Non-precipitating cumulus cloud study

Technical Report · Mon Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1984

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/6336059· OSTI ID:6336059

Alkezweeny, A J

This document describes the field experiment that was conducted in Kentucky during the period from July 20 to August 24, 1983. The objectives were to determine the vertical transport of acidic pollutants by cumulus convection and formation of acidic substances in non-precipitating clouds. The study is a research component of Task Group C (Atmospheric Processes) of the National Acid Precipitation Assessment Program. To examine the vertical transport, an SF/sub 6/ tracer was released from one aircraft, sampled by another aircraft, and sampled on the ground. The results show that pollutants from the boundary layer are lifted to the cloud layer. From there, they are intermittently transported both to the ground and to higher elevations, possibly in the vertical updrafts of towering cumulus clouds. A series of instrumented aircraft flights around the clouds were conducted to study the formation of acidic aerosols. The concentrations of SO/sub 2/, SO/sub 4/, NO/sub 3/, NH/sub 4/, NH/sub 3/, HNO/sub 3/ and trace metals were measured by filter techniques. Furthermore, NO/sub x/, O/sub 3/, light scattering, and basic meteorological parameters were measured in real-time. Detailed chemical composition of aerosols and NH/sub 3/ was also measured on the ground. Preliminary results show that the molar ratio of SO/sub 2//SO/sub 2/ + SO/sub 4/) at cloud tops is higher than at cloud bases. This indicates that sulfate aerosols were formed in the clouds. The NH/sub 3/ concentration shows higher values at nighttime than daytime and decreases sharply with increasing altitude. 3 references.

• Research Organization: Pacific Northwest Lab., Richland, WA (USA)
• DOE Contract Number: AC06-76RL01830
• OSTI ID: 6336059
• Report Number(s): PNL-5283; ON: DE85002352
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

500200* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (-1989)
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
ACID RAIN
AMMONIA
AMMONIUM COMPOUNDS
ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY
ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION
ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS
BOUNDARY LAYERS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMISTRY
CLOUDS
CURRENTS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ENVIRONMENTAL TRANSPORT
FLUORIDES
FLUORINE COMPOUNDS
HALIDES
HALOGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
INORGANIC ACIDS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
LAYERS
LONG-RANGE TRANSPORT
MASS TRANSFER
METEOROLOGY
NITRATES
NITRIC ACID
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
NITROGEN OXIDES
NITROUS OXIDE
OXIDES
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
OZONE
PARTICLES
PARTICULATES
RAIN
SULFATES
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR DIOXIDE
SULFUR FLUORIDES
SULFUR OXIDES
TRACER TECHNIQUES
WATER CHEMISTRY