Optical properties of surface aerosols at Dome C, Antarctica in 2007-2013 and their potential source areas are presented. Scattering coefficients (σsp) were calculated from measured particle number size distributions with a Mie code and from filter samples using mass scattering efficiencies. Absorption coefficients (σap) were determined with a 3-wavelength Particle Soot Absorption Photometer (PSAP) and corrected for scattering by using two different algorithms. The scattering coefficients were also compared with σsp measured with a nephelometer at the South Pole Station (SPO). The minimum \sigma_{ap} was observed in the austral autumn and the maximum in the austral spring, similar to other Antarctic sites. The darkest aerosol, i.e., the lowest single scattering albedo \omega_o ≈ 0.91 was observed in September and October and the highest \omega_o ≈ 0.99 in February and March. The uncertainty of the absorption Ångström exponent \sigma_{ap} is high. The lowest \sigma_{ap} monthly medians were observed in March and the highest in August – October. The equivalent black carbon (eBC) mass concentrations were compared with eBC measured at three other Antarctic sites: the SPO and two coastal sites, Neumayer and Syowa. The maximum monthly median eBC concentrations are almost the same (~3 ± 1 ng m-3 ) at all these sites in October-November. This suggests that there is no significant difference in eBC between the coastal and plateau sites.

VIRKKULA A;  GRYTHE Henrik;  BACKMAN John;  PETÄJÄ Tuukka;  BUSETTO Maurizio;  LANCONELLI Christian;  LUPI Angelo;  BECAGLI Silvia;  TRAVERSI Rita;  SEVERI Mirko;  VITALE Vito;  SHERIDAN Patrick;  ANDREWS Elisabeth; 

2022-12-01

COPERNICUS GESELLSCHAFT MBH

JRC126609

1680-7316 (online),   

https://acp.copernicus.org/articles/22/5033/2022/,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC126609,   

10.5194/acp-22-5033-2022 (online),