Wintertime aerosol measurements during the Chilean Coastal Orographic Precipitation Experiment

Abstract

The Chilean Coastal Orographic Precipitation Experiment (CCOPE) was a 3-month field campaign (June, July and August 2015) that investigated wintertime coastal rain events. Reported here are analyses of aerosol measurements made at a coastal site during CCOPE. The aerosol monitoring site was located near Arauco, Chile. Aerosol number concentrations and aerosol size distributions were acquired with a condensation particle counter (CPC) and an ultra high sensitivity aerosol spectrometer (UHSAS). Arauco CPC data were compared to values measured at the NOAA observatory Trinidad Head (THD) on the northern Pacific coast of California. The winter-averaged CPC concentration at Arauco is 2971 ± 1802 cm−3; at THD the average is 1059 ± 855 cm−3. Despite the typically more pristine South Pacific region, the Arauco average is larger than at THD (p<0.01). Aerosol size distributions acquired during episodes of onshore flow were analyzed with Köhler theory and used to parameterize cloud condensation nuclei activation spectra. In addition, sea salt aerosol (SSA) concentration was parameterized as a function of sea surface wind speed. It is anticipated these parameterizations will be applied in modeling of wintertime Chilean coastal precipitation.