Wintertime Atmospheric Aerosol Chemical Composition, Sources, and Mixing States on the North Slope of Alaska
Author
Kerri Pratt — University of Michigan
Category
High-latitude clouds and aerosols
Description
Despite significant contributions of atmospheric aerosols to Arctic warming, there is a wide spread in simulated aerosol radiative forcing, and significant differences in aerosol concentration levels and seasonal cycles often exist between models and observations. Model evaluations, however, are limited by the dearth of Arctic aerosol observations available and an inadequate understanding of Arctic aerosol processes. The majority of recent Arctic aerosol observations have been made through intensive spring/summer field campaigns, with few measurements in the fall-winter – a period when freeze-up is occurring later and thinning sea ice is resulting in wintertime ice fracturing, leading to wintertime sea spray aerosol emissions. The goal of the Aerosols during the Polar Utqiaġvik Night (APUN – ‘snow on ground’ in Iñupiaq) ARM field campaign on the North Slope of Alaska (NSA) is to improve our understanding of atmospheric aerosol sources, composition, mixing states, and processes during the early Polar Night (Nov. – Dec. 2018) during sea ice freeze-up. The Pratt Lab aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometer (ATOFMS) was successfully deployed for measurements of individual particle size and chemical composition in real-time. Initial results will be presented.
