The cloud condensation nucleus (CCN) activity of organic-sulfate particles was investigated using a steadystate environmental chamber. The organic component consisted of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) generated in the dark from 24 +/- 2 ppb alpha-pinene for conditions of 300 +/- 5 ppb ozone, 40 +/- 2% relative humidity, and 25 +/- 1 degrees C, with the organic mass loading in the chamber ranging from 23 to 37 mu g m(-3). CCN analysis was performed for 80-to 150-nm particles having variable organic-sulfate volume fractions, which were estimated from the diameter of the organic-sulfate particle relative to that of the seed as well as independently from mass spectra. Critical supersaturation, which increased for greater SOA volume fraction and smaller particle diameter, was well predicted by a Kohler model having two components, one for ammonium sulfate and another for SOA. The entire data set could be successfully modeled by a single suite of effective chemical parameters for SOA. The results suggest that the effects of limited organic solubility in mixed SOA-sulfate particles may be reliably omitted in the treatment of cloud droplet formation.
Hyperbolic discounting is not observationally equivalent to exponential discounting. It is always possible to calibrate an exponential model so that it predicts the same level of consumption as a hyperbolic model. However, the two models have radically different comparative statics.
Our previous research on atmospheric samples suggested that Lake Ontario might receive significant amounts of Dechlorane Plus (DP), a highly chlorinated flame retardant, from the atmosphere and from inputs from DP's manufacturing facility in Niagara Falls, New York. To confirm this suspicion, a sediment core from the central basin of Lake Ontario was analyzed for the two isomers of DP, for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and for 1,2-bis(2,4,6-tribromophenoxy)ethane (TBE). The results showed that the concentration of DP in sediment increased rapidly starting in the mid-1970s and reached its peak concentration (310 ng g(-1) dry weight) in the mid-1990s. The peak flux and total inventory of DP were estimated to be 9.3 ng cm(-2) yr(-1) and 120 ng cm(-2), respectively. These values suggest that the total burden of DP in Lake Ontario is similar to 20 tons and that the maximum load rate was similar to 2 tons per year. The highest concentrations of PBDEs and TBE were found in the surficial sediment, with average concentrations of 2.8, 14, and 6.7 ng g(-1) d.w. for PBDE3-7 (tri- through hepta-BDEs), BDE-209, and TBE, respectively. The surface fluxes were 0.08, 0.43, and 0.20 ng cm(-2) yr(-1), and the inventories were 0.87, 3.9, and 1.8 ng cm(-2) for PBDE3-7, BDE-209, and TBE, respectively. The concentration of DP in Lake Ontario sediment exceeds that of the brominated flame retardants combined.