Tropospheric Aerosols

Devang.S
MSc. Previous
M.S.University
 Global warming induced by greenhouse
gases gets most of the press coverage, but
it is not the only climate change issue our
planet is dealing with. Emissions of tiny
particles, called aerosols, into our
atmosphere are disrupting our climate as
well.
Let’s take look at
 What are aerosols ?

 What are different type of aerosols ?

 Where do they come from ?

 What roles do aerosols play in Earth’s

atmosphere?

 What is “global dimming” and what role do

aerosols play in this phenomenon
 Aerosols –
The basics:

Aerosols are

1.Small particles that drift in atmosphere

2. Aerosols are not gases they are usually solids or tiny

droplets of liquid

3.They are sufficiently small and light that they do

not fall out of the air under influence of gravity

4.Some aerosols remain for few hours while

others can stay airborne for years

5. They range in size from about 10 nanometers

to 100 microns in diameter
Transport
of Aerosols
 Aerosols are transported by the
airflows they encounter during the time
they spend in the atmosphere. The
transport can be over inter-continental
or even global scales.
 E.g.. Sulpher dioxide (SO2) emitted from power
plants in the United Kingdom can be deposited as
sulfate far inland in continental Europe.
Average Residence Time of
Aerosols in Atmosphere
Average Residence Time,

Jaenicke, 1980
seconds

8
10

10 7
Tropopause Middle
6
Troposphere
10

10
5
1Day
4
10
Below1.5km
1000

100

10
0.0001 0.001 0.01 0.1 1 10 100 1000
Radius, micrometer
Means
Atmospheric Aerosol are
 The ensemble of all liquid/solid systems
suspended in the atmosphere, except
water/ ice clouds.
 Water and Ice clouds are conventionally
excluded because of their tight involvement
with the hydrological cycle, short lifetimes
and involvement in long- range latent
energy transport.
Aerosols :
Sources and Types

 Natural Source
- Continental/ Desert Aerosols
- Marine Aerosols
- Volcanic Aerosols
- Organic Forest Hazes
 Human Source

- Industrial Aerosols
- Smoke/Biomass Burning Aerosols
Sources

Activation
H2SO4, HNO3,
Organic aerosol Resuspension
ti on

Oxidation
da
O xi

Forest Fires
Hydrocarbons,
NOx, SO2, NH3, POA
Terpenes

Soot
Dust Sea-salt
Continental/ Desert Aerosols

 Large wind storms over deserts and other arid regions can
lift dust particles high into the atmsophere, allowing them
to drift downwind hundreds of kilometers from their source
Marine Aerosols
Sea spray accounts for the second most common natural source of
aerosols in the form of various types of salts.
 Volcanic Aerosols
 Large volcanic eruptions spew vast clouds of fine ash particles
into the air, sometimes reaching the stratosphere. Ash from

. very large eruptions can stay aloft for months to a few years,
and can spread around the globe
Organic Forest Hazes
 Likewise, land-based vegetation emits gases, such as
volatile organic compounds (VOSs), that contribute to
secondary emissions of aerosols.
Industrial Aerosols
 Anthropogenic (human produced) aerosols make up about 10
percent of the amount of aerosols in our atmosphere. Tiny particles of
black carbon, or soot, are a major component of smoke produced
by many kinds of burning. Coal-burning power plants generate lots
of black carbon and often loft it high into the atmosphere as emissions
from tall smokestacks. Internal combustion engines in cars, trucks, and
construction vehicles also emit plenty of black carbon. Diesel engines
are especially prolific producers of this type of aerosol. Humans
activities also increase the amount of mineral dust aerosol
generation
Smoke/Biomass Burning Aerosols
Concept of
Emission of Aerosols
 Primary emission-
 Are aerosols sources that
directly project aerosols In the
air
 e.g. Dust, volcanic ash
and Black CO2
 Secondary emission –
refers to substances that are not aerosols when
they are originally emitted, but later undergo
some reaction in the atmosphere that transforms
them into aerosols
 e.g.sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas is
emitted by volcanoes, forest fires,
coal-burning power plants, refuse
incineration, and other sources. In
the atmosphere, chemical reactions
and combination with water can
transform sulfur dioxide into sulfuric
acid droplets, a liquid aerosol that
helps form acid rain
Roles of Aerosols in Earth’s
atmosphere?
 The presence of aerosols in Earth's
atmosphere influences climate in
three key ways.
1. Aerosols alter albedo (reflectivity).
2. Formation of clouds of various types.
3. Various types of chemical reactions
in the atmosphere.
To know Roles of Aerosols in Earth’s
atmosphere we should know
 Role 1: Aerosols alter albedo (reflectivity)

 Changing the amount of solar energy that reaches the

planet's surface and the amount that is absorbed at
various levels within the atmosphere.
2. Cloud formation
Clouds are
nothing more
than water
vapor that
condenses
and accretes
into a visible
form.
Formation of Cloud

clouds Aerosol
particle
CCN that
activates

& aerosols
that does not into a cloud
activate drop

 The particles around which

cloud droplets coalesce are
called cloud condensation
nuclei (CCN) or sometimes
"cloud seeds“
 under normal circumstances,
these droplets form only where
there is some “disturbance”

In general, aerosol
particles provide
this "disturbance".
Formation of clouds (animation)
 3. Chemical reactions
in the atmosphere

The dispersal of volcanic aerosols

has a drastic effect on
the Earth's atmosphere

1. sulphur dioxide (SO2),

hydrochloric acid (HCL)
and ash

2.“heterogeneous chemistry”

3. which can react with nitrogen

in the stratosphere,

To stratospheric
ozone destruction.
AEROSOL-CLIMATE CONNECTION
“global dimming” &
role of aerosols
 Global dimming is
the gradual reduction
in the amount of
global direct
irradiance (radiant
emittance, and radiant
exitance ) at the Earth
's surface
Effect of“global dimming”
over India

 The aerosols that contribute to poor air quality over

much of the Indian subcontinent are believed to
originate from industrial smoke, vehicle emissions, and
biomass burning
04 January 2008 26 January
2008

Polluted haze layer seen by Terra satellite over

northern parts of India and Bangladesh.
Summary of Problems
 The effects of aerosols are difficult to assess
 Aerosols are a very very minor component of
the atmosphere and very difficult to measure
 Aerosols are very varied and complex in

nature at any time and location

 Aerosols are highly inhomogeneously

distributed and highly episodic in occurrence

 Aerosols need to be studied simultaneously from
space, air and ground and in the lab.
International Research Efforts
 Some Recent Comprehensive Campaigns.
 ACE1- US Air Pollution, ACE2- European Air Pollution &
Desert Aerosol, ACE3- “ACE-ASIA”) East Asian
Aerosols, and Desert Aerosols.
 TARFOX- US Air Pollution,
 SCAR- A,- Eastern Seaboard Air Pollution, SCAR- B-
Biomass Burning in Brazil , SCAR-C- CA Air Pollution
 SAFARI 2000, etc. …

 Satellite Programs: SAGE, EOS, ADEOS, SEAWIFS,

Pegasus, …
 Robotic Surface Photometer Network: AERONET

 AMIP- Climate Model Comparisons

AVHRR
MISR AERONET
Very fine aerosols from the World
Trade Center.
References:

 “The Science of climate change” –

J.T. Houghton, L.G.Meria Filhio,
B.A.Callander, N.Harris
 National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
 National Research Council (U.S.)
 Space and Atmospheric Sciences
Division, Physical Research
Laboratory, Ahmedabad, India