TRACER-VPACS

In this project we will study vertical gradient of physicochemical properties of aerosol during TRACER field campaign using multi-modal offline analysis techniques available at DOE’s user facility- Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL). The main scientific aim of this project is to understand the influence of vertical profile of aerosol composition on the properties of deep convective clouds. Effect of aerosol properties on convective activity is still poorly understood and debated. Detailed size resolved chemical composition of aerosol and their microphysical properties along with in-situ measurements from ARM’s mobile facilities will improve our understanding of the role of aerosol on the deep convective cloud formation over a broad range of environmental thermodynamic and aerosol conditions. Aerosol samples will be collected by deploying an automated Size and Time-resolved Aerosol Collector (STAC) via ARM’s tethered balloon system and at the ground site. Deployment of TBS can provide important information about the vertical profile of aerosol with longer temporal coverage.

Timeline