%0 Journal Article
%T CCN activity of organic aerosols observed downwind of urban emissions during CARES
%A F. Mei
%A A. Setyan
%A Q. Zhang
%A J. Wang
%J Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions
%D 2013
%I Copernicus Publications
%R 10.5194/acpd-13-9355-2013
%X During the Carbonaceous Aerosols and Radiative Effects Study (CARES), activation fraction of size-resolved aerosol particles and aerosol chemical composition were characterized at the T1 site (~60 km downwind of Sacramento, California) from 10 June to 28 June 2010. The hygroscopicity of CCN-active particles (百CCN) with diameter from 100 to 171 nm, derived from the size-resolved activated fraction, varied from 0.10 to 0.21, with an average of 0.15, which was substantially lower than that proposed for continental sites in earlier studies. The low 百CCN value was due to the high organic volume fraction, averaged over 80% at the T1 site. The derived 百CCN exhibited little diurnal variation, consistent with the relatively constant organic volume fraction observed. At any time, over 90% of the size selected particles with diameter between 100 and 171 nm were CCN active, suggesting most particles within this size range were aged background particles. Due to the large organic volume fraction, organic hygroscopicity (百org) strongly impacted particle hygroscopicity and therefore calculated CCN concentration. For vast majority of the cases, an increase of 百org from 0.03 to 0.18, which are within the typical range, doubled the calculated CCN concentration. Organic hygroscopicity was derived from 百CCN and aerosol chemical composition, and its variations with the fraction of total organic mass spectral signal at m/z 44 (f44) and O : C were compared to results from previous studies. Overall, the relationships between 百org and f44 are quite consistent for organic aerosol (OA) observed during field studies and those formed in smog chamber. Compared to the relationship between 百org and f44, the relationship between 百org and O : C exhibits more significant differences among different studies, suggesting 百org may be better parameterized using f44. A least squares fit yielded 百org = 2.04 (㊣ 0.07) ℅ f44   0.11 (㊣ 0.01) with the Pearson R2 value of 0.71. One possible explanation for the stronger correlation between 百org and f44 is that the m/z 44 signal (mostly contributed by the CO2+ ion) is more closely related to organic acids, which may dominate the overall 百org due to their relatively high water solubility and hygroscopicity.
%U http://www.atmos-chem-phys-discuss.net/13/9355/2013/acpd-13-9355-2013.pdf