Project Details
Projekt
Aerosol properties in the UTLS over the South Asian Pacific region: Particle nucleation and growth, hygroscopicity and composition
Applicant
Professorin Dr. Mira Pöhlker
Subject Area
Atmospheric Science
Term
since 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 502353105
To understand the effects of atmospheric aerosols on clouds and climate, a solid understanding of the sources, concentration, and properties of aerosols across the vertical structure of the atmosphere is of fundamental importance. In particular the mechanistic details of the upper troposphere/lower stratosphere nucleation and subsequent growth are highly uncertain. Thus, measurements in regions with high convective activity are needed to resolve these processes and reduce the corresponding uncertainty in our fundamental understanding of this aerosol cycle in the Earth system. A region of particular interest is the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool, which comprises a large area with constantly high sea surface temperature and frequent deep convection. Here, I propose to measure microphysical and chemical aerosol properties during the CAFE-Pacific mission, planned from Jan/Feb 2024 in the Indo-Pacific region north-west and north-east of Cairns, Australia. I propose to measure full aerosol size distributions from 2 nm up to 2 µm as well as CCN number concentrations, to capture the particle growth pathways into the CCN range. To distinguish between different aerosol sources and to assess the level of air pollution involved, I will measure black carbon (BC) particles. Finally, the collection of aerosol particles on impactor samples for micro-spectroscopic single particle analysis will allow in-depth investigations of relevant particle aging and mixing processes.
DFG Programme
Infrastructure Priority Programmes
