Fourth Research Laboratory

Atmospheric aerosol particles (tiny particles in the atmosphere) scatter and absorb the solar and terrestrial radiation. Moreover, they form clouds and then influence the climate and meteorology. Atmospheric aerosol particles are composed of complex chemical composition with a wide size range, in association with the various origin and atmospheric processes. Since the composition and concentration of atmospheric aerosol particles have a large variability in space and time, knowledge on the spatial distribution and composition is still limited.

Our laboratory is now concerned with the study of the composition of individual aerosol particles examined with an electron microscope. The samples examined were collected in the free troposphere of the Northern and Southern Hemispheres using an aircraft, at the top of Mt. Fuji, on the Marcus Island and so on. The results are useful for evaluating the effect of aerosol particles on the climate and meteorology.

　For the understanding of the atmosphere-land surface interactive processes of heat, water vapor, and aeolian dust, field research has been made at various ground surface conditions such as grass land, forest, and desert. For parameterization of heat and water vapor exchange processes on a vegetated surface condition, observations over forest region were made in the northern part of Kanto plain in Japan from late 1980s to 1990. From 2001, intensive field observations were conducted in the Taklimakan desert, China, as a part of ADEC project. This research revealed the dust and sand outbreak processes and will contribute to the development of wind erosion theory and its modeling.