Arctic study of tropospheric aerosol and radiation, ASTAR 2000-field plan (report)

• Main Authors: Takashi Yamanouchi, Andreas Herber
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: National Institute of Polar Research 2001
• Subjects: Arctic; Svalbard; Ny-Ålesund; Longyearbyen; Alfred Wegener Institute; Memoirs of National Institute of Polar Research; Ny Ålesund; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_uri&item_id=2364; http://id.nii.ac.jp/1291/00002364/; https://nipr.repo.nii.ac.jp/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=2364&item_no=1&attribute_id=18&file_no=1

A new German-Japanese cooperative project on aerosols in the Arctic, ASTAR 2000 (Arctic Study of Tropospheric Aerosol and Radiation) is to be carried out in March and April 2000 in the high Arctic region (vicinity of Svalbard). The goal of the project is to investigate the behavior, properties and radiative forcing of tropospheric aerosols in the Arctic with special focus on the "Arctic Haze". Airborne observations of vertical distribution of physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosols will be performed using Dornier 228 aircraft of Alfred-Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research. Extinction coefficients will be measured by sunphotometer. In-situ measurements and sampling of aerosols will also be made. Fifteen flights with about 75 flight hours are planned to be conducted based at Longyearbyen airport (78°N, 15°E) during March 15 and April 25,2000. Coordinated remote sensing by lidar and photometers, in situ measurements and sampling of aerosols will be done at the surface at Ny-Ålesund Scientific Station (78°55′N, 11°56′E), Svalbard. Also, balloon-borne aerosol sondes will be launched. Data are compared with the SAGE II (Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment) satellite measurements. These data will be used as input parameters for an Arctic regional climate model to calculate the radiative forcing of aerosols and to subsequently study their climatic impact.