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Evaluation of hygroscopic growth of urban aerossols using Raman LIDAR technique

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Author(s):
Patricia Ferrini Rodrigues
Total Authors: 1
Document type: Doctoral Thesis
Press: São Paulo.
Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares (IPEN/BT)
Defense date:
Examining board members:
Eduardo Landulfo; Boris Barja Gonzalez; Fábio Juliano da Silva Lopes; Nilton Manuel Évora do Rosário; Márcia Akemi Yamasoe
Advisor: Eduardo Landulfo
Abstract

The cloud cover and aerosols are two main factors that modulate the solar energy that reaches the surface and is absorbed by the atmosphere. These two factors therefore have a key role in global climate. There is currently an interest in the radiative effects of aerosols, particularly because of human activity, increasing its concentration in the atmosphere, and its close relationship with cloud formation Particles that can be activated and gain water to form fog or cloud droplets in the presence of water vapor supersaturation, are called Cloud Condensation Nucleus. The study of particles that increase in size because of the uptake of water under increasing relative humidity conditions (hygroscopicity) then becomes of fundamental importance in understanding the contribution of aerosols in regulating the global climate. The LIDAR is a promising tool in the study of hygroscopic properties of atmospheric aerosols, because it can operate in undisturbed environment and much close to saturation conditions. The Raman LIDAR has the advantage of being able to obtain the profile of water vapor and aerosol backscatter at the same atmospheric volume and no a priori assumption of the LIDAR ratio. This study aims to evaluate the hygroscopic growth of urban particulate matter in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Washington, DC, United States during the NASA-Discover-AQ campaign using the technique Raman LIDAR, getting the growth factor by hygroscopicity . Although the methodology - which is based on determination of a well-mixed atmosphere using radiosonde - have already been described in the literature, this work adds important information, since they do not have other news with multiple cases extensive studies made with the LIDAR Raman hygroscopicity for evaluation in the United States, and is the first time that this study is done in São Paulo, as a result of three years of data acquisition. The results show that it is possible to identify the hygroscopic growth of aerosol in both environments, whose detection depends on atmospheric conditions that are rarely present, making the study of hygroscopic properties with LIDAR a challenge that requires extensive data collection. Also, show that the determination of origin and the combined study of chemical properties of the population of aerosols would assist in the understanding of hygroscopic behavior. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 09/14758-7 - Evaluation of hygroscopicity of aerosols in urban atmospheres with LIDAR technique
Grantee:Patricia Ferrini Rodrigues
Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate (Direct)