MRI: Acquisition of a Single Particle Soot Photometer system optimized to quantify black carbon and iron oxide aerosols

This project enables the acquisition of a customized Single Particle Soot Photometer (SP2) instrument coupled with a differential mobility analyzer (DMA) for simultaneous, size-resolved measurements of refractory black carbon (rBC) and iron oxide aerosols. This instrument system will be used in a wide range of atmospheric, snow, ice core, and lake sediment environmental research projects.

The primary goal of this project is to develop reliable, relatively high-time-resolution, spatially distributed records of refractory black carbon concentration, flux, and particle mass distribution from lake sediment cores in the eastern Arctic and to use these and existing ice core, charcoal, and other paleoclimate records to develop a quantitative understanding of the history and climate drivers of rBC and biomass burning emissions.

Research that will benefit from acquisition of the customized SP2 and DMA system includes: (1) NSF-funded paleo fire reconstructions in ice and lake sediment cores, (2) radiative forcing and melt changes resulting from deposition of light absorbing particles on seasonal snow covers and the modeling the effects on surface water resources, and (3) atmospheric research such as long-term atmospheric monitoring, characterization of aerosols from vehicle brake and tire wear, and characterization of modern biomass burning aerosols and entrained dust samples.

The system will be housed in DRI’s Trace Chemistry/Ice Core Lab that has hosted a large number of post-doctoral researchers and high school, undergraduate, and graduate students over the past decade.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.