Abstract
Abstract. This paper reports on backscatter and depolarization measurements by an airborne lidar in the Arctic during the ASTAR 2004 campaign. A unique weather situation facilitated the observation of the aerosol concentration under strongly forced atmospheric conditions. The vigorous easterly winds distorted the flow past Svalbard in such a way that mesoscale features were visible in the remote-sensing observations: The formation of a well-mixed aerosol layer inside the Adventdalen and the subsequent thinning of the aerosol plume were observed over the Isfjorden. Additionally, mobilization of sea salt aerosols due to a coastal low-level jet at the northern tip of Svalbard resulted in a sloped boundary layer toward north. Mesoscale numerical modelling was applied to identify the sources of the aerosol particles and to explain the observed patterns.
Highlights
In the Arctic, properties of tropospheric aerosol particles have been measured in numerous field studies beginning in the 1970s (Radke et al, 1984; Schnell, 1984; Schnell et al, 1989; Thomason et al, 2003; Treffeisen et al, 2004; Yamanouchi et al, 2005)
We report about airborne remote-sensing observations made in the vicinity of Svalbard during the ASTAR 20041 field campaign
According to Skeie and Grønas (2000), easterly winds dominate during the winter months rather than spring
Summary
We report about airborne remote-sensing observations made in the vicinity of Svalbard during the ASTAR 20041 field campaign. The descending winds in the lee clear the atmosphere downstream This particular situation allowed airborne observations of the aerosol distribution under strongly forced meteorological conditions in the fjord system and in the lee of Svalbard. One goal of this paper is to explain these different mesoscale aerosol patterns of the airborne lidar observations For this purpose, operational meteorological analyses of the European Centre of Medium Range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) and high-resolution numerical simulations are applied. Sandvik and Furevik (2002) highlighted the enormous effect Svalbards topography plays in modifying the local wind field in the valleys and coastal areas surrounding the islands These authors reported downstream coastal jets with maximum velocities up to 3 times the value of the upstream flow.
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