Results from the first chemistry-transport model study of the impact of the 1783–1784 Laki fissure eruption (Iceland: 64 N, 17 W) upon atmospheric composition are presented. The eruption released an estimated 61 Tg(S) as SO2 into the troposphere and lower stratosphere. The model has a high resolution tropopause region, and detailed sulphur chemistry. The simulated SO2 plume spreads over much of...

[1] Secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formed from partitioning of oxidation products of anthropogenic and biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs) accounts for a substantial portion of atmospheric particulate matter. In describing SOA formation, it is generally assumed that VOC oxidation products rapidly adopt gas-aerosol equilibrium. Here we estimate the equilibration timescale, teq, of SOA ga...

The Antarctic Plateau provides the best terrestrial sites for infrared (IR) and submillimetre (sub-mm) astronomy. In this paper we examine the relative importance of temperature, aerosol content and precipitable water vapour to determine which parameters have the greatest influence on atmospheric transmission and sky brightness. We use the atmospheric modelling program MODTRAN to model the obse...

Light scattering and absorption properties of atmospheric aerosols are of vital importance for evaluating their types, sources and radiative forcing. This is of particular interest over the Gangetic–Himalayan (GH) region due to uplift of aerosol from the plains to the Himalayan range, causing serious effects on atmospheric heating, glaciology and monsoon circulation. In this respect, the Ganges...

10 Light scattering and absorption properties of atmospheric aerosols are of vital importance in 11 evaluating their types, sources and radiative forcing. This is of particular interest over the 12 Gangetic-Himalayan (GH) region due to uplift of aerosol from the plains to the Himalayan range 13 causing serious effects on atmospheric heating, glaciology and monsoon circulation. In this 14 respec...

Although aliphatic amines have been detected in both urban and rural atmospheric aerosols, little is known about the chemistry leading to particle formation or the potential aerosol yields from reactions of gas-phase amines. We present here the first systematic study of aerosol formation from the atmospheric reactions of amines. Based on laboratory chamber experiments and theoretical calculatio...

[1] Brown carbon is a ubiquitous and unidentified component of organic aerosol which has recently come into the forefront of atmospheric research. This component is strongly linked to the class of humic-like substances (HULIS) in aerosol whose ultimate origin is still being debated. Using a simplified spectroscopic method the concentrations of brown carbon have been determined in aqueous extrac...

First results are presented from the deployment of the NCAR Raman-Shifted Eye-Safe Aerosol Lidar (REAL) in the Owens Valley of California during the Terrain-Induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) in March and April 2006. REAL operated in range–height indicator (RHI) and plan position indicator (PPI) scanning modes to observe the vertical and horizontal structures of the aerosol and cloud distribution...

Model investigations of aerosol–cloud interactions across spatial scales are necessary to advance basic understanding of aerosol impacts on climate and the hydrological cycle. Yet these interactions are complex, involving numerous physical and chemical processes. Models capable of combining aerosol dynamics and chemistry with detailed cloud microphysics are recent developments. In this study, p...

Aerosol optical depth (AOD) is a critical variable in estimating aerosol concentration in the atmosphere, evaluating severity of atmospheric pollution, and studying their impact on climate. With the assistance of the 6S radiative transfer model, we simulated apparent reflectancein relation to AOD in each Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) waveband in this study. The closeness...