ALBERT

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4010906

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4000523

Description: [1]  Precipitation extremes are expected to increase in a warming climate, thus it is essential to characterise their potential future changes. Here we evaluate eight high-resolution Global Climate Model simulations in the twentieth century and provide new evidence on projected global precipitation extremes for the 21 st century. A significant intensification of daily extremes for all seasons is projected for the mid and high latitudes of both hemispheres at the end of the present century. For the subtropics and tropics, the lack of reliable and consistent estimations found for both the historical and future simulations might be connected with model deficiencies in the representation of organised convective systems. Low inter-model variability and good agreement with high-resolution regional observations are found for the twentieth century winter over the Northern Hemisphere mid and high latitudes.

Description: [1]  Repeated observations at the subpolar front west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge show a link between the position of the North Atlantic Current (NAC), and the spatial distribution of finescale variance, diapycnal diffusivity, and integrated energy dissipation. Observational data were collected during three cruises. A single branch of the NAC was found in 2008, approximately at 50 ∘ 30Õ N, and two branches were observed in 2010 and 2011, with alternating intensities. Shear variance was elevatedbelow the core of the NAC in all cases, resulting in an average diapycnal diffusivity that is higher by a factor of 3 compared to the averages north and south of the NAC. The integrated energy dissipation has maxima at or south of the fronts; background dissipation is highest during 2008, also the year with the highest surface eddy kinetic energy.

Description: [1]  The tropospheric response to sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs) is analyzed in an idealized model setup regarding the respective roles of planetary-scale and synoptic-scale waves. The control model run includes a full interactive wave spectrum, while a second run includes interactive planetary-scale waves but only the time-mean synoptic-scale wave forcing from the control run. In both runs the tropospheric response is characterized by the negative phase of the respective tropospheric annular mode. But given their different latitudinal structure, the control run shows the expected response, i.e. an equatorward shift of the tropospheric jet, whereas the response in the absence of interactive synoptic eddies is characterized by a poleward jet shift. This opposite jet shift is associated with a different planetary wave variability that couples with the zonal flow between the stratosphere and the surface. These results indicate that the synoptic eddy feedback is necessary for the observed tropospheric response to SSWs.

Description: [1]  Large explosive volcanic eruptions can generate ash clouds from rising plumes that spread in the atmosphere around a Neutral Buoyancy Level (NBL). These ash clouds spread as inertial intrusions and are advected by atmospheric winds. For low mass flow rates, tephra transport is mainly dictated by wind advection, because ash cloud spreading due to gravity current effects is negligible (passive transport). For large mass flow rates, gravity driven transport at the NBL can be the dominant transport mechanism. Conditions under which the passive transport assumption is valid have not yet been critically studied. We analyze the conditions when gravity-driven transport is dominant in terms of the cloud Richardson number. Moreover, we couple an analytical model that describes cloud spreading as a gravity current with an advection–diffusion model. This coupled model is used to simulate the evolution of the volcanic cloud during the climatic phase of the 1991 Pinatubo eruption.

Description: [1]  Regimes of tropical low-level clouds are commonly identified according to large-scale subsidence and lower tropospheric stability (LTS). This definition alone is insufficient for the distinction between regimes and limits the comparison of low-level clouds from CloudSat radar observations and the ECHAM5 GCM run with the COSP radar simulator. Comparisons of CloudSat radar cloud altitude-reflectivity histograms for stratocumulus and shallow cumulus regimes, as defined above, show nearly identical reflectivity profiles because the distinction between the two regimes is dependent upon atmospheric stability below 700 hPa and observations above 1.5 km. Regional subsets, near California and Hawaii for example, have large differences in reflectivityprofiles than the dynamically defined domain; indicating different reflectivity profiles exist under a given large-scale environment. Regional subsets are better for the evaluation of low-level clouds in CloudSat and ECHAM5 as there is less contamination between 2.5 km to 7.5 km from precipitating hydrometeors which obscured cloud reflectivities.

Description: The sensitivity of global climate to the episodicity of fire aerosol emissions Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23691-23717, 2013 Author(s): S. K. Clark, D. S. Ward, and N. M. Mahowald One of the major ways in which forest and grass fires have an impact on global climate is through the release of aerosols. Most studies focusing on calculating the radiative forcing and other climate impacts of fire aerosols use monthly mean emissions derived from the Global Fire Emissions Database that captures only the seasonal cycle of fire aerosol emissions. Here we present the results of a sensitivity study that investigates the climate response to the episodicity of the fires, based on the standard approach which releases emissions every day, and contrasts that to the response when fires are represented as intense pulses of emissions that occur only over 1–2 days on a monthly, yearly, or five-yearly basis. Overall we find that in the modified cases with increased levels of episodicity, the all sky direct effect radiative forcing increases, the clear sky direct effect radiative forcing remains relatively constant, and the magnitude of the indirect effect radiative forcing decreases by about 1 W m −2 (from −1.6 to −0.6 W m −2 ). In the long term, we find that an increase in aerosol emission episodicity leads to an asymmetric change in indirect radiative forcing in the Northern Hemisphere compared to the Southern Hemisphere contributes to a slight shift in the annual average position of the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ). This shift is found to have a mixed effect on the overall performance of the model at predicting precipitation rates in the tropics. Given these results we conclude that future studies that look to assess the present day global climate impacts of fire aerosols should consider the need to accurately represent fire episodicity.

Description: [1]  Deep moist atmospheric convection is a key element of the weather and climate system for transporting mass, momentum, and thermal energy. It has been challenging to simulate convection realistically in global atmospheric models, because of the large gap in spatial scales between convection (10 0  km) and global motions (10 4  km). We conducted the first ever sub-kilometer global simulation and described the features of convection. Through a series of grid-refinement resolution testing, we found that an essential change for convection statistics occurred around 2-km grid spacing. The convection structure, number of convective cells, and distance to the nearest convective cell dramatically changed at this resolution. The convection core was resolved using multiple grids in simulations with grid spacings less than 2.0 km.

Description: [1]  Dry conditions from a moderate El Nino during the fall of 2006 resulted in enhanced burning in Indonesia with fire emissions of CO approximately 4–6 times larger than the prior year. Here we use new tropospheric methane and CO data from the Aura Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) and new CO profile measurements from the Terra Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere (MOPITT) satellite instruments with the GEOS-Chem model to estimate methane emissions of 4.25 +/− 0.75 Tg for October-November 2006 from these fires. Errors in convective parameterization in GEOS-Chem, evaluated by comparing MOPITT and GEOS-Chem CO profiles, are the primary uncertainty of the emissions estimate. The El Nino related Indonesian fires increased the tropical distribution of atmospheric methane relative to 2005, indicating that tropical biomass burning can compensate for expected decreases in tropical wetland methane emissions from reduced rainfall during El Nino as found in previous studies.

Description: [1]  In this study, we investigate the formation predictability of Hurricane Sandy (2012) with a global mesoscale model. We first present five track and intensity forecasts of Sandy initialized at 00Z October 22-26, 2012, realistically producing its movement with a northwestward turn prior to its landfall. We then show that three experiments initialized at 00Z Oct. 16-18 captured the genesis of Sandy with a lead time of up to six days and simulated reasonable evolution of Sandy's track and intensity in the next two-day period of 18Z Oct. 21-23. Results suggest that the extended lead time of formation prediction is achieved by realistic simulations of multi-scale processes, including (1) the interaction between an easterly wave and a low-level westerly wind belt (WWB); (2) the appearance of the upper-level trough at 200-hPa to Sandy's northwest. The low-level WWB and upper-level trough are likely associated with a Madden-Julian Oscillation.

Description: [1]  Water vapor is an important greenhouse gas in the earth's atmosphere. Absorption of the solar radiation by water vapor in the near UV region may partially account for the up to 30% discrepancy between the modeled and the observed solar energy absorbed by the atmosphere. But the magnitude of water vapor absorption in the near UV region at wavelengths shorter than 384 nm is not known. We have determined absorption cross sections of water vapor at 5 nm intervals in the 290-350 nm region, by using cavity ring-down spectroscopy. Water vapor cross section values range from 2.94 × 10 -24 to 2.13 × 10 -25  cm 2 /molecule in the wavelength region studied. The effect of the water vapor absorption in the 290-350 nm region on the modeledradiation flux at the ground level has been evaluated using radiative transfer model.

Description: A new data set of soil mineralogy for dust-cycle modeling Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23943-23993, 2013 Author(s): E. Journet, Y. Balkanski, and S. P. Harrison The mineralogy of airborne dust affects the impact of dust particles on direct and indirect radiative forcing, on atmospheric chemistry and on biogeochemical cycling. It is determined partly by the mineralogy of the dust-source regions and partly by size-dependent fractionation during erosion and transport. Here we present a data set that characterizes the clay and silt sized fractions of global soil units in terms of the abundance of 12 minerals that are important for dust-climate interactions: quartz, feldspars, illite, smectite, kaolinite, chlorite, vermiculite, mica, calcite, gypsum, hematite and goethite. The basic mineralogical information is derived from the literature, and is then expanded following explicit rules, in order to characterize as many soil units as possible. We present three alternative realisations of the mineralogical maps that account for the uncertainties in the mineralogical data. We examine the implications of the new database for calculations of the single scattering albedo of airborne dust and thus for dust radiative forcing.

Description: [1]  The RAPID-MOCHA array has observed the Atlantic Meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) at 26.5°N since 2004. During 2009/2010, there was a transient 30% weakening of the AMOC driven by anomalies in geostrophic and Ekman transports. Here, we use simulations based on the Met Office Forecast Ocean Assimilation Model (FOAM) to diagnose the relative importance of atmospheric forcings and internal ocean dynamics in driving the anomalous geostrophic circulation of 2009/10. Data assimilating experiments with FOAM accurately reproduce the mean strength and depth of the AMOC at 26.5°N. In addition, agreement between simulated and observed stream functions in the deep ocean is improved when we calculate the AMOC using a method that approximates the RAPID observations. The main features of the geostrophic circulation anomaly are captured by an ensemble of simulations without data-assimilation. These model results suggest that the atmosphere played a dominant role in driving recent interannual variability of the AMOC.

Description: Growth of sulphuric acid nanoparticles under wet and dry conditions Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24087-24125, 2013 Author(s): L. Škrabalová, D. Brus, T. Anttila, V. Ždímal, and H. Lihavainen New particle formation, which greatly influences the number concentrations and size distributions of an atmospheric aerosol, is often followed by a rapid growth of freshly formed particles. The initial growth of a newly formed aerosol is the crucial process determining the fraction of nucleated particles growing into cloud condensation nuclei sizes, which have a significant influence on climate. In this study, we report the laboratory observations of the growth of nanoparticles produced by nucleation of H 2 SO 4 and water in a laminar flow tube at temperatures of 283, 293 and 303 K, under dry (a relative humidity of 1%) and wet conditions (relative humidity of 30%) and residence times of 30, 45, 60 and 90 s. The initial H 2 SO 4 concentration spans the range from 2 × 10 8 to 1.4 × 10 10 molecule cm −3 and the calculated wall losses of H 2 SO 4 were assumed to be diffusion limited. The detected particle number concentrations, measured by the Ultrafine Condensation Particle Counter (UCPC) and Differential Mobility Particle Sizer (DMPS), were found to depend strongly on the residence time. Hygroscopic particle growth, presented by growth factors, was found to be in good agreement with the previously reported studies. The experimental growth rates ranged from 20 nm h −1 to 890 nm h −1 at RH 1% and from 7 nm h −1 to 980 nm h −1 at RH 30% and were found to increase significantly with the increasing concentration of H 2 SO 4 . Increases in the nucleation temperature had a slight enhancing effect on the growth rates under dry conditions. The influence of relative humidity on growth was not consistent – at lower H 2 SO 4 concentrations, the growth rates were higher under dry conditions while at H 2 SO 4 concentrations greater than 1×10 9 molecule cm −3 the growth rates were higher under wet conditions. The growth rates show only a weak dependence on the residence time. The experimental observations were compared with predictions made using a numerical model, which investigates the growth of particles with three different extents of neutralization by the ammonia NH 3 : (1) pure H 2 SO 4 – H 2 O particles (2) particles formed by ammonium bisulphate, (NH 4 )HSO 4 (3) particles formed by ammonium sulphate, (NH 4 ) 2 SO 4 . The highest growth rates were found for ammonium sulphate particles. Since the model accounting for the initial H 2 SO 4 concentration predicted the experimental growth rates correctly, our results suggest that the commonly presumed diffusional wall losses of H 2 SO 4 are not so significant. We therefore assume that there are not only losses of H 2 SO 4 on the wall but also a flux of H 2 SO 4 molecules from the wall into the flow tube, the effect being more profound under dry conditions and at higher temperatures of the tube wall. Based on a comparison with the atmospheric observations, our results indicate that sulphuric acid alone can not explain the growth rates of particles formed in the atmosphere.

Description: [1]  Understanding and explaining the trend in GMSL has important implications for future projections of sea level rise. While measurements from satellite altimetry have provided accurate estimates of GMSL, the modern altimetry record has only now reached twenty years in length, making it difficult to assess the contribution of decadal to multi-decadal climate signals to the global trend. Here, we use a sea level reconstruction to study the twenty-year trends in sea level since 1950. In particular, we show that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) contributes significantly to the twenty-year trends in GMSL. We estimate the PDO contribution to the GMSL trend over the past twenty years to be approximately 0.49 ± 0.25 mm/year, and find that removing the PDO contribution reduces the acceleration in GMSL estimated over the past sixty years.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400481h

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4007636

Description: [1]  This study examines links between the North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO) and the occurrence of tropical cyclones (TCs) in the western North Pacific (WNP) at both inter-annual and decadal scales. The major findings are summarized as follows: (1) NPGO makes significant impacts on the WNP TC frequency at both inter-annual and decadal time scales. The impacts of NPGO on the TC activity are more profound than those exerted by the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and the El Niño Southern Oscillation. (2) Niño 3 plays a more important role than Niño 3.4 and Niño 4 in modulating the decadal WNP TC activity. (3) Positive low-level relative vorticity and weak zonal vertical wind shear are responsible for the increase in the WNP TC activity in negative NPGO phases. This study indicates that the NPGO and Niño 3 indices should be key factors for building a scheme for decadal prediction of occurrences of WNP TCs.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400576m

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400179p

Description: [1]  Inter-plate coupling on the Hikurangi subduction margin along the east coast of New Zealand's North Island changes north to south from almost uncoupled to locked. Clay-rich sediments and aqueous-fluids at the subduction interface have been invoked as key factors in the frictional processes that control inter-plate coupling. Here we use magnetotelluric (MT) data to show that the subduction interface in the weakly coupled region is electrically conductive, but is resistive in the locked region. These results indicate the presence of a layer of fluid- and clay-rich sediments in the weakly coupled region and support the idea that the presence of fluid and hydrated clays at the interface is a major factor controlling plate coupling.

Description: [1]  We report a new type of variations in Doppler velocity of HF ground scatter echoes from the polar cap at f ~10 mHz. Similar fluctuations from lower latitudes are usually associated with large-scale dayside Pc3-4 ULF waves. However, the polar cap oscillations exhibit a puzzling anisotropy in spatial coherence along and across the radar's line-of-sight. Furthermore, in contrast to Pc3-4 waves, these fluctuations show no ground magnetic signatures and display a pronounced gap in power/occurrence around local noon. We hypothesize that localized, ≤100 km, auroral particle precipitations near the radar site can modulate Doppler shift of the radio waves entering the ionosphere. In the ground scatter returns, due to the geometrical spread of the rays propagating through the ionosphere to the ground, these variations would appear to have a much larger line-of-sight scale.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400842q

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401246n

Description: [1]  In this study we present 3D data assimilation using CRRES data and 3D Versatile Electron Radiation Belt Model using a newly developed operator-splitting method. Simulations with synthetic data show that the operator-splitting Kalman filtering technique proposed in this study can successfully reconstruct the underlying dynamic evolution of the radiation belts. The method is further verified by the comparison with the conventional Kalman filter. We applied the new approach to 3D data assimilation of real data, to globally reconstruct the dynamics of the radiation belts using pitch-angle, energy, and L-shell dependent CRRES observations. An L-shell time cross-sections of the global data assimilation results for nearly equatorially mirroring particles and high and low values of the first adiabatic invariants clearly show the difference between the radial profiles of phase space density. At μ  = 700 MeV/G cross-section of the global reanalysis shows a clear peak in the phase space density, while at lower energy of 70 MeV/G the profiles are monotonic. Since the radial profiles are obtained from one global reanalysis, the differences in the profiles reflect the differences in the underlying physical processes responsible for the dynamic evolution of the radiation belt energetic and relativistic electrons.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400814a

Description: [1]  This study evaluates the potential of a proposed technique in using satellite-borne radiometer measurements and weather analyses to estimate the intensity of tropical cyclones. This theory shows that intensity is essentially directly related to the temperature deficit of cloud-top versus sea-surface, and the surplus in saturation entropy in the eyewall versus its surroundings. The eyewall entropy estimate comes from measurements of cloud-top temperature and pressure, and the analysis provides the environmental saturation entropy. An Observing Systems Simulation Experiment (OSSE) was conducted and the results were compared to those from previous studies using cloud-profiling radar altimetry measurements. The use of cloud-top pressure measurements may produce more accurate results. Inherent challenges still require caution in considering operational implementation.

Description: [1]  Structural evolution of monsoon clouds in the core monsoon region of India has been examined using multi-sensor data. Invigoration of warm clouds above 4.5 km (occurring in only 15.4% days of the last 11 monsoon seasons) is associated with a transition from negative to positive normalized rainfall anomaly. Cloud top pressure reduces with an increase in aerosol optical depth at a higher rate of invigoration in drier condition (characterized by large fraction of absorbing aerosols) than wet condition. Cloud effective radius for warm clouds does not show any significant change with an increase in aerosol concentration in presence of high liquid water path, probably due to strong buffering role of meteorology. The structural evolution of monsoon clouds is influenced by both dynamic and microphysical processes that prolong the cloud lifetime, resulting in infrequent rainfall. Our results call for improved representation of aerosol and cloud vertical structures in the climate models to resolve this issue.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4012422

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400954x

Description: Impacts of different plant functional types on ambient ozone predictions in the Seoul Metropolitan Areas (SMA), Korea Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24925-24973, 2013 Author(s): H.-K. Kim, J.-H. Woo, R. S. Park, C. H. Song, J.-H. Kim, S.-J. Ban, and J.-H. Park Plant functional type (PFT) distributions affect the results of biogenic emission modeling as well as O 3 and PM simulations using chemistry-transport models (CTMs). This paper analyzes the variations of both surface biogenic VOC emissions and O 3 concentrations due to changes in the PFT distributions in the Seoul Metropolitan Areas, Korea. Also, this paper attempts to provide important implications for biogenic emissions modeling studies for CTM simulations. MM5-MEGAN-SMOKE-CMAQ model simulations were implemented over the Seoul Metropolitan Areas in Korea to predict surface O 3 concentrations for the period of 1 May to 31 June 2008. Starting from MEGAN biogenic emissions analysis with three different sources of PFT input data, US EPA CMAQ O 3 simulation results were evaluated by surface O 3 monitoring datasets and further considered on the basis of geospatial and statistical analyses. The three PFT datasets considered were "(1)KORPFT", developed with a region specific vegetation database; (2) CDP, adopted from US NCAR; and (3) MODIS, reclassified from the NASA Terra and Aqua combined land cover products. Comparisons of MEGAN biogenic emission results with the three different PFT data showed that broadleaf trees (BT) are the most significant contributor, followed by needleleaf trees (NT), shrub (SB), and herbaceous plants (HB) to the total biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). In addition, isoprene from BT and terpene from NT were recognized as significant primary and secondary BVOC species in terms of BVOC emissions distributions and O 3 -forming potentials in the study domain. Multiple regression analyses with the different PFT data (δO 3 vs. δPFTs) suggest that KORPFT can provide reasonable information to the framework of MEGAN biogenic emissions modeling and CTM O 3 predictions. Analyses of the CMAQ performance statistics suggest that deviations of BT areas can significantly affect CMAQ isoprene and O 3 predictions. From further evaluations of the isoprene and O 3 prediction results, we explored the PFT area-loss artifact that occurs due to geographical disparity between the PFT and leaf area index distributions, and can cause increased bias in CMAQ O 3 . Thus, the PFT-loss artifact must be a source of limitation in the MEGAN biogenic emission modeling and the CTM O 3 simulation results. Time changes of CMAQ O 3 distributions with the different PFT scenarios suggest that hourly and local impacts from the different PFT distributions on occasional inter-deviations of O 3 are quite noticeable, reaching up to 10 ppb. Exponentially diverging hourly BVOC emissions and O 3 concentrations with increasing ambient temperature suggest that the use of representative PFT distributions becomes more critical for O 3 air quality modeling (or forecasting) in support of air quality decision-making and human health studies.

Description: Incidence of rough and irregular atmospheric ice particles from Small Ice Detector 3 measurements Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24975-25012, 2013 Author(s): Z. Ulanowski, P. H. Kaye, E. Hirst, R. S. Greenaway, R. J. Cotton, E. Hesse, and C. T. Collier The knowledge of properties of ice crystals such as size, shape, concavity and roughness is critical in the context of radiative properties of ice and mixed phase clouds. Limitations of current cloud probes to measure these properties can be circumvented by acquiring two-dimensional light scattering patterns instead of particle images. Such patterns were obtained in situ for the first time using the Small Ice Detector 3 (SID-3) probe during several flights in a variety of mid-latitude mixed phase and cirrus clouds. The patterns are analyzed using several measures of pattern texture, selected to reveal the magnitude of particle roughness or complexity. The retrieved roughness is compared to values obtained from a range of well-characterized test particles in the laboratory. It is found that typical in situ roughness corresponds to that found in the rougher subset of the test particles, and sometimes even extends beyond the most extreme values found in the laboratory. In this study we do not differentiate between small-scale, fine surface roughness and large-scale crystal complexity. Instead, we argue that both can have similar manifestations in terms of light scattering properties and also similar causes. Overall, the in situ data is consistent with ice particles with highly irregular or rough surfaces being dominant. Similar magnitudes of roughness were found in growth and sublimation zones of cirrus. The roughness was found to be negatively correlated with the halo ratio, but not with other thermodynamic or microphysical properties found in situ. Slightly higher roughness was observed in cirrus forming in clean oceanic airmasses than in a continental, polluted one. Overall, the roughness and complexity is expected to lead to increased shortwave cloud reflectivity, in comparison with cirrus composed of more regular, smooth ice crystal shapes. These findings put into question suggestions that climate could be modified through aerosol seeding to reduce cirrus cover and optical depth, as the seeding may result in decreased shortwave reflectivity.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4007372

Description: Factors controlling pollutant plume length downwind of major roadways in nocturnal surface inversions Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25253-25290, 2013 Author(s): W. Choi, A. M. Winer, and S. E. Paulson A curve fit method using a Gaussian dispersion model solution was successfully applied to obtain both dispersion coefficients and a particle number emission factor (PNEF) directly from ultrafine particle (UFP) concentration profiles observed downwind of major roadways in California's South Coast Air Basin (SoCAB). The Briggs' formulation for the vertical dispersion parameter σ z was adopted in this study due to its better performance in describing the observed profiles compared to other formulations examined. The two dispersion coefficients in Briggs' formulation, α and β, ranged from 0.02 to 0.07 and from −0.5 × 10 −3 to 2.8 × 10 −3 , respectively, for the four freeway transects studied and are significantly different for freeways passing over vs. under the street on which measurements of the freeway plume were made. These ranges are wider than literature values for α and β under stable conditions. The dispersion coefficients derived from observations showed strong correlations with both surface meteorology (wind speed/direction, temperature, and air stability) and differences in concentrations between the background and plume peak. The relationships were applied to predict freeway plume transport using a multivariate regression, and produced excellent agreement with observed UFP concentration profiles. The mean PNEF for a mixed vehicle fleet on the four freeways was estimated as 1.2 × 10 14 particles mi −1 vehicle −1 , which is about 15% of the value estimated in 2001 for the I-405 freeway, implying significant reductions in UFP emissions over the past decade in the SoCAB.

Description: Summer Sea Ice Albedo in the Arctic in CMIP5 models Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25219-25251, 2013 Author(s): T. Koenigk, A. Devasthale, and K.-G. Karlsson Spatial and temporal variations of summer sea ice albedo over the Arctic are analyzed using an ensemble of historical CMIP5 model simulations. The results are compared to the CLARA-SAL product that is based on long-term satellite observations. The summer sea ice albedo varies substantially among CMIP5 models and many models show large biases compared to the CLARA-SAL product. Single summer months show an extreme spread of ice albedo among models; July-values vary between 0.3 and 0.7 for individual models. The CMIP5 ensemble mean, however, agrees relatively well in the Central Arctic but shows too high ice albedo near the ice edges and coasts. In most models, the ice albedo is spatially too uniformly distributed. The summer to summer variations seem to be underestimated in many global models and almost no model is able to fully reproduce the temporal evolution of ice albedo throughout the summer. While the satellite observations indicate the lowest ice albedos during August, the models show minimum values in July and substantially higher values in August. Instead, the June values are often lower in the models than in the satellite observations. This is probably due to too high surface temperatures in June, leading to an early start of the melt season and too cold temperatures in August causing an earlier refreezing in the models. The summer sea ice albedo in the CMIP5 models is strongly governed by surface temperature and snow conditions, particularly during the period of melt onset in early summer and refreezing in late summer. The summer surface net solar radiation of the ice covered Arctic areas is highly related to the ice albedo in the CMIP5 models. However, the impact of the ice albedo on the sea ice conditions in the CMIP5 models is not clearly visible. This indicates the importance of other Arctic and large scale processes for the sea ice conditions.

Description: Intercontinental transport and deposition patterns of atmospheric mercury from anthropogenic emissions Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25185-25218, 2013 Author(s): L. Chen, H.-H. Wang, J.-F. Liu, W. Zhang, D. Hu, C. Chen, and X.-J. Wang Global policies that regulate anthropogenic mercury emissions to the environment require quantitative and comprehensive source–receptor relationships for mercury emissions, transport and deposition among major continental regions. In this study, we use the GEOS-Chem model to establish source–receptor relationships among eleven major continental regions worldwide. Source–receptor relationships for surface mercury concentrations (SMC) show that some regions (e.g. East Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Europe) should be responsible for their local surface Hg(II) and Hg(P) concentrations because of near-field transport and deposition contributions from their local anthropogenic emissions (up to 64% and 71% for Hg(II) and Hg(P), respectively, over East Asia). We define region of primary influence (RPI) and region of secondary influence (RSI) to establish intercontinental influence patterns. Results indicate that East Asia is SMC RPI for almost all other regions, while Europe, Russia and the Indian subcontinent also make some contributions to SMC over some receptor regions because they are dominant RSI source regions. Source–receptor relationships for mercury deposition show that approximately 16% and 17% of dry and wet deposition, respectively, over North America originate from East Asia, indicating that trans-pacific transport of East Asian emissions is the major foreign source of mercury deposition in North America. Europe, Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent are also important mercury deposition sources for some receptor regions because they are dominant RSI. We also quantify seasonal variation on mercury deposition contributions over other regions from East Asia. Results show that mercury deposition (including dry and wet) contributions from East Asia over the Northern Hemisphere receptor regions (e.g. North America, Europe, Russia, Middle East and Middle Asia) vary seasonally, with the maximum values in summer and minimum values in winter. The opposite seasonal pattern occurs on mercury dry deposition contributions over Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

Description: [1]  An increased frequency and intensity of winter and spring storms have recently manifested over a broad area of North America—along the east coast of the U.S. especially, though global mean storm tracks are suggested to shift northward. To understand these changes, we have conducted atmospheric model experiments, examining the response of North American storm activity to the elevated tropical Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) associated with El Niño. The results indicate that, when tropical Pacific SST increases, there are more numerous intense storms over southwestern, southeastern, and northwestern North America, but fewer weaker storms over the northeast. Transient eddy analysis of the general circulation demonstrates consistent changes, suggesting systematic changes from large-scale general circulation to synoptic-scale storms. These changes can be attributed to enhanced lower tropospheric baroclinicity, to which the southward shift and an intensification of extratropical jet streams make a major contribution.

Description: [1]  Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and large-scale rapid release of methane from hydrate may have contributed to past abrupt climate change inferred from the geological record. The discovery in 2008 of over 250 plumes of methane gas escaping from the seabed of the West Svalbard continental margin at ~400 m water depth (mwd), suggests that hydrate is dissociating in the present-day Arctic. Here, we model the dynamic response of hydrate-bearing sediments over a period of 2300 yr and investigate ocean warming as a possible cause for present-day and likely future dissociation of hydrate, within 350-800 mwd, west of Svalbard. Future temperatures are given by two climate models, HadGEM2 and CCSM4, and scenarios, Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) 8.5 and 2.6. Our results suggest that over the next three centuries 5.3-29 Gg yr -1 of methane may be released to the Arctic Ocean on the West Svalbard margin.

Description: [1]  In recent years it has been discovered that sections of the subduction interface slip aseismically in slow slip events, during which stress is intermittently transferred to the section of the subduction zone that generates large or great earthquakes. Within the Cascadia subduction zone the magnitude and frequency of SSEs and accompanying tectonic tremor exhibit complex patterns that vary systematically with depth. However the loading mechanisms and interactions that precede great subduction earthquakes are poorly understood. Here we present results from physics-based simulations that reproduce the continuum of SSE characteristics reported for the Cascadia subduction zone. The simulations provide a basis for understanding the interactions that control both the observed complex patterns of SSEs and stress transfer to the seismogenic section that produce great earthquakes.

Description: [1]  Clouds over the Southern Ocean exist in a pristine environment that results in unique microphysical properties. However, in-situ observations of these clouds are rare, and the dominant precipitation processes are unknown. Uncertainties in their life cycles and radiative properties make them interesting from a weather and climate perspective. Data from the standard cloud physics payload during the HIAPER Pole-to-Pole Observations (HIPPO) global transects provide a unique snapshot the nature of low-level clouds in the Southern Ocean. High quantities of supercooled liquid water (up to 0.47gm –3 ) were observed in clouds as cold as –22 °C during two flights in different seasons and different meteorological conditions, supporting climatologies inferred from satellite observations. Cloud droplet concentrations were calculated from mean droplet size and liquid water concentrations, and were in the range of 30–120 cm –3 , which is fairly typical for the pristine Southern Ocean environment. Ice in non- or lightly-precipitating clouds was found to be rare, while drizzle drops with diameter greater than 100  μ m formed through warm rain processes were widespread. Large, pristine crystals were commonly seen in very low concentrations below cloud base.

Description: [1]  The India-Eurasia collision is responsible for producing the Himalayan Mountains and Tibetan plateau and has been hypothesized to have significant far field influences, including driving the Baikal rift and the eastward extrusion of South China. However, quantification of lithospheric buoyancy forces and integrated effect of tractions acting at base of the lithosphere are unable to explain the observed surface motions within South China. We present 198 new SKS shear-wave splitting observations beneath South China and invert these data along with published GPS data to solve for the sub-asthenospheric flow field beneath South China to assess the role of small-scale convection here. We find a 15-20 mm/yr southwestward-directed mantle flow towards the Burma slab. This flow is consistent with the mantle response of slab retreat over the past 25ma, and counter flow due to subduction of Burma/Sunda slabs demonstrating the importance of localized mantle convection on present day plate motions.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4010714

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4007444

Description: Balloon-borne match measurements of mid-latitude cirrus clouds Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25417-25479, 2013 Author(s): A. Cirisan, B. P. Luo, I. Engel, F. G. Wienhold, U. K. Krieger, U. Weers, G. Romanens, G. Levrat, P. Jeannet, D. Ruffieux, R. Philipona, B. Calpini, P. Spichtinger, and T. Peter Observations of persistent high supersaturations with respect to ice inside cirrus clouds are challenging our understanding of cloud microphysics and of climate feedback processes in the upper troposphere. Single measurements of a cloudy air mass provide only a snapshot from which the persistence of ice supersaturation cannot be judged. We introduce here the "cirrus match technique" to obtain information of the evolution of clouds and their saturation ratio. The aim of these coordinated balloon soundings is to analyze the same air mass twice. To this end the standard radiosonde equipment is complemented by a frost point hygrometer "SnowWhite" and a particle backscatter detector "COBALD" (Compact Optical Backscatter Aerosol Detector). Extensive trajectory calculations based on regional weather model COSMO forecasts are performed for flight planning and COSMO analyses are used as basis for comprehensive microphysical box modeling (with grid scale 2 km and 7 km, respectively). Here we present the results of matching a cirrus cloud to within 2–15 km, realized on 8 June 2010 over Payerne, Switzerland, and a location 120 km downstream close to Zurich. A thick cirrus was detected over both measurement sites. We show that in order to quantitatively reproduce the measured particle backscatter ratios, the small-scale temperature fluctuations not resolved by COSMO must be superimposed on the trajectories. The stochastic nature of the fluctuations is captured by ensemble calculations. Possibilities for further improvements in the agreement with the measured backscatter data are investigated by assuming a very slow mass accommodation of water on ice, the presence of heterogeneous ice nuclei, or a wide span of (spheroidal) particle shapes. However, the resulting improvements from microphysical refinements are moderate and comparable in magnitude with changes caused by assuming different regimes of temperature fluctuations for clear sky or cloudy sky conditions, highlighting the importance of a proper treatment of subscale fluctuations. The model yields good agreement with the measured backscatter over both sites and reproduces the measured saturation ratios with respect to ice over Payerne. Conversely, the 30% in-cloud supersaturation measured in a massive, 4-km thick cloud layer over Zurich cannot be reproduced, irrespective of the choice of meteorological or microphysical model parameters. The measured supersaturation can only be explained by either resorting to an unknown physical process, which prevents the ice particles from consuming the excess humidity, or – much more likely – by a measurement error, such as a contamination of the sensor housing of the SnowWhite hygrometer by a precipitation drop from a mixed phase cloud just below the cirrus layer or from some very slight rain in the boundary layer. This uncertainty calls for in-flight checks or calibrations of hygrometers under the extreme humidity conditions in the upper troposphere.

Description: An explicit study of aerosol mass conversion and its parameterization in warm rain formation of cumulus clouds Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25481-25536, 2013 Author(s): J. Sun, J. Fen, and R. K. Ungar The life time of atmospheric aerosols is highly affected by in-cloud scavenging processes. Aerosol mass conversion from aerosols embedded in cloud droplets into aerosols embedded in raindrops is a pivotal pathway for wet removal of aerosols in clouds. The aerosol mass conversion rate in the bulk microphysics parameterizations is always assumed to be linearly related to the precipitation production rate, which includes the cloud water autoconversion rate and the cloud water accretion rate. The ratio of the aerosol mass concentration conversion rate to the cloud aerosol mass concentration has typically been considered to be the same as the ratio of the precipitation production rate to the cloud droplet mass concentration. However, the mass of an aerosol embedded in a cloud droplet is not linearly proportional to the mass of the cloud droplet. A simple linear relationship cannot be drawn between the precipitation production rate and the aerosol mass concentration conversion rate. In this paper, we studied the evolution of aerosol mass concentration conversion rates in a warm rain formation process with a 1.5-dimensional non-hydrostatic convective cloud and aerosol interaction model in the bin microphysics. We found that the ratio of the aerosol mass conversion rate to the cloud aerosol mass concentration can be statistically expressed by the ratio of the precipitation production rate to the cloud droplet mass concentration with an exponential function. We further gave some regression equations to determine aerosol conversions in the warm rain formation under different threshold radii of raindrops and different aerosol size distributions.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401147b

Description: [1]  Rotational along with translational and strain measurements are essential for a complete description of the motion of a deformable body in a seismic event. We propose a new seismogeodetic approach where collocated high-rate GPS and accelerometer measurements are combined to estimate permanent and dynamic coseismic ground tilts at a point, whereas at present only dynamic tilts are measured with either a dense seismic array or an expensive ring laser gyroscope. We estimate point tilts for a five-story structure on a shake table subjected to 13 earthquake strong-motion records of increasing intensity. For the most intense record from the 2002 M7.9 Denali earthquake, we observe a peak-to-peak dynamic tilt of 0.12°, and a permanent tilt of 0.16° for the structure's roof. Point tilts derived from networks of collocated GPS and accelerometers can be used to estimate the rotational component of seismic wavefield for improved earthquake source characterization.

Description: [1]  Following the recent discovery of the “Modoki” El Niño, a proliferation of studies and debates has ensued concerning whether Modoki is dynamically distinct from “Canonical” El Niño, how Modoki impacts and teleconnections differ, and whether Modoki events have been increasing in frequency or amplitude. Three decades of reliable, high temporal–resolution observations of coupled ocean–atmosphere variability in the equatorial Pacific reveal a rich diversity of El Niños. Although central and eastern Pacific sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies appear mechanistically separable in terms of local and remote forcing, their frequent overlap precludes robust classifications. All observed El Niños appear to be a mixture of locally (central Pacific) and remotely forced (eastern Pacific) SST anomalies. Submonthly resolution appears essential for this insight and for the proper dynamical diagnosis of El Niño evolution, thus the use of long–term monthly reconstructions for classification and trend analysis is strongly cautioned against.

Description: [1]  Sea surface salinity (SSS) measurements from the Aquarius/SAC-D satellite and SMOS mission were used to document the freshening associated with the record 2011 Mississippi River flooding event in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). Assessment of the salinity response was aided by additional satellite observations, including MODIS chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and ocean surface currents, and a passive tracer simulation. Low SSS values associated with the spreading of the river plume were observed 1–3 months after peak river discharge which then receded and became unidentifiable from satellite observations 5 months after maximum discharge. The seasonal wind pattern and general circulation of the GoM dramatically impacted the observed salinity response, transporting freshwater eastward along the Gulf coast and entraining low salinity waters into the open GoM. The observed salinity response from Aquarius was consistent with SMOS SSS, chl-a concentrations, and the passive tracer simulation in terms of the pathway and transit time of the river plume spreading. This study is the first successful application of satellite SSS to study salinity variation in marginal seas.

Description: [1]  This study uses a simulation method to explore how estuarine pH is affected by mixing between river water, anthropogenic CO 2 enriched seawater, and by respiration. Three rivers with different levels of weathering products (Amazon, Mississippi, and St. Johns) are selected for this simulation. The results indicate that estuaries that receive low to moderate levels of weathering products (Amazon and St. Johns) exhibit a maximum pH decrease in the mid-salinity region as a result of anthropogenic CO 2 intrusion. This maximum pH decrease coincides with a previously unrecognized mid-salinity minimum buffer zone (MBZ). In addition, water column oxygen consumption can further depress pH for all simulated estuaries. We suggest that recognition of the estuarine MBZs may be important for studying estuarine calcifying organisms and pH-sensitive biogeochemical processes.

Description: [1]  A simple wavy magnetodisk model can explain periodicities in energetic charged particles observed in Saturn's outer magnetosphere (〉20 R S ). The model's free parameters are the tilt of magnetodisk in inner magnetosphere (~1.8°), speed of outgoing spiral wave (~8 R S /hr), critical radius (~10 R S ), and period of rotation (10.64 hours). The fidelity of the model is not judged by a least squares fit to the actual data, but rather by the model's accuracy in reproducing the Lomb periodogram of the periodicities. The model accurately simulates the main spectral feature near ~10.7 hours plus a secondary (“dual”) period near ~10.95 hours. The ability of the wavy magnetodisk with one period to produce the observed dual periodicity in the observations suggests that models having “dual” periods need not be invoked to explain some of the periodicities in Saturn's outer magnetosphere.

Description: [1]  The fluid-filled crack model has been widely used to interpret the peak frequencies of long-period (LP) seismic events at volcanoes. Up to now, numerical methods have been used to compute resonant frequencies in the model. We propose a simple analytical formula for the longitudinal resonance frequencies of a fluid-filled crack. We evaluated the formula by comparing its results with the resonant frequencies computed by finite difference method (FDM) code. The comparison revealed that the formula well describes the resonant frequencies of both 2D and 3D cracks. The formula enables simple and rapid estimates of the fluid properties and geometries of LP source cracks.

Description: [1]  We determined the compressional velocity of hcp-Fe using high resolution inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) combined with in-situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRD): our measurements extend up to 174 GPa at room temperature, to 88 GPa at 700 K, and to 61.5 GPa at 1000 K. Our data, including those obtained at high temperature, are well described by a linear relation to density, extending the range of verification of Birch's law, and suggesting only small temperature dependence up to 1000 K. This result, once compared to the PREM seismologically based model, indicates that there is either a strong temperature effect on Birch's law above 1000 K, or that the composition of the core is rather different than expected, containing, e.g. heavy impurities. Noting that both recent theoretical calculations and shock-wave velocity measurements are consistent with modification of Birch's law at high temperature, we favor the former explanation.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401040p

Description: Global and regional impacts of HONO on the chemical composition of clouds and aerosols Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23599-23638, 2013 Author(s): Y. F. Elshorban, P. J. Crutzen, B. Steil, A. Pozzer, H. Tost, and J. Lelieveld Nitrous acid (HONO) photolysis can significantly increase HO x (OH+HO 2 ) radical formation, enhancing organic and inorganic oxidation products in polluted regions, especially during winter. It has been reported that chemistry-transport models underestimate sulphate concentrations, mostly during winter. Here we show that HONO can significantly enhance aerosol sulphate (S(VI)), mainly due to the increased formation of H 2 SO 4 . Even though in-cloud aqueous phase oxidation of dissolved SO 2 (S(IV)) is the main source of S(VI), it appears that HONO related enhancement of H 2 O 2 does not significantly affect sulphate because of the predominantly S(IV) limited conditions, except over eastern Asia. Nitrate is also increased via enhanced gaseous HNO 3 formation and N 2 O 5 hydrolysis on aerosol particles. Ammonium nitrate is enhanced in ammonia-rich regions but not under ammonia-limited conditions. Furthermore, particle number concentrations are also higher, accompanied by the transfer from hydrophobic to hydrophilic aerosol modes. This implies a significant impact on the particle lifetime and cloud nucleating properties. The HONO induced enhancements of all species studied are relatively strong in winter though negligible in summer. Simulating realistic HONO levels is found to improve the model-measurement agreement of sulphate aerosols, most apparent over the US. Our results underscore the importance of HONO for the atmospheric oxidizing capacity and the central role of cloud chemical processing in aerosol formation.

Description: [1]  Using a traceable framework of idealised GCM experiments, a non-linear dependence of tropical precipitation pattern change on CO 2 forcing is identified. These non-linearities are relatively large and widespread throughout the tropics, and so should not be neglected in projections of future precipitation change. This has implications for the use of pattern-scaling and simple climate models to produce precipitation projections, and for physical understanding of precipitation change across forcing scenarios. The non-linearities can be understood by considering that processes which cause precipitation change, such as increasing moisture, a weakening circulation, and convergence zone shifts, interact in a non-linear manner even when individual processes arequasi-linear. Three driver interactions are identified: ‘warm-shift’, ‘warm-weak’ and ‘shift-weak’. Combined with Clausius-Clapeyron non-linearity in moisture increase, these interactions drive the non-linear pattern change. A strong convergence feedback response substantially amplifies the non-linearity. This analysis is limited to ocean regions, as mechanisms are simpler than over land.

Description: [1]  We present a new method to study harmonic waves in the low ionosphere (60 - 90 km) by detecting their effects on reflection of very low frequency (VLF) radio waves. Our procedure is based on amplitude analysis of reflected VLF radio waves recorded in real time, which yields an insight into the dynamics of the ionosphere at heights where VLF radio waves are being reflected. The method was applied to perturbations induced by the solar terminator motions at sunrises and sunsets. The obtained results show that typical perturbation frequencies found to exist in higher regions of the atmosphere are also present in the lower ionosphere, which indicates a global nature of the considered oscillations. In our model atmosphere, they turn out to be the acoustic and gravity waves with comparatively short and long periods, respectively.

Description: Injection heights of springtime biomass burning plumes over the Peninsular Southeast Asia and their impacts on pollutant long-range transport Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23781-23816, 2013 Author(s): Y. Jian and T.-M. Fu We analyzed observations from the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) to determine the injection heights of biomass burning smoke plumes over the Peninsular Southeast Asia (PSEA) in spring, with the goal of evaluating the impacts on pollutant long-range transport. We retrieved the heights of twenty-two thousand MISR smoke pixels from 607 smoke plumes over the PSEA during February to April of the years 2001–2010. Forty-five percent of the analyzed smoke pixels were above the local mean boundary layer (1 km) at MISR overpass time (10:30 a.m. local time). We used the GEOS-Chem model to simulate the transport of PSEA biomass burning pollutants in March 2001. We found that the direct injection of 40% of the PSEA biomass burning emissions had little impact on the long-range transport of CO to downwind regions, compared to a control simulation where all biomass burning emissions were released in the boundary layer. This was because CO at the surface over the PSEA was efficiently lifted into the free troposphere by deep convection associated with synoptic-scale weather systems. For pollutants with lifetimes shorter than the synoptic timescale, such as black carbon aerosol (BC), their long-range transport was much more sensitive to the initial plume injection height. The direct injection of NO x from PSEA biomass burning into the free troposphere drove increased formation and transport of PAN, which in turn led to significant increases of ozone over downwind southern China and northwestern Pacific. The Pacific subtropical high transported PSEA biomass burning pollutants to the marine boundary layer over the tropical northwestern Pacific. We compared our model results to aircraft measurements over the northwestern Pacific during the TRACE-P campaign (March 2001). The direct injection of 40% of the PSEA biomass burning pollutants in the free troposphere in the model led to a more pronounced BC peak at 3 km over the northwestern Pacific, which was in better agreement with the aircraft observations compared to the control simulation. Our analyses highlighted the point that the injection heights of smoke plumes pose large uncertainty to the interpretation of BC measurements downwind of biomass burning regions.

Description: Influence of surface morphology on the immersion mode ice nucleation efficiency of hematite particles Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23757-23780, 2013 Author(s): N. Hiranuma, N. Hoffmann, A. Kiselev, A. Dreyer, K. Zhang, G. Kulkarni, T. Koop, and O. Möhler In this paper, the effect of the morphological modification of aerosol particles with respect to heterogeneous ice nucleation is comprehensively investigated for laboratory-generated hematite particles as a model substrate for atmospheric dust particles. The surface area-scaled ice nucleation efficiencies of monodisperse cubic hematite particles and milled hematite particles were measured with a series of expansion cooling experiments using the Aerosol Interaction and Dynamics in the Atmosphere (AIDA) cloud simulation chamber. Complementary off-line characterization of physico-chemical properties of both hematite subsets were also carried out with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering (DLS), and an electro-kinetic particle charge detector to further constrain droplet-freezing measurements of hematite particles. Additionally, an empirical parameterization derived from our laboratory measurements was implemented in the single-column version of the Community Atmospheric Model version 5 (CAM5) to investigate the model sensitivity in simulated ice crystal number concentration on different ice nucleation efficiencies. From an experimental perspective, our results show that the immersion mode ice nucleation efficiency of milled hematite particles is almost an order of magnitude higher at −35.2 °C 〈 T 〈 −33.5 °C than that of the cubic hematite particles, indicating a substantial effect of morphological irregularities on immersion mode freezing. Our modeling results similarly show that the increased droplet-freezing rates of milled hematite particles lead to about one order magnitude higher ice crystal number in the upper troposphere than cubic hematite particles. Overall, our results suggest that the surface irregularities and associated active sites lead to greater ice activation through droplet-freezing.

Description: Study of the unknown HONO daytime source at an European suburban site during the MEGAPOLI summer and winter field campaigns Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23639-23690, 2013 Author(s): V. Michoud, A. Colomb, A. Borbon, K. Miet, M. Beekmann, M. Camredon, B. Aumont, S. Perrier, P. Zapf, G. Siour, W. Ait-Helal, C. Afif, A. Kukui, M. Furger, J. C. Dupont, M. Haeffelin, and J. F. Doussin Nitrous acid measurements were carried out during the MEGAPOLI summer and winter field campaigns at SIRTA observatory in Paris surroundings. Highly variable HONO levels were observed during the campaigns, ranging from 10 ppt to 500 ppt in summer and from 10 ppt to 1.7 ppb in winter. Significant HONO mixing ratios have also been measured during daytime hours, comprised between some tenth of ppt and 200 ppt for the summer campaign and between few ppt and 1 ppb for the winter campaign. Ancillary measurements, such as NO x , O 3 , photolysis frequencies, meteorological parameters (pressure, temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and wind direction), black carbon concentration, total aerosol surface area, boundary layer height and soil moisture, were conducted during both campaigns. In addition, for the summer period, OH radical measurements were made with a CIMS (Chemical Ionisation Mass Spectrometer). This large dataset has been used to investigate the HONO budget in a suburban environment. To do so, calculations of HONO concentrations using PhotoStationary State (PSS) approach have been performed, for daytime hours. The comparison of these calculations with measured HONO concentrations revealed an underestimation of the calculations making evident a missing source term for both campaigns. This unknown HONO source exhibits a bell shaped like average diurnal profile with a maximum around noon of approximately 0.7 ppb h −1 and 0.25 ppb h −1 , during summer and winter respectively. This source is the main HONO source during daytime hours for both campaigns. In both cases, this source shows a slight positive correlation with J (NO 2 ) and the product between J (NO 2 ) and soil moisture. This original approach had, thus, indicated that this missing source is photolytic and might be heterogeneous occurring on ground surface and involving water content available at the ground.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401138g

Description: [1]  Development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) during the Cenozoic is controversial in terms of timing and its role in major climate transitions. Some propose that the development of the ACC was instrumental in the continental scale glaciation of Antarctica and climate cooling at the Eocene/Oligocene boundary. Here we present climate model results that show a coherent ACC was not possible during the Oligocene due to Australasian paleogeography, despite deep water connections through the Drake Passage and Tasman Gateway and the initiation of Antarctic glaciation. The simulations of ocean currents compare well to paleoenvironmental records relating to the physical oceanography of the Oligocene and provide a framework for understanding apparently contradictory dating of the initiation of the ACC. We conclude that the northward motion of the Australasian land masses and the reconfiguration of the Tasman Seaway and Drake Passage are necessary preconditions for the formation of a strong, coherent ACC.

Description: [1]  The M 7.7 Haida Gwaii earthquake radiated waves that likely dynamically triggered the M 7.5 Craig earthquake, setting two precedents. Firstly, the triggered earthquake is the largest dynamically triggered shear failure event documented to date. Secondly, the events highlight a connection between geologic structure, sedimentary troughs that act as waveguides, and triggering probability. The Haida Gwaii earthquake excited extraordinarily large waves within and beyond the Queen Charlotte Trough, which propagated well into mainland Alaska and likely triggering the Craig earthquake along the way. Previously, focusing and associated dynamic triggering have been attributed to unpredictable source effects. This case suggests that elevated dynamic triggering probabilities may exist along the many structures where sedimentary troughs overlie major faults, such as subduction zones’ accretionary prisms and transform faults’ axial valleys. Although data are sparse, I find no evidence of accelerating seismic activity in the vicinity of the Craig rupture between it and the Haida Gwaii earthquake.

Description: Relationship between Amazon biomass burning aerosols and rainfall over La Plata Basin Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23995-24021, 2013 Author(s): G. Camponogara, M. A. F. Silva Dias, and G. G. Carrió High aerosol loads are discharged into the atmosphere by biomass burning in Amazon and Central Brazil during the dry season. These particles can interact with clouds as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) changing cloud microphysics and radiative properties and, thereby, affecting the radiative budget of the region. Furthermore, the biomass burning aerosols can be transported by the low level jet (LLJ) to La Plata Basin where many mesoscale convective systems (MCS) are observed during spring and summer. This work proposes to investigate whether the aerosols from biomass burning may affect the MCS in terms of rainfall over La Plata Basin during spring. Since the aerosol effect is very difficult to isolate because convective clouds are very sensitive to small environment disturbances, detailed analyses using different techniques are used. The binplot, 2D histograms and combined empirical orthogonal function (EOF) methods are used to separate certain environment conditions with the possible effects of aerosol loading. Reanalysis 2, TRMM-3B42 and AERONET data are used from 1999 up to 2012 during September-December. The results show that there are two patterns associated to rainfall-aerosol interaction in La Plata Basin: one in which the dynamic conditions are more important than aerosols to generate rain; and a second one where the aerosol particles have a role in rain formation, acting mainly to suppress rainfall over La Plata Basin.

Description: Size-resolved aerosol composition and link to hygroscopicity at a forested site in Colorado Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 23817-23843, 2013 Author(s): E. J. T. Levin, A. J. Prenni, B. Palm, D. Day, P. Campuzano-Jost, P. M. Winkler, S. M. Kreidenweis, P. J. DeMott, J. Jimenez, and J. N. Smith Aerosol hygroscopicity describes the ability of a particle to take up water and form a cloud droplet. Modeling studies have shown sensitivity of precipitation-producing cloud systems to the availability of aerosol particles capable of serving as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), and hygroscopicity is a key parameter controlling the number of available CCN. Continental aerosol is typically assumed to have a representative hygroscopicity parameter, κ, of 0.3; however, in remote locations this value can be lower due to relatively large mass fractions of organic components. To further our understanding of aerosol properties in remote areas, we measured size-resolved aerosol chemical composition and hygroscopicity in a forested, mountainous site in Colorado during the six-week BEACHON-RoMBAS campaign. This campaign followed a year-long measurement period at this site, and results from the intensive campaign shed light on the previously reported seasonal cycle in aerosol hygroscopicity. New particle formation events were observed routinely at this site and nucleation mode composition measurements indicated that the newly formed particles were predominantly organic. These events likely contribute to the dominance of organic species at smaller sizes, where aerosol organic mass fractions of non-refractory components were between 70–90%. Corresponding aerosol hygroscopicity was observed to range from κ = 0.15–0.22, with hygroscopicity increasing with particle size. Aerosol chemical composition measured by an Aerosol Mass Spectrometer and calculated from hygroscopicity measurements agreed very well during the intensive study with an assumed value of κ org = 0.13 resulting in the best agreement.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400971g

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401028u

Description: [1]  Abundant short-period, small-scale gravity waves have been identified in the mesosphere and lower thermosphere over Halley, Antarctica, via ground-based airglow image data. Although many are observed as freely-propagating at the heights of the airglow layers, new results under modeled conditions reveal that a significant fraction of these waves may be subject to reflections at altitudes above and below. The waves may at times be trapped within broad thermal ducts, spanning from the tropopause or stratopause to the base of the thermosphere (~140 km), which may facilitate long-range propagation (~1000 s of km) under favorable wind conditions.

Description: Atmospheric parameters in a subtropical cloud regime transition derived by AIRS+MODIS – observed statistical variability compared to ERA-Interim Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24051-24085, 2013 Author(s): M. M. Schreier, B. H. Kahn, K. Sušelj, J. Karlsson, S. C. Ou, Q. Yue, and S. L. Nasiri Cloud occurrence, microphysical and optical properties and atmospheric profiles within a subtropical cloud regime transition in the northeastern Pacific Ocean are obtained from a synergistic combination of the Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) and the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The observed cloud parameters and atmospheric thermodynamic profile retrievals are binned by cloud type and analyzed based on their probability density functions (PDFs). Comparison of the PDFs to data from the European Center for Medium Range Weather Forecasting Re-analysis (ERA-Interim) shows a strong difference in the occurrence of the different cloud types compared to clear sky. An increasing non-Gaussian behavior is observed in cloud optical thickness (τ c ), effective radius ( r e ) and cloud top temperature ( T c ) distributions from Stratocumulus to Trade Cumulus, while decreasing values of lower tropospheric stability are seen. However, variations in the mean, width and shape of the distributions are found. The AIRS potential temperature (θ) and water vapor ( q ) profiles in the presence of varying marine boundary layer (MBL) cloud types show overall similarities to the ERA-Interim in the mean profiles, but differences arise in the higher moments at some altitudes. The differences between the PDFs from AIRS+MODIS and ERA-Interim make it possible to pinpoint systematic errors in both systems and helps to understand joint PDFs of cloud properties and coincident thermodynamic profiles from satellite observations.

Description: [1]  The capability of seasonal forecasting of global drought onset at local scales (1-degree) has been investigated using multiple climate models with 110 realizations. Climate models increase the global mean probability of drought onset detection from the climatology forecast by 31%-81%, but only increase equitable threat score by 21%-50% due to a high false alarm ratio. The multi-model ensemble increases the drought detectability over some tropical areas where individual models have better performance, but cannot help more over most extra-tropical regions. On average, less than 30% of the global drought onsets can be detected by climate models. The missed drought events are associated with low potential predictability and weak antecedent ENSO signal. Given the high false alarms, the reliability is very important for a skillful probabilistic drought onset forecast. This raises the question of whether seasonal forecasting of global drought onset is essentially a stochastic forecasting problem.

Description: [1]  New sub-auroral K -derived sector indices are proposed. They are based upon the K local geomagnetic activity indices from the planetary am network stations, and their derivation scheme draws directly from that of am indices. Four Magnetic Local Time (MLT) sectors are considered, leading to four different K -derived MLT-sector indices: the aσ Dawn (03-09 MLT), aσ Noon (09-15 MLT), aσ Dusk (15-21 MLT) and aσ Midnight (21-03 MLT) indices. They cover more than 4 solar cycles and, thus, allow robust statistical analysis. Statistical studies of the whole aσ data series and case studies for two geomagnetic storms are presented. These analyses clearly show that the four aσ have specific behaviors, and that it is possible to get insight into both the statistical properties of the physical processes responsible for the observed geomagnetic activity and contribution to the dynamics of a given storm.

Description: [1]  Boreal-winter near-surface atmospheric circulations over the Hawaiian region are known to influence the state of the tropical Pacific and initiate the development of El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Here we show that these same preceding near-surface circulations have an additional influence on the longitudinal position of the resultant ENSO-related sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) as well, with warm (cold) events systematically shifted to the east (west) of the typical SST anomalies. In influencing this positioning, these atmospheric circulations in turn modify the near and far-field climate responses to these SSTs such that during warm events, the typical ENSO-related responses east (west) of the dateline are generally enhanced (reduced); conversely, during cold events the typical ENSO-related responses are generally reduced (enhanced). The fact that the extratropical atmospheric circulations in question influence the asymmetry of ENSO extremes with a 12-month lead time carries important implications for predicting the socio-economic impacts of these events.

Description: Establishing the contribution of lawn mowing to atmospheric aerosol levels in American suburbs Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24435-24480, 2013 Author(s): R. M. Harvey, J. Zahardis, and G. A. Petrucci Green leaf volatiles (GLVs) are a class of wound-induced volatile organic compounds emitted by several plant species. Turfgrasses emit a complex profile of GLVs upon mowing, as evidenced by the "freshly cut grass" smell, some of which are readily oxidized in the atmosphere to contribute to secondary organic aerosol (SOA). The contribution of lawn mowing-induced SOA production may be especially impactful at the urban/suburban interface, where urban hubs provide a source of anthropogenic oxidants and SOA while suburban neighborhoods have the potential to emit large quantities of reactive, mow-induced GLVs. This interface provides a unique opportunity to study aerosol formation in a multi-component system and at a regionally relevant scale. Freshly cut grass was collected from a study site in Essex Junction, Vermont and was placed inside a 775 L Teflon experimental chamber. Thermal desorption gas chromatography mass spectrometry (TD-GC/MS) was used to characterize the emitted GLV profile. Ozone was introduced to the experimental chamber and TD-GC/MS was used to monitor the consumption of these GLVs and the subsequent evolution of gas phase products while a scanning mobility particle sizer was used to continuously measure aerosol size distributions and mass loadings as a result of grass clipping ozonolysis. Freshly cut grass found to emit a complex mixture of GLVs, dominated by cis -3-hexenyl acetate and cis -3-hexenol, which were released at an initial rate of 1.8 (±0.5) μg and 0.07 (±0.03) μg per square meter of lawn mowed with each mowing. Chamber studies using pure standards of cis -3-hexenyl acetate (CHA) and cis -3-hexenol (HXL) were found to have aerosol yields of 1.2 (±1.1)% and 3.3 (±3.1)%, respectively. Using these aerosol yields and the emission rate of these CHA and HXL by grass, SOA evolution by ozonolysis of grass clippings was predicted. However, the measured SOA mass produced from the ozonolysis of grass clippings exceeded the predicted amount, by upwards of ~ 150%. The ozonolysis of a mixture of CHA and HXL representative of environmental mixing ratios also failed to accurately model the SOA mass produced by grass clippings. Aerial photographs and geospatial analysis were used to determine the turfgrass coverage in a suburban neighborhood, which was then used along with measured SOA production as a function of grass mowed to determine that lawn mowing has the potential to contribute 47 μg m −2 SOA to the atmosphere per mowing event by ozonolysis, which cannot be modeled solely by the ozonolysis of CHA, HXL or a representative mixture of the two.

Description: Global distributions and trends of atmospheric ammonia (NH 3 ) from IASI satellite observations Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24301-24342, 2013 Author(s): M. Van Damme, L. Clarisse, C. L. Heald, D. Hurtmans, Y. Ngadi, C. Clerbaux, A. J. Dolman, J. W. Erisman, and P. F. Coheur Ammonia (NH 3 ) emissions in the atmosphere have strongly increased in the past decades, largely because of the intensive livestock production and use of fertilizers. As a short-lived species, NH 3 is highly variable in the atmosphere and its concentration is generally small, except in and close to local source areas. While ground-based measurements are possible, they are challenging and sparse. Advanced infrared sounders in orbit have recently demonstrated their capability to measure NH 3 , offering a new tool to refine global and regional budgets. In this paper we describe an improved retrieval scheme of NH 3 total columns from the measurements of the Infrared Atmospheric Sounding Interferometer (IASI). It exploits the hyperspectral character of this instrument by using an extended spectral range (800–1200 cm −1 ) where NH 3 is optically active. This scheme consists of the calculation of a dimensionless spectral index from the IASI level1C radiances, which is subsequently converted to a total NH 3 column using look-up-tables built from forward radiative transfer model simulations. We show how to retrieve the NH 3 total columns from IASI quasi-globally and twice daily, above both land and sea, without large computational resources and with an improved detection limit. The retrieval also provides error characterization on the retrieved columns. Five years of IASI measurements (1 November 2007 to 31 October 2012) have been processed to acquire the first global and multiple-year dataset of NH 3 total columns, which are evaluated and compared to similar products from other retrieval methods. Spatial distributions from the five years dataset are provided and analyzed at global and regional scales. We show in particular the ability of this method to identify smaller emission sources than those reported previously, as well as transport patterns above sea. The five year time series is further examined in terms of seasonality and inter-annual variability (in particular as a function of fire activity) separately for the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Description: [1]  The 1996 short-lived subaqueous eruption at the Karymsky caldera lake suddenly changed the composition of the lake water. The lake with the surface area of ~10 km 2 and a volume of ~0.5 km 3 became acidic, increased its salinity to ~1000 mg/kg, and became dominated by SO 4 2- and Ca 2+ . Since the eruption, the lake chemistry has evolved in a predictable manner described by simple box model. As a result of dilution by incoming SO 4 -Ca-Mg poor water, SO 4 , Ca and Mg concentrations follow a simple exponential decrease with a characteristic time close to the residence time of the lake. Na, K and Cl decrease relatively significantly slower indicating a continuing input of these constituents into the lake that was initiated during the eruption. Thus, the dynamics of two groups of lake water solutes can be predicted by a simple box model for water and solute mass balance.

Description: [1]  Our understanding of Earth's carbon-climate system depends critically upon interactions between rising atmospheric CO 2 , changing land use, and nitrogen limitation on vegetation growth. Using a global land model we show how these factors interact locally to generate the global land carbon sink over the past 200 years. Nitrogen constraints were alleviated by N 2 fixation in the tropics and by atmospheric nitrogen deposition in extra-tropical regions. Non-linear interactions between land-use change and land carbon and nitrogen cycling originated from three major mechanisms: (i) a sink foregone that would have occurred without land-use conversion; (ii) an accelerated response of secondary vegetation to CO 2 and nitrogen, and (iii) a compounded clearance loss from deforestation. Over time, these non-linear effects have become increasingly important and reduce the present-day net carbon sink by ~40% or 0.4 PgC yr -1 .

Description: Aircraft measurements of polar organic tracer compounds in tropospheric particles (PM 10 ) over Central China Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24481-24516, 2013 Author(s): P. Q. Fu, K. Kawamura, Y. F. Cheng, S. Hatakeyama, A. Takami, H. Li, and W. Wang Atmospheric aerosol samples were collected by aircraft at low to middle altitudes (0.8–3.5 km a.g.l.) over Central East to West China during summer 2003 and spring 2004. The samples were analyzed for polar organic compounds using a technique of solvent extraction/BSTFA derivatization/gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Biogenic secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from the oxidation of isoprene were found to be more abundant in summer (3.3–138 ng m −3 , mean 39 ng m −3 ) than in spring (3.2–42 ng m −3 , 15 ng m −3 ), while α/β-pinene and β-caryophyllene SOA tracers showed similar abundance between these two seasons. A strong positive correlation ( R 2 =0.83) between levoglucosan and β-caryophyllinic acid was found in the spring samples versus a weak correlation ( R 2 =0.17) in the summer samples, implying substantial contributions from biomass burning to the β-caryophyllinic acid production in spring. Two organic nitrogen species (oxamic acid and carbamide) were detected in the aircraft aerosol samples and their concentrations were comparable to those of biogenic SOA tracers. Most of the POA and SOA tracers were less abundant at higher altitudes, suggesting they are of ground surface origin, either being directly emitted from anthropogenic/natural sources on the ground surface, or rapidly formed through photooxidation of their precursors emitted from the ground surface and then diluted during uplifting into the troposphere. This study demonstrates that primary biological aerosols, biogenic SOA, and organic nitrogen species are important components of organic aerosols in the troposphere over Central China.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401201w

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400638g

Description: [1]  The stability of the K-rich new aluminous (NAL) phase was examined on the join Na 1.00  Mg 2.00 Al 4.80 Si 1.15 O 12 –K 1.00  Mg 2.00 Al 4.80 Si 1.15 O 12 (Na100–K100) up to 144 GPa by X-ray diffraction in a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell. Single-phase K100 and Na50K50 NAL were formed up to the lower mantle conditions, and the NAL phase coexisted with the calcium ferrite-type phase at 120 GPa and 2300 K for the Na75K25 bulk composition. This is a striking contrast to the K-free (Na100) NAL that becomes unstable above 27 GPa at 1850 K, which suggests that potassium stabilizes NAL at significantly higher pressures. K-rich NAL may host potassium in the lower mantle that contains K 2 O more than 0.09 wt%. In addition, the NAL phase likely formed owing to partial melting in the ultralow velocity zone or because of a basal magma ocean. Future seismological observations may clarify whether NAL is a radiogenic heat source above the core–mantle boundary.

Description: [1]  We have developed a new wave scheme particularly aiming to provide better temperature fields with realistic variability for trajectory modeling of dehydration processes in the tropical tropopause layer (TTL). The new scheme includes amplitude-phase interpolation and amplification of waves in reanalysis data. Amplification factors are based on statistical variability differences between reanalysis data and radiosonde observations at 24 tropical locations during 1997-2013 boreal winters. We show that conventional linear interpolation of temperatures in the vertical coordinate degrades wave amplitudes and variability. Amplitude-phase interpolation in Fourier space greatly mitigates the problem found in linear interpolation. Furthermore, amplitudes of existing waves in reanalyses were amplified to generate realistic variability. In addition to improvements in variability, the scheme lowers cold point temperatures and raises cold point tropopause heights. Having realistic variability with the new approach will reduce uncertainties in simulations of TTL cirrus clouds and stratospheric water vapor.

Description: [1]  High ambient temperatures intensify photochemical production of tropospheric ozone, leading to concerns that global warming may exacerbate smog episodes. This widely-observed phenomenon has been termed the climate penalty factor (CPF). A variety of meteorological and photochemical processes have been suggested to explain why surface ozone increases on hot days. Here, we quantify an anthropogenic factor previously overlooked: the rise of ozone precursor emissions on hot summer days due to high electricity demand. Between 1997 and 2011, power plant emissions of NO x in the eastern U.S. increased by ~2.5-4.0%/°C, raising surface NO x concentrations by 0.10-0.25 ppb/°C. Given an ozone production efficiency (OPE) of ~8 mol/mol based on the 2011 NASA DISCOVER-AQ campaign, at least 1/3 of the CPF observed in the eastern U.S. can be attributed to the temperature dependence of NO x emissions. This finding suggests that controlling emissions associated with electricity generation on hot summer days can mitigate the CPF.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4011289

Description: Black carbon emissions from in-use ships: a California regional assessment Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24675-24712, 2013 Author(s): G. M. Buffaloe, D. A. Lack, E. J. Williams, D. Coffman, K. L. Hayden, B. M. Lerner, S-M. Li, I. Nuaaman, P. Massoli, T. B. Onasch, P. K. Quinn, and C. D. Cappa Black carbon (BC) mass emission factors (EF BC ; g-BC (kg-fuel) −1 ) from a variety of ocean going vessels have been determined from measurements of BC and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) concentrations in ship plumes intercepted by the R/V Atlantis during the 2010 California Nexus (CalNex) campaign. The ships encountered were all operating within 24 nautical miles of the California coast and were utilizing relatively low sulphur fuels. Black carbon concentrations within the plumes, from which EF BC values are determined, were measured using four independent instruments: a photoacoustic spectrometer and a particle soot absorption photometer, which measure light absorption, and a single particle soot photometer and soot particle aerosol mass spectrometer, which measure the mass concentration of refractory BC directly. The measured EF BC have been divided into vessel type categories and engine type categories, from which averages have been determined. The geometric average EF BC , determined from over 71 vessels and 135 plumes encountered, was 0.31 g-BC (kg-fuel) −1 . The most frequent engine type encountered was the slow speed diesel (SSD), and the most frequent SSD vessel type was the cargo ship sub-category. Average and median EF BC values from the SSD category are compared with previous observations from the Texas Air Quality Study (TexAQS) in 2006, during which the ships encountered were predominately operating on high sulphur fuels. There is a statistically significant difference between the EF BC values from CalNex and TexAQS for SSD vessels and for the cargo and tanker ship types within this engine category. The CalNex EF BC values are lower than those from TexAQS, suggesting that operation on lower sulphur fuels is associated with smaller EF BC values.

Description: A case study into the measurement of ship emissions from plume intercepts of the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24635-24674, 2013 Author(s): C. D. Cappa, E. J. Williams, D. A. Lack, G. M. Buffaloe, D. Coffman, K. L. Hayden, S. C. Herndon, B. M. Lerner, S-M. Li, P. Massoli, R. McLaren, I. Nuaaman, T. B. Onasch, and P. K. Quinn Emissions factors (EFs) for gas and sub-micron particle-phase species were measured in intercepted plumes as a function of vessel speed from an underway research vessel, the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman , operating a medium-speed diesel engine on low-sulfur marine gas oil. For many of the particle-phase species, EFs were determined using multiple measurement methodologies, allowing for an assessment of how well EFs from different techniques agree. The total sub-micron PM (PM 1 ) was dominated by particulate black carbon (BC) and particulate organic matter (POM), with an average POM / BC ratio of 1.3. Consideration of the POM / BC ratios observed here with literature studies suggests that laboratory and in-stack measurement methods may over-estimate primary POM EFs relative to those observed in emitted plumes. Comparison of four different methods for black carbon measurement indicates that careful attention must be paid to instrument limitations and biases when assessing EF BC . Particulate sulfate (SO 4 2− ) EFs were extremely small and the particles emitted by Miller Freeman were inefficient as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN), even at high super saturations, consistent with the use of very low sulfur fuel and the overall small emitted particle sizes. All measurement methodologies consistently demonstrate that the measured EFs (fuel mass basis) for PM 1 mass, BC and POM decreased as the ship slowed. Particle number EFs were approximately constant across the speed change, with a shift towards smaller particles being emitted at slower speeds. Emissions factors for gas-phase CO and formaldehyde (HCHO) both increased as the vessel slowed, while EFs for NO x decreased and SO 2 EFs were approximately constant.

Description: Heterogeneous reaction of N 2 O 5 with illite and Arizona Test Dust particles Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24855-24884, 2013 Author(s): M. J. Tang, G. Schuster, and J. N. Crowley The heterogeneous reaction of N 2 O 5 with airborne illite and Arizona Test Dust particles was investigated at room temperature and at different relative humidities using an atmospheric pressure aerosol flow tube. N 2 O 5 at concentrations in the range 8 to 24×10 12 molecule cm −3 was monitored using thermal-dissociation cavity ring-down spectroscopy at 662 nm. At zero relative humidity a large uptake coefficient of N 2 O 5 to illite was obtained, γ(N 2 O 5 ) = 0.09, which decreased to 0.04 as relative humidity was increased to 67%. In contrast, the uptake coefficient derived for ATD is much lower (~ 0.006) and, within experimental uncertainty, independent of relative humidity (0–67%). Potential explanations are given for the significant differences between the uptake behaviour for ATD and illite and the results are compared with uptake coefficients for N 2 O 5 on other mineral surfaces.

Description: A case study of sea breeze blocking regulated by sea surface temperature along the English south coast Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24785-24807, 2013 Author(s): J. K. Sweeney, J. M. Chagnon, and S. L. Gray The sensitivity of sea breeze structure to sea surface temperature (SST) and coastal orography is investigated in convection-permitting Met Office Unified Model simulations of a case study along the south coast of England. Changes in SST of 1 K are shown to significantly modify the structure of the sea breeze. On the day of the case study the sea breeze was partially blocked by coastal orography, particularly within Lyme Bay. The extent to which the flow is blocked depends strongly on the static stability of the marine boundary layer. In experiments with colder SST, the marine boundary layer is more stable, and the degree of blocking is more pronounced. The implications of prescribing fixed SST from climatology in numerical weather prediction model forecasts of the sea breeze are discussed.

Description: Using a WRF simulation to examine regions where convection impacts the Asian summer monsoon anticyclone Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 24809-24853, 2013 Author(s): N. K. Heath and H. E. Fuelberg The Asian summer monsoon is a prominent feature of the global circulation that is associated with an upper-level anticyclone (ULAC) that stands out vividly in satellite observations of trace gases. The ULAC also is an important region of troposphere-to-stratosphere transport. We ran the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model at convective-permitting scales (4 km grid spacing) between 10–20 August 2012 to understand the role of convection in transporting boundary layer air into the upper-level anticyclone. Such high-resolution modeling of the Asian ULAC previously has not been documented in the literature. Comparison of our WRF simulation with reanalysis and satellite observations showed that WRF simulated the atmosphere sufficiently well to be used to study convective transport into the ULAC. A back-trajectory analysis based on hourly WRF output showed that 〉 90% of convectively influenced parcels reaching the ULAC came from the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and the southern slope (SS) of the Himalayas. A distinct diurnal cycle is seen in the convective trajectories, with their greatest impact occurring between 1600–2300 local solar time. This finding highlights the role of "everyday" diurnal convection in transporting boundary layer air into the ULAC. WRF output at 15 min intervals was produced for 16 August to examine the convection in greater detail. This high-temporal output revealed that the weakest convection in the study area occurred over the TP. However, because the TP is at 3000–5000 m a.m.s.l., its convection does not have to be as strong to reach the ULAC as in lower altitude regions. In addition, because the TP's elevated heat source is a major cause of the ULAC, we propose that convection over the TP and the neighboring SS is ideally situated geographically to impact the ULAC. The vertical mass flux of water vapor into the ULAC also was calculated. Results show that the TP and SS regions dominate other Asian regions in transporting moisture vertically into the ULAC. Because convection reaching the ULAC is more widespread over the TP than nearby, we propose that the abundant convection partially explains the TP's dominant water vapor fluxes. In addition, greater outgoing longwave radiation reaches the upper levels of the TP due to its elevated terrain. This creates a warmer ambient upper level environment, allowing parcels with greater saturation mixing ratios to enter the ULAC. Lakes in the Tibetan Plateau are shown to provide favorable conditions for deep convection during the night.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400926q

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg400662n

Description: [1]  We derive a finite slip model for the 2013 M w 8.3 Sea of Okhotsk Earthquake (Z = 610 km) by inverting calibrated teleseismic P-waveforms. The inversion shows that the earthquake ruptured on a 10° dipping rectangular fault zone (140 km × 50 km) and evolved into a sequence of 4 large sub-events (E1-E4) with an average rupture speed of 4.0 km/s. The rupture process can be divided into two main stages. The first propagated south, rupturing sub-events E1, E2 and E4. The second stage (E3) originated near E2 with a delay of 12 s and ruptured northwards, filling the slip-gap between E1 and E2. This kinematic process produces an overall slip pattern similar to that observed in shallow swarms, except it occurs over a compressed time span of about 30s and without many aftershocks, suggesting that sub-event triggering for deep events is significantly more efficient than for shallow events.

Description: [1]  We report on seismic and petrological data that provide new constraints on the geological evolution of the Amerasia Basin. A seismic reflection profile across the Makarov Basin, located between the Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges, shows a complete undisturbed sedimentary section of Mesozoic/Cenozoic age. In contrast to the Mendeleev Ridge, the margin of the Lomonosov Ridge is wide and shows horst and graben structures. We suggest that the Mendeleev Ridge is most likely volcanic in origin and support this finding with a 40 Ar/ 39 Ar isotopic age for a tholeitic basalt sampled from the central Alpha/Mendeleev Ridge. Seismic reflection data for the Makarov Basin show no evidence of compressional features consistent with the Lomonosov Ridge moving as a microplate in the Cenozoic. We propose that the Amerasia Basin moved as a single tectonic plate during the opening of the Eurasia Basin.

Description: [1]  Scaling relations for seismic moment M 0 , rupture area S , average slip D , and asperity size S a were obtained for large, great, and giant ( M w  = 6.7–9.2) subduction-zone earthquakes. We compiled the source parameters for seven giant ( M w  ~ 9) earthquakes globally for which the heterogeneous slip distributions were estimated from tsunami and geodetic data. We defined S a for subfaults exhibiting slip greater than 1.5 times D . Adding 25 slip models of 10 great earthquakes around Japan, we recalculated regression relations for 32 slip models: S  = 1.34 × 10 −10   M 0 2/3 , D  = 1.66 × 10 −7   M 0 1/3 , S a  = 2.81 × 10 −11   M 0 2/3 , and S a / S  = 0.2, where S and S a are in km 2 , M 0 is in Nm, and D is in m. These scaling relations are very similar to those obtained by Murotani et al. (2008) for large and great earthquakes. Thus, both scaling relations can be used for future tsunami hazard assessment associated with a giant earthquake.

Description: [1]  We observe the nucleation phase of in-plane ruptures in the laboratory. We show that the nucleation is composed of two distinct phases, a quasi-static and an acceleration stage, followed by dynamic propagation. We propose an empirical model which describes the rupture length evolution: the quasi-static phase is described by an exponential growth while the acceleration phase is described by an inverse power law of time. The transition from quasistatic to accelerating rupture is related to the critical nucleation length, which scales inversely with normal stress in accordance with theoretical predictions, and to a critical surfacic power, which may be an intrinsic property of the interface. Finally, we discuss these results in the frame of previous studies and propose a scaling up to natural earthquake dimensions.

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4011983

Description: An assessment of the performance of the Monitor for AeRosols and GAses in ambient air (MARGA): a semi-continuous method for soluble compounds Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, 13, 25067-25124, 2013 Author(s): I. C. Rumsey, K. A. Cowen, J. T. Walker, T. J. Kelly, E. A. Hanft, K. Mishoe, C. Rogers, R. Proost, G. M. Beachley, G. Lear, T. Frelink, and R. P. Otjes Ambient air monitoring as part of the US Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA's) Clean Air Status and Trends Network (CASTNet) currently uses filter packs to measure weekly integrated concentrations. The US EPA is interested in supplementing CASTNet with semi-continuous monitoring systems at select sites to characterize atmospheric chemistry and deposition of nitrogen and sulfur compounds at higher time resolution than the filter pack. The Monitor for AeRosols and GAses in ambient air (MARGA) measures water-soluble gases and aerosols at hourly temporal resolution. The performance of the MARGA was assessed under the US EPA Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program. The assessment was conducted in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina from 8 September–8 October 2010 and focused on gaseous SO 2 , HNO 3 and NH 3 and aerosol SO 4 − , NO 3 − and NH 4 + . Precision of the MARGA was evaluated by calculating the median absolute relative percent difference (MARPD) between paired hourly results from duplicate MARGA units (MUs), with a performance goal of

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg4009224

Description: Crystal Growth & Design DOI: 10.1021/cg401171v