New insights in sources of the sub-micrometre aerosol at Mt. Zeppelin observatory (Spitsbergen) in the year 2015

Abstract

In order to evaluate the potential impact of the Arctic anthropogenic emission sources it is essential to understand better the natural aerosol sources of the inner Arctic and the atmospheric processing of the aerosols during their transport in the Arctic atmosphere. A 1-year time series of chemically specific measurements of the sub-micrometre aerosol during 2015 has been taken at the Mt. Zeppelin observatory in the European Arctic. A source apportionment study combined measured molecular tracers as source markers, positive matrix factorization, analysis of the potential source distribution and auxiliary information from satellite data and ground-based observations. The annual average sub-micrometre mass was apportioned to regional background secondary sulphate (56%), sea spray (17%), biomass burning (15%), secondary nitrate (5.8%), secondary marine biogenic (4.5%), mixed combustion (1.6%), and two types of marine gel sources (together 0.7%). Secondary nitrate aerosol mainly contributed towards the end of summer and during autumn. During spring and summer, the secondary marine biogenic factor reached a contribution of up to 50% in some samples. The most likely origin of the mixed combustion source is due to oil and gas extraction activities in Eastern Siberia. The two marine polymer gel sources predominantly occurred in autumn and winter. The small contribution of the marine gel sources at Mt. Zeppelin observatory in summer as opposed to regions closer to the North Pole is attributed to differences in ocean biology, vertical distribution of phytoplankton, and the earlier start of the summer season.

Spatiotemporal variability of elemental and organic carbon in Svalbard snow during 2007–2018

“…3). The snowpack on glacier sites that are highest and/or further inland (e.g., Lomonosovfonna autumn and winter, some of which are likely deposited in snow by settling or through ice nucleation (Bowman and Deming, 2010;Campbell et al, 2018;Karl et al, 2019). The quantity of these aerosols deposited in Svalbard snow might be expected to decrease with inland distance and altitude, which is consistent with our observations of .…”

Atmospheric new particle formation characteristics in the Arctic as measured at Mount Zeppelin, Svalbard, from 2016 to 2018

“…These ionic species can exist in large particles and do not necessarily represent the chemical composition of the nanoparticles, but they can provide information about the overall chemical properties of the particles in different seasons. The non-sea-salt sulfate (nss-SO 2− 4 ) could have had a secondary origin from the DMS from the sea (Park et al, 2017;Kecorius et al, 2019). The SO 2− 4 could also come from sea salt particles (primary production of SO 2− 4 ) (Karl et al, 2019).…”

Measurement report: Spatial variations in ionic chemistry and water-stable isotopes in the snowpack on glaciers across Svalbard during the 2015–2016 snow accumulation season

“…It is likely that the excess Ca 2+ and Mg 2+ come from mineral particles, i.e. CaCO 3 (calcite) and CaMg(CO 3 ) 2 (dolomite), derived from local rock (or soil) dust (Kekonen et al, 2005), especially limestone, dolostone, and marble, which are abundant in Svalbard (Dallmann, 1999). The presence of carbonate ions in the collected snow samples would explain the missing negative charge in the ionic balance (anion X − ; Fig.…”

“…Bulk ionic loads of SO 2− 4 in the snowpits are significantly and positively correlated with those of NO − 3 (ρ load = 0.55) and NH + 4 (ρ load = 0.68), but the correlations between weighted mean ionic concentrations are not significant, hinting at co-deposition (wet) rather than shared sources (Table 5). These species are known to form secondary aerosols (Karl et al, 2019;Schaap et al, 2004), and thus their proportions in aerosols may differ significantly from those in their source emissions. It is also possible that nitrogen species underwent further post-depositional photochemical reduction and evasion, thereby reducing their concentrations in snow Table 3.…”