MRI Track 1: Acquisition of an Aerosol Chemical Speciation System to Elucidate Sources, Formation Processes, and Environmental Impacts at ASU's AppalAIR Observatory

This Major Research Instrumentation Project (MRI) supports the development of an aerosol chemical speciation system (ACSS) to be located at the Appalachian Atmospheric Interdisciplinary Research (AppalAIR) facility at Appalachian State University in Boone North Carolina. The research to be conducted at this facility is based on the collection of detailed aerosol chemical composition measurements that will be used to examine the spatiotemporal heterogeneity in the relationships among the concentration and sources of aerosols and their interactions with clouds, solar radiation, and meteorology in the Southern Appalachian Mountain region of the southeastern US. This data is important for better understanding regional changes in air quality and climate.The requested ACSS will be an identical system to those that are part of the Science and Chemistry mEasurement NeTwork (ASCENT), recently funded by the NSF Mid-Scale Infrastructure Program. The AppalAIR site also is home to NOAA FAN, NASA AERONET, and NASA MPLNET aerosol network sites. Data from this site will provide long-term measurements of sub-2.5 micron (PM2.5) aerosol refractory and non-refractory chemical composition to complement ongoing measurements of gas phase aerosol precursors and aerosol detailed optical and microphysical properties. Projects that use will data from the ACSS include those that aim to improve the understanding of atmospheric aerosol water uptake and the role of hygroscopic aerosols as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). This data is critical for modeling aerosol-cloud interactions and aerosol direct radiative forcing.Appalachian State University is a predominantly undergraduate institution in the rural southern Appalachian Mountain region. The ACSS-enabled projects mentioned above will provide in-depth, hands-on research opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students that will give them an advantage when entering the job market or seeking advanced degrees. This project is jointly funded by the Atmospheric Chemistry Program and Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences that support projects that increase research capabilities, capacity and infrastructure at a wide variety of institution types, as outlined in the GEO EMBRACE DCL.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.