Transport Pathways of Pollution Plumes into the Canadian Arctic during RACEPAC and NETCARE 2014

Heiko Bozem1, Peter Michael Hoor2, Franziska Koellner2,3, Johannes Schneider3, Christiane Schulz4, Julia Burkart5, Megan D Willis5, Andreas Bodo Herber6, Stephan A Borrmann4, Manfred Wendisch7, André Ehrlich7, Warren Richard Leaitch8 and Jonathan Abbatt5, (1)Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany, (2)Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz, Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Mainz, Germany, (3)Johannes Gutenberg University, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Particle Chemistry, Mainz, Germany, (4)Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, Particle Chemistry Department, Mainz, Germany, (5)University of Toronto, Department of Chemistry, Toronto, ON, Canada, (6)Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz-Center for Polar and Marine Research Bremerhaven, Climate Science, Sea Ice Physics, Bremerhaven, Germany, (7)University of Leipzig, Leipzig Institute for Meteorology, Leipzig, Germany, (8)Environment Canada Toronto, Climate Research Division, Toronto, ON, Canada
Abstract:
We present trace gas measurements in the Arctic during RACEPAC and NETCARE 2014. The measurements were performed in May and July 2014 out of Inuvik and Resolute Bay with the POLAR 6 DC-3 aircraft of Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) and focused on cloud processes in the Canadian Arctic as well as transport processes of pollution.

CO and CO2 measurements indicate that long range transport from various sources affected the arctic lower troposphere during spring /summer 2014. Whereas the high latitudes were relatively unaffected by pollution plumes from lower latitudes, the more southern parts of the arctic regions were strongly perturbed by pollution from various sources. These events are likely connected to biomass burning. We also performed measurements of local emissions from shipping, to investigate their potential to penetrate the arctic boundary layer and affect the arctic free troposphere thereby becoming part of the large scale flow.

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