Solar irradiance, air pollution and temperature changes in the Arctic

1995 ◽

Vol 352 (1699) ◽

pp. 247-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 22

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Spatial Distribution ◽

Solar Irradiance ◽

Early Spring ◽

Surface Radiation ◽

The Arctic ◽

Radiation Balance ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Global Irradiance ◽

Arctic Haze

A highly significant decrease in the annual sums of global irradiance reaching the surface of the Arctic, averaging 0.36 W m -2 per year, was derived from an analysis of 389 complete years of measurement, beginning in 1950, at 22 pyranometer stations within the Arctic Circle. The smaller data base of radiation balance measurements available showed a much smaller and statistically non-significant change. Reductions in global irradiance were most frequent in the early spring months and in the western sectors of the Arctic, coinciding with the seasonal and spatial distribution of the incursions of polluted air which give rise to the Arctic Haze. Irradiance measured in Antarctica during the same period showed a similar and more widespread decline despite the lower concentrations of pollutants. A marked increase in the surface radiation balance was recorded. Possible reasons for these interpolar anomalies and their consequences for temperature change are discussed.

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A Modeling study to estimate emission source contributions to the Arctic air pollution

Proceedings of the Symposium on Global Environment ◽

10.2208/proge.15.67 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 15 ◽

pp. 67-70

Author(s):

Naoto MURAO ◽

Kazuya SATOH ◽

Sadamu YAMAGATA ◽

Sachio OHTA

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Emission Source ◽

The Arctic ◽

Source Contributions ◽

Modeling Study

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Arctic smoke – aerosol characteristics during a record air pollution event in the European Arctic and its radiative impact

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-7-2275-2007 ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

pp. 2275-2324 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

R. Treffeisen ◽

P. Turnved ◽

J. Ström ◽

A. Herber ◽

J. Bareiss ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Size Distribution ◽

Climate Model ◽

Atmospheric Stability ◽

The Arctic ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Geometric Standard Deviation ◽

Transfer Model ◽

Climatic Effects ◽

Pollution Event

Abstract. In early May 2006 a record high air pollution event was observed at Ny-Ålesund, Spitsbergen. An atypical weather pattern established a pathway for the rapid transport of biomass burning aerosols from agricultural fires in Eastern Europe to the Arctic. Atmospheric stability was such that the smoke was constrained to low levels, within 2 km of the surface during the transport. A description of this smoke event in terms of transport and main aerosol characteristics can be found in Stohl et al. (2007). This study puts emphasis on the radiative effect of the smoke. The aerosol size distribution was characterized as having an accumulation mode centered at 165–185 nm and almost 1.6 for geometric standard deviation of the mode. Nucleation and small Aitken mode particles were almost completely suppressed within the smoke plume measured at Ny-Ålesund. Chemical and microphysical aerosol information obtained at Mt. Zeppelin (474 m.a.s.l) was used to derive input parameters for a one-dimensional radiation transfer model to explore the radiative effects of the smoke. The daily mean heating rate calculated on 2 May 2006 for the average size distribution and measured chemical composition reached 0.55 K day−1 at 0.5 km altitude for the assumed external mixture of the aerosols but showing much higher heating rates for an internal mixture (1.7 K day−1). In comparison a case study for March 2000 showed that the local climatic effects due to Arctic haze, using a regional climate model, HIRHAM, amounts to a maximum of 0.3 K day−1 of heating at 2 km altitude (Treffeisen et al., 2005).

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Investigation of Compression and Reconstruction Methods for Solar Radiation Spectra above, within, and below the Sea Ice in Polar Environments

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology ◽

10.1175/jtech-d-20-0047.1 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (9) ◽

pp. 1681-1695

Author(s):

Hangzhou Wang ◽

Liwen Nan ◽

Xiaoping Wang ◽

Jiuzhou Tu ◽

Ying Chen

Keyword(s):

Sea Ice ◽

Solar Irradiance ◽

Arctic Sea Ice ◽

The Arctic ◽

Essential Information ◽

Radiation Spectra ◽

Reconstruction Methods ◽

Prony's Method ◽

Arctic Sea ◽

Prony’S Method

AbstractTo reduce the amount of data transmitted, while retaining essential information on the original signal after reconstruction, this study investigated three different compression and reconstruction methods for the solar irradiance signals at different levels of the Arctic sea ice. To achieve this, characteristics of solar irradiance at different depths of the Arctic sea ice were analyzed; the solar irradiance profile was measured using a fiber optic spectrometer system at several ice packs from 11 to 25 August 2018, during the ninth Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition. Based on these measurements, three potential methods—fast Fourier transform (FFT), discrete wavelet transform (DWT), and Prony’s method—were selected and applied for the compression and reconstruction of a group of 12 measurements from one profile. The results indicated that the FFT method was generally superior to the DWT method considering the corrected reconstruction rate Rc, under the same compression ratio C. The FFT method had the highest Rc for signals with higher roughness, whereas Prony’s method was more suitable for smoother signals. To ensure that Rc was at least 80% and C was as large as possible, the compression and reconstruction method proposed in this study included the FFT method (C = 6.4) for the signals rougher than 1.5 and Prony’s method employing the matrix pencil method (C = 8) for the smoother signals. The proposed method was successfully verified using an independent group of solar irradiance measurements from another profile in the Arctic sea ice.

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Wintertime Arctic Air Pollution over central Alaska: pre-ALPACA campaign

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-15477 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eleftherios Ioannidis ◽

Kathy S. Law ◽

Jean-Christophe Raut ◽

Tatsuo Onishi ◽

Louis Marelle ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

The United States ◽

Point Sources ◽

The Arctic ◽

Formation Mechanisms ◽

Winter Conditions ◽

Local Point ◽

Temperature Inversions ◽

Local Emissions ◽

Pollution Episodes

The wintertime Arctic is influenced by air pollution transported from mid-latitudes, leading to formation of Arctic Haze, as well as local emissions such as combustion for heating and power production in very cold winter conditions. This contributes to severe air pollution episodes, with enhanced aerosol concentrations, inter-dispersed with cleaner periods. However, the formation of secondary aerosol particles (sulphate, organics, nitrate) in cold/dark wintertime Arctic conditions, which could contribute to these pollution episodes, is poorly understood.In this study, which contributes to the Air Pollution in the Arctic: Climate, Environment and Societies - Alaskan Layered Pollution and Arctic Chemical Analysis (PACES-ALPACA) initiative, the Weather Research Forecasting Model with chemistry (WRF-Chem) is used to investigate wintertime pollution over central Alaska focusing on the Fairbanks region, during the pre-ALPACA campaign in winter 2019-2020. Fairbanks is the most polluted city in the United States during wintertime, due to high local emissions and the occurrence of strong surface temperature inversions trapping pollutants near the surface.Firstly, different WRF meteorological and surface schemes were tested over Alaska with a particular focus on improving simulations of the wintertime boundary layer structure including temperature inversions. An optimal WRF set-up, with increased vertical resolution below 2km, was selected based on evaluation against available data.Secondly, a quasi-hemispheric WRF-Chem simulation, using the improved WRF setup, was used to assess large-scale synoptic conditions and to evaluate background aerosols originating from remote anthropogenic and natural sources affecting central Alaska during the campaign. The model was run with Evaluating the Climate and Air Quality Impacts of Short-Lived Pollutants (ECLIPSE) v6b anthropogenic emissions and improved sea-spray aerosol emissions. Discrepancies in modelled aerosols compared available data are being investigated (e.g. missing dark formation mechanisms, treatment of removal processes).Thirdly, fine resolution simulations, using high resolution emissions (e.g. 2019 CAMS inventory), including local point sources, over the Fairbanks region, were used to investigate chemical and dynamical processes influencing aerosols under different meteorological conditions observed during the field campaign including a cold stable episode and a period with possible mixing of air masses from aloft. The model was evaluated against available aerosol, oxidant (ozone) and aerosol precursor data from surface monitoring sites and collected during the pre-campaign, including vertical profile data collected in the lowest 20m. The sensitivity of modelled aerosols to meteorological factors, such as relative humidity, temperature gradients and vertical mixing under winter conditions are investigated.

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Arctic smoke – record high air pollution levels in the European Arctic due to agricultural fires in Eastern Europe

Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions ◽

10.5194/acpd-6-9655-2006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 9655-9722 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

A. Stohl ◽

T. Berg ◽

J. F. Burkhart ◽

A. M. Fjæraa ◽

C. Forster ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Air Pollution ◽

Eastern Europe ◽

Dispersion Model ◽

Spatial Scales ◽

Agricultural Waste ◽

Particle Dispersion ◽

The Arctic ◽

Aerosol Size Distribution ◽

Radiative Processes ◽

European Arctic

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.

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Late-Quaternary summer temperature changes in the northern-European tree-line region

Quaternary Research ◽

10.1016/j.yqres.2008.02.002 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 69 (03) ◽

pp. 404-412 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Heikki Seppä ◽

Glen M. MacDonald ◽

H. John B. Birks ◽

Bruce R. Gervais ◽

Jeffrey A. Snyder

Keyword(s):

Kola Peninsula ◽

Younger Dryas ◽

Summer Temperature ◽

The Arctic ◽

Fossil Pollen ◽

Tree Line ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

The Holocene ◽

Northern European ◽

Line Region

We present two new quantitative July mean temperature (Tjul) reconstructions from the Arctic tree-line region in the Kola Peninsula in north-western Russia. The reconstructions are based on fossil pollen records and cover the Younger Dryas stadial and the Holocene. The inferred temperatures are less reliable during the Younger Dryas because of the poorer fit between the fossil pollen samples and the modern samples in the calibration set than during the Holocene. The results suggest that the Younger Dryas Tjulin the region was 8.0–10.0°C, being 2.0–3.0°C lower than at present. The Holocene summer temperature maximum dates to 7500–6500 cal yr BP, with Tjulabout 1.5°C higher than at present. These new records contribute to our understanding of summer temperature changes along the northern-European tree-line region. The Holocene trends are consistent in most of the independent records from the Fennoscandian–Kola tree-line region, with the beginning of the Holocene thermal maximum no sooner than at about 8000 cal yr BP. In the few existing temperature-related records farther east in the Russian Arctic tree line, the period of highest summer temperature begins already at about 10,000 cal yr BP. This difference may reflect the strong influence of the Atlantic coastal current on the atmospheric circulation pattern and the thermal behaviour of the tree-line region on the Atlantic seaboard, and the more direct influence of the summer solar insolation on summer temperature in the region east of the Kola Peninsula.

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Effect of temperature on the P4501A response in winter- and summer-acclimated Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) after oral benzo[a]pyrene exposure

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/f99-075 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 56 (8) ◽

pp. 1370-1375

Author(s):

Even H Jørgensen ◽

Johannes Wolkers

Keyword(s):

Salvelinus Alpinus ◽

Arctic Char ◽

Hydrocarbon Contamination ◽

The Arctic ◽

Effect Of Temperature ◽

Temperature Changes ◽

Protein Levels ◽

Biomarker Response ◽

P450 Enzyme ◽

Polycyclic Aromatic

In this study, the time-dependent P450 response to oral benzo[a]pyrene exposure at 1 and 10°C was investigated in winter- and summer-acclimated Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). In both seasons, a strong induction of CYP1A activities and protein levels (measured only in the winter experiment) were seen at both 1 and 10°C. At 1°C, the responses were delayed and more long-lasting than at 10°C. No within-season difference between 1 and 10°C in the magnitude of the induction response was found, but due to elevated baseline CYP1A activities, the induction response was seven times lower in winter- as compared with the response in summer-acclimated Arctic char. The results show that the CYP1A enzymes of the Arctic char respond to temperature changes in a compensatory way, and they are promising with respect to the applicability of the P450 enzyme system of the Arctic char as a biomarker for monitoring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination in high-latitude environments. More studies are needed, however, to reveal seasonal differences in the biomarker response to pollutants.

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