AAAR 32nd Annual Conference
September 30 - October 4, 2013
Oregon Convention Center
Portland, Oregon, USA
Abstract View
Integrated Analysis of Air Pollution at Antarctic: Past, Present and Future of Monitoring of Brazilian Antarctic Program
RICARDO H. M. GODOI, Heitor Evangelista, Marcio Cataldo, Ana Flavia L. Godoi, Renata C. Charello, Sarah L. Paralovo, René Van Grieken, Federal University of Parana - Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Abstract Number: 525 Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosols
Abstract Over the past 50 years, the Antarctic continent recorded the largest increase of atmospheric temperature compared to other continents. The range of +2.5 Celsius degrees is contrasted with the global average increase of +0.6 Celsius degrees for the last 140 years. Key mechanisms behind this warmer climate acceleration have been identified as the melting and thinning of the floating ice shelves triggered by warm ocean water. We hypothesize that the West Antarctic warming can be related to the aerosols transported and/or formed in this region. Thus, the analysis of the aerosols composition is essential to clarify the behavior of the aerosols in the atmosphere and its effects on the heating and cooling of this pristine area, since the atmospheric aerosols can influence climate change directly or indirectly.
One of our research proposes is to study the aerosol dispersion from Rio de Janeiro to the Brazilian Antarctic Station at King George Island. Individual Antarctic aerosol particles were analyzed by low-Z EPMA and the bulk of particles by EDXRF, in order to investigate the elemental composition of particles and bulk samples. EPMA results show high contributions of sulphur, sea salts, aluminosilicates, iron rich and a few soot particles. Alongside to the cruise, the elemental concentration results revealed two main groups. The first group is originating mainly from natural sources, and the second group to be related to long-range transport of anthropogenic aerosol. The monitoring of BC showed that the enhanced concentrations from urban origin can be transported to the South–West Atlantic Ocean due to the migration of sub-polar fronts that frequently reach tropical/subtropical regions.
Our actual project (2010-2014) aims to improve the understanding the impact of aerosols in Central West Antarctica, based on the standalone module - Criosfera 1, which started operation during the early 2011/2012 summer period.