WEMI1 (Weminuche Wilderness, CO, Lat. 37.6593, Long. -107.7998, Alt. 2765) Print-Friendly Version Print-Friendly Version (B&W)
6 years aerosol data are available in Weminuche Wilderness during the sampling period of 1997 - 2002. As shown in Figure 1, the overall average total light extinction coefficient (Bext) is 22.6 Mm-1 (Visual Range ~ 173 Km; Deciview ~ 8.1). The average PM2.5 mass concentration is 3.1 mg/m3. The average contributions of the major aerosol components to Weminuche Wilderness haze are particulate sulfate 19.8%, nitrate 3.4%, organic matter (OMC) 15.1%, elemental carbon (light absorbing carbon, LAC) 7.1%, fine soil 2.4% and coarse mass (CM) 8.0%.
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 22.1 Mm-1, which is about 3.8 times of the value of 5.8 Mm-1 during the 20% best days and 1.9 times of the value of 11.6 Mm-1 during the middle 60% days. Sulfate and OMC are the largest contributors to aerosol light extinction, with a contribution of 33% and 32% in the 20% worst days.
Figure 3 suggests that the highest occurrence of the 20% worst days happened in August, in which ~ 43% of the sampling days are the 20% haziest days at Weminuche Wilderness. As shown in Figure 4, sulfate is the largest aerosol contributor to haze during the 20% worst days from January to April and September to December, with a contribution of 20 - 30% during the 20% worst days. OMC is the largest aerosol contributor in June and July, with a contribution of 36% and 27%, respectively. Sulfate and OMC each contributes about 20-25% to haze in the 20% worst days in May 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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