Breakout Summary Report

Breakout Description

Main Discussion

The session started off with an introduction by Nicole Riemer. She presented a brief introduction to the working group's purpose, how to sign up for the listserv, and an overview of the session agenda.

This was followed by announcements of upcoming opportunities relevant to the aerosol working members by Susannah Burrows (AeroCOM and AeroSAT workshop), Markus Petters (FARE workshop and available aerosol Community Instrument Facilities), and Art Sedlacek (special issue to publish on biomass burning aerosol). 

We then had a 30-min period of “1-min madness” presentations by working group members. In total, 25 presentations (3 virtual and 22 in person) were made.

Next, the Aerosol Translator, John Shilling, gave a short overview of aerosol-related data products and value-added products (VAPs). The translator advertised improvements via machine learning to the merged size distribution VAP, which creates a single mobility size distribution with TSI-SMPS bin structure from the SMPS and APS data. The translator also updated the group on the CCN kappa VAP, which uses CCNC and SMPS measurements to parameterize hygroscopicity using Kappa-Kohler Theory.  Kappa data are now available for all sites with a CCN  and an SMPS and the translator will soon release kappa data based on UHSAS, for sites lacking an SMPS. Furthermore, the translator advertised the ACSM corrected mass VAP and the AOD/AOP VAPS. Finally, the translator provided plans for FY24.

Following this, we had short summary presentations from ongoing/upcoming field campaigns. Mike Jensen presented on TRACER aerosol-related activities. Goal of the campaign is to capture variability in the convective life cycle, aerosol loading (more versus less polluted), boundary-layer structure (sea- breeze, bay-breeze, urban heat island), vertical profile (aerosol, thermodynamics), the diurnal cycle and the seasonal cycle. Some first surprising results include high aerosol concentrations in ”clean” maritime airmass with low activation fractions and the airmass heterogeneity over small spatial scales being even higher than expected. The ACPC TRACER model intercomparison project led by Steve Saleeby and Jiwen Fan is looking for participants. Dan Feldman’s presentation summarized the status of the SAIL campaign. The goal of this project is to establish aerosol regimes, the processes controlling the life cycle of aerosols in those regimes, and quantify the impacts of aerosols in those regimes on the atmospheric and surface radiative budget. Over 100 datastreams have been produced by the SAIL campaign, with nearly 100 more planned and 13 guest instrument deployments, including an unprecedented set of INP observations, bioaerosols, and chemical and molecular data. The data collection phase has been completed, and the team now moves into the analysis phase. Lynn Russell reported about the EPCAPE campaign which is still ongoing at the Scripps Pier and Mt. Soledad. The focus of this project is to characterize the extent, radiative properties, aerosol interactions, and precipitation characteristics of stratocumulus clouds in the Eastern Pacific across all four seasons at a coastal location. The duration of in-cloud events during EPCAPE surpasses all expectations, with over 300 hours already available.  Heath Powers presented the plan for aerosol-related measurements for the CAPE-K campaign, which is an upcoming AMF2 campaign starting in spring 2024 in Tasmania, at the Kennaook Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station. The purpose is to assess background air quality that corresponds to pristine conditions. ARM will rely on KCG’s aerosol measurements supplemented by standard aerosol VAPS. There is interest in bringing guest instruments to the site. Lastly, Chongai Kuang updated us on the AMF3 deployment in northern Alabama. The five-year deployment is expected to start in Fall 2023. The site was chosen because of its  abundant locally forced shallow-to-deep convection, large amounts of vegetative-driven biogenic emissions, and strong local coupling of land surface with atmospheric processes. Chongai presented the Phase-1 layout and instrumentation plan at the instrument field, which includes tower measurements to develop an aerosol flux measurement system. Phase 2 consists of the deployment of aerial platforms and measurements at supplemental sites, including an aerosol distributed network.

The session was concluded by Gannet Hallar’s reporting on activities of the Aerosol Measurement Science Group. The AMSG is currently preparing the 2024 workshop to produce  a strategic plan for the next five years. The group is actively soliciting engagement and input from all working group members to shape the direction of aerosol measurements within ARM.

Key Findings

After the meeting, we sent a short survey to the aerosol processes working group to obtain their feedback on the meeting.  We had 24 responses on meeting timing and format. We also received free-form written feedback. Based on the feedback, there was no clear consensus on the timing. Most members were very satisfied or satisfied with the balance of poster sessions, plenary talk, and breakout sessions. There was less satisfaction with the hybrid format, which was reinforced by multiple comments referring to the zoom portions as “awkward” and “less productive” forms of engagement. Remote poster presentations were considered not useful.

People further commented that plenary “speakers should acknowledge the diversity of the audience (science-wise)”, that it “ would be nice to do the lightning talks/one-slide summaries before the actual poster session”,  that the one- minute madness presentations were “enjoyable”, that  “the breakout sessions were the best part of this meeting”, that “the small group discussion [was]  far more valuable” and a request to “have more breakout sessions that were more discussion-centric”. There was a suggestion that “working group meetings should be moved towards the beginning of the week". 

Issues

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Needs

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Decisions

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Future Plans

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Action Items

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