Aerosol size distribution properties associated with cold-air outbreaks in the Norwegian Arctic
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: . The aerosol particles that provide cloud condensation and ice nuclei contribute to key cloud processes associated with cold-air outbreak (CAO) events but are poorly constrained in climate models due to sparse observations. Here we retrieve aerosol size distribution modes from measurements at Andenes, Norway during the Cold-Air Outbreaks in the Marine Boundary Layer Experiment (COMBLE) and at Zeppelin Observatory, approximately 1000 km upwind in Svalbard. During CAO events at Andenes, the sea spray mode number concentration is correlated to strong over-ocean winds with a mean of 8±4 cm-3 that is 71 % higher than during non-CAO conditions. Additionally during CAO events at Andenes, the mean Hoppel minimum diameter is 6 nm smaller than during non-CAO conditions though the estimated supersaturation is lower and the number concentration of particles that likely activated in-cloud is 109±61 cm-3 (similar to non-CAO conditions). For CAO trajectories between Zeppelin Observatory and Andenes, the upwind-to-downwind change in number concentration is largest for the accumulation mode with a mean decrease of 93±95 cm-3, likely attributable primarily to precipitation scavenging. These characteristic properties of aerosol size distributions during CAO events provide guidance for evaluating CAO aerosol-cloud interaction processes in models.
Institutions: Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of San Diego, University of California San Diego, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Columbia University, Pennsylvania State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Colorado State University, Stockholm University, Bolin Centre for Climate Research
Language: English
Subfield: Global and Planetary Change
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,725
Awards: UNDERSTANDING THE NATURAL SOURCES OF AEROSOLS AND THEIR IMPACTS ON CLOUD FORMATION AND CLIMATE ACROSS HEMISPHERES, Constrained aerosol forcing for improved climate projections, COMBINING LONG-TERM OBSERVATIONS AND LAGRANGIAN CASE STUDIES TO EVALUATE STRATIFORM CLOUD PRECIPITATION PROCESSES IN CLIMATE MODELS, G434337789, G5515769865
OpenAlex ID: W4403691811