Summer Aerosol and Trace Gas Observations in Houston, Texas, Using an Adaptable Mobile Facility

Année de publication

2025

An aerosol container featuring a shared inlet system was deployed to Houston, Texas, in July 2022, enabling direct, high-time-resolution in situ measurements of aerosols and trace gases. The internal rack system and floorplan were designed for adaptable modularity to elucidate aerosol physicochemical processes at fine scales. The design allowed for the deployment of a core instrument suite and additional customized research grade instruments. A heterogeneous mixture of aerosols was observed during three regimes: 1) intermittent black carbon (BC) and diurnal variations in aerosol chemical composition, 2) observed particle growth associated with sulfur dioxide (SO2), and 3) transported supermicron dust. The high variability of observed particles and gases in high time resolution indicated a complex urban area with multiple local and regional sources and processes. Particle growth rates of 7-16 nm h?1 were observed for submicron particles during periods when SO2 was >0.5 ppbv. Two periods of multiday long-range transport events of dust from the African Sahara were observed in the supermicron and submicron particle modes with total mass concentrations up to 30 ?g m?3. Aerosol scattering Ångström exponents and extinction coefficients Bext increased with humidity as a function of particle composition. The measurements demonstrate collaborative capabilities that can be used to increase observations of aerosol processing, microphysical and optical properties, internal mixing state, and supermicron aerosol that are not parameterized or missing in global Earth energy system models.</div>

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