A detailed aerosol mixing state model for investigating interactions between mixing state, semivolatile partitioning, and coagulation

A new method for describing externally mixed particles, the Detailed Aerosol Mixing State (DAMS) representation, is presented in this study. This novel method classifies aerosols by both composition and size, using a user-specified mixing criterion to define boundaries between compositional populati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: J. Lu, F. M. Bowman
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Copernicus Publications 2010-04-01
Series:Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
Online Access:http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/10/4033/2010/acp-10-4033-2010.pdf
Description
Summary:A new method for describing externally mixed particles, the Detailed Aerosol Mixing State (DAMS) representation, is presented in this study. This novel method classifies aerosols by both composition and size, using a user-specified mixing criterion to define boundaries between compositional populations. Interactions between aerosol mixing state, semivolatile partitioning, and coagulation are investigated with a Lagrangian box model that incorporates the DAMS approach. Model results predict that mixing state affects the amount and types of semivolatile organics that partition to available aerosol phases, causing external mixtures to produce a more size-varying composition than internal mixtures. Both coagulation and condensation contribute to the mixing of emitted particles, producing a collection of multiple compositionally distinct aerosol populations that exists somewhere between the extremes of a strictly external or internal mixture. The selection of mixing criteria has a significant impact on the size and type of individual populations that compose the modeled aerosol mixture. Computational demands for external mixture modeling are significant and can be controlled by limiting the number of aerosol populations used in the model.
ISSN:1680-7316
1680-7324