ACP Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ACP 1680-7324 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acp-13-1293-2013 Aerosol properties over Interior Alaska from lidar, DRUM Impactor sampler, and OPC-sonde measurements and their meteorological context during ARCTAS-A, April 2008 Atkinson D. E. 1 2 8 Sassen K. 2 3 Hayashi M. 4 Cahill C. F. 3 6 Shaw G. 3 5 Harrigan D. 7 Fuelberg H. 7 International Arctic Research Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA Department of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 930 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Drive, Fairbanks, Alaska, 99775, USA Department of Earth System Science, University of Fukuoka, 8-19-1 Nanakuma, Jonan-ku, Fukuoka 814-0180, Japan Department of Physics, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755920, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5920, USA Department of Chemistry, University of Alaska Fairbanks, P.O. Box 755920, Fairbanks, AK 99775-5920, USA Department of Meteorology, The Florida State University, Dept. of Meteorology/404 LOV, 1017 Academic Way/P.O. Box 3064520, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4520, USA present address: Department of Geography, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3060 STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 3R4, Canada 01 02 2013 13 3 1293 1310 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/13/1293/2013/acp-13-1293-2013.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/13/1293/2013/acp-13-1293-2013.pdf

Aerosol loading over Interior Alaska displays a strong seasonality, with pristine conditions generally prevailing during winter months. Long term aerosol research from the University of Alaska Fairbanks indicates that the period around April typically marks the beginning of the transition from winter to summer conditions. In April 2008, the NASA-sponsored "Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites" (ARCTAS) field campaign was conducted to analyze incursions of aerosols transported over Alaska and the Canadian North. In and around Fairbanks, Alaska, data concerning aerosol characteristics were gathered by polarization (0.693 μm) lidar, DRUM Impactor sampler, and balloon-borne optical particle counter. These data provide information on the vertical distribution and type of aerosol, their size distributions, the chemical nature of aerosol observed at the surface, and timing of aerosol loading. A detailed synoptic analysis placed these observations into their transport and source-region context. Evidence suggests four major aerosol loading periods in the 25 March–30 April 2008 timeframe: a period during which typical Arctic haze conditions prevailed, several days of extremely clear conditions, rapid onset of a period dominated by Asian dust with some smoke, and a period dominated by Siberian wildfire smoke. A focused case study analysis conducted on 19 April 2008 using a balloon-borne optical particle counter suggests that, on this day, the majority of the suspended particulate matter consisted of coarse mode desiccated aerosol having undergone long-range transport. Backtrack trajectory analysis suggests aged Siberian wildfire smoke. In the last week of April, concentrations gradually decreased as synoptic conditions shifted away from favoring transport to Alaska. An important result is a strong suggestion of an Asian dust incursion in mid-April that was not well identified in other ARCTAS measurements. The lidar and OPC-sonde unambiguously discern aerosols height stratification patterns indicative of long range transport. Identification of a dust component is suggested by DRUM sampler results, which indicate crustal species, and supported by synoptic and trajectory analysis, which indicates both a source-region lifting event and appropriate air-mass pathways.

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