A European aerosol phenomenology – 6: scattering properties of atmospheric aerosol particles from 28 ACTRIS sites

• Published in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Main Authors: Pandolfi, Marco, Alados-Arboledas, Lucas, Alastuey, Andres, Andrade, Marcos, Angelov, Christo, Artinano, Begona, Backman, John, Baltensperger, Urs, Bonasoni, Paolo, Bukowiecki, Nicolas, Collaud Coen, Martine, Conil, Sébastien, Coz, Esther, Crenn, Vincent, Dudoitis, Vadimas, Ealo, Marina, Eleftheriadis, Kostas, Favez, Olivier, Fetfatzis, Prodromos, Fiebig, Markus, Flentje, Harald, Ginot, Patrick, Gysel, Martin, Henzing, Bas, Hoffer, Andras, Holubova Smejkalova, Adela, Kalapov, Ivo, Kalivitis, Nikos, Kouvarakis, Giorgos, Kristensson, Adam, Kulmala, Markku, Lihavainen, Heikki, Lunder, Chris, Luoma, Krista, Lyamani, Hassan, Marinoni, Angela, Mihalopoulos, Nikos, Moerman, Marcel, Nicolas, Jose B., O’dowd, Colin, Petaja, Tuukka, Petit, Jean-Eudes, Pichon, Jean Marc, Prokopciuk, Nina, Putaud, Jean-Philippe, Rodríguez, Sergio, Sciare, Jean, Sellegri, Karine, Swietlicki, Erik, Titos, Gloria, Tuch, Thomas, Tunved, Peter, Ulevicius, Vidmantas, Vaishya, Aditya, Vana, Milan, Virkkula, Aki, Vratolis, Stergios, Weingartner, Ernest, Wiedensohler, Alfred, Laj, Paolo
• Other Authors: Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA), Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas España = Spanish National Research Council Spain (CSIC), Universidad de Granada = University of Granada (UGR), Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA), Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), Centro de Investigaciones Energéticas, Medioambientales y Tecnológicas (CIEMAT), Helsingin yliopisto = Helsingfors universitet = University of Helsinki, Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI), Laboratory of Atmospheric Chemistry Paul Scherrer Institute (LAC), Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI), CNR Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC), National Research Council of Italy, Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss, Observatoire Pérenne de l'Environnement, Agence Nationale pour la Gestion des Déchets Radioactifs (ANDRA), Laboratoire des Sciences du Climat et de l'Environnement Gif-sur-Yvette (LSCE), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA), ADDAIR Sté (France), Center for Physical Sciences and Technology Vilnius (FTMC), National Center for Scientific Research "Demokritos" (NCSR), Institut National de l'Environnement Industriel et des Risques (INERIS), Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU), Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ), The Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research (TNO), University of Crete Heraklion (UOC), National Observatory of Athens (NOA), Skane University Hospital Lund, Laboratoire de Météorologie Physique (LaMP), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Clermont Auvergne 2017-2020 (UCA 2017-2020 )-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Chimie Atmosphérique Expérimentale (CAE), Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Paris-Saclay-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Direction de Recherche Fondamentale (CEA) (DRF (CEA)), JRC Institute for Environment and Sustainability (IES), European Commission - Joint Research Centre Ispra (JRC), Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), Vikram Sarabhai Space Ctr
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Arctic
• Online Access: https://ineris.hal.science/ineris-01863464; https://ineris.hal.science/ineris-01863464/document; https://ineris.hal.science/ineris-01863464/file/2018-084.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-18-7877-2018

International audience This paper presents the light-scattering properties of atmospheric aerosol particles measured over the past decade at 28 ACTRIS observatories, which are located mainly in Europe. The data include particle light scattering (σsp) and hemispheric backscattering (σbsp) coefficients, scattering Ångström exponent (SAE), backscatter fraction (BF) and asymmetry parameter (g). An increasing gradient of σsp is observed when moving from remote environments (arctic/mountain) to regional and to urban environments. At a regional level in Europe, σsp also increases when moving from Nordic and Baltic countries and from western Europe to central/eastern Europe, whereas no clear spatial gradient is observed for other station environments. The SAE does not show a clear gradient as a function of the placement of the station. However, a west-to-east-increasing gradient is observed for both regional and mountain placements, suggesting a lower fraction of fine-mode particle in western/south-western Europe compared to central and eastern Europe, where the fine-mode particles dominate the scattering. The g does not show any clear gradient by station placement or geographical location reflecting the complex relationship of this parameter with the physical properties of the aerosol particles. Both the station placement and the geographical location are important factors affecting the intra-annual variability. At mountain sites, higher σsp and SAE values are measured in the summer due to the enhanced boundary layer influence and/or new particle-formation episodes. Conversely, the lower horizontal and vertical dispersion during winter leads to higher σsp values at all low-altitude sites in central and eastern Europe compared to summer. These sites also show SAE maxima in the summer (with corresponding g minima). At all sites, both SAE and g show a strong variation with aerosol particle loading. The lowest values of g are always observed together with low σsp values, indicating a larger contribution from particles in ...