Published papers

Biological contamination of fresh produce by fungi in storage is becoming a serious problem. Gaseous chlorine dioxide (ClO2) has been used to prevent fungal growth on fresh produce; however, the specific effects of gaseous ClO2 at concentrations low enough to be safe for the human body on fungal growth remain unknown. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of low-concentration gaseous ClO2 on fungal growth in sweet potatoes over 1 month. Here, a mechanochemical reaction involving the collision of two types of powders was used to produce low concentrations of gaseous ClO2. The experiment was conducted in a container and chlorine dioxide gas was diffused by a circulator to verify its microbiostatic effect in a large space. A clear microbiostatic effect was observed in potatoes without skin when exposed to low-concentration ClO2 for 3 days. Notably, low concentrations (< 1.0 ppm) of ClO2 reduced Rhizopus stolonifer growth in sweet potatoes with skin over 1 month. Therefore, low concentrations of gaseous ClO2 are sufficient to inhibit fungal growth via gas diffusion.

The extensive emissions of black carbon (BC) from the Indo-Gangetic Plain (IGP) region of India have been well recognized. Particularly, biomass emissions from month-specific crop-residue burning (April, May, October, November) and heating activities (December–February) are considered substantial contributors to BC emissions in the IGP. However, their precise contribution to ambient BC aerosol has not been quantified yet and remains an issue of debate. Therefore, this study aims to fill this gap by quantifying the contribution of these month-specific biomass emissions to ambient BC at an urban site in IGP. This study presents the analysis of BC mass concentrations (MBC) measured for 3 years (2020−2022) in Delhi using an optical photometer i.e., continuous soot monitoring system (COSMOS). A statistical analysis of monthly mean MBC and factors affecting the MBC (ventilation coefficients, air mass back trajectories, fire counts) is performed to derive month-wise contribution due to background concentration, conventional emission, regional transport, crop-residue burning, and heating activities. The yearly mean MBC (5.3 ± 4.7, 5.6 ± 5.0, and 5.3 ± 3.5 μg m−3 during 2020, 2021, and 2022, respectively) remained relatively consistent with repetitive monthly patterns in each year. The peak concentrations were observed from November to January and low concentrations from June to September. Anthropogenic activities contributed significantly to MBC over Delhi with background concentration contributing only 30 % of observed MBC. The percentage contribution of emissions from crop-residue burning varied from 15 % (May) to 37 % (November), while the contribution from heating activities ranged from 25 % (December) to 39 % (January). This source quantification study highlights the significant impact of month-specific biomass emissions in the IGP and can play a vital role in better management and control of these emissions in the region.

The charging state of submicron particles strongly affects the number of particles deposited on the inner surface of human airways during inhalation, and an increase in this number leads to adverse effects on human health. However, the key factors controlling the charging state of particles are poorly understood because of the limited measurements of the number concentrations of charged submicron particles. In order to experimentally investigate the key factors controlling the number concentration of charged particles, the technique for accurately measuring the number concentration of non-charged particles (Nnon-charge) was improved based on a system consisting of optical particle counters and a parallel-plate particle separator to which a high voltage (1.0–1.5 kV) was applied. The ratio of the Nnon-charge to the total number concentration of particles (Ntotal), with diameters 0.3–0.5 µm, was used as a metric of the number fraction of non-charged particles. A decrease in the Nnon-charge/Ntotal ratio with an increase in the negative ion concentration (nion–) and the nion–/Ntotal ratio under stable meteorological conditions showed an increase in the number of charged particles by collisions between aerosols and ions. Under fluctuating humidity conditions, the Nnon-charge/Ntotal ratio also decreased with an increase in the nion– and the nion–/Ntotal ratio. Particularly, the decrease rate in the Nnon-charge/Ntotal ratio was greater at higher nion– and nion–/Ntotal ratio values than that under stable meteorological conditions. This suggests that the generation of water vapor drives an increase in ion concentration, leading to frequent collisions between excessive negative ions and aerosols. A quantitative understanding of the changes in the number fraction of charged particles with increasing humidity and nion– can assist in estimating the number of particles deposited on the inner surface of human airways.

Suspended particulate matter (PM) in subway premises contain high concentrations of metal components and distinctive compounds owing to their unique emission processes. However, little is known regarding the detailed chemical states of airborne PM and their biological effects. Therefore, to demonstrate the unique chemical states of the PM collected from subway premises and outdoors, this study compared the chemical speciation of iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) components using X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. The potential biological effects of these chemical states on humans were also investigated in vitro by assessing cell damage and its pathways in cells after exposure to several compounds. Compared with a reference outdoor PM sample, Fe was enhanced by at least 10 times in subway PM and the concentrations of several metal components, including Cu, contained in railway bodies, rail, overhead wires, and tunnel walls, also increased. In these chemical speciations, the compounds derived from wear processes with relatively high-temperature oxidation (Fe3O4, γ-Fe2O3, and monovalent Cu compounds) were detected among the Fe and Cu components in subway PM. Our cell-based bioassay suggested that the contribution of the Fe component to cell damage can be enhanced by the predominance of Fe3O4 in subway PM. In contrast to typical bivalent Cu compounds in the atmosphere, monovalent Cu compounds, which are characteristically identified in subway PM, exacerbate cell damage via different cell death pathways. Our results indicate that the chemical states of the distinctive compounds in the PM of subway premises differ from those in the typical atmosphere, thus exerting different biological effects. These findings suggest that the detailed chemical speciation is an important factor in accurately understanding their PM toxicities.

The chemical components and mechanisms underlying the toxicity and adverse health effects of particulate matter (PM) in the atmosphere have not been fully elucidated. After designing a small, openable, stainless steel cyclone to collect PM samples effectively in powder form for use in toxicological experiments, we evaluated its performance. We compared it with a commercially available aluminum cyclone of similar dimensions, but which is unopenable. The aerodynamic cutoff diameter of the openable cyclone was found by experimentation to be approximately 0.2 µm at a flow rate of 90 L min−1, which is comparable to the unopenable commercial cyclone. The sampling yields, representing the fraction of obtained sample mass relative to the total mass of PM with aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm (PM2.5) drawn into the sampler, were approximately 1.3 times higher, on average, for the openable cyclone than for the unopenable cyclone. The openable design of the cyclone might contribute to a marked increase in the finally obtained amounts of PM samples. Analyses of metal concentrations in the PM samples collected simultaneously using the stainless steel openable cyclone and aluminum unopenable cyclone suggest that the stainless steel cyclone is less likely than the aluminum cyclone to cause sample contamination from its material. The openable cyclone developed for this study facilitates the effective collection of powder-form PM samples suitable for use in toxicological experiments.

Long-term measurements of the mass concentration of black carbon (BC) in the atmosphere (MBC) with well-constrained accuracy are indispensable to quantify its emission, transport, and deposition. The aerosol light absorption coefficient (babs), usually measured by a filter-based absorption photometer, including an Aethalometer (AE), is often used to estimate MBC. The measured babs is converted to MBC by assuming a value for the mass absorption cross section (MAC). Previously, we derived the MAC for AE (MAC (AE)) from measured babs and independently measured MBC values at two sites in the Arctic. MBC was measured with a filter-based absorption photometer with a heated inlet (COSMOS). The accuracy of the COSMOS-derived MBC (MBC (COSMOS)) was within about 15%. Here, we obtained additional MAC (AE) measurements to improve understanding of its variability and uncertainty. We measured babs (AE) and MBC (COSMOS) at Alert (2018–2020), Barrow (2012–2022), Ny-Ålesund (2012–2019), and Pallas (2019–2022). At Pallas, we also obtained four-wavelength photoacoustic aerosol absorption spectrometer (PAAS-4λ) measurements of babs. babs (AE) and MBC (COSMOS) were tightly correlated; the average MAC (AE) at the four sites was 11.4 ± 1.2 m2 g−1 (mean ± 1σ) at 590 nm and 7.76 ± 0.73 m2 g−1 at 880 nm. The spatial variability of MAC (AE) was about 11% (1σ), and its year-to-year variability was about 18%. We compared MAC (AE) in the Arctic with values at mid-latitudes, measured by previous studies, and with values obtained by using other types of filter-based absorption photometer, and PAAS-4λ. Copyright © 2024 American Association for Aerosol Research.

Considering the significance of PM1 aerosol in assessing health impacts of air pollution, an extensive analysis of PM1 samples collected at an urban site in Delhi is presented in this study. Overall, PM1 contributed to about 50 % of PM2.5 mass which is alarming especially in Delhi where particle mass loadings are usually higher than prescribed limits. Major portion of PM1 consisted of organic matter (OM) that formed nearly 47 % of PM1 mass. Elemental carbon (EC) contributed to about 13 % of PM1 mass, whereas SO42− (16 %), NH4+ (10 %), NO3− (4 %) and Cl− (3 %) were the major inorganic ions present. Sampling was performed in two distinctive campaign periods (in terms of meteorological conditions and heating (fire) activities), during the year 2019, each spanning two-week time, i.e. (i) September 3rd-16th (clean days), and (ii) November 22nd-December 5th (polluted days). Additionally, PM2.5 and black carbon (BC) were measured simultaneously for subsequent analysis. The 24-h averaged mean concentrations of PM2.5 and BC during clean days (polluted days) were 70.6 ± 26.9 and 3.9 ± 1.0 μg m−3 (196 ± 104 and 7.6 ± 4.1 μg m−3), respectively, which were systematically lower (higher) than that of the annual mean (taken from studies conducted at same site in 2019) of 142 and 5.7 μg m−3, respectively. Changes in characteristic ratios (i.e., organic carbon (OC)/elemental carbon (EC) and K+/EC) of chemical species detected in PM1 show an increase in biomass emissions during polluted days. Increase in biomass emission can be attributed to increase in heating practices (burning of biofuels such as wood logs, straw, and cow-dung cake) in- and around- Delhi because of fall in temperature during second campaign. Furthermore, a significant increase in NO3− fraction of PM1 is observed during second campaign which shows fog processing of NOX due to conducive meteorological conditions in winters. Also, comparatively stronger correlation of NO3− with K+ during second campaign (r = 0.98 as compared to r = 0.5 during first campaign) suggests the increased heating practices to be a contributing factor for increased fraction of NO3− in PM1. We observed that during polluted days, meteorological parameters such as dispersion rate also played a major role in intensifying the impact of increased local emissions due to heating activities. Apart from this, change in the direction of regional emission transport to study site and the topology of Delhi are the possible reasons for the elevated pollution level, especially PM1 during winter in Delhi. This study also suggests that black carbon measurement techniques used in current study (optical absorbance with heated inlet and evolved carbon techniques) can be used as reference techniques to determine the site-specific calibration constant of optical photometers for urban aerosol.

The Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in Japan resulted in the emission of many radioactive cesium (Cs)-containing particles that have charges on the surface due to self-charging. Charged aerosol particles are efficiently deposited inside human airways, leading to adverse health effects. To evaluate these effects, we developed a technique for estimating the charge number (n p) of radioactive particles by measuring the surface potentials (V p) of individual radioactive particles using Kelvin probe force microscopy. The V p values of the individual CsCl particles were highly correlated with the surface n p, indicating that V p is a measure of the charged aerosol state. To further examine the V p–n p relationship, a simplified capacitance model was developed to estimate the ratio of V p to n p per unit area of particles. Although the calculated V p was proportional to the n p, consistent with our experiment, the calculated ratio was higher than those determined experimentally. The magnitude of this ratio may depend on the conductivity, microphysical properties and chemical composition of the particles. Despite these uncertainties, the experimentally determined V p–n p relationship of the CsCl particles was used to estimate the n p of the radioactive and non-radioactive particles from the measurement of the V p of these particles. It was demonstrated that the n p of the radioactive particles was much higher than that of the non-radioactive particles, suggesting that radioactive particles are efficiently charged by self-charging. These charged radioactive particles may strongly cause adverse human health effects owing to their efficient deposition in human airways.

Measurement of particulate matter (PM) constituent such as black carbon (BC) over urban sites is critically important owing to its adverse health and climate impacts. However, the impacts associated with BC are poorly understood primarily because of the scarcity and uncertainties of measurements of BC. Here, we present BC measurement at an urban site of Delhi using a characterized continuous soot monitoring system (COSMOS) for a year-long period, i.e., from September, 2019 to August, 2020. This measurement period covers events, i.e., period of crop residue burnings from nearby states, festive events, e.g., Diwali and New Year, and first COVID-19 lockdown period. Effects of these events combining with local emissions and meteorological conditions on BC mass concentration (MBC) are investigated to find the possible cause of severe pollution levels in Delhi. Mean MBC for the complete observation period was found to be 5.02 ± 4.40 µg m–3. MBC showed significant seasonal as well diurnal variations. Winter season (December to February) is observed to be the most polluted season owing to increased local emissions and non-favorable meteorological conditions. Regional emission from crop burning in nearby states during October and November is the main contributing factor for increased pollution in this post-monsoon season. Furthermore, analysis reveals that cracker burning during festivals can also be considered as contributing factor to high MBC for a short period in post-monsoon and winter seasons. Significant decrease in MBC due to COVID-19 lockdown is also observed. MBC in summer and monsoon are lower as compared to other seasons but are still higher than mean MBC levels in several other urban cities of different countries. Also, the BC data obtained from nearby sites and Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications-version 2 (MERRA-2)’s surface black carbon (SBC) are compared against the MBC to evaluate coherency among the different datasets, and discussed in detail.

Abstract. Black carbon (BC) particles in the Arctic contribute torapid warming of the Arctic by heating the atmosphere and snow and icesurfaces. Understanding the source contributions to Arctic BC is thereforeimportant, but they are not well understood, especially those foratmospheric and snow radiative effects. Here we estimate simultaneously thesource contributions of Arctic BC to near-surface and vertically integratedatmospheric BC mass concentrations (MBC_SRF andMBC_COL), BC deposition flux (MBC_DEP), and BC radiative effects at the top of the atmosphere and snowsurface (REBC_TOA and REBC_SNOW)and show that the source contributions to these five variables are highlydifferent. In our estimates, Siberia makes the largest contribution toMBC_SRF, MBC_DEP, andREBC_SNOW in the Arctic (defined as >70∘ N), accounting for 70 %, 53 %, and 41 %, respectively.In contrast, Asia's contributions to MBC_COL andREBC_TOA are largest, accounting for 37 % and 43 %,respectively. In addition, the contributions of biomass burning sources arelarger (29 %–35 %) to MBC_DEP, REBC_TOA, and REBC_SNOW, which are highest from late springto summer, and smaller (5.9 %–17 %) to MBC_SRF andMBC_COL, whose concentrations are highest from winter tospring. These differences in source contributions to these five variablesare due to seasonal variations in BC emission, transport, and removalprocesses and solar radiation, as well as to differences in radiative effectefficiency (radiative effect per unit BC mass) among sources. Radiativeeffect efficiency varies by a factor of up to 4 among sources (1471–5326 W g−1) depending on lifetimes, mixing states, and heights of BC andseasonal variations of emissions and solar radiation. As a result, sourcecontributions to radiative effects and mass concentrations (i.e.,REBC_TOA and MBC_COL, respectively)are substantially different. The results of this study demonstrate theimportance of considering differences in the source contributions of ArcticBC among mass concentrations, deposition, and atmospheric and snow radiativeeffects for accurate understanding of Arctic BC and its climate impacts.

Previous studies on the aerosol indirect effect have demonstrated that there are three regimes (aerosol-limited, updraft-limited, and transitional regimes). However, this classification of regimes has not been widely used in field observations as it requires measurements of updraft or supersaturation near the cloud base (Smax), which are not easy to perform. In this study, we attempted to classify the regimes using the effective supersaturation (Seff) which is relatively easy to estimate by matching cloud droplet number concentration (Nc) and supersaturation spectra of cloud condensation nuclei. Parcel model simulations were performed to examine the suitability of Seff as a proxy for Smax. Further, 35 low-level cloud cases observed around 458 m over Tokyo were classified into three regimes. In the aerosol-limited regime, Nc increased more rapidly with an increment of aerosols than in the other two regimes, indicating that the regime classification using Seff was sufficiently robust. The aerosol-limited regime in Tokyo appeared frequently when northerly winds prevailed, indicating the impact of local pollution sources around Tokyo on the aerosol cloud interaction. The results imply that anthropogenic aerosol emissions affect the climate of Tokyo.

Soot particles strongly absorb solar radiation and contribute to global warming. Also, wetting properties of soot at emission can affect its lifetime. We investigated surface conditions related to wetting and hydrophobic properties of fresh soot using data from measurements taken in Tokyo. A cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) counter was used to clarify surface conditions of particles composed mainly of water-insoluble (WI) materials: total and active particles as CCN around critical supersaturation (Sc) of 203-nm-diameter WI particles. Averaged number fractions of inactivated particles as CCN at 1.05% supersaturation (SS), which is Sc of hydrophilic WI particles, were estimated as 1.4%. Number fractions of inactive particles changed less at 1.78%SS during rush hour and increased at 0.89%SS, implying that most of the WI particles included small amounts of water-soluble (WS) materials rather than being completely hydrophobic. Based on transmission electron microscope (TEM) analysis of samples collected during rush hour, 69% of the mostly bare soot particles had Na or K small domains that are regarded as originating in fossil fuels. Based on water dialysis analysis results, some Na and K on soot were WS. Combination results with CCN measurements suggest that these WS materials decrease the Sc of soot. Moreover, the morphological structure of sulfate covering Na and K domains on the soot surface implicates pre-existing sodium and potassium compounds on soot as a trigger of soot aging. However, inactive particles at Sc at poor-hydrophilic particles and soot particles composed solely of WI materials on TEM samples were also found, although they were minor. Such particles, which are unfavorable for obtaining a wettable surface, might retain non-hygroscopicity for a longer period in the atmosphere. Evaluation of long-range soot transport can benefit from consideration of slight and inhomogeneous differences of chemical compounds on soot that occur along with their emission.

It is important to improve the understanding of spatiotemporal distributions of the aerosol concentration over East Asia, a major emission source region, for reliable estimates of a radiative forcing in global models. The long-term measurements of the aerosol number concentration (N) were conducted at the summit of Mt. Fuji (3776 m above sea level) during the summer of 2006-2019, where free tropospheric transport dominates the arriving air-mass in the nighttime. Median N values within 15-149 nm diameter range decreased from 614 cm−3 to 227 cm−3 during the observation periods and the decreasing ratio of N was the largest in the nucleation mode range whose median N value in 2019 was lower by a factor of about 5 than that in 2006. The decreasing ratio in the nighttime was similar to that in the daytime within the Aitken and accumulation mode ranges. The decrease in the nighttime partly arises from the emission regulation of aerosols and precursor gases throughout East Asia and the decrease in a new particle formation in the free troposphere. The N in the daytime is partly affected by the decrease in the concentrations of the pollutants in the planetary boundary layer and free troposphere. Our long-term N data in the free troposphere is useful to validate climate models.

This study discussed the contribution of new particle formation (NPF) events to the number concentrations of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) based on aerosol number size distributions measured at the summit of Mt. Fuji. The observations were made during the summer months of 2014〜2019. The size distribution is measured by a scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), and the CCN number concentration is estimated by the number concentration of particles larger than 80 nm (N80). At the summit of Mt. Fuji, the event occurred 113 times and the increase of N80 was recorded 60 times out of 217 days of analysis. The N80 increased by 47 to 234 cm-3 due to NPFs, and the increase rate was 123 to 302%. By comparing the diurnal variation of N80 on days with and without NPF events, it was confirmed that the events increased N80. At the summit of Mt. Fuji, the increase in N80 due to NPF was small compared to some other stations, but the rate of increase was relatively high. Mode diameters grew to 80 nm in 7 of 113 events. The concentration of increase in N80 is 9 to 552 cm-3, the increase rate is 111 to 700%. The growth period from 25 nm to 80 nm was about 2 to 12 hours, and the growth rate was about 5 to 30 nm h-1. The growth characteristics depended on the particle number concentration produced by the NPF, the origin and transport route of air mass, the existing particle number concentration of N80, the precursor gas concentration, and the chemical composition of the aerosol.

Abstract. Long-term measurements of atmospheric mass concentrations of black carbon (BC) are needed to investigate changes in its emission, transport, and deposition. However, depending on instrumentation, parameters related to BC such as aerosol absorption coefficient (babs) have been measured instead. Most ground-based measurements of babs in the Arctic have been made by filter-based absorption photometers, including particle soot absorption photometers (PSAP), continuous light absorption photometer (CLAP), Aethalometers, and multi-angle absorption photometers (MAAP). The measured babs can be converted to mass concentrations of BC (MBC) by assuming the value of the mass absorption cross section (MAC; MBC = babs/MAC). However, the accuracy of conversion of babs to MBC has not been adequately assessed. Here, we introduce a systematic method for deriving MAC values from babs measured by these instruments and independently measured MBC. In this method, MBC was measured with a filter-based absorption photometer with a heated inlet (COSMOS). COSMOS-derived MBC (MBC (COSMOS)) is traceable to a rigorously calibrated single particle soot photometer (SP2) and the absolute accuracy of MBC (COSMOS) has been demonstrated previously to be about 15 % in Asia and the Arctic. The necessary conditions for application of this method are a high correlation of the measured babs with independently measured MBC, and long-term stability of the regression slope, which is denoted as MACcor (MAC derived from the correlation). In general, babs–MBC (COSMOS) correlations were high (r2 = 0.76–0.95 for hourly data) at Alert in Canada, Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard, Barrow in Alaska, Pallastunturi in Finland, and Fukue in Japan, and stable for up to 10 years. We successfully estimated MACcor values (10.6–15.2 m2 g−1 at a wavelength of 550 nm) for these instruments and these MACcor values can be used to obtain error-constrained estimates of MBC from babs measured at these sites even in the past, when COSMOS measurements were not made. Because the absolute values of MBC in these Arctic sites estimated by this method are consistent with each other, they are applicable to the study of spatial and temporal variation of MBC in the Arctic and to evaluation of the performance of numerical model calculations.

Black carbon (BC) aerosol deposited in and onto Arctic snow increases the snow's absorption of solar radiation and accelerates snowmelt. Concentrations of BC in the Arctic atmosphere and snow are controlled by wet deposition; however, details of this process are poorly understood owing to the scarcity of time-resolved measurements of BC in hydrometeors. We measured mass concentrations of BC in hydrometeors (C-MBC) and in air (M-BC) with 16% and 15% accuracies, respectively, at Ny-angstrom lesund, Svalbard during 2012-2019. Median monthly M-BC and C-MBC values showed similar seasonal variations, being high in winter-spring and low in summer. Median monthly BC wet deposition mass flux (F-MBC) was highest in winter and lowest in summer, associated with seasonal patterns of C-MBC and precipitation. Seasonally averaged BC size distributions in hydrometeors were similar except for summer. Measurements of M-BC and C-MBC in spring 2017 showed a size-independent removal efficiency, indicating that BC-containing particles were efficiently activated into cloud droplets. These observations at Ny-angstrom lesund were compared with observations at Barrow, Alaska, during 2013-2017. The near-surface M-BC at Ny-angstrom lesund and Barrow had similar seasonal patterns; however, the two sites differed in C-MBC and F-MBC. In summer, C-MBC was low at Ny-angstrom lesund but moderate at Barrow, likely reflecting differences in M-BC in the lower troposphere. Seasonally averaged BC size distributions in hydrometeors were similar at both sites, suggesting that average BC size distributions are similar in the Arctic lower troposphere. The efficiency of BC removal tends to be size-independent during transport, leading to the observed similarity.

Aerosols and clouds play important roles in the Arctic climate. Conversely, aerosol emissions and cloud formation are affected by changes in the Arctic climate. This paper reviews studies of aerosols and clouds performed during the Arctic Challenge for Sustainability (ArCS) project carried out by the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) in Japan and collaborating institutions. The ArCS project included intensive studies of black carbon aerosols (BC). We installed Continuous Soot Monitoring System (COSMOS) instruments to measure atmospheric BC at four locations in the Arctic, establishing the Arctic BC COSMOS Measurement Network (ABCMnet). We also measured BC concentrations in snowpack in extensive areas of the Arctic and showed that previous studies have greatly overestimated BC in snowpack. We developed and improved new aerosol models that achieved better agreements with measurements of BC in the Arctic atmosphere, snowpack, and falling snow. We made new estimates of radiative forcing of BC in the Arctic atmosphere and snow/ice surfaces that lower their albedo. In addition to these researches on BC, we made accurate measurements of ice nucleating particles (INPs) at Ny-?lesund, Svalbard, showing that their concentrations increased in summer as a result of dust particle emissions from glacial outwash sediments. This high ice nucleating ability was likely due to the presence of organic substances mixed with the dust particles. We also made continuous cloud radar measurements and the first continuous in-situ measurements of cloud microphysical properties in the Arctic at Ny-?lesund. Results from these cloud measurements and their relationship with aerosols are described.

Black carbon (BC) aerosol deposited in and onto Arctic snow increases the snow's absorption of sunlight and accelerates snowmelt. Wet removal of BC from the atmosphere plays a key role in determining its abundance in the Arctic atmosphere and in Arctic snow. However, this process is poorly understood, mainly due to the scarcity of relevant measurements. To study wet deposition of BC, we made measurements of mass concentration of BC in snow and rain (CMBC) and of BC in air (MBC) with high accuracy (16% and 10%, respectively) at the Barrow Atmospheric Baseline Observatory, Alaska, from July 2013 to August 2017 and analyzed them along with routinely measured meteorological parameters from Barrow. Monthly mean MBC near the surface and CMBC were poorly correlated from midwinter to early spring, when CMBC was close to the annual median while MBC was at its annual peak. Seasonal variations in the altitude distribution of MBC may lead to these differences in seasonal variation of MBC near the surface and CMBC. About 50% of the annual wet deposition of BC occurred in the 3 months of summer, associated with high values of total precipitation and BC originating from biomass burning. Size distributions of BC in snow and rain were stable throughout the year, suggesting that the size distribution of BC in the lower troposphere was similarly stable. Calculations by two global models reproduced the observed seasonal variations of CMBC and showed that BC from biomass burning dominated CMBC in summer.

Black carbon (BC), brown carbon, and light-absorbing iron oxides (FeOx) aerosols affect Earth's energy budget through their strong absorption of solar radiation. FeOx aerosols can also affect global biogeochemical cycles through their role as a nutrient for oceanic phytoplankton. However, observational data for these aerosols required for evaluating their effects using global models are scarce, especially for FeOx. Here, we summarize and compare the data sets of BC and FeOx from five ground-based and three aircraft observation campaigns conducted in the East Asian and Arctic regions during the 2009–2018 period acquired using a modified single-particle soot photometer. In these campaigns, >80% of FeOx-containing aerosols in the 170–270 nm FeOx core size range had microphysical features indicating an anthropogenic origin. The particle size distribution for each of the BC and FeOx was similar in all of the data sets except for those dominated by fresh urban pollution or pristine Arctic air. The campaign-averaged mass concentrations of FeOx and BC were ~60–360 ng/m3 and ~240–1,300 ng/m3, respectively, in East Asia, and ~6 ng/m3 and ~20–30 ng/m3, respectively, in the Arctic. The campaign-averaged FeOx/BC mass concentration ratio varied within a narrow range of 0.2–0.6 in both East Asian and Arctic regions. In every campaign, FeOx, BC, and carbon monoxide were tightly correlated with each other with similar slope to the urban campaigns (around Tokyo), implying the spatiotemporal variation of anthropogenic FeOx emission around northern middle-to-high latitudes is similar to those of anthropogenic BC and CO emissions.