Abstract
Abstract. The Zeppelin Observatory (78.90∘ N, 11.88∘ E) is located on Zeppelin Mountain at 472 m a.s.l. on Spitsbergen, the largest island of the Svalbard archipelago. Established in 1989, the observatory is part of Ny-Ålesund Research Station and an important atmospheric measurement site, one of only a few in the high Arctic, and a part of several European and global monitoring programmes and research infrastructures, notably the European Monitoring and Evaluation Programme (EMEP); the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP); the Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW); the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS); the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment (AGAGE) network; and the Integrated Carbon Observation System (ICOS). The observatory is jointly operated by the Norwegian Polar Institute (NPI), Stockholm University, and the Norwegian Institute for Air Research (NILU). Here we detail the establishment of the Zeppelin Observatory including historical measurements of atmospheric composition in the European Arctic leading to its construction. We present a history of the measurements at the observatory and review the current state of the European Arctic atmosphere, including results from trends in greenhouse gases, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), other traces gases, persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and heavy metals, aerosols and Arctic haze, and atmospheric transport phenomena, and provide an outline of future research directions.
Highlights
Following early advances in aerosol measurement technology and data, Junge (1972) coined the concept of a “global background aerosol”, recommending its study at background stations as far away from anthropogenic sources as possible
As with many other trace gases measured at the Zeppelin Observatory, a clear link between air mass origin and peroxypropionyl nitrate (PPN) and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) concentrations was found, with the highest levels linked to transport from the Russian sector and lowest levels linked to Atlantic marine air (Solberg et al, 1997)
The construction of the observatory was motivated by the need to monitor the global background levels of aerosols; gaseous species related to climate change; ozone layer depletion; Arctic haze; changes in the oxidizing capacity of the global atmosphere; accumulation of persistent organic species in the food chain; heavy metals, in particular mercury; and eventually Earth system dynamics and changes
Summary
Following early advances in aerosol measurement technology and data, Junge (1972) coined the concept of a “global background aerosol”, recommending its study at background stations as far away from anthropogenic sources as possible. Rahn of the University of Rhode Island (Ottar and Rahn, 1980) Out of this meeting grew a consortium to establish a pan-Arctic observation programme to determine the sources, transport mechanisms, and effects of aerosols in the Arctic. Following the 1977 workshop on Arctic aerosol there were three further symposia on Arctic atmospheric chemistry, on 6 to 8 May 1980 (Rahn, 1981a), 7 to 9 May 1984 (Rahn, 1985), and 29 September to 2 October 1987 (Rahn, 1989b) These Arctic air chemistry symposia provided an international framework for Arctic haze research based on longterm ground-based observations, or at least field campaigns with extended measurement programmes, and aircraft measurements. The Arctic air chemistry symposia and the BP programme at NILU provided the international scientific support and legitimacy for Norwegian government funding to establish a global background observatory. We include an outline of future research directions and strategic considerations
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