Abstract ID: 116

AMazonian Aerosol characteriZation Experiment (AMAZE-08): First Results from Jan-Mar 2008

The main objectives of AMAZE-08 were to understand the sources and regulators of organic particle mass in a pristine continental environment and the connections between particle chemistry and particle optical and hygroscopic properties. The AMAZE-08 tower measurements were conducted between February 7 and March 14, 2008 during the rainy reason. The site was 60 km NNW of Manaus and located within a mostly pristine rainforest. The winds were predominantly from the ENE across 1600 km of untouched forest. Except for episodes of long-range transport from Europe and Africa and infrequent transport from Manaus, the site was free of anthropogenic influences and allowed the study of pristine biological aerosol particles. Particle instrumentation included two high-resolution aerosol mass spectrometers (HR-ToF-AMS) with thermodenuder, two cloud condensation nuclei counters (CCNC), a continuous flow diffusion chamber (CFDC) for ice nuclei measurements, three optical particle counters (OPC), an ultraviolet aerodynamic particle sizer (UV-APS) for measurement of biologically active particles, two tapered element oscillating microbalances (TEOM), two scanning mobility particle sizers (SMPS), two multiwavelength nephelometers, three condensation particle counters (CPC) a multi-angle absorption photometer (MAAP), an athelometer, coarse- and fine-mode filters for elemental and ion analysis, an AERONET sun photometer including photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), and LIDAR system. Gas instrumentation included a proton-transfer mass spectrometer (PTR-MS), gas adsorption cartridge for off-line chromatographic analysis, and measurement of O3, CO, CO2, NO, and NOx. This talk will present an overview of selected early results, mostly concerning observations of the mass spectra, connections between the chemical composition and the CCN activity, and a summary of the observed optical properties.

Session:  Feedbacks to Climate - Emissions of natural and biomass burning particulates from vegetation and their effects on ecosystems and climate.

Presentation Type:  Oral