Global measurements of aerosols in remote continental and marine regions: Concentrations, size distributions, and optical properties

The phase I Gametag (Global Atmospheric Measurements Experiment of Tropospheric Aerosols and Gases) aerosol measurements were designed to provide an initial assessment of the levels, types, and optical effects of tropospheric aerosols in remote marine and continental regions and to examine the possible causal relationships between the observed distributions and the dominant factors controlling aerosol population: chemical and physical transformations, source and sink strengths, and transport. We used size-number data to determine mass concentrations and to estimate extinction, using nominal optical properties. Filter and impactor data have been used to determine aerosol composition, and correlative aircraft measurements have been used to aid in our data interpretation. Our data have been used to generate latitudinal profiles along our Pacific flight tracks. Our continental measurements, in general, show bimodal aerosol size distributions that reflect different source for each mode. The aerosol population consists primarily of crustal aerosols with r ≥ 0.5 μm and sulfate and combustion aerosols with r < 0.5 μm, with only a minor sea salt component. Owing to vertical mixing, there are no qualitative differences between the boundary layer and the free troposphere. Our data indicate that crustal aerosols represent a significant component of a background tropospheric aerosol in western North America and suggest that the possible contribution of the crustal aerosol to extinction should not be ignored. Pacific marine measurements show a qualitative difference between the boundary layer and the free troposphere. The boundary-layer aerosol population is dominated by a bimodal sea spray aerosol; optical effects and mass concentration are dominated by a mode with a volume mean radius of ∼1 μm. Our measurements show only a small crustal component of the marine boundary-layer aerosol. Our data indicate a loss of Cl from the sea spray aerosol, with the greatest loss in the small particles. We have inferred a background concentration of 0.2 ppbm for our measured particles that does not appear to be directly related to the sea spray aerosol. We have identified some of these particles as locally produced secondary aerosols; simultaneous measurements of gaseous species support this interpretation. Our Pacific free tropospheric aerosol measurements show a highly variable aerosol component, with local variations in concentration by 1 order of magnitude within a few kilometers. Our measured total aerosol and crustal component concentrations show a general decrease from north to south. Our lowest mean mid tropospheric concentration was seen south of 20°S; we have identified this mean concentration of 0.08 ppbm as a midtropospheric background aerosol.