Christodoulos Pilinis

Bio: Christodoulos Pilinis is an academic researcher from University of the Aegean. The author has contributed to research in topics: Aerosol & Particulates. The author has an hindex of 29, co-authored 59 publications receiving 4451 citations. Previous affiliations of Christodoulos Pilinis include University of Miami & National and Kapodistrian University of Athens.

ISORROPIA: A New Thermodynamic Equilibrium Model for Multiphase Multicomponent Inorganic Aerosols

Abstract: A computationally efficient and rigorous thermodynamic model that predicts the physical state and composition of inorganic atmospheric aerosol is presented. One of the main features of the model is the implementation of mutual deliquescence of multicomponent salt particles, which lowers the deliquescence point of the aerosol phase. The model is used to examine the behavior of four types of tropospheric aerosol (marine, urban, remote continental and non-urban continental), and the results are compared with the predictions of two other models currently in use. The results of all three models were generally in good agreement. Differences were found primarily in the mutual deliquescence humidity regions, where the new model predicted the existence of water, and the other two did not. Differences in the behavior (speciation and water absorbing properties) between the aerosol types are pointed out. The new model also needed considerably less CPU time, and always shows stability and robust convergence.

General overview: European Integrated project on Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality interactions (EUCAARI) - integrating aerosol research from nano to global scales

Abstract: In this paper we describe and summarize the main achievements of the European Aerosol Cloud Climate and Air Quality Interactions project (EUCAARI). EUCAARI started on 1 January 2007 and ended on 31 December 2010 leaving a rich legacy including: (a) a comprehensive database with a year of observations of the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles over Europe, (b) comprehensive aerosol measurements in four developing countries, (c) a database of airborne measurements of aerosols and clouds over Europe during May 2008, (d) comprehensive modeling tools to study aerosol processes fron nano to global scale and their effects on climate and air quality. In addition a new Pan-European aerosol emissions inventory was developed and evaluated, a new cluster spectrometer was built and tested in the field and several new aerosol parameterizations and computations modules for chemical transport and global climate models were developed and evaluated. These achievements and related studies have substantially improved our understanding and reduced the uncertainties of aerosol radiative forcing and air quality-climate interactions. The EUCAARI results can be utilized in European and global environmental policy to assess the aerosol impacts and the corresponding abatement strategies.

Sensitivity of direct climate forcing by atmospheric aerosols to aerosol size and composition

Abstract: We evaluate, using a box model, the sensitivity of direct climate forcing by atmospheric aerosols for a “global mean” aerosol that consists of fine and coarse modes to aerosol composition, aerosol size distribution, relative humidity (RH), aerosol mixing state (internal versus external mixture), deliquescence/crystallization hysteresis, and solar zenith angle. We also examine the dependence of aerosol upscatter fraction on aerosol size, solar zenith angle, and wavelength and the dependence of single scatter albedo on wavelength and aerosol composition. The single most important parameter in determining direct aerosol forcing is relative humidity, and the most important process is the increase of the aerosol mass as a result of water uptake. An increase of the relative humidity from 40 to 80% is estimated for the global mean aerosol considered to result in an increase of the radiative forcing by a factor of 2.1. Forcing is relatively insensitive to the fine mode diameter increase due to hygroscopic growth, as long as this mode remains inside the efficient scattering size region. The hysteresis/deliquescence region introduces additional uncertainty but, in general, errors less than 20% result by the use of the average of the two curves to predict forcing. For fine aerosol mode mean diameters in the 0.2–0.5 μm range direct aerosol forcing is relatively insensitive (errors less than 20%) to variations of the mean diameter. Estimation of the coarse mode diameter within a factor of 2 is generally sufficient for the estimation of the total aerosol radiative forcing within 20%. Moreover, the coarse mode, which represents the nonanthropogenic fraction of the aerosol, is estimated to contribute less than 10% of the total radiative forcing for all RHs of interest. Aerosol chemical composition is important to direct radiative forcing as it determines (1) water uptake with RH, and (2) optical properties. The effect of absorption by aerosol components on forcing is found to be significant even for single scatter albedo values of ω=0.93–0.97. The absorbing aerosol component reduces the aerosol forcing from that in its absence by roughly 30% at 60% RH and 20% at 90% RH. The mixing state of the aerosol (internal versus external) for the particular aerosol considered here is found to be of secondary importance. While sulfate mass scattering efficiency (m2 (g SO42−)−1) and the normalized sulfate forcing (W (g SO42−)−1) increase strongly with RH, total mass scattering efficiency (m2 g−1) and normalized forcing (W g−1) are relatively insensitive to RH, wherein the mass of all species, including water, are accounted for. Following S. Nemesure et al. (Direct shortwave forcing of climate by anthropogenic sulfate aerosol: sensitivity to particle size, composition, and relative humidity, submitted to Journal of Geophysical Research, 1995), we find that aerosol feeing achieves a maximum at a particular solar zenith angle, reflecting a balance between increasing upscatter fraction with increasing solar zenith angle and decreasing solar flux (from Rayleigh scattering) with increasing solar zenith angle.

The contribution of outdoor air pollution sources to premature mortality on a global scale

Abstract: Assessment of the global burden of disease is based on epidemiological cohort studies that connect premature mortality to a wide range of causes, including the long-term health impacts of ozone and fine particulate matter with a diameter smaller than 2.5 micrometres (PM2.5). It has proved difficult to quantify premature mortality related to air pollution, notably in regions where air quality is not monitored, and also because the toxicity of particles from various sources may vary. Here we use a global atmospheric chemistry model to investigate the link between premature mortality and seven emission source categories in urban and rural environments. In accord with the global burden of disease for 2010 (ref. 5), we calculate that outdoor air pollution, mostly by PM2.5, leads to 3.3 (95 per cent confidence interval 1.61-4.81) million premature deaths per year worldwide, predominantly in Asia. We primarily assume that all particles are equally toxic, but also include a sensitivity study that accounts for differential toxicity. We find that emissions from residential energy use such as heating and cooking, prevalent in India and China, have the largest impact on premature mortality globally, being even more dominant if carbonaceous particles are assumed to be most toxic. Whereas in much of the USA and in a few other countries emissions from traffic and power generation are important, in eastern USA, Europe, Russia and East Asia agricultural emissions make the largest relative contribution to PM2.5, with the estimate of overall health impact depending on assumptions regarding particle toxicity. Model projections based on a business-as-usual emission scenario indicate that the contribution of outdoor air pollution to premature mortality could double by 2050.

Organic aerosol and global climate modelling: a review

Abstract: The present paper reviews existing knowledge with regard to Organic Aerosol (OA) of importance for global climate modelling and defines critical gaps needed to reduce the involved uncertainties. All pieces required for the representation of OA in a global climate model are sketched out with special attention to Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA): The emission estimates of primary carbonaceous particles and SOA precursor gases are summarized. The up-to-date understanding of the chemical formation and transformation of condensable organic material is outlined. Knowledge on the hygroscopicity of OA and measurements of optical properties of the organic aerosol constituents are summarized. The mechanisms of interactions of OA with clouds and dry and wet removal processes parameterisations in global models are outlined. This information is synthesized to provide a continuous analysis of the flow from the emitted material to the atmosphere up to the point of the climate impact of the produced organic aerosol. The sources of uncertainties at each step of this process are highlighted as areas that require further studies.

Variability of Absorption and Optical Properties of Key Aerosol Types Observed in Worldwide Locations

Abstract: Aerosol radiative forcing is a critical, though variable and uncertain, component of the global climate. Yet climate models rely on sparse information of the aerosol optical properties. In situ measurements, though important in many respects, seldom provide measurements of the undisturbed aerosol in the entire atmospheric column. Here, 8 yr of worldwide distributed data from the AERONET network of ground-based radiometers were used to remotely sense the aerosol absorption and other optical properties in several key locations. Established procedures for maintaining and calibrating the global network of radiometers, cloud screening, and inversion techniques allow for a consistent retrieval of the optical properties of aerosol in locations with varying emission sources and conditions. The multiyear, multi-instrument observations show robust differentiation in both the magnitude and spectral dependence of the absorption—a property driving aerosol climate forcing, for desert dust, biomass burning, urban‐industrial, and marine aerosols. Moreover, significant variability of the absorption for the same aerosol type appearing due to different meteorological and source characteristics as well as different emission characteristics are observed. It is expected that this aerosol characterization will help refine aerosol optical models and reduce uncertainties in satellite observations of the global aerosol and in modeling aerosol impacts on climate.

Review of the Governing Equations, Computational Algorithms, and Other Components of the Models-3 Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) Modeling System

Abstract: This article describes the governing equations, computational algorithms, and other components entering into the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system. This system has been designed to approach air quality as a whole by including state-ofthe-science capabilities for modeling multiple air quality issues, including tropospheric ozone, fine particles, acid deposition, and visibility degradation. CMAQ was also designed to have multiscale capabilities so that separate models were not needed for urban and regional scale air quality modeling. By making CMAQ a modeling system that addresses multiple pollutants and different spatial scales, it has a “one-atmosphere” perspective that combines the efforts of the scientific community. To implement multiscale capabilities in CMAQ, several issues (such as scalable atmospheric dynamics and generalized coordinates), which depend on the desired model resolution, are addressed. A set of governing equations for compressible nonhydrostatic atmospheres is available to better resolve atmospheric dynamics at smaller scales. Because CMAQ is designed to handle scale-dependent meteorological formulations and a large amount of flexibility, its governing equations are expressed in a generalized coordinate system. This approach ensures consistency between CMAQ and the meteorological modeling system. The generalized coordinate system determines the necessary grid and coordinate transformations, and it can accommodate various vertical coordinates and map projections. The CMAQ modeling system simulates various chemical and physical processes that are thought to be important for understanding atmospheric trace gas transformations and distributions. The modeling system contains three types of modeling components (Models-3): a meteorological modeling system for the description of atmospheric states and motions, emission models for man-made and natural emissions that are injected into the atmosphere, and a chemistry-transport modeling system for simulation of the chemical transformation and fate. The chemical transport model includes the following process modules: horizontal advection, vertical advection, mass conservation adjustments for advection processes, horizontal diffusion, vertical diffusion, gas-phase chemical reactions and solvers, photolytic rate computation, aqueous-phase reactions and cloud mixing, aerosol dynamics, size distributions and chemistry, plume chemistry effects, and gas and aerosol deposition velocity estimation. This paper describes the Models-3 CMAQ system, its governing equations, important science algorithms, and a few application examples. This review article cites 114 references. DOI: 10.1115/1.2128636

Estimates of the direct and indirect radiative forcing due to tropospheric aerosols: A review

Abstract: This paper reviews the many developments in estimates of the direct and indirect global annual mean radiative forcing due to present-day concentra- tions of anthropogenic tropospheric aerosols since Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change (1996). The range of estimates of the global mean direct radiative forcing due to six distinct aerosol types is presented. Addition- ally, the indirect effect is split into two components corresponding to the radiative forcing due to modifica- tion of the radiative properties of clouds (cloud albedo effect) and the effects of anthropogenic aerosols upon the lifetime of clouds (cloud lifetime effect). The radia- tive forcing for anthropogenic sulphate aerosol ranges from 20.26 to 20.82 W m 22 . For fossil fuel black carbon the radiative forcing ranges from 10.16 W m 22 for an external mixture to 10.42 W m 22 for where the black carbon is modeled as internally mixed with sulphate aerosol. For fossil fuel organic carbon the two estimates of the likely weakest limit of the direct radiative forcing are 20.02 and 20.04 W m 22 . For biomass-burning sources of black carbon and organic carbon the com-