MEASUREMENTS OF SOME AEROSOL PROPERTIES RELEVANT TO RADIATIVE FORCING ON THE EAST-COAST OF THE UNITED-STATES

Airborne measurements of aerosol light-scattering efficiencies are presented for a portion of the northeast Atlantic seaboard of the United States during July 1993. The measurements suggest a value for the sulfate light-scattering efficiency in the range 2.2-3.2 m(2) g(-1), which is lower than the value used in recent modeling assessments of the climate impact of aerosols. In general, the sulfate light-scattering efficiency decreased with increasing altitude in a manner consistent with concurrent measurements of aerosol size distributions. Some limited measurements of cloud condensation nuclei and sea-salt particles are also presented.