INSTITUTE FOR TROPOSPHERIC RESEARCH WISSENSCHAFTSGEMEINSCHAFT BiennialBiennial GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ ReportReport 2001/2002 Biennial Report 22001001 & 22002002 2002 10 years Institute for Tropospheric Research e.V. Leipzig ❊ ❊ ❊ 10 years evolution of the troposphere over Eastern Germany and worldwide INSTITUTE FOR TROPOSPHERIC RESEARCH WISSENSCHAFTSGEMEINSCHAFT GOTTFRIED WILHELM LEIBNIZ Impressum Impressum Published by Institute for Tropospheric Research (IfT) Institut für Troposphärenforschung e.V. Leipzig (IfT) Member of the Wissenschaftsgemeinschaft Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz (WGL) Postal address: Permoserstr. 15 Phone: ++49 - 341-235-2321 04318 Leipzig Fax: ++49 - 341-235-2361 Germany E-mail: [email protected] Internet: http://www.tropos.de Editors Konstanze Kunze, Heike Scherf, Katja Schmieder, Monika Schulze Editorial Board Jost Heintzenberg, Hartmut Herrmann, Eberhard Renner Technical management / DTP / Layout Katja Schmieder Printed by MERKUR Druck- und Kopierzentrum GmbH Hauptmannstraße 4 04109 Leipzig Internet: http://www.merkurdruck.de Photo and illustration credits © IfT; all pages, except for pages: 1 top right: Original photography from NASA 7, 43, 83 top right: NASA Table of contents Introduction and overview 3 Detailed contributions to current research projects N SATURN: New particle formation in the lower troposphere 9 N Variability of physical properties of the urban aerosol within one city 16 N On the impact of turbulence length-scales, derived from large-eddy simulations on predicted mesoscale fi elds using the “Lokal-Modell” 24 N Long-term simulation of ozone and PM using the model system LM-MUSCAT within the CityDelta project 32 Short contributions to current research projects N A detailed tropospheric aqueous phase chemical mechanism 45 N Interaction of free radicals with organics in the tropospheric aqueous phase 48 N On collision processes in a mixed-phase cloud 51 N Warm microphysics in an orographic cloud 53 N Tracking of cloud interfaces by the volume-of-fl uid method 55 N Model-to-satellite approach for cloud verifi cation using the “Lokal-Modell” (LM) 57 N Saharan dust over a Central European EARLINET-AERONET site: Combined observations with Raman lidar and Sun photometer 60 N Size-segregated characterization of PM10, PM2.5, PM1 at the IfT research station Melpitz downwind of Leipzig 63 N BEWA 2000 – Carbonyl compounds and particles in a coniferous forest atmosphere 66 N Atmospheric oxidation of α-pinene: Characterization of chemical and physical properties of particles in chamber experiments 69 N α Particle formation in the system O3/ -pinene/(SO2) 72 N The airborne spectral albedometer – A new tool for improved solar radiation energy budget studies 74 N Aerosol extinction measurements in the planetary boundary layer 77 N Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator (LACIS): First results 80 Appendix N Publications 85 N University courses 108 N Master theses 111 N Doctoral theses 112 N Guest scientists 113 N Scientifi c events 114 N Memberships 116 N National and international cooperation 117 N Boards 122 N Localmap 123 Introduction & overview Introduction and overview Introduction and overview In the outskirts of Leipzig, on the campus of the aerosols, and clouds important physico-chemical former Academy of Sciences, in close neighborhood processes of aerosol and cloud formation and of the Environmental Research Center, other the relationships with climate and health are research establishments and businesses you fi nd poorly understood. This limitation is mainly due to the Institute for Tropospheric Research. It was analytical diffi culties with the very small samples founded in 1991 for the investigation of physical and with the complex behavior of tropospheric and chemical processes in the polluted troposphere multiphase systems, in which individual processes (roughly the fi rst 10 km of our atmosphere). seldom can be distinguished. In climate research Fig. 1: IfT main building. Meanwhile a well-defi ned and globally unique this limitation is refl ected in much larger research profi le emerged with a focus on aerosols, uncertainties in predicted anthropogenic aerosol i.e. small airborne particles, and clouds. Despite and cloud effects in comparison to numbers their minute absolute amount, aerosols and clouds published by the Intergovernmental Panel on are essential parts of the atmosphere because Climate Change for additional greenhouse gases. they control the budgets of energy, water and Rapid advances in our understanding of trace substances of the Earth System. The tropospheric multiphase processes and an research interest in these highly disperse systems application of this process understanding to the is stimulated foremost by their potential change prediction of the consequences of human impacts through human activities. These system changes can only be expected from concerted approaches feed back into the anthroposphere not only through from several directions. Consequently, the Institute regional and global climate change but also directly for Tropospheric Research conducts fi eld studies in through health effects of inhaled haze and fog several polluted regions parallel to the development particles. of analytical methods for aerosol and cloud Despite strong connections between humans, research. 3 Introduction and overview are subject to strong physical and chemical transformations even before they reach the sidewalk. These transformations will be investigated by a new mobile aerosol laboratory on a trailer behind a moving car in traffi c. Emission studies at cars are complemented by measurements at stationary combustion sources. Here the research focuses on particle properties that determine the absorption of solar radiation. Dedicated methods have been developed for the analysis of soot components, a major absorber of sun light. With aerosol measurements at welding stands fi nally the Institute for Tropospheric research characterises toxic industrial particle emissions. Fig. 2: Particle sampling systems during the INTERCOMP 2000 Health related aerosol studies will be expanded in campaign at the research station Melpitz. the future in collaboration with the Environmental Research Center with coupled indoor and outdoor These tools are not only applied in fi eld experiments aerosol experiments and concurrent clinical but also in extensive laboratory investigations, investigations in the urban region of Leipzig. which form a second major activity. A third and equally important approach consists of the formulation and application of numerical models that reach from process models to regional simulations of the formation, transformation and effects of tropospheric multiphase systems. Field experiments The atmosphere is an aerosol, i.e. a carrier gas mixture with suspended solid and liquid particles. Field experiments elucidate the atmospheric life cycle and related processes of aerosol and cloud particles. This task is vastly more diffi cult than comparable trace gas studies, in which only one number has to be known for each substance at each point in time and space. Particles sizes over more than six orders of magnitude occur in atmospheric aerosols and clouds, all of which play an important role in certain processes. All condensable substances of the Earth System can be found in the aerosol and a large number of them contributes to climate and biospheric effects. As a consequence of this multidimensional system essential aerosol and cloud properties are not well- established on a global scale yet. Fig. 3: Impression from the SATURN experiment. The uncertainty and thus the studies of the Institute for Tropospheric Research start with particle sources. The combustion of fossil and Even the largest highly polluted regions in the contemporary fuels is one of the most prominent plumes of North America, Europe, the Indian aerosol sources. However, these sources are subcontinent and Eastern Asia are insuffi ciently still poorly characterised in terms of climate- characterised in terms of aerosol burdens and relevant aerosol parameters. In collaboration with ensuing climate effects. Thus, the institute focused car manufacturers the institute establishes size the most recent fi eld campaigns on the European dependent particle emission data of cars at test and Indian plumes. These experiments were stands, in particular in the nanometer size range conducted within a large framework of international that was not covered by conventional emission collaboration. studies. According to long-term measurements of As baseline reference an austral area near the institute in a street canyon the car related Tasmania has been studied. By means of an emissions of particles and their precursor gases intercontinental commercial aircraft, the results of 4 Introduction and overview the regional experiments are connected through present and future limits of gaseous and particulate regular CARIBIC fl ights between Germany, the air pollution. As done in the past, the Institute Indian Ocean and Southern Africa (cf. Fig. 4). for Tropospheric Research will give advice to the Process studies are conducted at suitable locations Saxonian government on preventative air pollution such as mountain observatories, tethered balloons measures. and over cooling towers of large power plants. The knowledge of the present emissions is a These experiments are dedicated to particle prerequisite for the development and evaluation nucleation, particle processing through clouds and of strategies for emission strategies directed and the infl uence