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By NASA
NASA/Steve Freeman On Oct. 22, 2024, the latest iteration of an atmospheric probe developed by researchers at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, successfully completed a test flight. Building on NASA 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which use the aircraft’s shape for lift instead of wings, the concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets. Testing demonstrated the shape of the probe works.
The atmospheric probe flew after release from a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA Armstrong. “I’m ecstatic,” said John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will be looking at releasing it from a higher altitude to keep it flying longer and demonstrate more maneuvers.”
See more photos from the test flight.
Image credit: Steve Freeman
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By NASA
3 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA/Steve Parcel The most effective way to prove a new idea is to start small, test, learn, and test again. A team of researchers developing an atmospheric probe at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, are taking that approach. The concept could offer future scientists a potentially better and more economical way to collect data on other planets.
The latest iteration of the atmospheric probe flew after release from a quad-rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22 above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA Armstrong. The probe benefits from NASA 1960s research on lifting body aircraft, which use the aircraft’s shape for lift instead of wings. Testing demonstrated the shape of the probe works.
“I’m ecstatic,” said John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator at NASA Armstrong. “It was completely stable in flight. We will be looking at releasing it from a higher altitude to keep it flying longer and demonstrate more maneuvers.”
An atmospheric probe model attached upside down to a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft ascends with the Moon visible on Oct. 22, 2024. The quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Starting with a Center Innovation Fund award in 2023, Bodylski worked closely with the center’s Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory to design and build three atmospheric probe models, each vehicle 28 inches long from nose to tail. One model is a visual to show what the concept looks like, while two additional prototypes improved the technology’s readiness.
The road to the successful flight wasn’t smooth, which is expected with any new flight idea. The first flight on Aug. 1 didn’t go as planned. The release mechanism didn’t work as expected and air movement from the quad rotor aircraft was greater than anticipated. It was that failure that inspired the research team to take another look at everything about the vehicle, leading to many improvements, said Justin Hall, NASA Armstrong chief pilot of small, unmanned aircraft systems.
Fast forward to Oct. 22, where the redesign of the release mechanism, in addition to an upside-down release and modified flight control surfaces, led to a stable and level flight. “Everything we learned from the first vehicle failing and integrating what we learned into this one seemed to work well,” Hall said. “This is a win for us. We have a good place to go from here and there’s some more changes we can make to improve it.”
Justin Link, left, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot; John Bodylski, atmospheric probe principal investigator; and Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, discuss details of the atmospheric probe flight plan on Oct. 22, 2024. A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman Bodylski added, “We are going to focus on getting the aircraft to pull up sooner to give us more flight time to learn more about the prototype. We will go to a higher altitude [this flight started at 560 feet altitude] on the next flight because we are not worried about the aircraft’s stability.”
When the team reviewed flight photos and video from the Oct. 22 flight they identified additional areas for improvement. Another atmospheric probe will be built with enhancements and flown. Following another successful flight, the team plans to instrument a future atmospheric probe that will gather data and improve computer models. Data gathering is the main goal for the current flights to give scientists confidence in additional probe shapes for atmospheric missions on other planets.
If this concept is eventually chosen for a mission, it would ride on a satellite to its destination. From there, the probe would separate as the parent satellite orbits around a planet, then enter and dive through the atmosphere as it gathers information for clues of how the solar system formed.
Justin Hall, chief pilot of small unmanned aircraft systems, prepares the atmospheric probe for flight above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. At right, Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft systems pilot, assists. The probe, designed and built at the center, flew after release from a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft on Oct. 22, 2024.NASA/Steve Freeman Derek Abramson, left, chief engineer for the Dale Reed Subscale Flight Research Laboratory, and Justin Link, small unmanned aircraft system pilot, carry the atmospheric probe model and a quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft to position it for flight on Oct. 24, 2024. John Bodylski, probe principal investigator, right, and videographer Jacob Shaw watch the preparations. Once at altitude, the quad rotor aircraft released the probe above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent to NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Steve Freeman A quad rotor remotely piloted aircraft releases the atmospheric probe model above Rogers Dry Lake, a flight area adjacent NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, on Oct. 22, 2024. The probe was designed and built at the center.NASA/Carla Thomas Share
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Last Updated Dec 11, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
10 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Return to 2024 SARP Closeout Faculty Advisors:
Dr. Guanyu Huang, Stony Brook University
Graduate Mentor:
Ryan Schmedding, McGill University
Ryan Schmedding, Graduate Mentor
Ryan Schmedding, graduate mentor for the 2024 SARP Atmospheric Science group, provides an introduction for each of the group members and shares behind-the scenes moments from the internship.
Danielle Jones
Remote sensing of poor air quality in mountains: A case study in Kathmandu, Nepal
Danielle Jones
Urban activity produces particulate matter in the atmosphere known as aerosol particles. These aerosols can negatively affect human health and cause changes to the climate system. Measures for aerosols include surface level PM2.5 concentration and aerosol optical depth (AOD). Kathmandu, Nepal is an urban area that rests in a valley on the edge of the Himalayas and is home to over three million people. Despite the prevailing easterly winds, local aerosols are mostly concentrated in the valley from the residential burning of coal followed by industry. Exposure to PM2.5 has caused an estimated ≥8.6% of deaths annually in Nepal. We paired NASA satellite AOD and elevation data, model meteorological data, and local AirNow PM2.5 and air quality index (AQI) data to determine causes of variation in pollutant measurement during 2023, with increased emphasis on the post-monsoon season (Oct. 1 – Dec. 31). We see the seasonality of meteorological data related to PM2.5 and AQI. During periods of low temperature, low wind speed, and high pressure, PM2.5 and AQI data slightly diverge. This may indicate that temperature inversions increase surface level concentrations of aerosols but have little effect on the total air column. The individual measurements of surface pressure, surface temperature, and wind speed had no observable correlation to AOD (which was less variable than PM2.5 and AQI over the entire year). Elevation was found to have no observable effect on AOD during the period of study. Future research should focus on the relative contributions of different pollutants to the AQI to test if little atmospheric mixing causes the formation of low-altitude secondary pollutants in addition to PM2.5 leading to the observed divergence in AQI and PM2.5.
Madison Holland
Analyzing the Transport and Impact of June 2023 Canadian Wildfire Smoke on Surface PM2.5 Levels in Allentown, Pennsylvania
Madison Holland
The 2023 wildfire season in Canada was unparalleled in its severity. Over 17 million hectares burned, the largest area ever burned in a single season. The smoke from these wildfires spread thousands of kilometers, causing a large population to be exposed to air pollution. Wildfires can release a variety of air pollutants, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5). PM2.5 directly affects human health – exposure to wildfire-related PM2.5 has been associated with respiratory issues such as the exacerbation of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In June 2023, smoke from the Canadian wildfires drifted southward into the United States. The northeastern United States reported unhealthy levels of air quality due to the transportation of the smoke. In particular, Pennsylvania reported that Canadian wildfires caused portions of the state to have “Hazardous” air quality. Our research focused on how Allentown, PA experienced hazardous levels of air quality from this event. To analyze the concentrations of PM2.5 at the surface level, NASA’s Hazardous Air Quality Ensemble System (HAQES) and the EPA’s Air Quality System (AQS) ground-based site data were utilized. By comparing HAQES’s forecast of hazardous air quality events with recorded daily average PM2.5 with the EPA’s AQS, we were able to compare how well the ensemble system was at predicting total PM2.5 during unhealthy air quality days. NOAA’s Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory model, pyrsig, and the Canadian National Fire Database were used. These datasets revealed the trajectory of aerosols from the wildfires to Allentown, Pennsylvania, identified the densest regions of the smoke plumes, and provided a map of wildfire locations in southeastern Canada. By integrating these datasets, we traced how wildfire smoke transported aerosols from the source at the ground level.
Michele Iraci
Trends and Transport of Tropospheric Ozone From New York City to Connecticut in the Summer of 2023
Michele Iraci
Tropospheric Ozone, or O₃, is a criteria pollutant contributing to most of Connecticut and New York City’s poor air quality days. It has adverse effects on human health, particularly for high-risk individuals. Ozone is produced by nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from fuel combustion reacting with sunlight. The Ozone Transport Region (OTR) is a collection of states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States that experience cross-state pollution of O₃. Connecticut has multiple days a year where O₃ values exceed the National Ambient Air Quality Standards requiring the implementation of additional monitoring and standards because it falls in the OTR. Partially due to upstream transport from New York City, Connecticut experiences increases in O₃ concentrations in the summer months. Connecticut has seen declines in poor air quality days from O₃ every year due to the regulations on ozone and its precursors. We use ground-based Lidar, Air Quality System data, and a back-trajectory model to examine a case of ozone enhancement in Connecticut caused by air pollutants from New York between June and August 2023. In this time period, Connecticut’s ozone enhancement was caused by air pollutants from New York City. As a result, New York City and Connecticut saw similar O₃ spikes and decline trends. High-temperature days increase O₃ in both places, and wind out of the southwest may transport O₃ to Connecticut. Production and transport of O₃ from New York City help contribute to Connecticut’s poor air quality days, resulting in the need for interstate agreements on pollution management.
Stefan Sundin
Correlations Between the Planetary Boundary Layer Height and the Lifting Condensation Level
Stefan Sundin
The Planetary Boundary Layer (PBL) characterizes the lowest layer in the atmosphere that is coupled with diurnal heating at the surface. The PBL grows during the day as solar heating causes pockets of air near the surface to rise and mix with cooler air above. Depending on the type of terrain and surface albedo that receives solar heating, the depth of the PBL can vary to a great extent. This makes PBL height (PBLH) a difficult variable to quantify spatially and temporally. While several methods have been used to obtain the PBLH such as wind profilers and lidar techniques, there is still a level of uncertainty associated with PBLH. One method of predicting seasonal PBLH fluctuation and potentially lessening uncertainty that will be discussed in this study is recognizing a correlation in PBLH with the lifting condensation level (LCL). Like the PBL, the LCL is used as a convective parameter when analyzing upper air data, and classifies the height in the atmosphere at which a parcel becomes saturated when lifted by a forcing mechanism, such as a frontal boundary, localized convergence, or orographic lifting. A reason to believe that PBLH and LCL are interconnected is their dependency on both the amount of surface heating and moisture that is present in the environment. These thermodynamic properties are of interest in heavily populated metropolitan areas within the Great Plains, as they are more susceptible to severe weather outbreaks and associated economic losses. Correlations between PBLH and LCL over the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan statistical area during the summer months of 2019-2023 will be discussed.
Angelica Kusen
Coupling of Chlorophyll-a Concentrations and Aerosol Optical Depth in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean and South China Sea (2019-2021)
Angelica Kusen
Air-sea interactions form a complex feedback mechanism, whereby aerosols impact physical and biogeochemical processes in marine environments, which, in turn, alter aerosol properties. One key indicator of these interactions is chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), a pigment common to all phytoplankton and a widely used proxy for primary productivity in marine ecosystems. Phytoplankton require soluble nutrients and trace metals for growth, which typically come from oceanic processes such as upwelling. These nutrients can also be supplied via wet and dry deposition, where atmospheric aerosols are removed from the atmosphere and deposited into the ocean. To explore this interaction, we analyze the spatial and temporal variations of satellite-derived chl-a and AOD, their correlations, and their relationship with wind patterns in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean and the South China Sea from 2019 to 2021, two regions with contrasting environmental conditions.
In the Subantarctic Southern Ocean, a positive correlation (r²= 0.26) between AOD and Chl-a was found, likely due to dust storms following Austrian wildfires. Winds deposit dust aerosols rich in nutrients, such as iron, to the iron-limited ocean, enhancing phytoplankton photosynthesis and increasing chl-a. In contrast, the South China Sea showed no notable correlation (r² = -0.02) between AOD and chl-a. Decreased emissions due to COVID-19 and stricter pollution controls likely reduced the total AOD load and shifted the composition of aerosols from anthropogenic to more natural sources.
These findings highlight the complex interrelationship between oceanic biological activity and the chemical composition of the atmosphere, emphasizing that atmospheric delivery of essential nutrients, such as iron and phosphorus, promotes phytoplankton growth. Finally, NASA’s recently launched PACE mission will contribute observations of phytoplankton community composition at unprecedented scale, possibly enabling attribution of AOD levels to particular groups of phytoplankton.
Chris Hautman
Estimating CO₂ Emission from Rocket Plumes Using in Situ Data from Low Earth Atmosphere
Chris Hautman
Rocket emissions in the lower atmosphere are becoming an increasing environmental concern as space exploration and commercial satellite launches have increased exponentially in recent years. Rocket plumes are one of the few known sources of anthropogenic emissions directly into the upper atmosphere. Emissions in the lower atmosphere may also be of interest due to their impacts on human health and the environment, in particular, ground level pollutants transported over wildlife protected zones, such as the Everglades, or population centers near launch sites. While rockets are a known source of atmospheric pollution, the study of rocket exhaust is an ongoing task. Rocket exhaust can have a variety of compositions depending on the type of engine, the propellants used, including fuels, oxidizers, and monopropellants, the stoichiometry of the combustion itself also plays a role. In addition, there has been increasing research into compounds being vaporized in atmospheric reentry. These emissions, while relatively minimal compared to other methods of travel, pose an increasing threat to atmospheric stability and environmental health with the increase in human space activity. This study attempts to create a method for estimating the total amount of carbon dioxide released by the first stage of a rocket launch relative to the mass flow of RP-1, a highly refined kerosene (C₁₂H₂₆)), and liquid oxygen (LOX) propellants. Particularly, this study will focus on relating in situ CO₂ emission data from a Delta II rocket launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base on April 15, 1999, to CO₂ emissions from popular modern rockets, such as the Falcon 9 (SpaceX) and Soyuz variants (Russia). The findings indicate that the CO₂ density of any RP-1/LOX rocket is 6.9E-7 times the mass flow of the sum of all engines on the first stage. The total mass of CO₂ emitted can be further estimated by modeling the volume of the plume as cylindrical. Therefore, the total mass can be calculated as a function of mass flow and first stage main engine cutoff. Future CO₂ emissions on an annual basis are calculated based on these estimations and anticipated increases in launch frequency.
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Last Updated Nov 22, 2024 Related Terms
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8 min read SARP East 2024 Ocean Remote Sensing Group
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By NASA
9 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Atmospheric Aerosols group, from the 2024 Student Airborne Research Program (SARP) West Coast cohort, poses in front of the natural sciences building at UC Irvine, during their final presentations on August 12, 2024. NASA Ames/Milan Loiacono Faculty Advisors: Dr. Andreas Beyersdorf, California State University, San Bernardino & Dr. Ann Marie Carlton, University of California
Graduate Mentor: Madison Landi, University of California, Irvine
Madison Landi, Graduate Mentor
Madison Landi, graduate student mentor for the 2024 SARP Aerosols group, provides an introduction for each of the group members and shares behind-the scenes moments from the internship.
Maya Niyogi
A Comparative Analysis of Tropospheric NO2: Evaluating TEMPO Satellite Data Against Airborne Measurements
Maya Niyogi, Johns Hopkins University
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) plays a major role in atmospheric chemical reactions; the inorganic compound both contributes to tropospheric ozone production and reacts with volatile organic compounds to create health-hazardous particulate matter. The presence of NO2 in the atmosphere is largely due to anthropogenic activity, making NO2 at the forefront of policy decisions and scientific monitoring. The Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) satellite launched in 2023 with the goal of monitoring pollution across North America. The publicly-accessible data became available for use in May 2024, however parts of the data remain unvalidated and in beta, creating a need for an in situ validation of its data products. Here we analyze TEMPO’s tropospheric NO2 measurements and compare them to aloft NO2 measurements collected during the NASA Student Airborne Research Project (SARP) 2024 airborne campaign. Six of the campaign flights recording NO2 performed a vertical spiral, providing vertical column data that was adjusted to ambient conditions for comparison against the corresponding TEMPO values. Statistical analyses indicate we have reasonable evidence to conclude that TEMPO satellite data and the flight-collected data record similar values. This research fills a critical knowledge gap through the utilization of aloft NO2 measurements to validate NASA’s newly-launched TEMPO satellite. It is expected that future users of TEMPO data can apply these results to better inform project creation and research.
Benjamin Wells
Investigating the Atmospheric Burden of Black Carbon Over the Past Decade in the Los Angeles Basin
Benjamin Wells, San Diego State University
Black Carbon is a primary aerosol emitted directly into the atmosphere as a result of biomass burning and incomplete combustion of fossil fuels. During the pre-industrial revolution, the main source of black carbon was natural sources whereas currently, the main source is anthropogenic activities. When black carbon is released into the atmosphere, it is a dominant absorber of solar radiation and leads to a significant warming effect on Earth’s climate. In addition to its harmful effects associated with climate change, ambient black carbon inhalation is correlated with adverse health effects such as respiratory and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature mortality. In this study, we analyze aloft black carbon measurements in 2016 and 2024 acquired on NASA SARP research flights and compare these concentrations to black carbon measurements taken during the 2010 CalNex field campaign. Both field campaigns flew similar flight paths over the Los Angeles basin allowing us to conduct a critical comparative analysis on vertical and spatial profiles of the atmospheric burden of black carbon over the past 14 years. During the CalNEX study, mass concentrations of black carbon ranged from 0.02 μg/m3 to 0.531 μg/m3, meanwhile 2024 SARP measurements demonstrate concentrations as elevated as 7.83 μg/m3 within the same region. Moreover, similar flight paths conducted during SARP 2024 and 2016 allow for further analysis of aloft black carbon concentrations over a period of time. The results of this study examines and analyzes the changing spatial and temporal characteristics of black carbon throughout the years, leading to an increase of adverse effects on both the climate and public health.
Devin Keith
Tracking Methane and Aerosols in relation to Health Effects in the San Joaquin Valley
Devin Keith, Mount Holyoke College
The San Joaquin Valley (SJV) is located in central California and is one of the most productive agricultural regions in the country for dairy, nuts, and berries, producing more than half of California’s $42 billion output. Due to the SJV’s close proximity to the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range to the East and predominantly Easterly winds, air pollution often accumulates because it is trapped by the geography. Significant chemical constituents of trapped particulate matter are ammonium (NH4), chloride (Cl), sulfate (SO4), nitrate (NO3), black carbon, and organic carbon. The particle size measured in this study is less than 1 micron in diameter, and due to their size, can easily penetrate the respiratory tract leading to adverse health effects such as: asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cardiovascular disease. We employ airborne data collected during the SARP 2024 mission onboard NASA’s P-3 research plane to observe spatial and temporal trends of NH4, Cl, SO4, NO3, and black carbon. Further, we analyze measurements from SARP 2016 flights and compare the atmospheric burden of pollution in the SJV across time. To investigate observations in the context of the public health impacts, we utilize data collected by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazards Assessment and find asthma and cardiovascular disease rates are higher in the SJV hotspots identified here. Per capita health impacts are greater than other California regions such as Los Angeles and San Francisco. The SJV exhibits higher rates of poverty than other communities, which may reveal an environmental justice issue that is difficult to explicitly quantify especially where measurements are sparse.
Lily Lyons
Investigating the Effects of Aerosols on Photosynthesis Using Satellite Imaging
Lily Lyons, Brandeis University
Aerosols in the atmosphere can affect the way sunlight travels to the ground by absorbing or scattering light. Sunlight is a critical component in plant photosynthesis, and the way light scatters affects productivity for vegetation and plant growth. When plants absorb sunlight, the chlorophyll in their leaves releases the excess energy as infrared light, which can be measured from space via satellite. To better understand how aerosol loading in the atmosphere affects plant photosynthesis, this study examines locations in Yosemite, Sequoia, Garrett, and Talladega national forests, and compares aerosol optical depth (AOD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and solar induced fluorescence (SIF) in these areas. Yosemite and Sequoia act as proxies for the old growth sequoia grove ecosystems, and Talladega and Garrett act as proxies for the Appalachian mixed mesophytic forest ecosystem. Our results show that within 2015-2020 during July, SIF and NDVI levels are significantly greater in mixed mesophytic forests than in sequoia groves. Using linear regression plots, we determined the correlation between SIF, NDVI and AOD to be weak in the given locations. Greater SIF in mixed mesophytic forests could suggest that the presence of a prominent and biodiverse understory is positive for the overall primary productivity of an ecosystem. This study is a good starting point for analyzing diverse ecosystems using SIF, NDVI and satellite data as proxies for photosynthesis, and broadening the scope of biomes examined for their SIF. Furthermore, it highlights the need for further investigation of aerosol impact on the trajectory and amount of sunlight that reaches certain plants.
Ryleigh Czajkowski
Validating the Performance of CMAQ in Simulating the Vertical Distribution of Trace Gases
Ryleigh Czajkowski, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology
Air quality modeling simulates atmospheric processes and air pollutant transport to better understand gas-and particle-phase interactions in the atmosphere. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model couples meteorological, emission, and chemical transport predictions to simulate air pollution from local to hemispheric scales. CMAQ provides scientists and regulatory agencies with important assistance in air quality management, policy enactment, atmospheric research, and creating public health advisories. Recently, a new update to CMAQ (v5.4) was released, utilizing new chemistry mechanisms and incorporating a new atmospheric chemistry model. This study evaluates the performance of the latest model update by analyzing multiple time series of vertical distributions of formaldehyde (CH2O) and methane (CH4) in the Los Angeles Basin and Central Valley regions of California. It compares data from aloft measurements taken during NASA SARP 2017 flights with model predictions to evaluate accuracy. Our study analyzes CMAQ’s capabilities in capturing the vertical dispersion of CH2O and CH4 in different regions, offering insights into the effectiveness of CMAQ for air quality management and the analysis of trace and greenhouse gas dynamics. Using NASA airborne data, this research utilizes a diversified data set to validate the model, providing a more comprehensive evaluation of its capabilities, and thus providing valuable insight into future developments of CMAQ.
Alison Thieberg
Estimating Aerosol Optical Properties Using Mie Theory and Analyzing Their Impact on Radiative Forcing in California
Alison Thieberg, Emory University
Anthropogenic aerosols, unlike greenhouse gasses, provide a net cooling effect to the Earth’s surface. Particles suspended in the atmosphere have the ability to scatter incoming solar radiation, preventing that radiation from heating up the surface. These aerosols like black carbon, ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate, and organics are byproducts of both natural and anthropogenic activities. Measuring radiative forcing as a result of these aerosols over time can provide insight on how anthropogenic industries are altering our Earth’s temperature. This study analyzes the changes in radiative forcing from aerosols in central and southern California using data collected from NASA SARP flights from 2016-2024. Aerosol size, composition, and single scattering albedo were used to estimate the aerosol characteristics and to calculate the aerosols’ radiative forcing efficiency. Our results show that aerosols are found to have less of a cooling effect over time when looking at the change in radiative forcing in California from 2016 to 2024. When narrowing in on specific geographic regions, we observe the same trends in the Central Valley with the area becoming warmer as a result of aerosols. However, more southern regions like Los Angeles and the Inland Empire have become cooler from aerosols during this time period. The overall decrease in the cooling effect of California’s aerosols could indicate that the average size of particulates is changing or that the aerosol composition could be shifting to a greater concentration of absorbing aerosols rather than scattering aerosols. This study shows how aerosols influence radiative forcing and their subsequent impacts across regions in California from multiple years.
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Last Updated Sep 25, 2024 Related Terms
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