A characterization of Arctic aerosols on the basis of aerosol optical depth and black carbon measurements

Stone, Robert S.; Sharma, Sangeeta; Herber, Andreas; Eleftheriadis, Konstantinos; Nelson, Don

doi:10.12952/journal.elementa.000027

Cited by 87 publications

(98 citation statements)

References 95 publications

(179 reference statements)

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“…For overflight 4, two temperature inversions were recorded between 2500 and 3000 m. The temperature inversions and the different shapes of the PNSDs are indicative of the presence of different air masses during overflight 4, although air mass back trajectories that arrived at 1000, 2000 and 3000 m indicate an air mass origin over the North Pacific for all three heights. Stone et al (2014) explain that layering of Arctic aerosol, as we observed it during overflight 4, is a function of where the aerosol particle sources are located. Thereby the crucial factors are the different pathways of aerosol transport in the lower Arctic troposphere.…”

Section: Comparison Of Height-resolved Airborne and Ground-based Pnsdsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during spring–summer transition in May 2014

et al. 2018

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Abstract. Within the framework of the RACEPAC (Radiation-Aerosol-Cloud Experiment in the Arctic Circle) project, the Arctic aerosol, arriving at a ground-based station in Tuktoyaktuk (Mackenzie River delta area, Canada), was characterized during a period of 3 weeks in May 2014. Basic meteorological parameters and particle number size distributions (PNSDs) were observed and two distinct types of air masses were found. One type were typical Arctic haze air masses, termed accumulation-type air masses, characterized by a monomodal PNSD with a pronounced accumulation mode at sizes above 100 nm. These air masses were observed during a period when back trajectories indicate an air mass origin in the north-east of Canada. The other air mass type is characterized by a bimodal PNSD with a clear minimum around 90 nm and with an Aitken mode consisting of freshly formed aerosol particles. Back trajectories indicate that these air masses, termed Aitken-type air masses, originated from the North Pacific. In addition, the application of the PSCF receptor model shows that air masses with their origin in active fire areas in central Canada and Siberia, in areas of industrial anthropogenic pollution (Norilsk and Prudhoe Bay Oil Field) and the north-west Pacific have enhanced total particle number concentrations (N CN ). Generally, N CN ranged from 20 to 500 cm −3 , while cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) number concentrations were found to cover a range from less than 10 up to 250 cm −3 for a supersaturation (SS) between 0.1 and 0.7 %. The hygroscopicity parameter κ of the CCN was determined to be 0.23 on average and variations in κ were largely attributed to measurement uncertainties.Furthermore, simultaneous PNSD measurements at the ground station and on the Polar 6 research aircraft were performed. We found a good agreement of ground-based PNSDs with those measured between 200 and 1200 m. During two of the four overflights, particle number concentrations at 3000 m were found to be up to 20 times higher than those measured below 2000 m; for one of these two flights, PNSDs measured above 2000 m showed a different shape than those measured at lower altitudes. This is indicative of long-range transport from lower latitudes into the Arctic that can advect aerosol from different regions in different heights.

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Section: Comparison Of Height-resolved Airborne and Ground-based Pnsdsmentioning

confidence: 54%

Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during spring–summer transition in May 2014

et al. 2018

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“…The lifetime of SO 2 in the Arctic is more than 1 week (Thornton et al, 1989), and this means that SO 2 potentially acts as a reservoir from which new anthropogenic aerosols could form. Long-range transport of anthropogenic sulfur dominates in the Arctic winter and early spring because of the stable atmosphere and weak removal of particles, and concentrations significantly decrease during summer because of a lower number of sources within the polar front and stronger scavenging (Quinn et al, 2002;Stone et al, 2014). The backward configuration modeling of FLEXPART-WRF shows that potential emissions originated from the east for the first 2 days (12 and 13 July), and expanded to cover a broader region after that (Fig.…”

Section: Anthropogenic and Biogenic Sulfatementioning

confidence: 98%

“…The Arctic Ocean is considered a source of primary aerosol, such as sea salt and organics, as well as secondary particles from the oxidation of SO 2 to sulfate (SO 5192 R. Ghahremaninezhad et al: Biogenic, anthropogenic and sea salt sulfate size-segregated aerosols Sulfate in the Arctic atmosphere originates from anthropogenic, sea salt and biogenic sources. Anthropogenic aerosols, with a winter-to-springtime maximum known as Arctic haze, contain particulate organic matter, nitrate, sulfate and black carbon which originate from North America and Eurasia Quinn et al, 2002;Stone et al, 2014). Sea salt enters the atmosphere via mechanical processes such as sea spray and bubble bursting (Leck and Bigg, 2005a).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogenic, anthropogenic and sea salt sulfate size-segregated aerosols in the Arctic summer

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Size-segregated aerosol sulfate concentrations were measured on board the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen in the Arctic during July 2014. The objective of this study was to utilize the isotopic composition of sulfate to address the contribution of anthropogenic and biogenic sources of aerosols to the growth of the different aerosol size fractions in the Arctic atmosphere. Non-seasalt sulfate is divided into biogenic and anthropogenic sulfate using stable isotope apportionment techniques. A considerable amount of the average sulfate concentration in the fine aerosols with a diameter < 0.49 µm was from biogenic sources (> 63 %), which is higher than in previous Arctic studies measuring above the ocean during fall (< 15 %) (Rempillo et al., 2011) and total aerosol sulfate at higher latitudes at Alert in summer (> 30 %) (Norman et al., 1999). The anthropogenic sulfate concentration was less than that of biogenic sulfate, with potential sources being long-range transport and, more locally, the Amundsen's emissions. Despite attempts to minimize the influence of ship stack emissions, evidence from larger-sized particles demonstrates a contribution from local pollution.A comparison of δ 34 S values for SO 2 and fine aerosols was used to show that gas-to-particle conversion likely occurred during most sampling periods. δ 34 S values for SO 2 and fine aerosols were similar, suggesting the same source for SO 2 and aerosol sulfate, except for two samples with a relatively high anthropogenic fraction in particles < 0.49 µm in diameter (15)(16)(17). The high biogenic fraction of sulfate fine aerosol and similar isotope ratio values of these particles and SO 2 emphasize the role of marine organisms (e.g., phytoplankton, algae, bacteria) in the formation of fine particles above the Arctic Ocean during the productive summer months.

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“…Stone et al (2014;their Fig. 5) notes that only one aircraft campaign in the last 30 years occurred outside the Arctic Haze period.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonality of aerosol optical properties in the Arctic

Schmeisser¹,

Backman²,

Ogren³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Given the sensitivity of the Arctic climate to short-lived climate forcers, long-term in-situ surface measurements of aerosol parameters are useful in gaining insight into the magnitude and variability of these climate forcings. Systematic variability of aerosol optical properties in the Arctic supports the notion that the sites presented here 40 measure a variety of aerosol populations, which also experience different removal mechanisms. A robust conclusion from the seasonal cycles presented is that the Arctic cannot be treated as one common and uniform environment, but 2 rather is a region with ample spatio-temporal variability in aerosols. This notion is important in considering the design or aerosol monitoring networks in the region, and is important for informing climate models to better represent short-lived aerosol climate forcers in order to yield more accurate climate predictions for the Arctic.

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A characterization of Arctic aerosols on the basis of aerosol optical depth and black carbon measurements

Cited by 87 publications

References 95 publications

Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during spring–summer transition in May 2014

Measurements of aerosol and CCN properties in the Mackenzie River delta (Canadian Arctic) during spring–summer transition in May 2014

Biogenic, anthropogenic and sea salt sulfate size-segregated aerosols in the Arctic summer

Seasonality of aerosol optical properties in the Arctic

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