LABE1 (Lava Beds, CA, Lat. 41.7116, Long. -121.5068, Alt. 1469) Print-Friendly Version Print-Friendly Version (B&W)
2 year and 10 month aerosol data are available in Lava Beds during the sampling period of 1997 - 2002. As shown in Figure 1, the overall average total light extinction coefficient (Bext) is 29.4 Mm-1 (Visual Range ~ 133 Km; Deciview ~ 10.8). The average PM2.5 mass concentration is 4.0 mg/m3. The average contributions of the major aerosol components to Lava Beds haze are particulate sulfate 17.4%, nitrate 6.7%, organic matter (OMC) 28.3%, elemental carbon (light absorbing carbon, LAC) 6.7%, fine soil 1.9% and coarse mass (CM) 5.1%.
Figure 1 Average contributions of major aerosol chemical components to light extinction (Based on data available in 1997-2002) (B&W)
Figure 2 Average contributions of major aerosol chemical components to light extinction in 20% best, middle 60% and 20% worst days (Based on data available in 1997-2002) (Data Table) (B&W)
As Figure 2 indicates, the average aerosol light extinction coefficient (Bext – Rayleigh Scattering (10 Mm-1)) during the 20% worst days is 47.1 Mm-1, which is about 9.2 times of the value of 5.2 Mm-1 during the 20% best days and 3.2 times of the value of 14.7 Mm-1 during the middle 60% days. OMC is the largest contributor to aerosol light extinction during the 20% worst days, and the contribution of OMC to aerosol light extinction is ~ 54.9% in worst days.
Figure 3 suggests that the highest occurrence of the 20% worst days happened in August, in which ~ 52% of the sampling days are the 20% haziest days at Lava Beds. As shown in Figure 4, OMC is the largest aerosol contributor to haze in August, with a contribution of 59%. Relatively high aerosol loadings are found in July and August. OMC contributes about 63% to haze in the 20% worst days in July, and LAC also contributes about 14%. This suggests that specific pollution events such as forest fires may be responsible for the haziest days in July and August.
Figure 3 Percentage of sampling days that are 20% worst days in each month (Based on data available in 1997-2002) (Data Table) (B&W)
Figure 4 Average contributions of major aerosol chemical components to light extinction during 20% worst days in each month (Based on data available in 1997-2002) (Data Table) (B&W)
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