Planetary boundary layer height modulates aerosol - water interactions
during winter in the megacity of Delhi
Sachin S. Gunthe

Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India., Environmental and Water Resources Engineering Division, Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai 600036, India.
Author ProfileAbstract
The Indo-Gangetic Plain is one of the largest sources of air pollution
worldwide, and throughout winter strong fluctuations in the planetary
boundary layer (PBL) height, driven by a strong radiative thermal
inversion, affect the dispersion of this pollution. To date, tie-ins
into aerosol-water vapour interactions, especially cloud condensation
nuclei (CCN) activity, and the associated implications for aerosol
indirect effects and hence on regional and global climate have been
little studied. We present the results of a one-month field campaign
(February-March 2018) in the polluted megacity of Delhi. The composition
of fine particulate matter (PM1) and size-resolved CCN properties were
measured over a wide range of water vapour supersaturations. PBL
modelling, backward trajectories, and fire spots were included in the
analysis to elucidate the influence of PBL and air mass origins on the
aerosols. The aerosol properties depended strongly on the PBL height,
with enhanced PM1 concentrations, high mass fractions of organic matter
and BC, and low aerosol hygroscopicity during time periods of low PBL
height (<100m). The observed correlations of PM1, aerosol
particle number and CCN number with PBL height were parameterized by
simple power law fit. Changes in PBL height induced changes in aerosol
accumulation and aging processes, as manifested in aerosol composition
and hygroscopicity. In contrast, aerosol properties did not depend
strongly on air mass origins or wind direction, implying that the
observed aerosol and CCN represented local emissions. The relationship
between CCN number and supersaturation was well described by an error
function parameterization.