serbia, China, Namibia, Botswana, Australia, and Chile. The  <  38 µm sieved fraction of each sample was re-suspended in a chamber, from which the airborne mineral dust could be extracted, sampled, and analyzed. Instruments integrated into the entrainment facility included two PM10 and two PM2.5 filter samplers, a beta attenuation gauge for the continuous measurement of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate mass fractions, an aerodynamic particle size analyzer, and a three-wavelength (405, 532, 781 nm) photoacoustic instrument with integrating reciprocal nephelometer for monitoring absorption and scattering coefficients during the dust re-suspension process. Filter sampling media included Teflon® membrane and quartz fiber filters for chemical analysis and Nuclepore® filters for individual particle analysis by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The  <  38 µm sieved fractions were also analyzed by X-ray diffraction for their mineral content while the  >  75,  <  125 µm soil fractions were mineralogically assessed by optical microscopy. Presented here are results of the optical measurements, showing the interdependency of single-scattering albedos (SSA) at three different wavelengths and mineralogical content of the entrained dust samples. To explain the elevated concentrations of iron (Fe) and Fe ∕ Al ratios in the soil re-suspensions, we propose that dust particles are to a large extent composed of nano-sized particles of micas, clays, metal oxides, and ions of potassium (K+), calcium (Ca2+), and sodium (Na+) evenly dispersed as a colloid or adsorbed in amorphous clay-like material. Also shown are differences in SSA of the kaolinite/hematite/goethite samples from Mali and those from colloidal soils elsewhere. Results from this study can be integrated into a database of mineral dust properties, for applications in climate modeling, remote sensing, visibility, health (medical geology), ocean fertilization, and impact on equipment.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Di Biagio ◽  
Paola Formenti ◽  
Mathieu Cazaunau ◽  
Edouard Pangui ◽  
Nicholas Marchand ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this study we provide a first estimate of the aethalometer multiple scattering correction Cref for mineral dust aerosols. The Cref at 450 and 660 nm was obtained from the direct comparison of aethalometer data (Magee Sci. AE31) with the absorption coefficient calculated as the difference between the extinction and scattering coefficients measured by a CAPS PMex and a nephelometer at 450 nm and the absorption coefficient from a MAAP (Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer) at 660 nm. Measurements were performed on seven dust aerosol samples generated in the laboratory by the mechanical shaking of natural parent soils issued from different source regions worldwide. The single scattering albedo (SSA) at 450 and 660 nm and the size distribution of the aerosols were also measured. Cref for mineral dust varies between 1.81 and 2.56 for a SSA of 0.85–0.96 at 450 nm and between 1.75 and 2.28 for a SSA of 0.98–0.99 at 660 nm. The calculated mean Cref for dust is 2.09 (± 0.22) at 450 nm and 1.92 (± 0.17) at 660 nm. With this new Cref the dust absorption coefficient by aethalometer is about 2 % (450 nm) and 11 % (660 nm) higher than that obtained by using Cref = 2.14, usually assumed in the literature. This difference induces up to 3 % change in the dust SSA. The Cref seems independent of the particle fine and coarse size fractions, and so the obtained Cref can be applied to dust both close to sources and following transport. Additional experiments performed with pure kaolinite mineral and polluted ambient aerosols indicate a Cref of 2.49 (± 0.02) and 2.32 (± 0.01) at 450 and 660 nm (SSA = 0.96–0.97) for kaolinite, and a Cref of 2.32 (± 0.36) at 450 nm and 2.32 (± 0.35) at 660 nm for pollution aerosols (SSA = 0.62–0.87 at 450 nm and 0.42–0.76 at 660 nm).


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 2923-2939 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Di Biagio ◽  
Paola Formenti ◽  
Mathieu Cazaunau ◽  
Edouard Pangui ◽  
Nicolas Marchand ◽  
...  

Abstract. In this study we provide a first estimate of the Aethalometer multiple scattering correction Cref for mineral dust aerosols. Cref is an empirical constant used to correct the aerosol absorption coefficient measurements for the multiple scattering artefact of the Aethalometer; i.e. the filter fibres on which aerosols are deposited scatter light and this is miscounted as absorption. The Cref at 450 and 660 nm was obtained from the direct comparison of Aethalometer data (Magee Sci. AE31) with (i) the absorption coefficient calculated as the difference between the extinction and scattering coefficients measured by a Cavity Attenuated Phase Shift Extinction analyser (CAPS PMex) and a nephelometer respectively at 450 nm and (ii) the absorption coefficient from a MAAP (Multi-Angle Absorption Photometer) at 660 nm. Measurements were performed on seven dust aerosol samples generated in the laboratory by the mechanical shaking of natural parent soils issued from different source regions worldwide. The single scattering albedo (SSA) at 450 and 660 nm and the size distribution of the aerosols were also measured. Cref for mineral dust varies between 1.81 and 2.56 for a SSA of 0.85–0.96 at 450 nm and between 1.75 and 2.28 for a SSA of 0.98–0.99 at 660 nm. The calculated mean for dust is 2.09 (±0.22) at 450 nm and 1.92 (±0.17) at 660 nm. With this new Cref the dust absorption coefficient by the Aethalometer is about 2 % (450 nm) and 11 % (660 nm) higher than that obtained by using Cref  =  2.14 at both 450 and 660 nm, as usually assumed in the literature. This difference induces a change of up to 3 % in the dust SSA at 660 nm. The Cref seems to be independent of the fine and coarse particle size fractions, and so the obtained Cref can be applied to dust both close to sources and following transport. Additional experiments performed with pure kaolinite minerals and polluted ambient aerosols indicate Cref of 2.49 (±0.02) and 2.32 (±0.01) at 450 and 660 nm (SSA  =  0.96–0.97) for kaolinite, and Cref of 2.32 (±0.36) at 450 nm and 2.32 (±0.35) at 660 nm for pollution aerosols (SSA  =  0.62–0.87 at 450 nm and 0.42–0.76 at 660 nm).


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Rocha-Lima ◽  
J. Vanderlei Martins ◽  
Lorraine A. Remer ◽  
Martin Todd ◽  
John H. Marsham ◽  
...  

Abstract. Millions of tons of mineral dust are lifted by the wind from arid surfaces and transported around the globe every year. The physical and chemical properties of the mineral dust are needed to better constrain remote sensing observations and are of fundamental importance for the understanding of dust atmospheric processes. Ground-based in situ measurements and in situ filter collection of Saharan dust were obtained during the Fennec campaign in the central Sahara in 2011. This paper presents results of the absorption and scattering coefficients, and hence, single scattering albedo (SSA), of the Saharan dust measured in real time during the last period of the campaign, and subsequent laboratory analysis of the dust samples collected in two supersites, SS1 and SS2, in Algeria and in Mauritania, respectively. The samples were taken to the laboratory where their size and aspect ratio distributions, mean chemical composition, spectral mass absorption efficiency and spectral imaginary refractive index were obtained from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near infrared (NIR) wavelengths. At SS1 in Algeria, the time series of the scattering coefficients during the period of the campaign show dust events exceeding 3500 Mm−1 and a relatively high mean SSA of 0.995 at 670 nm was observed at this site. The laboratory results show for the fine distributions in both sites a spectral dependence of the imaginary part of the refractive index Im(m) with a bow-like shape, with increased absorption in ultraviolet and also in the shortwave infrared. The same signature was not observed, however, in the mixed size distribution in Algeria. Im(m) was found to range from 0.011 to 0.001i for dust collected in Algeria and 0.008 to 0.002i for dust collected in Mauritania over the wavelength range of 350–2500 nm. Differences in the mean elemental composition of the dust collected in the supersites in Algeria and in Mauritania and between fine and mixed modes distributions were observed from EDXRF measurements, although those differences cannot be used to explain the optical properties variability between the samples. Finally, particles with low-density typically larger than 10 μm in diameter were found in some of the samples collected at the supersite in Mauritania, but these low-density particles were not observed in Algeria.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 4469-4490 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Otto ◽  
T. Trautmann ◽  
M. Wendisch

Abstract. Realistic size equivalence and shape of Saharan mineral dust particles are derived from in-situ particle, lidar and sun photometer measurements during SAMUM-1 in Morocco (19 May 2006), dealing with measured size- and altitude-resolved axis ratio distributions of assumed spheroidal model particles. The data were applied in optical property, radiative effect, forcing and heating effect simulations to quantify the realistic impact of particle non-sphericity. It turned out that volume-to-surface equivalent spheroids with prolate shape are most realistic: particle non-sphericity only slightly affects single scattering albedo and asymmetry parameter but may enhance extinction coefficient by up to 10 %. At the bottom of the atmosphere (BOA) the Saharan mineral dust always leads to a loss of solar radiation, while the sign of the forcing at the top of the atmosphere (TOA) depends on surface albedo: solar cooling/warming over a mean ocean/land surface. In the thermal spectral range the dust inhibits the emission of radiation to space and warms the BOA. The most realistic case of particle non-sphericity causes changes of total (solar plus thermal) forcing by 55/5 % at the TOA over ocean/land and 15 % at the BOA over both land and ocean and enhances total radiative heating within the dust plume by up to 20 %. Large dust particles significantly contribute to all the radiative effects reported. They strongly enhance the absorbing properties and forward scattering in the solar and increase predominantly, e.g., the total TOA forcing of the dust over land.


2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cristian Velasco-Merino ◽  
David Mateos ◽  
Carlos Toledano ◽  
Joseph M. Prospero ◽  
Jack Molinie ◽  
...  

Abstract. Mineral dust aerosol can be a major driver of aerosol climatology in regions distant from the sources. This study addresses the change of columnar aerosol properties when mineral dust arrives to the Caribbean Basin after transport from Africa over the Atlantic Ocean. We use data from NASA Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) sites in five Caribbean and two West African sites to characterize changes in aerosol properties: aerosol optical depth, size distribution, single scattering albedo, and refractive indexes. After obtaining local aerosol climatology in each area, the air mass connections between West Africa and Caribbean Basin have been investigated by means of air mass back trajectories. Over the period 1996–2014 we identify 3174 connection days, on average, 167 connection days per year. Among these, 1162 pairs of data present aerosol data in Caribbean sites with corresponding aerosol observations in Western Africa sites ~5–7 days before. Of these 1162 days, 484 meet the criteria to be characterized as mineral dust outbreaks. Based on these days we observe the following changes in aerosol-related properties in transiting the Atlantic: AOD decreases about 0.16 or −30 %; the volume particle size distribution shape shows no changes; single scattering albedo, refractive indexes, and asymmetry factor remain unchanged; the difference in the effective radius in West African area with respect to Caribbean Basin is between 0 and +0.3 µm; and half of the analyzed cases present predominance of non-spherical particles in both areas.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 1103
Author(s):  
Jie Luo ◽  
Yongming Zhang ◽  
Qixing Zhang

In this work, the absorption Ångström exponent (AAE), extinction Ångström exponent (EAE), and single-scattering albedo (SSA) of black carbon (BC) with different coating materials are numerically investigated. BC with different coating materials can provide explanations for the small AAE, small EAE, and large AAE observed in the atmosphere, which is difficult to be explained by bare BC aggregate models. The addition of organic carbon (OC) does not necessarily increase AAE due to the transformation of BC morphologies and the existence of non-absorbing OC. The addition of coating materials does also not necessarily decrease EAE. While the addition of coating materials can increase the total size of BC-containing particles, the effective refractive index can be modified by introducing the coating materials, so increases the EAE. We found that it is not possible to differentiate between thinly- and heavily-coated BC based on EAE or AAE alone. On the other hand, SSA is much less sensitive to the size and can provide much more information for distinguishing heavily-coated BC from thinly-coated BC. For BC with different coating materials and mixing states, AAE, EAE, and SSA show rather different sensitivities to particle size and composition ratios, and their spectral-dependences also exhibit distinct differences. Different AAE and EAE trends with BC/OC ratio were also found for BC with different coating materials and mixing states. Furthermore, we also found empirical fittings for AAE, EAE, SSA, and optical cross-sections, which may be useful for retrieving the size information based on the optical measurements.


Atmosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 866
Author(s):  
Javier Polanco ◽  
Manuel Ramos ◽  
Rosa M. Fitzgerald ◽  
William R. Stockwell

Highly time-resolved aerosol measurements and analysis are necessary for a proper aerosol characterization in many polluted regions, because aerosol concentrations in polluted environments can change over time scales of minutes. However, many urban measuring sites have measuring devices that provide time resolved average aerosol concentrations over a day or two at best. Light-scattering properties of mineral dust and soot particles in the El Paso-Juárez Airshed were analyzed with an improved methodology, using the T-matrix, a maximum likelihood estimator (MLE), and data from both an acoustic extinctiometer and a laser particle counter. The hourly inter-comparisons of the scattering coefficients’ results between the model and those obtained using the instruments at a wavelength of 0.87 μm show good agreement. This methodology has been applied in the El Paso-Juárez Airshed successfully, and it could be used in other cities where mineral dust and soot are major components of the aerosol concentrations.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1365-1373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Apoorva Pandey ◽  
Nishit J. Shetty ◽  
Rajan K. Chakrabarty

Abstract. Mass absorption cross section (MAC) measurements of atmospherically relevant aerosols are required to quantify their effect on Earth's radiative budget. Estimating aerosol light absorption from transmittance and/or reflectance measurements through filter deposits is an attractive option because of their ease of deployment in field settings, low cost, and the ability to revisit previously analyzed samples. These measurements suffer from artifacts that depend on a given filter measurement system and aerosol optics. Empirical correction algorithms are available for commercial instruments equipped with optically thick fiber filters, but optically thin filter media have not been characterized in detail. Here, we present empirical relationships between particle light absorption optical depth – measured using multiwavelength integrated photoacoustic spectrometers – and filter optical depth measurements for polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) membrane filter samples of carbonaceous aerosols generated from combustion of diverse biomass fuels and kerosene (surrogate for fossil fuel combustion). Through radiative transfer modeling, we assessed the suitability of three measures of filter-based optical depth for robustly describing particulate-phase light absorption over a range of single scattering albedo (SSA) values: (1) ODs – a measure of transmission of the fraction of incident radiation that is not backscattered by the filter system – which utilizes transmittance and reflectance of the sample side of the filter; (2) the commonly used ODc, which uses transmittance and reflectance of the clean side of the filter; and (3) ATN or the Beer–Lambert attenuation. Modeling results were also validated experimentally, with ODs showing the least variability around the mean in this multidimensional parameter space. We establish a simple, wavelength-independent formulation for calculating aerosol MAC and absorption coefficients from measurements of ODs. We find the ratio between in situ particulate absorption optical depth and ODs to be inversely proportional to aerosol SSA. Our findings underscore that ODs is a better optical depth measure than ODc for applying appropriate correction factors when estimating particle-phase light absorption from filter-based techniques.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (7) ◽  
pp. 1977-1990 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. C. Targino ◽  
R. Krejci ◽  
K. J. Noone ◽  
P. Glantz

Abstract. Individual ice crystal residual particles collected over Scandinavia during the INTACC (INTeraction of Aerosol and Cold Clouds) experiment in October 1999 were analyzed by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) equipped with Energy-Dispersive X-ray Analysis (EDX). Samples were collected onboard the British Met Office Hercules C-130 aircraft using a Counterflow Virtual Impactor (CVI). This study is based on six samples collected in orographic clouds. The main aim of this study is to characterize cloud residual elemental composition in conditions affected by different airmasses. In total 609 particles larger than 0.1 μm diameter were analyzed and their elemental composition and morphology were determined. Thereafter a hierarchical cluster analysis was performed on the signal detected with SEM-EDX in order to identify the major particle classes and their abundance. A cluster containing mineral dust, represented by aluminosilicates, Fe-rich and Si-rich particles, was the dominating class of particles, accounting for about 57.5% of the particles analyzed, followed by low-Z particles, 23.3% (presumably organic material) and sea salt (6.7%). Sulfur was detected often across all groups, indicating ageing and in-cloud processing of particles. A detailed inspection of samples individually unveiled a relationship between ice crystal residual composition and airmass origin. Cloud residual samples from clean airmasses (that is, trajectories confined to the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and/or with source altitude in the free troposphere) were dominated primarily by low-Z and sea salt particles, while continentally-influenced airmasses (with trajectories that originated or traveled over continental areas and with source altitude in the continental boundary layer) contained mainly mineral dust residuals. Comparison of residual composition for similar cloud ambient temperatures around –27°C revealed that supercooled clouds are more likely to persist in conditions where low-Z particles represent significant part of the analyzed cloud residual particles. This indicates that organic material may be poor ice nuclei, in contrast to polluted cases when ice crystal formation was observed at the same environmental conditions and when the cloud residual composition was dominated by mineral dust. The presented results suggest that the chemical composition of cloud nuclei and airmass origin have a strong impact on the ice formation through heterogeneous nucleation in supercooled clouds.


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