INVESTIGADORES
MOLLERACH Maria Silvia
artículos
Título:
Origin of atmospheric aerosols at the Pierre Auger Observatory using studies of air mass trajectories in South America
Autor/es:
THE PIERRE AUGER COLLABORATION, INCLUYE S. MOLLERACH; GABRIELLE CURCI
Revista:
ATMOSPHERIC RESEARCH
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCIENCE INC
Referencias:
Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014
ISSN:
0169-8095
Resumen:
The Pierre Auger Observatory is making significant contributions towards
understanding the nature and origin of ultra-high energy cosmic rays.
One of its main challenges is the monitoring of the atmosphere, both in
terms of its state variables and its optical properties. The aim of this
work is to analyse aerosol optical depth taua(z) values
measured from 2004 to 2012 at the observatory, which is located in a
remote and relatively unstudied area of Pampa Amarilla, Argentina. The
aerosol optical depth is in average quite low - annual mean
taua(3.5 km) ~ 0.04 - and shows a seasonal trend with a
winter minimum - taua(3.5 km) ~ 0.03 -, and a summer
maximum - taua(3.5 km) ~ 0.06 -, and an unexpected
increase from August to September - taua(3.5 km) ~
0.055. We computed backward trajectories for the years 2005 to 2012 to
interpret the air mass origin. Winter nights with low aerosol
concentrations show air masses originating from the Pacific Ocean.
Average concentrations are affected by continental sources (wind-blown
dust and urban pollution), whilst the peak observed in September and
October could be linked to biomass burning in the northern part of
Argentina or air pollution coming from surrounding urban areas.