Submicron Aerosol and Black Carbon in the Troposphere of Southwestern Siberia (1997–2018)

Mikhail Panchenko,Valerii Kozlov,Svetlana Popova,Dmitry Chernov,Vladimir Shmargunov,Elena Yausheva,Valery Makarov

doi:10.3390/atmos12030351

Abstract

Based on the multiyear measurements in the surface atmospheric layer (from five stations) and regular flights of aircraft laboratory over the background region of Southwestern Siberia, the compositions of mass concentrations of submicron aerosol and absorbing substances (soot and black carbon) are analyzed. The annual average concentrations of submicron aerosol and black carbon were found to be maximal in 1997, 2012, and 2016, when the largest numbers of wildfires occurred across the entire territory of Siberia. No significant, unidirectional trend of interannual variations in the concentration of submicron particles was observed, while the concentration of absorbing substance reliably decreased by 1.5% each year. To estimate the effect of urban pollutants, mass concentrations of aerosol and absorbing substance in the surface layer at the Aerosol Station (in the suburban region of Tomsk) were compared to those at the Fonovaya Observatory (in the background region). It was shown that the largest contribution of anthropogenic sources in the suburban region was observed in the winter season, while minimal difference was observed in the warm period of the year. The seasonal behavior of the concentrations of elemental carbon at three stations in Novosibirsk Oblast almost completely matched the dynamics of the variations in the black carbon concentration in the atmosphere of Tomsk Oblast. Data of aircraft sensing in the troposphere of the background region of Southwestern Siberia (2000–2018) were used to determine the average values of the vertical distribution of the submicron aerosol and black carbon concentrations in the altitude range of 0.5–7 km for each season. It was found that at altitudes of 0.5–7 km, there were no unidirectional trends in submicron aerosol; however, there was an increase of black carbon concentration at all altitudes with a positive trend of 5.3 ± 2.2% per year at an altitude of 1.5 km, significant at a p-value = 0.05.

Highlights

IntroductionUnder conditions of rapid changes in the climate system and intensifying anthropogenic effects, the problem of correctly accounting for and predicting the aerosol effect on environmental state, human health, and the formation of Earth’s radiation budget still urgently needs a large amount of data on the properties of atmospheric particles from instrumental observations [1]
We analyzed the results from multiyear studies of submicron aerosol mass concentration and black carbon content in the troposphere of Southwestern Siberia
To correctly identify the aerosol states characteristic of the study region, we considered a long observation time series obtained in the surface atmospheric layer at five ground-based stations, as well as the results from regular flights of the aircraft laboratory over background region in Novosibirsk oblast

Summary

Introduction

Under conditions of rapid changes in the climate system and intensifying anthropogenic effects, the problem of correctly accounting for and predicting the aerosol effect on environmental state, human health, and the formation of Earth’s radiation budget still urgently needs a large amount of data on the properties of atmospheric particles from instrumental observations [1]. For the state of radiation balance of the troposphere, it is possible to single out the following main processes of both direct radiative forcing and indirect aerosol effects. Functioning as the condensation nuclei in cloud formation (cooling factor), aerosol particles determine the number of cloud droplets and the microstructure, and, correspondingly, their optical properties and lifetimes in the atmosphere [12,13]

Methods

Results

Conclusion