Aerosol Investigation During the Arctic Haze Season of 2018: Optical and Hygroscopic Properties

Abstract

In the beginning of March 2018, Lidar measurements were performed on Svalbard, Arctic Ocean, in order to analyse the optical and hygroscopic properties of Arctic aerosol. In this study, aerosol backscatter showed significant higher values in lower altitudes. The analysis of the Colour Ratio (CR) revealed smaller particles in lower altitudes, with larger particles appearing only above Investigation of the hygroscopic character was done by applying the growth parameter introduced by Gassó et al. (2000). It was found that the method of Zieger et.al. (2010) can be successfully extended to backscatter and CR data from Lidar measurements. Ice nucleation was examined in ice supersaturation conditions, with no ice cloud formation observed. This indicated that the role of Arctic aerosol as ice nuclei is still a poorly understood issue.