Detecting new particle formation at ATTO: evaluation of convective cloud effect

• Grant number: 22/01780-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Master's degree
• Start date: May 03, 2022
• End date: September 02, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Augusto Toledo Machado
• Grantee: Gabriela Rosalino Unfer
• Supervisor: Christopher Pohlker
• Host Institution: Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação (Brasil). São José dos Campos , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: Max Planck Society, Mainz, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/03547-7 - Weather events and aerosol interactions in Amazonia, BP.MS

Abstract

The size distribution of aerosols and the relationship of such distribution and concentration on weather events remain unknown in many aspects. During the research internship abroad it is intended to improve the knowledge of aerosol instrumentation and data analysis, focusing on the objectives of the main project (2021/03547-7), in which we are investigating some of the current open questions related to aerosols and clouds, such as new particle formation. The internship will be dedicated to learning how to operate the instruments: the Scanning Mobility Particle Sizer (SMPS), the Differential Mobility Analyzer (DMA), the Condensation Particle Counter (CPC), and the Optical Particle Sizer (OPS). The aerosol data processing and analysis will focus on the multi-modal log-normal adjustment, which will grant us to understand the characteristics of the particle size distribution, allowing the extraction of information when combined with cloud data, such as downdrafts and electric field. This project will be developed under Dr. Christopher Pöhlker supervision (Max Planck Institute for Chemistry), whose group conducts aerosol research at the Amazon Tall Tower Observatory (ATTO). (AU)