Prudhoe Bay Emissions Drive Particle Growth Events Observed in Barrow, AK
Abstract
The Arctic is rapidly warming with decreased sea ice extent opening the region to increased human activity. Understanding changes to particle number concentration and particle size distributions is important to constraining estimates of the effect of such activity on the region. Six years of semi-continuous, size-resolved particle number concentration measurements from the Barrow Observatory on the North Slope of Alaska were examined for evidence of particle growth events. From 2007 to 2015, 45 particle growth events were observed. Based on backward air mass trajectory analysis, roughly equal numbers of particle growth events were influenced by marine and Prudhoe Bay air masses, despite the prevailing transport of air from the Arctic Ocean compared to Prudhoe Bay. The normalized particle growth event frequency suggests that emissions from Prudhoe Bay could induce an average of over 40 particle growth events at Barrow annually, excluding the polar winter. Thus, emissions from the Prudhoe Bay region provide favorable conditions for particle growth observed at Barrow, AK. Development at Prudhoe Bay and throughout the Arctic region is expected to expand during the 21st century as the extent of summertime sea ice decreases. Elevated particle number concentrations due to human activity are likely to have profound impacts on the Arctic climate through direct, indirect, and surface albedo feedbacks, particularly through the addition of cloud condensation nuclei.
- Publication:
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AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2016
- Bibcode:
- 2016AGUFM.A22F..05K
- Keywords:
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- 0305 Aerosols and particles;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0365 Troposphere: composition and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTUREDE: 0368 Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry;
- ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE