AAAR 31st Annual Conference
October 8-12, 2012
Hyatt Regency Minneapolis
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Long-term Trends in the Chemical Composition of Finnish Arctic Aerosols
JAMES R. LAING, Philip K. Hopke, Liaquat Husain, Vincent A. Dutkiewicz, Jussi Paatero, Tanveer Ahmed, Clarkson University
Abstract Number: 202 Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosols
Abstract The Arctic has experienced dramatic changes in the past half century. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the Arctic is warming at a rate twice as fast as the global average. Currently there is a lack of long-term datasets of atmospheric aerosol composition collected in the Arctic. We present a 47-year dataset characterizing Arctic aerosols. Week-long historical filter samples collected at Kevo, Finland from 1964-2010 have been analyzed for various chemical species. Major ions including methane sulfonate (MSA) have been analyzed for by ion chromatography (IC), trace elements by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and BC by light transmission. Portions of the filters were both acid digested and water extracted to provide semi-total and soluble elemental concentrations. The solubility of certain elements can provide information about the particle origins and formation processes. Trends of various species, specifically SO4 and BC, have implications for global climate models. To evaluate the importance of changes in transport routes to Kevo, correlations between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) values and concentrations of anthropogenic origins will be discussed. Positive phases of the NAO have been found to coincide with increased transport from Northern Eurasia to Alert, Canada and Barrow, Alaska [Eckhardt 2003; Hirdman 2010]. In addition positive NAO indexes increase heat flux into the Barents Sea [Dickson 2000], which has implications for MSA production. Correlations between MSA and sea surface temperature anomalies as well as NAO indexes will be evaluated. Stocks et al. [1998] predicted increased boreal forest fires in Russia due to global warming. The long-term trend of BC concentrations during the summer months will provide insight to this claim. This complete dataset will be able to provide insight into the long term trend of Arctic aerosol chemical species and the possible implications of global climate change in the Arctic.