ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Surface Rheological Properties of Organic Films on Rain Water: Rain Rate Correction
A.Z. Mazurek, S.J. Pogorzelski, A.D. Kogut
Institute of Experimental Physics, University of Gdańsk, Wita Stwosza 57, 80-952 Gdańsk, Poland
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2006;15(5):769–776
KEYWORDS
source-specific surfactantsrain water filmstructural parameterssurfactant partitioning correctionrain rate effect
ABSTRACT
The presented procedure allows one to recover the film properties present originally at the raindrop surface from the Langmuir trough data supplemented with simultaneously taken rain event characteristics (rain rate and rain drop diameter distribution). It requires the partitioning effect of the surfactant molecules between the surface and bulk phases to be estimated where the entering quantities are: the partitioning coefficient Kp=Γ/c and a degree of the rain water interfacial system area development Ar/Vr evaluated here using fatty acid concentrations as model input data. The latter parameter depends on particular rain event signatures. The concept is quantified using the Langmuir trough film and disdrometer data on a set of rain water events observed at Gdańsk, Poland in May 2002.