Vertical Gradient of Size-Resolved Aerosol Compositions over the Arctic Reveals Cloud Processed Aerosol in-Cloud and above Cloud

Arctic aerosols play a significant role in aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions, but ground-based measurements are insufficient to explain the interaction of aerosols and clouds in a vertically stratified Arctic atmosphere. This study shows the vertical variability of a size resolved aer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental Science & Technology
Main Authors: Lata, Nurun Nahar, Cheng, Zezhen, Dexheimer, Darielle, Zhang, Damao, Mei, Fan, China, Swarup
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech 2023
Subjects:
Arctic
chemical composition
cloud processing
morphology
single particle
vertical profile
Atmospheric Sciences
Alaska
Online Access:https://digitalcommons.mtu.edu/michigantech-p/17057
https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c09498
Description
Summary:Arctic aerosols play a significant role in aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions, but ground-based measurements are insufficient to explain the interaction of aerosols and clouds in a vertically stratified Arctic atmosphere. This study shows the vertical variability of a size resolved aerosol composition via a tethered balloon system at Oliktok Point, Alaska, at different cloud layers for two representative case studies (background aerosol and polluted conditions). Multimodal microspectroscopy analysis during the background case reveals a broadening of chemically specific size distribution above the cloud top with a high abundance of sulfate particles and core-shell morphology, suggesting possible cloud processing of aerosols. The polluted case also indicates broadening of aerosol size distribution at the upper layer within the clouds with the dominance of carbonaceous particles, which suggests that the carbonaceous particles play a potential role in modulating Arctic cloud properties.

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