Date of Award
2025
Document Type
Open Access Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Sciences (PhD)
Administrative Home Department
Department of Physics
Advisor 1
Claudio Mazzoleni
Committee Member 1
Raymond Shaw
Committee Member 2
Xin Xi
Committee Member 3
Laura Brown
Abstract
Atmospheric particles such as biomass-burning aerosols, including black carbon - are critical in altering the Earth's energy balance through interactions with light and clouds. Biomass-burning aerosols also contain organic carbon, a diverse mix of organic compounds. As these aerosols age, they evolve by interacting with other atmospheric species, including cloud water, leading to changes in particle morphology and the development of coatings that impact their lifetime and ability to interact with clouds and light.
Some biomass-burning aerosols serve as cloud condensation nuclei. When cloud water droplets form, the properties of the nucleating particles can change. Many clouds evaporate before precipitating, releasing these altered aerosols back into the atmosphere. These modified particles can then interact again with clouds, further modifying their properties. To study these interactions, we developed a method using surrogate black carbon and organic carbon materials to produce mixtures of black carbon, organic carbon, and coated black carbon particles. We then analyzed their interactions with clouds in laboratory experiments using Michigan Tech’s Pi cloud chamber.
Our research provides insights into how coatings, mixing states, and morphologies of biomass-burning aerosols differ between particles that interact with clouds and those that do not. We identified species enriched in cloud-forming residuals, explored factors influencing aerosol evolution, and characterized changes in black carbon coatings due to cloud interactions. In the future, these findings should help reduce uncertainties in climate models.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Joshi, Shreya, "LIGHT ABSORBING AEROSOL INTERACTIONS WITH WARM CLOUDS", Open Access Dissertation, Michigan Technological University, 2025.