Abstract
The results from studies of aerosol in the Arctic atmosphere are presented: the aerosol optical depth (AOD), the concentrations of aerosol and black carbon, as well as the chemical composition of the aerosol. The average aerosol characteristics, measured during nine expeditions (2007–2018) in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean, had been 0.068 for AOD (0.5 µm); 2.95 cm−3 for particle number concentrations; 32.1 ng/m3 for black carbon mass concentrations. Approximately two–fold decrease of the average characteristics in the eastern direction (from the Barents Sea to Chukchi Sea) is revealed in aerosol spatial distribution. The average aerosol characteristics over the Barents Sea decrease in the northern direction: black carbon concentrations by a factor of 1.5; particle concentrations by a factor of 3.7. These features of the spatial distribution are caused mainly by changes in the content of fine aerosol, namely: by outflows of smokes from forest fires and anthropogenic aerosol. We considered separately the measurements of aerosol characteristics during two expeditions in 2019: in the north of the Barents Sea (April) and along the Northern Sea Route (July–September). In the second expedition the average aerosol characteristics turned out to be larger than multiyear values: AOD reached 0.36, particle concentration up to 8.6 cm−3, and black carbon concentration up to 179 ng/m3. The increased aerosol content was affected by frequent outflows of smoke from forest fires. The main (99%) contribution to the elemental composition of aerosol in the study regions was due to Ca, K, Fe, Zn, Br, Ni, Cu, Mn, and Sr. The spatial distribution of the chemical composition of aerosols was analogous to that of microphysical characteristics. The lowest concentrations of organic and elemental carbon (OC, EC) and of most elements are observed in April in the north of the Barents Sea, and the maximal concentrations in Far East seas and in the south of the Barents Sea. The average contents of carbon in aerosol over seas of the Asian sector of the Arctic Ocean are OC = 629 ng/m3, EC = 47 ng/m3.
Highlights
Environmental studies in the Arctic zone have acquired priority in the last decade
The main (99%) contribution to the elemental composition of aerosol is due to Ca, K, Fe, Zn, Br, Ni, Cu, Mn, and Sr, which refer to elements of both natural and anthropogenic origins
The main salient feature of the distribution of elements over regions concerns bromine, We analyzed the data from expedition studies of aerosolregion in theNBS
Summary
Environmental studies in the Arctic zone have acquired priority in the last decade. The increased attention to the Arctic stems from the development of this area, the largest dynamics of climate characteristics, and the vulnerability of the environment to these changes [1]. Regular measurements of aerosol characteristics in the Eurasian sector of the Arctic are carried out at three stations: in Barentsburg (Spitsbergen Archipelago), in the region of Tiksi, and in the “Cape Baranov” (Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago). In addition to observations at polar stations, expedition measurements of aerosol characteristics are carried out every year in different regions of the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic [17,18,19,20,21,22,23]. Data accumulation during nine expeditions allowed us to carry out a statistical generalization and to obtain for the first time the estimates of the distribution of aerosol characteristics in Eurasian sector of the Arctic Ocean (30◦ E–10◦ W).
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