Acquisition of Instrumentation for Enhancing Studies of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions

该项目涉及购买一套仪器，以研究气溶胶和云的详细物理和化学性质。这些仪器是Aerodyne公司用于在线粒子组成测量的高分辨率飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪；用于区分过冷云滴和小冰晶的粒子相鉴别器；用于改进气溶胶粒子、雾和云中的极性有机物质表征的液色谱-质谱仪；用于探测可用于测量云滴形成的气溶胶粒子的云凝结核计数器；以及用于产生已知大小和组成的气溶胶粒子以用于云成核的实验室研究的气溶胶产生和大小测量系统。计划中的测量是目前空气质量、气候变化和大气中的水文循环等许多关键问题的核心，例如气溶胶对气候的间接影响。该仪器将支持科罗拉多州立大学的以下项目：气溶胶颗粒上的冰核作用、云和雾处理气溶胶的研究、颗粒组成、吸水量、云滴/冰晶形成之间的关系研究以及生物气溶胶和烟雾气溶胶的吸湿和冻结特性研究。预计一些学术课程将从设备采购中受益，研究生将在使用这种设备方面获得有用的培训经验。这些仪器也将有偿提供给科罗拉多州立大学以外的研究人员。

This project involves the purchase of a suite of instruments to study the detailed physical and chemical properties of aerosols and clouds. The instruments are a high-resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer from Aerodyne for on-line particle composition measurements; a Particle Phase Discriminator for distinguishing supercooled cloud droplets from small ice crystals; a Liquid Chromatograph-Mass Spectrometer for improved characterization of polar organic material in aerosol particles, fog, and clouds; a Cloud Condensation Nucleus counter for detection of aerosol particles that can be used to measure cloud droplet formation, and an Aerosol Generation and Sizing System for the generation of aerosol particles of known size and composition for laboratory studies of cloud nucleation. The planned measurements are central to many key questions in air quality, climate change and hydrological cycling in the atmosphere at the present time, such as the indirect effect of aerosols on climate. The instrumentation will support Colorado State University projects on ice nucleation on aerosol particles, studies of aerosol processing by clouds and fogs, studies of the relationships between particle composition, water uptake, cloud drop/ice crystal formation, and studies of hygroscopic and freezing properties of biogenic and smoke aerosols. A number of academic courses are expected to benefit from the equipment acquisition, and graduate students will gain useful training experience in the use of such equipment. These instruments are also to be made available to researchers outside Colorado State University on a paying basis.