Aerosol mass spectrometry applied to the study of sulphate and nitrates in the Amazonian atmosphere

• Grant number: 24/02411-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: May 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences
• Principal Investigator: Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
• Grantee: Gabriel Barbosa Roseiro Varejao Pignaton
• Host Institution: Instituto de Física (IF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/04358-9 - Trace gases-aerosols-cloud interactions in Amazonia: from bioaerosols emissions to large-scale impacts (GAIA), AP.TEM

Abstract

This project is an experimental research proposal in the area of atmospheric sciences, focusing on studying atmospheric nitrate and sulfate aerosols in the Amazon Basin, studies of which are scarce in relation to organic aerosols. For this, databases will be used on the time series of the chemical composition of aerosols obtained in real-time for ten years at the ATTO site (Amazon Tall Tower Observatory), which is a 325-meter tower in the Central Amazon, and during 28 flights of the plane scientific HALO (High-Altitude Long-Range Aircraft), carried out over two months in 2022-2023. These data were obtained using the mass spectrometry technique from the AMS (Aerodyne Mass Spectrometer) and ACMS (Aerodyne Chemical Speciation Monitor) instruments. The research project will study temporal and spatial variability at different scales and relate it to climate information such as temperature, precipitation, atmospheric transport, and emission of reactive compounds. It will also study the chemical characteristics of nitrate and sulfate species, separating organic and inorganic nitrate and sulfate using mass spectrometry techniques. In this way, the student must produce a significant set of original information about aerosols' composition and physical-chemical properties in the Amazon atmosphere. With this work plan, the student will come into contact with important concepts of aerosol mass spectrometry and strategies for processing and analyzing large amounts of data.