The Importance of Mineral Dust and Proteinaceous Ice Nucleating Particles in the Canadian High Artic During the Fall of 2018 

Author(s):  
Jingwei Yun ◽  
Erin Evoy ◽  
Soleil Worthy ◽  
Melody Fraser ◽  
Daniel Veber ◽  
...  

<p>Ice nucleating particles (INPs) can initiate ice formation in clouds, which has a large impact on the hydrological cycle and radiative budget of the Earth. Constraints on the concentration and composition of INPs are needed to predict ice formation in clouds and hence the climate. Despite previous INP measurements in the Arctic, our understanding of the concentrations, composition, and sources of Arctic INPs is insufficient. Here we report daily concentrations of INPs at Alert, a ground site in the Canadian High Arctic, during October and November of 2018. The contributions of mineral dust and proteinaceous particles to the total INP population were evaluated by testing the responses of the samples to heat and ammonium treatments. Possible source locations of the most effective INPs were investigated using back-trajectory simulations with a Lagrangian particle dispersion model. The results show that the INP concentrations in October were higher than that in November. Combining our results with previous INP measurements at Alert, a seasonal trend was observed for the INP concentrations at -18 °C and -22 °C, with a higher concentration in the late spring, summer and early fall, and a lower concentration in the early spring, late fall, and winter. For the October samples, proteinaceous INPs were detected at T > -21 °C with a fraction of 60% to 100% and mineral dust INPs were detected at T < -21 °C. For the November samples, proteinaceous INPs were only detected at T > -16 °C with a fraction of 88% to 100% and mineral dust INPs were detected at T < -20 °C. The most effective INPs were possibly from South China and California based on 20-day backward simulations using the FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model and the correlations between INP concentrations and Al, , Na<sup>+</sup>, and Cl<sup>-</sup> measured at the site.  </p>

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 3007-3024 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Si ◽  
Erin Evoy ◽  
Jingwei Yun ◽  
Yu Xi ◽  
Sarah J. Hanna ◽  
...  

Abstract. Modelling studies suggest that the climate and the hydrological cycle are sensitive to the concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs). However, the concentrations, composition, and sources of INPs in the atmosphere remain uncertain. Here, we report daily concentrations of INPs in the immersion freezing mode and tracers of mineral dust (Al, Fe, Ti, and Mn), sea spray aerosol (Na+ and Cl−), and anthropogenic aerosol (Zn, Pb, NO3-, NH4+, and non-sea-salt SO42-) at Alert, Canada, during a 3-week campaign in March 2016. In total, 16 daily measurements of INPs are reported. The average INP concentrations measured in the immersion freezing mode were 0.005±0.002, 0.020±0.004, and 0.186±0.040 L−1 at −15, −20, and −25 ∘C, respectively. These concentrations are within the range of concentrations measured previously in the Arctic at ground level or sea level. Mineral dust tracers all correlated with INPs at −25 ∘C (correlation coefficient, R, ranged from 0.70 to 0.76), suggesting that mineral dust was a major contributor to the INP population at −25 ∘C. Particle dispersion modelling suggests that the source of the mineral dust may have been long-range transport from the Gobi Desert. Sea spray tracers were anti-correlated with INPs at −25 ∘C (R=-0.56). In addition, INP concentrations at −25 ∘C divided by mass concentrations of aluminum were anti-correlated with sea spray tracers (R=-0.51 and −0.55 for Na+ and Cl−, respectively), suggesting that the components of sea spray aerosol suppressed the ice-nucleating ability of mineral dust in the immersion freezing mode. Correlations between INPs and anthropogenic aerosol tracers were not statistically significant. These results will improve our understanding of INPs in the Arctic during spring.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meng Si ◽  
Erin Evoy ◽  
Jingwei Yun ◽  
Yu Xi ◽  
Sarah Hanna ◽  
...  

Abstract. Modelling studies suggest that the climate and the hydrological cycle are sensitive to the concentrations of ice-nucleating particles (INPs). However, the concentrations, composition, and sources of INPs in the atmosphere remain uncertain. Here we report daily concentrations of INPs and tracers of mineral dust (Al, Fe, Ti, and Mn), sea spray aerosol (Na+ and Cl−), and anthropogenic aerosol (Zn, Pb, NO3−, NH4+, and non-sea-salt SO42−) at Alert, Canada during a three-week campaign in March 2016. The average INP concentrations measured in the immersion freezing mode were approximately 0.005 ± 0.002 L−1, 0.020 ± 0.004 L−1, and 0.186 ± 0.040 L−1 at −15 ºC, −20 ºC, and −25 ºC, respectively. These concentrations are within the range of concentrations measured previously in the Arctic at ground level or sea level. Mineral dust tracers all correlated with INPs at −25 ºC (correlation coefficient, R, ranged from 0.70 to 0.76), suggesting that mineral dust was a major contributor to the INP population. Particle dispersion modelling suggests that the source of the mineral dust may have been the long-range transported dust from the Gobi desert. Sea spray tracers were anti-correlated with INPs at −25 ºC (R = −0.56). In addition, INP concentrations at −25 ºC divided by mass concentrations of aluminum were anti-correlated with sea spray tracers (R = −0.51 and −0.55 for Na+ and Cl−, respectively), suggesting that the components of sea spray aerosol suppressed the ice-nucleating ability of mineral dust in the immersion freezing mode. Correlations between INPs and anthropogenic aerosol tracers were not statistically significant. These results will improve our understanding of INPs in the Arctic during spring.


2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 3485-3503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katrina M. Macdonald ◽  
Sangeeta Sharma ◽  
Desiree Toom ◽  
Alina Chivulescu ◽  
Andrew Platt ◽  
...  

Abstract. Long-range transport of aerosol from lower latitudes to the high Arctic may be a significant contributor to climate forcing in the Arctic. To identify the sources of key contaminants entering the Canadian High Arctic an intensive campaign of snow sampling was completed at Alert, Nunavut, from September 2014 to June 2015. Fresh snow samples collected every few days were analyzed for black carbon, major ions, and metals, and this rich data set provided an opportunity for a temporally refined source apportionment of snow composition via positive matrix factorization (PMF) in conjunction with FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model) potential emission sensitivity analysis. Seven source factors were identified: sea salt, crustal metals, black carbon, carboxylic acids, nitrate, non-crustal metals, and sulfate. The sea salt and crustal factors showed good agreement with expected composition and primarily northern sources. High loadings of V and Se onto Factor 2, crustal metals, was consistent with expected elemental ratios, implying these metals were not primarily anthropogenic in origin. Factor 3, black carbon, was an acidic factor dominated by black carbon but with some sulfate contribution over the winter-haze season. The lack of K+ associated with this factor, a Eurasian source, and limited known forest fire events coincident with this factor's peak suggested a predominantly anthropogenic combustion source. Factor 4, carboxylic acids, was dominated by formate and acetate with a moderate correlation to available sunlight and an oceanic and North American source. A robust identification of this factor was not possible; however, atmospheric photochemical reactions, ocean microlayer reaction, and biomass burning were explored as potential contributors. Factor 5, nitrate, was an acidic factor dominated by NO3−, with a likely Eurasian source and mid-winter peak. The isolation of NO3− on a separate factor may reflect its complex atmospheric processing, though the associated source region suggests possibly anthropogenic precursors. Factor 6, non-crustal metals, showed heightened loadings of Sb, Pb, and As, and correlation with other metals traditionally associated with industrial activities. Similar to Factor 3 and 5, this factor appeared to be largely Eurasian in origin. Factor 7, sulfate, was dominated by SO42− and MS with a fall peak and high acidity. Coincident volcanic activity and northern source regions may suggest a processed SO2 source of this factor.


2006 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 9655-9722 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Stohl ◽  
T. Berg ◽  
J. F. Burkhart ◽  
A. M. Fjæraa ◽  
C. Forster ◽  
...  

Abstract. In spring 2006, the European Arctic was abnormally warm, setting new historical temperature records. During this warm period, smoke from agricultural fires in Eastern Europe intruded into the European Arctic and caused the most severe air pollution episodes ever recorded there. This paper confirms that biomass burning (BB) was indeed the source of the observed air pollution, studies the transport of the smoke into the Arctic, and presents an overview of the observations taken during the episode. Fire detections from the MODIS instruments aboard the Aqua and Terra satellites were used to estimate the BB emissions. The FLEXPART particle dispersion model was used to show that the smoke was transported to Spitsbergen and Iceland, which was confirmed by MODIS retrievals of the aerosol optical depth (AOD) and AIRS retrievals of carbon monoxide (CO) total columns. Concentrations of halocarbons, carbon dioxide and CO, as well as levoglucosan and potassium, measured at Zeppelin mountain near Ny Ålesund, were used to further corroborate the BB source of the smoke at Spitsbergen. The ozone (O3) and CO concentrations were the highest ever observed at the Zeppelin station, and gaseous elemental mercury was also enhanced. A new O3 record was also set at a station on Iceland. The smoke was strongly absorbing – black carbon concentrations were the highest ever recorded at Zeppelin –, and strongly perturbed the radiation transmission in the atmosphere: aerosol optical depths were the highest ever measured at Ny Ålesund. We furthermore discuss the aerosol chemical composition, obtained from filter samples, as well as the aerosol size distribution during the smoke event. Photographs show that the snow at a glacier on Spitsbergen became discolored during the episode and, thus, the snow albedo was reduced. Samples of this polluted snow contained strongly enhanced levels of potassium, sulphate, nitrate and ammonium ions, thus relating the discoloration to the deposition of the smoke aerosols. This paper shows that, to date, BB has been underestimated as a source of aerosol and air pollution for the Arctic, relative to emissions from fossil fuel combustion. Given its significant impact on air quality over large spatial scales and on radiative processes, the practice of agricultural waste burning should be banned in the future.


2012 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 3241-3251 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. A. Pfaffhuber ◽  
T. Berg ◽  
D. Hirdman ◽  
A. Stohl

Abstract. Long term atmospheric mercury measurements in the Southern Hemisphere are scarce and in Antarctica completely absent. Recent studies have shown that the Antarctic continent plays an important role in the global mercury cycle. Therefore, long term measurements of gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) were initiated at the Norwegian Antarctic Research Station, Troll (TRS) in order to improve our understanding of atmospheric transport, transformation and removal processes of GEM. GEM measurements started in February 2007 and are still ongoing, and this paper presents results from the first four years. The mean annual GEM concentration of 0.93 ± 0.19 ng m−3 is in good agreement with other recent southern-hemispheric measurements. Measurements of GEM were combined with the output of the Lagrangian particle dispersion model FLEXPART, for a statistical analysis of GEM source and sink regions. It was found that the ocean is a source of GEM to TRS year round, especially in summer and fall. On time scales of up to 20 days, there is little direct transport of GEM to TRS from Southern Hemisphere continents, but sources there are important for determining the overall GEM load in the Southern Hemisphere and for the mean GEM concentration at TRS. Further, the sea ice and marginal ice zones are GEM sinks in spring as also seen in the Arctic, but the Antarctic oceanic sink seems weaker. Contrary to the Arctic, a strong summer time GEM sink was found, when air originates from the Antarctic plateau, which shows that the summertime removal mechanism of GEM is completely different and is caused by other chemical processes than the springtime atmospheric mercury depletion events. The results were corroborated by an analysis of ozone source and sink regions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (14) ◽  
pp. 8757-8770 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roghayeh Ghahremaninezhad ◽  
Ann-Lise Norman ◽  
Betty Croft ◽  
Randall V. Martin ◽  
Jeffrey R. Pierce ◽  
...  

Abstract. Vertical distributions of atmospheric dimethyl sulfide (DMS(g)) were sampled aboard the research aircraft Polar 6 near Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, Canada, in July 2014 and on pan-Arctic flights in April 2015 that started from Longyearbyen, Spitzbergen, and passed through Alert and Eureka, Nunavut, and Inuvik, Northwest Territories. Larger mean DMS(g) mixing ratios were present during April 2015 (campaign mean of 116  ±  8 pptv) compared to July 2014 (campaign mean of 20  ±  6 pptv). During July 2014, the largest mixing ratios were found near the surface over the ice edge and open water. DMS(g) mixing ratios decreased with altitude up to about 3 km. During April 2015, profiles of DMS(g) were more uniform with height and some profiles showed an increase with altitude. DMS reached as high as 100 pptv near 2500 m. Relative to the observation averages, GEOS-Chem (www.geos-chem.org) chemical transport model simulations were higher during July and lower during April. Based on the simulations, more than 90 % of the July DMS(g) below 2 km and more than 90 % of the April DMS(g) originated from Arctic seawater (north of 66° N). During April, 60 % of the DMS(g), between 500 and 3000 m originated from Arctic seawater. During July 2014, FLEXPART (FLEXible PARTicle dispersion model) simulations locate the sampled air mass over Baffin Bay and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago 4 days back from the observations. During April 2015, the locations of the air masses 4 days back from sampling were varied: Baffin Bay/Canadian Archipelago, the Arctic Ocean, Greenland and the Pacific Ocean. Our results highlight the role of open water below the flight as the source of DMS(g) during July 2014 and the influence of long-range transport (LRT) of DMS(g) from further afield in the Arctic above 2500 m during April 2015.


2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (16) ◽  
pp. 9413-9433 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Eckhardt ◽  
B. Quennehen ◽  
D. J. L. Olivié ◽  
T. K. Berntsen ◽  
R. Cherian ◽  
...  

Abstract. The concentrations of sulfate, black carbon (BC) and other aerosols in the Arctic are characterized by high values in late winter and spring (so-called Arctic Haze) and low values in summer. Models have long been struggling to capture this seasonality and especially the high concentrations associated with Arctic Haze. In this study, we evaluate sulfate and BC concentrations from eleven different models driven with the same emission inventory against a comprehensive pan-Arctic measurement data set over a time period of 2 years (2008–2009). The set of models consisted of one Lagrangian particle dispersion model, four chemistry transport models (CTMs), one atmospheric chemistry-weather forecast model and five chemistry climate models (CCMs), of which two were nudged to meteorological analyses and three were running freely. The measurement data set consisted of surface measurements of equivalent BC (eBC) from five stations (Alert, Barrow, Pallas, Tiksi and Zeppelin), elemental carbon (EC) from Station Nord and Alert and aircraft measurements of refractory BC (rBC) from six different campaigns. We find that the models generally captured the measured eBC or rBC and sulfate concentrations quite well, compared to previous comparisons. However, the aerosol seasonality at the surface is still too weak in most models. Concentrations of eBC and sulfate averaged over three surface sites are underestimated in winter/spring in all but one model (model means for January–March underestimated by 59 and 37 % for BC and sulfate, respectively), whereas concentrations in summer are overestimated in the model mean (by 88 and 44 % for July–September), but with overestimates as well as underestimates present in individual models. The most pronounced eBC underestimates, not included in the above multi-site average, are found for the station Tiksi in Siberia where the measured annual mean eBC concentration is 3 times higher than the average annual mean for all other stations. This suggests an underestimate of BC sources in Russia in the emission inventory used. Based on the campaign data, biomass burning was identified as another cause of the modeling problems. For sulfate, very large differences were found in the model ensemble, with an apparent anti-correlation between modeled surface concentrations and total atmospheric columns. There is a strong correlation between observed sulfate and eBC concentrations with consistent sulfate/eBC slopes found for all Arctic stations, indicating that the sources contributing to sulfate and BC are similar throughout the Arctic and that the aerosols are internally mixed and undergo similar removal. However, only three models reproduced this finding, whereas sulfate and BC are weakly correlated in the other models. Overall, no class of models (e.g., CTMs, CCMs) performed better than the others and differences are independent of model resolution.


2009 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 18417-18478 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. E. Fuelberg ◽  
D. L. Harrigan ◽  
W. Sessions

Abstract. The Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) mission was a multi-aircraft project whose major objective was to investigate the factors driving changes in the Arctic's atmospheric composition and climate. It was conducted during April and June–July 2008. The summer ARCTAS deployment was preceded by a week of flights over and around California to address state issues of air quality and climate forcing. This paper focuses on meteorological conditions during the ARCTAS Spring and Summer campaigns. We examine mission averaged large-scale flow patterns at the surface, 500 hPa, and 300 hPa and determine their departures from climatology. Results from runs of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model are used to describe meteorological conditions on individual days. Our WRF configuration included a nested grid approach that provided horizontal spacing as small as 5 km. Trajectories calculated from the WRF output are used to determine transport pathways to the Arctic, including their origins and the altitudes at which they reach 70° N. We also present backward trajectories from selected legs of individual ARCTAS flights. Finally, the FLEXPART particle dispersion model, with the high resolution WRF data as input, is used to determine the paths of anthropogenic and biomass burning-derived CO. Results show that there was frequent and widespread transport to the Arctic during both phases of ARCTAS and that the three ARCTAS aircraft sampled air having a multitude of origins, following a myriad of paths, and experiencing many types of meteorological conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 95 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Antonia Cavaco ◽  
Vincent Lawrence St. Louis ◽  
Katja Engel ◽  
Kyra Alexandra St. Pierre ◽  
Sherry Lin Schiff ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT Current models predict increases in High Arctic temperatures and precipitation that will have profound impacts on the Arctic hydrological cycle, including enhanced glacial melt and thawing of active layer soils. However, it remains uncertain how these changes will impact the structure of downstream resident freshwater microbial communities and ensuing microbially driven freshwater ecosystem services. Using the Lake Hazen watershed (Nunavut, Canada; 82°N, 71°W) as a sentinel system, we related microbial community composition (16S rRNA gene sequencing) to physicochemical parameters (e.g. dissolved oxygen and nutrients) over an annual hydrological cycle in three freshwater compartments within the watershed: (i) glacial rivers; (ii) active layer thaw-fed streams and waterbodies and (iii) Lake Hazen, into which (i) and (ii) drain. Microbial communities throughout these freshwater compartments were strongly interconnected, hydrologically, and often correlated with the presence of melt-sourced chemicals (e.g. dissolved inorganic carbon) as the melt season progressed. Within Lake Hazen itself, water column microbial communities were generally stable over spring and summer, despite fluctuating lake physicochemistry, indicating that these communities and the potential ecosystem services they provide therein may be resilient to environmental change. This work helps to establish a baseline understanding of how microbial communities and the ecosystem services they provide in Arctic watersheds might respond to future climate change.


2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 15631-15657 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. Minejima ◽  
M. Kubo ◽  
Y. Tohjima ◽  
H. Yamagishi ◽  
Y. Koyama ◽  
...  

Abstract. In-situ observations of atmospheric CO2 and O2 concentrations at Hateruma Island (HAT, 24° N, 124° E) often show synoptic scale pollution events when air masses are transported from East Asian source regions. We calculate the regression slopes (-ΔO2/ΔCO2 molar ratios) of the correlation plots between O2 and CO2 for selected pollution events observed between October 2006 and December 2008. The observed -ΔO2/ΔCO2 ratios vary from 1.0 to 1.7. Categorizing the air mass origins for the pollution events by using back trajectory analysis, we find that there is a significant difference in the average -ΔO2/ΔCO2 ratios between events from China (1.14±0.12, n = 25) and Japan/Korea (1.37±0.15, n = 16). These values are comparable to the -O2:CO2 molar exchange ratios, which are estimated from the national fossil fuel inventories from CDIAC. Simulations using a particle dispersion model reveal that the pollution events at HAT are predominantly CO2 emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels in East Asian countries, which is consistent with the above observational results. Although the average value of the model-predicted -ΔO2/ΔCO2 ratios for Japan/Korea origin is underestimated in comparison with the observation, that for China origin agree well with the observation. The sensitivity experiment suggests that the -ΔO2/ΔCO2 ratio at HAT reflects about 90% of the change in the -O2:CO2 exchange ratio for the fossil carbon emissions from China.


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