Acquisition of Instrumentation for Enhancing Studies of Aerosol-Cloud Interactions

这个项目包括购买一套仪器来研究气溶胶和云的详细物理和化学特性。这些仪器是Aerodyne的高分辨率飞行时间气溶胶质谱仪，用于在线测量颗粒成分；用于区分过冷云滴和小冰晶的粒子鉴相器；液相色谱-质谱联用仪，用于改进气溶胶颗粒、雾和云中极性有机物质的表征；一个云凝结核计数器，用于检测可用于测量云滴形成的气溶胶粒子，以及一个气溶胶生成和分级系统，用于生成已知大小和成分的气溶胶粒子，用于云核的实验室研究。计划中的测量是目前大气中空气质量、气候变化和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有关气溶胶粒子的冰核、云和雾对气溶胶处理的研究、颗粒组成、水分吸收、云滴/冰晶形成之间关系的研究以及生物成因和烟雾气溶胶的吸湿性和冻结性的研究等项目。预计一些学术课程将受益于设备购置，研究生将获得使用此类设备的有益培训经验。这些仪器也将以付费的方式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.