AAAR 34th Annual Conference
October 12 - October 16, 2015
Hyatt Regency
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Abstract View
Characterization of Local and Long-range Transported Arctic Aerosol Particles in Wintertime
RACHEL KIRPES, Amy Bondy, Bingbing Wang, Alexander Laskin, Andrew Ault, Kerri Pratt, University of Michigan
Abstract Number: 342 Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosols
Abstract The Arctic region is a drastically changing environment due to climate change resulting in rapid transformation and loss of sea ice. It is crucial to understand atmospheric composition under these changing conditions in order to predict future climate. One major contributor to Arctic atmospheric chemistry that has not been extensively studied is due to increased sea ice fracturing generating open sea ice leads that expose the ocean surface, resulting in the emission of sea spray aerosol. This sea spray aerosol generated in the Arctic can influence climate through impacts on cloud formation and snow composition, following deposition. Few studies have been conducted on aerosol particle composition prior to polar sunrise, a time when particle impacts on clouds are expected to be significant. Atmospheric aerosol particle samples were collected near Barrow, Alaska in January and February 2014. Elemental composition and morphology of single particles were characterized by computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (CCSEM-EDX), and k-means clustering was used to determine individual particle types. Raman microspectroscopy was also used to characterize organic and inorganic functional groups and spatial distribution of these species in individual particles at ambient temperature and pressure. The extent and form of atmospheric aging at the single particle level was determined. Meteorological data and sea ice images from the sampling period were used to determine how factors such as wind speed, the presence of open leads, and solar radiation impact particle chemistry. Understanding the chemical composition of Arctic particles in wintertime and particle influence on Arctic climate will inform predictions for the future climate of a rapidly changing environment.