Maja Kuzmanoski

Heavy metal content of soil in urban parks of Belgrade.

This study focuses on soil pollution in four urban parks of Belgrade. The sampling locations within each park were chosen based on proximity to streets characterized by heavy traffic, and soil samples were taken at different depths down to 50 cm. Concentrations of six heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni and Zn) were measured using Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) spectrometer. The following average abundance order of heavy metals was found: Fe >> Mn > Zn > Cr > Ni > Cu in topsoil samples. The highest enrichment in topsoil was observed for Zn. Copper and Zn, metals mainly related to traffic emissions, exhibited the highest concentrations at the sampling location close to a bus and trolleybus terminus. The highest Ni and Cr concentrations were observed in a park located in a city suburb, where a large number of individual heating units is present. The largest decrease in concentrations with soil dept was observed for Zn and Cu, followed by Ni and Cr, in the parks with the highest concentrations of these elements in topsoil. Generally high topsoil Cr and Ni concentrations were observed in comparison with average values reported in literature for other world cities. [Projekat Ministartsva nauke Republike Srbije, br. III43007]

Aerosol Properties Computed from Aircraft-Based Observations during the ACE-Asia Campaign: 1. Aerosol Size Distributions Retrieved from Optical Thickness Measurements

In this article, aerosol size distributions retrieved from aerosol layer optical thickness spectra, derived from the 14-channel NASA Ames Airborne Tracking Sunphotometer (AATS-14) measurements during the ACE-Asia campaign, are presented. Focusing on distinct aerosol layers (with different particle characteristics) observed in four vertical profiles, we compare the results of two different retrieval methods: constrained linear inversion and a non-linear least squares method. While the former does not use any assumption about the analytical form of the size distribution, the latter was used to retrieve parameters of a bimodal lognormal size distribution. Furthermore, comparison of the retrieved size distributions with those measured in-situ, aboard the same aircraft on which the sunphotometer was flown, was carried out. Results of the two retrieval methods showed good agreement in the radius ranges from ∼0.1 μm to ∼1.2–2.0 μm, close to the range of retrievable size distributions from the AATS-14 measurements. In this radius interval, shapes of retrieved and measured size distributions were similar, in accord with close wavelength dependencies of the corresponding optical thicknesses. Additionally, the effect of a size-resolved refractive index on the retrieved size spectra was investigated in selected cases. Retrieval using a constant refractive index pertaining to particle sizes within the range of retrievable size distributions resulted in a size distribution very close to the one retrieved using a size-resolved refractive index.

Aerosol Properties Computed from Aircraft-Based Observations During the ACE-Asia Campaign: 2. A Case Study of Lidar Ratio Closure

For a vertical profile with three distinct layers (marine boundary, pollution, and dust layers), observed during the ACE-Asia campaign, we carried out a comparison between the modeled lidar ratio vertical profile and that obtained from co-located airborne NASA AATS-14 sunphotometer and shipborne Micro-Pulse Lidar (MPL) measurements. The vertically resolved lidar ratio was calculated from two size distribution vertical profiles—one obtained by inversion of sunphotometer-derived extinction spectra, and one measured in-situ—combined with the same refractive index model based on aerosol chemical composition. The aerosol model implies single scattering albedos of 0.78–0.81 and 0.93–0.96 at 0.523 μm (the wavelength of the lidar measurements), in the pollution and dust layers, respectively. The lidar ratios calculated from the two size distribution profiles agree closely in the dust layer; they are however, significantly lower than the lidar ratios derived from combined lidar and sunphotometer measurements. Uncertainties in aerosol size distributions and refractive index only partly explain these differences, suggesting that particle nonsphericity in this layer is an additional explanation. In the pollution layer, the two size distribution profiles yield lidar ratios that agree within the estimated uncertainties. The retrieved size distributions result in a lidar ratio which is in closer agreement with that derived from lidar/sunphotometer measurements in this layer, with still large differences at certain altitudes (the largest relative difference was 46%). We explain these differences by non-uniqueness of the result of the size distribution retrieval, by a lack of information on the mixing state of particles, and the vertical variability of the particle refractive index.

Long-term atmospheric monitoring in Sydney using an MFRSR

We have been monitoring aerosols, ozone and water vapour in Sydney using a Multifilter Rotating Shadowband Radiometer (MFRSR) since December 1995. The aerosol optical thickness measurements have been used to monitor longterm and seasonal trends. Both trends are small, based on the data analysed to date. Inversion of the aerosol optical thickness measurements to obtain aerosol size distribution has shown that bimodal distributions dominate, comprising 82% of the sample. The MFRSR also has channels which are sensitive to ozone and to water vapour. We have applied a new technique, based on eigenvalue analysis, to determine the aerosol contribution to each of these channels. Using this correction we have derived the total column ozone and the total column water vapour. In the case of ozone, the values obtained using this method agreed with the TOMS satellite measurements to within 2%.

Case study of modeled aerosol optical properties during the SAFARI 2000 campaign

We present modeled aerosol optical properties (single scattering albedo, asymmetry parameter, and lidar ratio) in two layers with different aerosol loadings and particle sizes, observed during the Southern African Regional Science Initiative 2,000 (SAFARI 2,000) campaign. The optical properties were calculated from aerosol size distributions retrieved from aerosol layer optical thickness spectra, measured using the NASA Ames airborne tracking 14-channel sunphotometer (AATS-14) and the refractive index based on the available information on aerosol chemical composition. The study focuses on sensitivity of modeled optical properties in the 0.3-1.5 microm wavelength range to assumptions regarding the mixing scenario. We considered two models for the mixture of absorbing and nonabsorbing aerosol components commonly used to model optical properties of biomass burning aerosol: a layered sphere with absorbing core and nonabsorbing shell and the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium model. In addition, comparisons of modeled optical properties with the measurements are discussed. We also estimated the radiative effect of the difference in aerosol absorption implied by the large difference between the single scattering albedo values (approximately 0.1 at midvisible wavelengths) obtained from different measurement methods for the case with a high amount of biomass burning particles. For that purpose, the volume fraction of black carbon was varied to obtain a range of single scattering albedo values (0.81-0.91 at lambda=0.50 microm). The difference in absorption resulted in a significant difference in the instantaneous radiative forcing at the surface and the top of the atmosphere (TOA) and can result in a change of the sign of the aerosol forcing at TOA from negative to positive.