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Cloud condensation nuclei from biomass burning during the Amazonian dry-to-wet transition season

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Abstract

Aircraft measurements of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) during the Large-Scale Biosphere–Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA) were conducted over the Southwestern Amazon region in September–October 2002, to emphasize the dry-to-wet transition season. The CCN concentrations were measured for values within the range 0.1–1.0% of supersaturation. The CCN concentration inside the boundary layer revealed a general decreasing trend during the transition from the end of the dry season to the onset of the wet season. Clean and polluted areas showed large differences. The differences were not so strong at high levels in the troposphere and there was evidence supporting the semi-direct aerosol effect in suppressing convection through the evaporation of clouds by aerosol absorption. The measurements also showed a diurnal cycle following biomass burning activity. Although biomass burning was the most important source of CCN, it was seen as a source of relatively efficient CCN, since the increase was significant only at high supersaturations.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos (FINEP), and Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Londrina, PR, Brazil

    Jorge Alberto Martins

  2. Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Fábio Luiz T. Gonçalves, Carlos A. Morales & Maria Assunção F. Silva Dias

  3. Centro Técnico Aeroespacial, São José dos Campos, SP, Brazil

    Gilberto F. Fisch

  4. Universidade Estadual do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil

    Francisco Geraldo M. Pinheiro, João Bosco V. Leal Júnior, Carlos J. Oliveira, Emerson M. Silva & Alexandre A. Costa

  5. Universidade Federal do Ceará, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil

    José Carlos P. Oliveira

  6. Fundação Cearense de Meterologia e Recursos Hídricos, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil

    Alexandre A. Costa

  7. Centro de Previsão de Tempo e Estudos Climáticos, Cachoeira Paulista, SP, Brazil

    Maria Assunção F. Silva Dias

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  1. Jorge Alberto Martins
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  2. Fábio Luiz T. Gonçalves
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  3. Carlos A. Morales
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  4. Gilberto F. Fisch
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  5. Francisco Geraldo M. Pinheiro
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  7. Carlos J. Oliveira
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  8. Emerson M. Silva
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  9. José Carlos P. Oliveira
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  11. Maria Assunção F. Silva Dias
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Correspondence to Jorge Alberto Martins.

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Martins, J.A., Gonçalves, F.L.T., Morales, C.A. et al. Cloud condensation nuclei from biomass burning during the Amazonian dry-to-wet transition season. Meteorol Atmos Phys 104, 83–93 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-009-0019-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-009-0019-6

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