ATMOSPHERIC AEROSOLS BY FT-IR"

THE ATMOSPHERE CONTAINS MANY NATURALLY OCCURRING AND MANMADE FINE PARTICLES AND AEROSOLS. THESE PARTICLES AFFECTWEATHER, AIR QUALITY AND COMMUNICATIONS. KNOWLEDGE OF THEIRCONCENTRATION, COMPOSITION, DISTRIBUTION AND TRANSPORT IS IMPORTANT TO THE PREDICTION OF WEATHER, DETECTION AND CONTROL OF POLLUTION, HEALTH MONITORING OF VEGETATION AND ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY. WHILE A METHODS PRESENTLY EXIST FOR THE CAPTURE, SIZE CLASSIFICATION AND COMPOSITION DETERMINATION OF FINE PARTICLES, THERE IS A NEED FOR IN-SITUMETHODS OF ANALYSIS OF PARTICULATES DIRECTLY WITHIN THE ATMOSPHERE. THE INNOVATION PRESENTED IN THIS PROPOSAL IS A TECHNIQUE FOR DETERMINING THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, SIZE ANDSIZE DISTRIBUTION OF AEROSOLS USING BOTH ABSORPTION AND SCATTERING MEASUREMENTS MADE WITH A FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED (FT-IR) SPECTROMETER. THE MEASUREMENTS CAN PROVIDEDATA ON THE GASEOUS SPECIES CONCENTRATION GAS TEMPERATURE AND PARTICLE TEMPERATURE AS WELL. THE TECHNIQUE CAN BE USED TO PROVIDE DATA ON AEROSOLS LOCATED BETWEEN THE INSTRUMENT'S SOURCE AND DETECTOR OR CAN BE USED WITH THE SUN AS A SOURCE. THE RAW DATA IS THE TOTAL EXTINCTION OR SCATTERING ALONG A LINE OF SIGHT. SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION PROFILES CAN BE OBTAINED USING TOMOGRAPHIC TECHNIQUES TO DECONVOLUTE DATA ALONG COMPLEMENTARY LINES OF SIGHT. THESE COMPLEMENTARY DATA COULD BE OBTAINED WITH SEVERAL INSTRUMENTS, WITH A MOBILE GROUND BASED OR AIRBORN INSTRUMENT USING THE SUN AS A SOURCE, BY USING A FIXED DETECTOR AND TRACKING THE SUN AT SEVERAL POSITIONS OR BY USING A FIXED HOT SOURCE ON EARTH (E.G. MIRRORS REFLECTING SOLAR RADIATION) AND A SATELLITE DECECTOR.