Ambient aerosol properties in the remote atmosphere from global-scale in situ measurements

In situ measurements of aerosol microphysical, chemical, and optical properties were made during globalscale flights from 2016-2018 as part of the Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom). The NASA DC-8 aircraft flew from similar to 84 degrees N to similar to 86 degrees S latitude over the Pacific, Atlantic, Arctic, and Southern oceans while profiling nearly continuously between altitudes of similar to 160m and similar to 12 km. These global circuits were made once each season. Particle size distributions measured in the aircraft cabin at dry conditions and with an underwing probe at ambient conditions were combined with bulk and single-particle composition observations and measurements of water vapor, pressure, and temperature to estimate aerosol hygroscopicity and hygroscopic growth factors and calculate size distributions at ambient relative humidity. These reconstructed, composition-resolved ambient size distributions were used to estimate intensive and extensive aerosol properties, including single-scatter albedo, the asymmetry parameter, extinction, absorption, Angstrom exponents, and aerosol optical depth (AOD) at several wavelengths, as well as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations at fixed supersaturations and lognormal fits to four modes. Dry extinction and absorption were compared with direct in situ measurements, and AOD derived from the extinction profiles was compared with remotely sensed AOD measurements from the ground-based Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET); this comparison showed no substantial bias.

Automated summary

In situ measurements of aerosol microphysical, chemical, and optical properties were conducted during global-scale flights from 2016-2018 as part of the Atmospheric Tomography Mission (ATom). The data obtained were used to estimate aerosol hygroscopicity, size distributions, and other intensive and extensive aerosol properties, providing valuable insights into atmospheric aerosols and their behavior. By comparing different measurements and calculations, the study showed no substantial bias in the results, demonstrating the reliability and accuracy of the methodology.