Measurement of aerosol optical thickness over the Atlantic Ocean and in West Antarctica, 2006–2007

• Published in: Acta Geophysica
• Main Authors: Posyniak, Michał, Markowicz, Krzysztof
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2009
• Subjects: Geophysics; Antarctic; West Antarctica; Antarc*; Antarctica; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/s11600-009-0002-0

Abstract In this paper, optical measurements of aerosol properties made during a ship cruise from Poland to Antarctic Station in September and October 2006, and during the cruise back to Gdynia in April and May 2007 are described. A large gradient of pollution between the clear South Atlantic and the dusty North Atlantic was observed. The maximum of aerosol optical thickness at a wavelength of 500 nm reached 0.4 at 20°N in September 2006 and 0.3 at 40°N in May 2007, respectively. Strong Saharan dust transport is suggested as an explanation for the small values of Ångström exponent observed (values of 0.2 and 0.4 on these respective dates). On the Southern Hemisphere the aerosol optical thickness at 500 nm ranged from 0.05 to 0.2. Significant increases of the aerosol optical thickness were associated with strong wind and sea salt production. Good agreement was found when the in situ measurements of aerosol optical thickness were compared to satellite retrievals and modelling results.