Identification of Individual Particle Chemical Composition, Morphology, and Ice Nucleation Properties in the Arctic
EMSL Project ID
60327
Abstract
The proposed project will address critical gaps in our understanding of the Arctic aerosol chemical composition, mixing state, sources, and ice nucleation properties through chemical imaging and ice nucleation particle analysis of samples collected during two Department of Energy Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (DOE ARM) field campaigns, Secondary Aerosol Formation in an Arctic Oil Field (Mar. 2020, Oliktok Point, Alaska) and MOSAiC (Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate, Oct. 2019 – Sep. 2020, High Arctic icebreaker), and two National Science Foundation (NSF) field campaigns, ALPACA (Alaskan Layered Pollution and Chemical Analysis, Jan. – Feb. 2022, Fairbanks, Alaska) and CHACHA (Chemistry in the Arctic: Clouds, Halogens, and Aerosols, Feb.-Apr. 2022, Utqiaġvik, Alaska). The overarching goal of these field campaigns is to address the significant gaps in aerosol observational data in the Arctic, which is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. This proposals support’s PI Pratt’s DOE Early Career Award and DOE Atmospheric System Research (ASR) grant and addresses EMSL’s Environmental Transformations and Interactions Area Topic 4, which includes aerosols, aging processes, and links to cloud formation. The proposed analyses will provide insights into how changing natural and anthropogenic emissions, along with atmospheric processing, are driving aerosol interactions with radiation, fog, and clouds in the Arctic region. Model estimates of atmospheric aerosol radiative forcing are currently limited in part by the dearth of measurement data available for evaluation; therefore, it is estimated that this project will ultimately lead to improved estimates of aerosol-climate feedbacks. The microscopy measurement capabilities, available at EMSL with the leading researchers in the use of this instrumentation for aerosol analysis, are essential to the success of the proposed project. Chemical imaging analyses will focus on computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (CCSEM-EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), and NanoSIMS. The custom ice nucleation environmental SEM (IN-SEM) platform at EMSL will provide unique knowledge of physical and chemical properties of individual ice nucleating particles. Additional elemental analysis will include inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Access to these EMSL resources is necessary and paramount to the success of this project, which is expected to yield significant insights into our understanding of aerosol composition, ice nucleating particle properties, and resulting aerosol-climate feedbacks in the rapidly changing Arctic.
Project Details
Project type
Large-Scale EMSL Research
Start Date
2022-10-01
End Date
N/A
Status
Active
Released Data Link
Team
Principal Investigator
Team Members