Well-traveled atmospheric particles, put to the test
Wednesday, August 3, 2016 - 06:01
in Astronomy & Space
How do you test a model simulator? Compare it to real life. That's what scientists at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory did when they compared several observational sets with a simulation of how tiny atmospheric particles travel and age over the Pacific Ocean. They found that particles of dust, sulfate, and nitrate traveling across the Pacific make up a significant portion of the concentrations found over the rural Western United States. However, peaks of carbon-containing aerosol particles are largely dominated by home grown emissions.