Abstract
Large quantities of dust are transported annually to the Arctic, primarily from Asian deserts. The influx of dust into the polar environment changes the radiative properties of clouds while the deposition of dust onto ice and snow decreases the surface albedo. Atmospheric and surface dust may be identified with space borne radiometers by comparing infrared energy in the 11 μm and 12 μm regime. Between 2007 and 2017 satellite infrared data revealed persistent low-level dust clouds in the vicinity of Amundsen Gulf in the Western Canadian Arctic during the melting season. Evidence suggests that the subsequent deposition of atmospheric dust in the region affected the surface emissivity in the thermal infrared regime. As a result, satellite derived sea and ice surface temperature algorithms were rendered inaccurate in these areas. Moreover, the ubiquitous nature of dust in the region may play a role in the rapidly vanishing cryosphere.
Highlights
The presence of aerosols in the Arctic environment is well established by researchers
A comparison of concurrent (±1 hour) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) imagery in this study demonstrated that AVHRR Channel 4 (10.3 μm to11.3 μm) minus Channel 5 (11.5 μm to 12.5 μm), with a spatial resolution of 1.1 km, is comparable to MODIS in identifying BTD11–12 dust signatures
Composite Arctic Sea Surface Temperature Algorithm (CASSTA) was developed in the North Water Polynya () situated between Elsmere
Summary
The presence of aerosols in the Arctic environment is well established by researchers. Significant influxes of anthropogenic aerosols occur during the winter and spring as a result of enhanced transport mechanisms coupled with less efficient removal processes[4]. The major source of naturally occurring aerosols in the polar region is through the transport of dust from southern latitudes. The entrainment of desert particulates is the most significant source of atmospheric mineral dust, contributing to 75% of all aerosols[8]. With respect to the influx of dust to the Arctic, these light absorbing aerosols are deposited on snow and ice, reducing the surface albedo and leading to accelerated melt rates[24,25]. This research focuses on the observed persistence of dust clouds in the Canadian Western Arctic and the subsequent apparent deposition of dust on seawater and ice surfaces. In the satellite record, leading to the conclusion that the observation was a physical manifestation of atmospheric and surface properties
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