NSF grant funds DRI atmospheric instrument development
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Instrumentation Development Laboratory Drs. Hans Moosmüller, left, and Pat Arnott in the DRI laboratory in Reno where they develop improved methods of determining the influence of airborne aerosols on climate, cloud formation and visibility. (Photo courtesy of DRI) High Resolution File of above image available at: http://news.dri.edu/highresimg/hanspat.lab1.jpg |
The National Science Foundation has awarded $835,490 to two Desert Research Institute physicists to develop an instrument to measure the absorption of various wavelengths of sunlight by airborne aerosols from pollutants and dust. The three-year grant to Drs. Pat Arnott and Hans Moosmüller of DRI’s Division of Atmospheric Sciences is intended to improve understanding of how aerosols influence climate conditions, cloud formation and visibility.
The two scientists have previously developed instruments that allowed real-time, in situ measurement of light absorption in two wavelengths that improved existing analytical capabilities, and now they hope to expand that capability to encompass ultraviolet (UV) and infrared (IR) wavelengths.
“Atmospheric aerosols play a key role in how solar energy is absorbed, and thereby influence the climate of the Earth,” said Arnott. “In particular, aerosol light absorption reduces the amount of sunlight at the surface and heats the atmosphere, resulting in dynamic changes in air motions and a reduction in cloudiness. These aerosols also reduce visibility in cities and scenic areas, influence satellite remote sensing, and affect human health.”
Moosmüller noted that no instruments are available at present to measure aerosol light absorption at appropriate intervals in the solar light spectrum. “The absorption spectra of aerosol from coal combustion, forest fires, diesel and gasoline engine exhaust, kerosene lamps and heaters, desert dust and soil are all very different.
“For example, Saharan dust absorbs strongly in the UV, though weakly in visible wavelengths, while diesel soot has a more mildly varying spectral dependence as inverse with wavelength,” he said.
A nonprofit, statewide division of the University and Community College System of Nevada, DRI pursues a full-time program of basic and applied environmental research on a local, national, and international scale. Nearly 400 full- and part-time scientists, technicians, and support staff conduct some 140 research projects at DRI annually. More than 85 percent of DRI's annual $35 million operating budget consists of research grants and contracts obtained by its scientists. The balance is received from the state of Nevada for administrative costs.
