Overview

The aerosol particles in the air we breathe are a minority component with concentrations in the range of 5 to 100 ppb. Despite the small concentrations they have a considerable influence in the environment such as:

· Submicrometer particles penetrate into the lower parts of the lung and can act as a vehicle of transport for toxic substances. The load of fine particles is well correlated with lung cancer, respiratory diseases and cardio-vascular problems.

· Nano particles can easily enter cells, the interstitial volume and e.g. bypass the blood barrier of the brain and cause damage.

· The scattering and absorption of light by aerosol particles alters the radiative balance of the atmosphere and can either compensate or enhance the green house effect.

· Clouds are only possible if particles are present, which act as Cloud Condensation Nuclei. Abundance of Cloud Condensation Nuclei alters the cloud structure and the rain pattern, which may have severe consequences.

· Aerosol particles are deposited on all surfaces. The deposition of particles (especially soot with trace metals) on building surfaces can induce considerable damage of the surface of building materials via a chain of chemical reactions and endanger the European cultural heritage.

· Aerosol particles interfere with the plant growth and yield. They can be both fertilizers as well as plant toxins.

These few examples show that the atmospheric aerosol not only is a complex system, but also that an understanding of the system requires knowledge in many fields of science, which usually is not available at one location. The proposed summer school will offer a unique possibility for young aerosol scientists to acquire scientific knowledge about the complex aerosol system, as well as practice measuring techniques to characterize the aerosol.

The aerosol group at the University of Vienna (Hitzenberger, Horvath, Reischl, Szymanski, Wagner) has decades of experience in both basic and applied aerosol research and topical field campaigns. The fields covered by the Vienna group are: Mechanics of aerosols, electrical properties, nucleation and condensation, cloud formation, coagulation, light scattering and absorption, and particle statistics. In addition to lectures presented by the Vienna Aerosol group, lecturers from within the European Union will cover the following topics: Among others we will invite: Hofmann (Salzburg, Austria,) Deposition clearance and retention in the lung; Salma (Budapest, Hungary) size measurements and relation to sources, particle statistics, inversion of data; Puxbaum (Technical Univeristy of Vienna) Aerosol chemistry. Niessner (Technical University if Munich), Advanced chemical analyses and on line methods. Alados (Granada, Spain): Remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols. Jaenicke (Mainz, Germany), primary bio particles.

Organisation of the summer school:

The participants will receive an introdution into the following basic topics:

· Introduction into aerosol mechanics (1 unit)

· Interaction of light with particles (1 unit)

· Nucleation and condensation phenomena (2 units)

· Electrical aerosol measurement (2 units)

· Diffusion and particle filtration (2 units)

· Fundamental chemistry of the Aerosol system (2 units)

· Chemical on line measurement (1 unit)

· Modern spectroscopy as a tool for aerosol characterization (1 unit)

· Interaction of aerosol particle with the lung: Deposition, Clearance and Retention (2 units)

· Primary bio particles (2 units)

For each presentation problems will be asisgned and solution dicussed in group work.

After these introductory lectures, the application of basic aerosols will be presented for the following topics:

· Optical particle measurement (1 unit)

· Visibility and atmospheric optics (1 unit)

· Inertial separators (1 unit)

· Remote sensing of atmospheric aerosols ( 2 units)

· Monitoring and data anlysis (1 unit)

In addition to these theoretical presentations, the students will be given the opportunity to experience the measurement of these relevant aerosol parameters during laboratory work. The instruments available for laboratory work are: Advanced Differential Mobility Analyzer, Integrating Nephelometer, and monitoring instruments presented by MLU.