Mineral dust is ubiquitous in the atmosphere and represents a dominant type of particulate matter by mass. Despite its well-recognized importance, assessments of dust impacts on clouds and climate remain highly uncertain. This thesis addresses the role of dust as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and giant CCN (GCCN) with the goal of improving our understanding of dust-warm cloud interactions and their representation in climate models. We investigate the CCN-relevant properties of mineral dust samples representative of major regional dust sources experimentally in the laboratory conditions to determine their respective affinity to water. Based on the experimental exponent derived from the dependence of critical supersaturation with particle dry diameter, we determine the dominant physics of activation (i.e., adsorption activation theory (AT) or traditional Köhler theory (KT)) for dust particles from different global regions. Results from experimental measurements are used to support the development of a new parameterization of cloud droplet formation from dust CCN for climate models based on adsorption activation mechanism. The potential role of dust GCCN activating by AT within warm stratocumulus and convective clouds is also evaluated.

Today, computer networks are dominated by data distribution and content retrieval, but technology was created for communication between hosts. Content and service access requires mappnig between what users want and where in network it can be found. Content-centric networks separate content from its location. This thesis aims to security of Content-centric networks, looks for weak spots in its design and suggests steps for improvements of their security.

Le point de départ pour les systèmes décentralisés a été l’échange des fichiers, en utilisant cet approche i) pour distribuer la bande passante entre tous les nœuds concernés et ii) pour augmenter la robustesse en éliminant autant que possible les points individuels de défaillance et de contrôle et iii) en partageant également les responsabilités entre les nœuds. Si les approches le plus décentralisés sont très efficaces en termes de résilience aux pannes, pour la même raison, les performances sont limités et difficiles à analyser quand on observe plusieurs réseaux interconnectés entre eux, configurations qui peuvent être analysés à travers des outils de simulation, souvent peu efficaces dans l’analyse de l’espace de possibilités. Dans cette thèse on a développé un modèle mathématique pour la modélisation de l’interconnexion des réseaux en permettant l’étude et l’exploration d’équilibres qui grâce à l’abstraction du modèle peuvent s’appliquer à l’interconnexion des réseaux de communications, réseaux de distribution de marchandise ou réseaux de distribution d’eau. La thèse se focalise aussi sur les réseaux décentralisés MANET, ou` la communication entre nœuds mobiles est purement ≪ ad-hoc ≫ (ex: deux voitures communiquant entre eux quand ils sont proches) en utilisant i) des ≪ rateless coding ≫ pour augmenter la robustesse et minimiser la perte ou la corruption de données causées par la non fiabilité du moyen de transmission et ii) des algorithmes de ≪ pollution détection ≫, par exemple de détection de nœuds malveillants ou de paquets corrompus, cette détection et prévention étant très difficile dans des environnements fortement distribués. / The original “selling point” for decentralized networks has been file exchange, using the decentralized approach to diffuse the bandwidth cost between all the participating nodes, augmenting the robustness by avoiding single point of failures and control by sharing the responsibility between all nodes. While the most decentralized approaches are very efficient in terms of resilience they are, by the same reason, more performance limited and harder to analyze. This analysis is usually the sole realm of simulation tools, a quite in- efficient way to analyze the possibility space. We thus developed and present here a mathematical model for network interconnection, enabling the study and exploration of equilibriums and, by virtue of the abstraction of the model, perfectly applicable to any interconnection of networks, be them communication networks, social networks or, for example, water distribution networks. We also focused on decentralized networks, called MANETs, where communication between mobile nodes is purely ad-hoc based (eg.: two cars passing each other and communicating while in range), exploit- ing rateless coding to increase their robustness by minimizing data loss due to transmission unreliability, and detecting malicious nodes sending corrupted packets, a hard to detect and prevent problem in a strongly distributed environments, using SIEVE, a custom developed algorithm.

Aerosol Partikel interagieren mit solarer und terrestrischer Strahlung durch Absorption und Streuung. Zusätzlich bilden und modifizieren sie die Eigenschaften von Wolken da sie das Potential besitzen als Wolkenkondensationskeim (CCN) fungieren zu können und stellen somit eine wichtige Komponente im Klimasystem dar. Die Eigenschaften von Partikeln und CCN müssen genaustens bekannt sein um deren Einfluss in Klima- und Strahlungsmodellen akurat berücksichtigen zu können. Ziel dieser Arbeit ist die Charakterisierung der Partikeleigenschaften in Regionen, welche das Klima maßgeblich beeinflussen, wie die Arktis und die Antarktis. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurden 2 Datensätze aufgenommen, welche helfen das Verständnis über Partikel und CCN im Frühjar und Sommer in der Arktis und Antarktis zu verbessern. Es wurden jeweils die Gesamt- und die CCN-Anzahlkonzentration (NCN, NCCN), die Anzahlgrößenverteilung (PNSD) und der Hygroskopizitätsparameter (k) der Partikel bestimmt. Die Herkunft der vermessenen Partikel wurde mit Rückwärtstrajektorien ermittelt sowie weitere Analysen bezüglich der Verweilzeiten durchgeführt. Beide Datensätze zeigen, dass eine starke Abhängigkeit der Partikel- und CCN-Eigenschaften vom Luftmassenursprung vorliegt. Zeigen arktische PNSDs nur eine Akkumulationsmode, konnte diese auf gealtertes Aerosol mit einem eurasischen Ursprung zurückgeführt werden. Kommt eine zweite Mode mit kleineren Partikeln hinzu, wurde der Nord-Pazifische Raum als Ursprung bestimmt. In der Antarktis wurde besonders für NCN und NCCN eine starke Abhängigkeit vom Luftmassenursprung gefunden. Dabei konnten mit der Anwendung des Dispersionsmodells NAME Antarktische Hintergrundkonzentrationen ermittelt werden. Weiterhin wurde gefunden, dass Antarktische Aerosolpartikel mit einem k von 1 hygroscopischer als das Arktische ist, für welches ein k von 0,19 bestimmt wurde. Zusätzlich durchgeführte Flugzeugmessungen über Tuktoyaktuk (Arktis) zeigen, dass die Messungen am Boden auch repräsentativ für die Grenzschicht sind. Die Schichten über der Grenzschicht scheinen jedoch von dieser entkoppelt zu sein und es wird vermutet, dass der Ursprung der Partikel in größeren Höhen in niedrigeren geographischen Breiten liegt.:Contents List of Abbreviations iii List of Symbols v 1. Introduction 1 2. Experimental 9 2.1. Measured Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.1.1. Total Particle Number Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.1.2. Particle Number Size Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.1.3. Total Concentration of Cloud Condensation Nuclei . . . . . . . . 15 2.2. Determination of the CCN hygroscopicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.2.1. Köhler theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.2.2. The hygroscopicity parameter k and the critical diameter dcrit . . 18 2.3. Determination of the Air Mass Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2.3.1. The NAME Dispersion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2.3.2. Potential Source Contribution Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3. Results and Discussion 25 3.1. Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during Spring-Summer transition in May 2014 . . 25 3.1.1. Campaign overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3.1.2. Overview of NCN, NCCN and PNSD data for the entire measurement period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 3.1.3. Identification of air mass origins and potential source regions . . . 32 3.1.4. PNSD of the three periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 3.1.5. Critical diameter dcrit and hygroscopicity parameter k . . . . . . 38 3.1.6. Comparison of height resolved airborne and ground based PNSDs 41 3.2. Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station during three austral summers . . . . . . . . . 45 3.2.1. Campaign overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 3.2.2. Total Particle and CCN number concentrations and regional analysis of the NAME model footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 3.2.3. PSCF results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 3.2.4. Hygroscopicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4. Summary, Conclusions and Outlook 65 A. Appendix 71 A.1. SS calibration of the CCNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 A.2. Error Analysis with Monte Carlo Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 B List of Figures vii C List of Tables viii Bibliography xi / Atmospheric aerosol particles interact with solar and terrestrial radiation by absorption and scattering. Further, they have the potential to act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and to form and modify the radiative properties of clouds and thus are an important component in the Earth’s climate system. An accurate knowledge about the aerosol particle and CCN properties is very important for accurate climate and radiation models. The objective of this thesis is the characterization of aerosol particles in regions that are key regulators of the Earth’s climate. The Arctic and the Antarctic are such regions. Hence, in the framework of this doctoral thesis two data sets were recorded, that help gaining further knowledge about the spring and summer time aerosol particles and CCN in the Arctic and Antarctic region. For both, the Arctic and the Antarctic aerosol population, the CCN and the total particle number concentration (NCCN, NCN), the particle number size distribution (PNSD) and the hygroscopicity parameter k were determined. The history of the measured air masses was explored using back trajectories and residence time analysis. For both examined regions, a strong influence of the air mass origin on the aerosol particle and CCN properties was found. The PNSDs measured in the Arctic were found to be mono-modal showing an accumulation mode which most likely contains well aged particles that have an Eurasian origin. Bi-modal PNSDs with an additional mode of smaller particles were found to originate from the Northern Pacific. In the Antarctic the air mass origin was found to significantly influence NCCN and NCN. With the application of the NAME dispersion model Antarctic continental background concentrations could be determined. With k values of 1 the Antarctic aerosol was found to be much more hygroscopic than the Arctic aerosol, for which a k of 0.19 was determined. Additional Arctic aircraft measurements show that ground based measurements are representative for the Arctic boundary layer. However particles above the boundary layer seem to be decoupled from lower layers and were believed to be advected from lower latitudes in different height layers and mixed down in the lower Arctic troposphere.:Contents List of Abbreviations iii List of Symbols v 1. Introduction 1 2. Experimental 9 2.1. Measured Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.1.1. Total Particle Number Concentration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 2.1.2. Particle Number Size Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 2.1.3. Total Concentration of Cloud Condensation Nuclei . . . . . . . . 15 2.2. Determination of the CCN hygroscopicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.2.1. Köhler theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 2.2.2. The hygroscopicity parameter k and the critical diameter dcrit . . 18 2.3. Determination of the Air Mass Origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2.3.1. The NAME Dispersion Model . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 2.3.2. Potential Source Contribution Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 3. Results and Discussion 25 3.1. Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during Spring-Summer transition in May 2014 . . 25 3.1.1. Campaign overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 3.1.2. Overview of NCN, NCCN and PNSD data for the entire measurement period . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 3.1.3. Identification of air mass origins and potential source regions . . . 32 3.1.4. PNSD of the three periods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 3.1.5. Critical diameter dcrit and hygroscopicity parameter k . . . . . . 38 3.1.6. Comparison of height resolved airborne and ground based PNSDs 41 3.2. Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Research Station during three austral summers . . . . . . . . . 45 3.2.1. Campaign overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 3.2.2. Total Particle and CCN number concentrations and regional analysis of the NAME model footprints . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 3.2.3. PSCF results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 3.2.4. Hygroscopicity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 4. Summary, Conclusions and Outlook 65 A. Appendix 71 A.1. SS calibration of the CCNC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 A.2. Error Analysis with Monte Carlo Simulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 B List of Figures vii C List of Tables viii Bibliography xi

Les ressources d'un réseau informatique sont partagées par un grand nombre d'utilisateurs, le réseau peut devenir congestionné voire saturé. Le contrôle de congestion est un élément critique garantissant son bon fonctionnement. Encore récemment, les problématiques d'ingénierie de trafic et de QoS n'étaient pas explorées dans le cadre des réseaux CCN (Content-Centric Networking).L'objectif de cette thèse consiste à évaluer l'impact de la congestion dans CCN, à concevoir un mécanisme de contrôle de congestion et à en évaluer l'efficacité.Nous avons réalisé une telle solution en deux temps. D'une part, nous proposons le mécanisme HoBHIS qui repose sur l'équilibrage de flot définie dans CCN. Ce mécanisme, déployé sur chaque routeur CCN, consiste à surveiller les échanges réalisés sur un même tampon de transmission. Il contrôle dynamiquement le taux d'envoi des demandes de contenu afin de garantir qu'au niveau du goulot d'étranglement, la taille de la file d'attente des paquets de donnée correspondante tende vers un seuil préconfiguré. D'autre part, nous proposons un mécanisme contrôlant le débit d'envoi d'un client afin d'éviter une congestion des files d'attente des noeuds CCN impliqués dans la communication.Nous avons prouvé mathématiquement l'efficacité de nos mécanismes et évalué leur performance à l'aide du simulateur ndnSIM.Les résultats de notre travail sont publiés dans des conférences internationales renommées. Nous avons aussi collaboré avec Cisco Systems (Boston, USA), qui s'est intéressé à nos travaux. Les résultats issus de cette collaboration sont publiés dans un article international qui a reçu un "Best Paper Award" et sont présentés dans cette thèse. / The network resources are shared between a large number of users. It may potentially create a risk for buffer overflow and performance degradation. That is why congestion control is critical to guarantee network performance. Congestion control schemes have been widely studied in the past but only recently in the context of CCN (Content-Centric Networking).This thesis explores the congestion control risk of CCN, identifies the bottlenecks and proposes strategies to circumvent them. We have designed our original hop-by-hop Interest shaping mechanism (HoBHIS) that nicely exploits the flow balance enforced in CCN between Interest and Chunk packets. It monitors active conversations sharing the transmission buffer of a CCN node face in order to dynamically adjust their Interest sending rate and enforce the Chunk queue length to converge to a defined objective. This mechanism is implemented in each CCN node. Then, we extended HoBHIS in order to address several important concerns that might occur in CCN. We proposed a Tolerance mechanism that controls the Clients sending rate as well as prevents the loss of Interest packets. We demonstrated the efficiency of our mechanisms through mathematical proofs and simulations performed in ndnSIM.Our results have been published in international conferences. The work has generated interest from the networking community. Particularly, "Cisco Systems" invited us to join their project on developing Named-Data Networking (NDN) traffic control mechanism. As one of the important results of this collaboration is a research article that got a SIGCOMM ICN workshop’13 “Best paper award”. This paper is also presented as a part of the dissertation.

Content Centric Networking (CCN) est une architecture pour l'Internet du futur. CCN inclut des fonctionnalités de cache dans tous les noeuds du réseau. Son efficacité dépend largement de la performance de ses stratégies de cache. C'est pour cela que plusieurs études proposent des nouvelles stratégies de cache pour améliorer la performance d'un réseau CCN. Cependant parmi toutes ces stratégies, ce n'est pas évident de décider laquelle fonctionne le mieux. Il manque un environnement commun pour comparer ces stratégies. De plus, il n'est pas certain que ces approches soient les meilleures alternatives pour améliorer la performance du réseau. Dans cette thèse, on vise le problème de choisir les meilleures stratégies de caches pour CCN et les contributions sont les suivantes. On construit un environnement commun d'évaluation dans lequel on compare via simulation les stratégies de caches disponibles: Leave Copy Everywhere (LCE), Leave Copy Down (LCD), ProbCache, Cache "Less For More" et MAGIC. On analyse la performance de toutes ces stratégies et on décide la meilleure stratègie de cache pour chaque scénario. Ensuite, on propose deux stratégies de cache basées sur la popularité pour CCN. On commence avec un étude de la popularité de contenu et on présent la stratégie Most Popular Caching (MPC). MPC privilèges la distribution de contenu populaire dans les caches afin d'ameliorer les autres stratégies de cache. Dans une deuxième étape, on présent une stratègie de cache basé dans l'information des réseaux sociaux: Socially-Aware Caching Strategy (SACS). SACS privilèges la distribution de contenu publié par les utilisateurs les plus importantes / Content Centric Networking (CCN) is a new architecture for a future Internet. CCN includes in-network caching capabilities at every node. Its effciency depends drastically on performances of caching strategies. A lot of studies proposing new caching strategies to improve the performances of CCN. However, among all these strategies, it is still unclear which one performs better as there is a lack of common environment to compare these strategies. In this thesis, we address the challenge of selecting the best caching strategies for CCN. The contribution of this thesis are the following. We build a common evaluation scenario and we compare via simulation the state of the art caching strategies: Leave Copy Everywhere (LCE), Leave Copy Down (LCD), ProbCache, Cache "Less" For More and MAGIC. We analyze the performance of all the strategies in terms of Cache Hit, Stretch, Diversity and Complexity, and determine the cache strategy that fits the best with every scenario. Later on, we propose two novel caching strategies for CCN based on popularity. First, we study popularity of content and we present Most Popular Caching (MPC) strategy. MPC privileges distribution of popular caches into the caches and thus, it overcomes other caching strategies. Second, we present an alternative caching strategy based on social networks: Socially-Aware Caching Strategy (SACS). SACS privileges distribution of content published by influential users into the network. Both caching strategies overcome state of the art mechanisms and, to the best of our knowledge, we are the first to use social information to build caching strategies

Quand nous admirons une œuvre d’art nous ne pensons pas forcément au parcours personnel de l’artiste ni à tous les moyens matériels dont il a eu besoin pour la production de son œuvre. Cependant une création artistique est toujours le résultat de l’association de ces deux éléments : de ce que l’artiste est comme personne et de tous les réseaux de production et de distribution de son travail. A travers l’exemple de Josef Nadj, cette thèse cherche à expliquer un chemin de création artistique. Comment Josef Nadj s’est construit et quel était le contexte historique qui a marqué le pays dans lequel il est né et conditionné son œuvre. Quelle est son esthétique et de quelle manière il organise son processus créatif. Finalement, quelles sont les circonstances de son arrivée en France et de son implantation dans les réseaux culturels français qui soutiennent le financement et la distribution de son œuvre. Son histoire est d’autant plus intéressante qu’elle englobe le parcours d’un artiste immigrant qui a obtenu la reconnaissance professionnelle d’abord dans son pays d’adoption, la France. / When we admire an artwork we do not necessarily consider the personal background of the artist and the material means that were required for the production of the artwork. However, every artistic creation is a result of fusion of these two conditions: who the artist is as a person and all the different networks of production and distribution of his work. This thesis is trying to explain, using the example of Josef Nadj’s career, how one’s artistic path can look. What was the historical context of the Josef Nadj’s native country during his life—and even before his birth— and how these circumstances influenced his growing up and later his artistic choices. What do his aesthetics look like and how does he create his pieces. Finally, which circumstances brought him to France and how did he join French cultural networks which later financed and distributed his work. The story of his background and professional career is even more interesting because it sheds light on an artist-immigrant who obtained his professional recognition in his adopted country—France.

Un bilan des aérosols en jeu (CCN et IN) dans les processus de nucléation des particules de nuage élémentaires (gouttelettes et cristaux de glace) est implanté dans un nouveau schéma microphysique à 2 moments dans le modèle MésoNH. Il répond à la nécessité d'intégrer un suivi des concentrations en noyaux de nucléation dans la microphysique du nuage. En effet CCN et IN déterminent la concentration en nombre des gouttelettes et des cristaux primaires ; ceux-ci sont à l'origine de processus microphysiques qui déterminent les propriétés radiatives et précipitantes du nuage. Ainsi, l'intérêt pour le bilan radiatif des nuages à l'échelle globale nécessite-t-il de pouvoir estimer localement l'impact des aérosols sur les nuages, grâce à des outils de modélisation numérique à l'échelle des structures nuageuses qui sont capables de résoudre les processus de nucléation hétérogène des gouttelettes et des cristaux à partir des CCN et des IN, respectivement. En conséquence, le bilan des particules d'aérosols réalisé dans MésoNH s'appuie sur le traitement des concentrations en aérosols, à la fois interstitiels et activés pour chaque mode de CCN et d'IN, au moyen de couples de variables 3D pronostiques. Le bilan considère les principaux termes reflétant l'interaction aérosol-nuage, avec une attention particulière accordée à la représentation des processus de nucléation hétérogène des particules nuageuses. Ainsi établi, ce bilan permet de considérer simultanément l'activation de populations multimodales de CCN et d'IN, leur lessivage par impaction, leur transport, et donc la variabilité spatio-temporelle de ces noyaux de nucléation. La sensibilité d'un système nuageux à la formulation de la nucléation hétérogène de la glace est mise en évidence sur un cas de nuage orographique. Un cas idéalisé de ligne de grain est ensuite utilisé pour illustrer les interactions complexes qui existent entre la dynamique et la microphysique nuageuse lorsqu'elle est pilotée par une population multimodale d'aérosols.

Aerosols and clouds provide the largest uncertainty in the atmospheric radiation budget. The main focus of this thesis was to investigate the ability of organic compounds in aerosol particles to form clouds, and more specifically those emitted by living organisms. The cloud forming properties of the highly water-soluble methyltetrols and polyols, which are compounds produced by plants and fungi that are common in aerosol, were studied. All compounds and their salt mixtures have a moderate potential to serve as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). They are thus not likely to have a significant global impact on cloudiness. The potential presence of surfactants released by microorganisms was investigated for aerosols sampled at different locations. Very low surface tension values were measured for these aerosol extracts (30 mN/m), which implies that these aerosols have good CCN properties and indicate the presence of biosurfactants. Their occurrence in aerosols still needs to be confirmed directly by chemical identification. Reactions of organic compounds in sulfate salt solutions exposed to UV-light were studied and found to produce surface active compounds. Thus, mixed sulfate/organic aerosol could have more favourable CCN properties after exposure to light than when kept in the dark. The surface active compounds were proposed to be long-chained organosulfates with hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts, similar to other amphiphilic surfactants. Mixtures of salt and strong surfactants formed by bacteria were studied using two different techniques for determining their CCN properties. There were inconsistencies between the two methods which could be accounted for by surface partitioning. The studied mixtures were determined to be good potential CCN material in both techniques. All these aspects require further investigation, but if the impact of strong biogenic surfactants on cloud formation is confirmed, a new link between living organisms and climate would be identified. / At the time of the doctoral defense, the following papers were unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 4: Manuscript.

<p>This dissertation presents the first findings of aerosol indirect effect in the foothills of the Himalayas (Central Nepal), through a systematic research approach involving satellite data analysis, field campaign, growth factor estimation and numerical modeling studies. Satellite retrieved aerosol optical depth data over the region were first used to identify the dominant modes of spatial/temporal variability of aerosols in the region. Based on the observed dominant spatial mode of aerosol in the pre-monsoon season (Shrestha and Barros 2010, ACP), a field campaign was organized under the Joint Aerosol Monsoon Experiment (JAMEX09) at Dhulikhel and Besisahar to simultaneously measure dry and ambient aerosols size spectra using SMPS and chemical composition using filters (Shrestha et al. 2010, ACP). The diurnal cycle of aerosol number concentration exhibited a consistent peak in the morning and evening period, which was found to be associated with increase in local emission and the delay in ventilation of aerosol through upslope flows and mixing (inferred from an idealized numerical study over Besisahar). The aerosol size distribution was mostly unimodal at night and bimodal during the day, with a consistent larger mode around 100nm and a smaller mode located around 20nm. The chemical composition of PM2.5 was dominated by organic matter at both sites. Organic carbon (OC) comprised the major fraction (64~68%) of the aerosol concentration followed by ionic species (24~26%, mainly and ). Elemental Carbon (EC) compromised 7~10% of the total composition and 27% of OC was found to be water soluble at both sites. The aerosol number concentration increased and decreased in the presence of synoptic scale aerosol plumes and after rainfall events respectively.</p><p>A simple model based on Köhler theory was used to explain the observed growth factor using an assumption of (NH4)2SO4 aqueous solution including the presence of slightly soluble organic compounds (SSC) with an insoluble core as a function of molality and mass-fraction. The measured growth factors suggest that the aerosols are in metastable state due to the strong diurnal cycle of relative humidity (RH). The bulk hygroscopic parameter estimated from the DGF and chemical composition of aerosols suggests less hygroscopic aerosols at both locations as compared to previous studies. The dry aerosol size distribution and the bulk hygroscopic parameters were used to estimate the cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) spectrum, which was vertically scaled up to lifting condensation level (LCL) assuming that the shape and chemical properties of aerosol remains unchanged (Shrestha et al. 2011, submitted to JGR). Finally, these regional CCN spectra for polluted and clean conditions as well as standard continental and marine spectra used in numerical weather prediction models (Cohard et al. 1998) were used to probe CCN sensitivity for a pre-monsoon storm system in Central Nepal during JAMEX09. A significant shift in the maxima of the accumulated precipitation was observed between the continental aerosol spectra (Cohard et al. 1998) and the polluted spectra for Dhulikhel. This shift caused the displacement of rainfall maximum away from the Kulekhani water reserve catchment, which is key to hydropower in Nepal. Detailed analysis of the simulations suggests that simgnificant differences in the space-time variability and intensity of precipitation, if not areally integrated amounts, can be explained by differences in the timing and intensity of latent heat release and absorption due to freezing/melting of hydrometers and evaporative cooling of droplets, strengthening cold pool formation and associated circulations. This numerical study provides the first look on the aerosol indirect effect over Nepal for a single pre-monsoon rainfall event, and how aerosols can potentially affect the precipitation distribution (to be submitted to JGR). In addition, it shows the importance of using regionally consistent CCN spectra in model parameterizations of aerosol-cloud interactions. At local places, the differences in simulated precipitation between marine, JAMEX09 clean and polluted air spectra were smaller (up tp ± 50%) than the difference between those simulations and the standard continental aerosol spectra (±200%).</p> / Dissertation