Observing The Sea Spray Aerosol Size Distribution On The Windward Oʻahu Coastline

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dc.contributor.advisorNugent, Alison D.
dc.contributor.authorTaing, Chung
dc.contributor.departmentAtmospheric Sciences
dc.date.accessioned2020-07-07T19:08:15Z
dc.date.available2020-07-07T19:08:15Z
dc.date.issued2020
dc.description.abstractSea spray aerosol (SSA) play a significant role in the local climatology of coastal areas by acting as giant cloud condensation nuclei (GCCN), which can accelerate warm rain initiation due to their hygroscopicity. However, there is great uncertainty in SSA size and quantity in the atmosphere, particularly for large particles that act as GCCN. In-situ observations of GCCN are particularly limited because of their low concentration and relatively large sizes (rd > 0.5 µm). At NCAR, the Giant Nucleus Impactor (GNI) was developed to observe giant aerosol particles. Optical microscope observations are made of wetted salt particles impacting onto polycarbonate slides exposed to ambient airflow in marine environments. With the GNI in mind, a new, low-cost, and accessible method for sampling large SSA in the marine boundary layer was developed. Using 3D printing and Arduino microcontrollers and sensors, a SSA sampler called the “mini-GNI” was designed and built that can expose slides to capture large and wet SSA. The mini-GNI can be attached to a kite string, allowing for sampling at multiple altitudes simultaneously. With the mini-GNI deployed on a kite platform, the SSA size distribution was observed on the windward side of Oʻahu along with environmental variables that influence the SSA size distribution in the atmosphere. It was found that SSA concentration is not correlated with instantaneous wind speed as is usually expected over the open ocean. Instead, correlations were identified between SSA concentration and wave height as well as SSA concentration and wind history. These results suggest that the SSA present in the atmosphere in Hawaiʻi is locally generated by wave breaking along the coastline.
dc.description.degreeM.S.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10125/68947
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherUniversity of Hawaii at Manoa
dc.subjectAtmospheric sciences
dc.subjectaerosol
dc.titleObserving The Sea Spray Aerosol Size Distribution On The Windward Oʻahu Coastline
dc.typeThesis
dc.type.dcmiText
dcterms.spatialHawaii
local.identifier.alturihttp://dissertations.umi.com/hawii:10567

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