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The Arctic is sensitive to cloud radiative forcing. Due to the limited number of aerosols present throughout much of the year, cloud formation is susceptible to the presence of cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles (INPs). Primary biological aerosol particles (PBAP) contribute to INPs and can impact cloud phase, lifetime, and radiative properties. We present yearlong observations of hyperfluorescent aerosols (HFA), tracers for PBAP, conducted with a Wideband Integrated Bioaerosol Sensor, New Electronics Option during the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC) expedition (October 2019–September 2020) in the central Arctic. We investigate the influence of potential anthropogenic and natural sources on the characteristics of the HFA and relate our measurements to INP observations during MOSAiC. Anthropogenic sources influenced HFA during the Arctic haze period. But surprisingly, we also found sporadic “bursts” of HFA with the characteristics of PBAP during this time, albeit with unclear origin. The characteristics of HFA between May and August 2020 and in October 2019 indicate a strong contribution of PBAP to HFA. Notably from May to August, PBAP coincided with the presence of INPs nucleating at elevated temperatures, that is, >−9°C, suggesting that HFA contributed to the “warm INP” concentration. The air mass residence time and area between May and August and in October were dominated by the open ocean and sea ice, pointing toward PBAP sources from within the Arctic Ocean. As the central Arctic changes drastically due to climate warming with expected implications on aerosol–cloud interactions, we recommend targeted observations of PBAP that reveal their nature (e.g., bacteria, diatoms, fungal spores) in the atmosphere and in relevant surface sources, such as the sea ice, snow on sea ice, melt ponds, leads, and open water, to gain further insights into the relevant source processes and how they mi

Aerosol particles acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or ice nucleating parti- cles (INP) play a major role in the formation and glaciation of clouds. Thereby they exert a strong impact on the radiation budget of the Earth. Data on abundance and properties of both particle types are sparse, especially for remote areas of the world, such as the Southern Ocean (SO). In this work, unique results from ship-borne aerosol-particle-related in situ measurements and filter sampling in the summertime SO region are presented. An overview of CCN and INP number concentrations on the Southern Ocean is provided and, using additional analyses on particle chemical composition and air-mass origin, insights regarding possible CCN and INP sources and origins are presented, with the help of a correlation analysis. CCN number concentrations spanned 2 orders of magnitude, e.g. for a supersaturation of 0.3 % values ranged roughly from 3 to 590 cm⁻³. CCN showed variable contributions of organic and inorganic material. No distinct size-dependence of the CCN hygroscopicity parameter was apparent, indicating homogeneous composition across sizes (critical dry diameter on average between 30 nm and 110 nm). The relative contribution of sea spray aerosol (SSA) to the CCN number concentration was on average small (below 35 %). Ambient INP number concentrations were measured in the temperature range from −4 to −27 °C using an immersion freezing method. Concentrations spanned up to 3 orders of magnitude, e.g. at −16 °C from 0.2 to 100 m⁻³. Elevated values (above 10 m⁻³ at −16 °C) were measured when the research vessel was in the vicinity of land (excluding Antarctica). Lower, more constant concentrations were measured on the open ocean. This, along with results of backward-trajectory analyses, hints towards terrestrial and/or coastal INP sources being dominant close to ice-free (non-Antarctic) land. In pristine marine areas INP may originate from both oceanic sources and/or long range transport, Aerosolpartikel, die als Wolkennukleations- oder Eiskeime fungieren, spielen eine Schlüsselrolle in den Entstehungs- und Vereisungsprozessen von Wolken. Mit ihren wolkenrelevanten Eigenschaften haben diese beiden Arten von Aerosolpartikeln einen starken Einfluss auf den Strahlungshaushalt der Erde. Messungen ihrer Häufigkeit und Eigenschaften sind selten, inbesondere in den entlegenen Regionen der Erde wie beispielsweise dem Südlichen Ozean. In dieser Arbeit werden die Ergebnisse von in situ und filterbasierten Partikelmessungen einer Forschungsfahrt auf dem Südlichen Ozean in den Sommermonaten der Südhalbkugel gezeigt. Ein erstmaliger Überblick über die Anzahlkonzentrationen der Wolkennukleations- und Eiskeime über dem Südlichen Ozean wird gegeben. Unter Berücksichtigung weiterer Messergebnisse zur chemischen Zusammensetzung der Partikel und Betrachtungen zur Herkunft der Luftmassen werden Rückschlüsse auf die Herkunft und Quellen der gesammelten, wolkenrelevanten Aerosolpartikel gezogen, auch mit Hilfe einer Korrelationsanalyse. Die Anzahlkonzentration der Wolkennukleationskeime schwankte innerhalb von zwei Größenordnungen, beispielsweise zwischen 3 und 590 cm⁻³ bei 0.3 % Übersättigung. Die chemische Zusammensetzung der Wolkennukleationskeime variierte dabei stark, zwischen organischem und inorganischem Material. Der Hygroskopizitätsparameter zeigte keine Größenabhängigkeit, was für eine intern gemischte Population von Wolkennukleationskeimen spricht (kritische Partikeldurchmesser lagen im Mittel zwischen 30 und 110 nm). Der prozentuale Anteil von Seesalzpartikeln zur Anzahlkonzentration der Wolkennukleationskeime war im Mittel gering (kleiner 35 %). Die Anzahlkonzentration der Eiskeime wurden im Temperaturbereich −4 bis −27 °C mittels einer filterbasierten Immersionsgefriermethode bestimmt. Die Anzahlkonzentrationen schwankten dabei im Bereich von bis zu drei Größenordnungen, beispielsweise zwischen 0.2 und 100 m⁻³ bei einer Temperatur von −16 °C. In Küstennähe

Aerosol particles acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) or ice nucleating parti- cles (INP) play a major role in the formation and glaciation of clouds. Thereby they exert a strong impact on the radiation budget of the Earth. Data on abundance and properties of both particle types are sparse, especially for remote areas of the world, such as the Southern Ocean (SO). In this work, unique results from ship-borne aerosol-particle-related in situ measurements and filter sampling in the summertime SO region are presented. An overview of CCN and INP number concentrations on the Southern Ocean is provided and, using additional analyses on particle chemical composition and air-mass origin, insights regarding possible CCN and INP sources and origins are presented, with the help of a correlation analysis. CCN number concentrations spanned 2 orders of magnitude, e.g. for a supersaturation of 0.3 % values ranged roughly from 3 to 590 cm⁻³. CCN showed variable contributions of organic and inorganic material. No distinct size-dependence of the CCN hygroscopicity parameter was apparent, indicating homogeneous composition across sizes (critical dry diameter on average between 30 nm and 110 nm). The relative contribution of sea spray aerosol (SSA) to the CCN number concentration was on average small (below 35 %). Ambient INP number concentrations were measured in the temperature range from −4 to −27 °C using an immersion freezing method. Concentrations spanned up to 3 orders of magnitude, e.g. at −16 °C from 0.2 to 100 m⁻³. Elevated values (above 10 m⁻³ at −16 °C) were measured when the research vessel was in the vicinity of land (excluding Antarctica). Lower, more constant concentrations were measured on the open ocean. This, along with results of backward-trajectory analyses, hints towards terrestrial and/or coastal INP sources being dominant close to ice-free (non-Antarctic) land. In pristine marine areas INP may originate from both oceanic sources and/or long range transport, Aerosolpartikel, die als Wolkennukleations- oder Eiskeime fungieren, spielen eine Schlüsselrolle in den Entstehungs- und Vereisungsprozessen von Wolken. Mit ihren wolkenrelevanten Eigenschaften haben diese beiden Arten von Aerosolpartikeln einen starken Einfluss auf den Strahlungshaushalt der Erde. Messungen ihrer Häufigkeit und Eigenschaften sind selten, inbesondere in den entlegenen Regionen der Erde wie beispielsweise dem Südlichen Ozean. In dieser Arbeit werden die Ergebnisse von in situ und filterbasierten Partikelmessungen einer Forschungsfahrt auf dem Südlichen Ozean in den Sommermonaten der Südhalbkugel gezeigt. Ein erstmaliger Überblick über die Anzahlkonzentrationen der Wolkennukleations- und Eiskeime über dem Südlichen Ozean wird gegeben. Unter Berücksichtigung weiterer Messergebnisse zur chemischen Zusammensetzung der Partikel und Betrachtungen zur Herkunft der Luftmassen werden Rückschlüsse auf die Herkunft und Quellen der gesammelten, wolkenrelevanten Aerosolpartikel gezogen, auch mit Hilfe einer Korrelationsanalyse. Die Anzahlkonzentration der Wolkennukleationskeime schwankte innerhalb von zwei Größenordnungen, beispielsweise zwischen 3 und 590 cm⁻³ bei 0.3 % Übersättigung. Die chemische Zusammensetzung der Wolkennukleationskeime variierte dabei stark, zwischen organischem und inorganischem Material. Der Hygroskopizitätsparameter zeigte keine Größenabhängigkeit, was für eine intern gemischte Population von Wolkennukleationskeimen spricht (kritische Partikeldurchmesser lagen im Mittel zwischen 30 und 110 nm). Der prozentuale Anteil von Seesalzpartikeln zur Anzahlkonzentration der Wolkennukleationskeime war im Mittel gering (kleiner 35 %). Die Anzahlkonzentration der Eiskeime wurden im Temperaturbereich −4 bis −27 °C mittels einer filterbasierten Immersionsgefriermethode bestimmt. Die Anzahlkonzentrationen schwankten dabei im Bereich von bis zu drei Größenordnungen, beispielsweise zwischen 0.2 und 100 m⁻³ bei einer Temperatur von −16 °C. In Küstennähe

The Southern Ocean is a critical component of Earth’s climate system, but its remoteness makes it challenging to develop a holistic understanding of its processes from the small to the large scale. As a result, our knowledge of this vast region remains largely incomplete. The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE, austral summer 2016/2017) surveyed a large number of variables describing the dynamic state of the ocean and the atmosphere, the freshwater cycle, atmospheric chemistry, ocean biogeochemistry and microbiology. This circumpolar cruise included visits to twelve remote islands, the marginal ice zone, and the Antarctic coast. Here, we use 111 of the observed variables to study the latitudinal gradients, seasonality, shorter term variations, the geographic setting of environmental processes, and interactions between them over the duration of 90 days. To reduce the dimensionality and complexity of the dataset and make the relations between variables interpretable, we applied a sparse Principal Component Analysis (sPCA), which describes environmental processes through 14 latent variables. To derive a robust statistical perspective on these processes and to estimate the uncertainty in the sPCA decomposition, we have developed a bootstrap approach. We identified temporal patterns from diurnal to seasonal cycles, as well as geographical gradients and “hotspots” of interaction. Our results establish connections of oceanic, atmospheric, biological and terrestrial processes in an innovative way, while confirming many well known relations of the Southern Ocean system. More specifically, we identify: the important role of the oceanic circulations, frontal zones, and islands in shaping the nutrient availability that controls biological community composition and productivity; that sea ice predominantly controls sea water salinity, dampens the wave field, and is associated with increased phytoplankton growth and net community productivity possibly due to iron fertiliza

The Southern Ocean is a critical component of Earth's climate system, but its remoteness makes it challenging to develop a holistic understanding of its processes from the small scale to the large scale. As a result, our knowledge of this vast region remains largely incomplete. The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE, austral summer 2016/2017) surveyed a large number of variables describing the state of the ocean and the atmosphere, the freshwater cycle, atmospheric chemistry, and ocean biogeochemistry and microbiology. This circumpolar cruise included visits to 12 remote islands, the marginal ice zone, and the Antarctic coast. Here, we use 111 of the observed variables to study the latitudinal gradients, seasonality, shorter-term variations, geographic setting of environmental processes, and interactions between them over the duration of 90 d. To reduce the dimensionality and complexity of the dataset and make the relations between variables interpretable we applied an unsupervised machine learning method, the sparse principal component analysis (sPCA), which describes environmental processes through 14 latent variables. To derive a robust statistical perspective on these processes and to estimate the uncertainty in the sPCA decomposition, we have developed a bootstrap approach. Our results provide a proof of concept that sPCA with uncertainty analysis is able to identify temporal patterns from diurnal to seasonal cycles, as well as geographical gradients and “hotspots” of interaction between environmental compartments. While confirming many well known processes, our analysis provides novel insights into the Southern Ocean water cycle (freshwater fluxes), trace gases (interplay between seasonality, sources, and sinks), and microbial communities (nutrient limitation and island mass effects at the largest scale ever reported). More specifically, we identify the important role of the oceanic circulations, frontal zones, and islands in shaping the nutrient avail

The Southern Ocean is a critical component of Earth's climate system, but its remoteness makes it challenging to develop a holistic understanding of its processes from the small scale to the large scale. As a result, our knowledge of this vast region remains largely incomplete. The Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition (ACE, austral summer 2016/2017) surveyed a large number of variables describing the state of the ocean and the atmosphere, the freshwater cycle, atmospheric chemistry, and ocean biogeochemistry and microbiology. This circumpolar cruise included visits to 12 remote islands, the marginal ice zone, and the Antarctic coast. Here, we use 111 of the observed variables to study the latitudinal gradients, seasonality, shorter-term variations, geographic setting of environmental processes, and interactions between them over the duration of 90 d. To reduce the dimensionality and complexity of the dataset and make the relations between variables interpretable we applied an unsupervised machine learning method, the sparse principal component analysis (sPCA), which describes environmental processes through 14 latent variables. To derive a robust statistical perspective on these processes and to estimate the uncertainty in the sPCA decomposition, we have developed a bootstrap approach. Our results provide a proof of concept that sPCA with uncertainty analysis is able to identify temporal patterns from diurnal to seasonal cycles, as well as geographical gradients and “hotspots” of interaction between environmental compartments. While confirming many well known processes, our analysis provides novel insights into the Southern Ocean water cycle (freshwater fluxes), trace gases (interplay between seasonality, sources, and sinks), and microbial communities (nutrient limitation and island mass effects at the largest scale ever reported). More specifically, we identify the important role of the oceanic circulations, frontal zones, and islands in shaping the nutrient avail

Ambient concentrations of ice-forming particles measured during ship expeditions are collected and summarised with the aim of determining the spatial distribution and variability in ice nuclei in oceanic regions. The presented data from literature and previously unpublished data from over 23 months of ship-based measurements stretch from the Arctic to the Southern Ocean and include a circumnavigation of Antarctica. In comparison to continental observations, ship-based measurements of ambient ice nuclei show 1 to 2 orders of magnitude lower mean concentrations. To quantify the geographical variability in oceanic areas, the concentration range of potential ice nuclei in different climate zones is analysed by meridionally dividing the expedition tracks into tropical, temperate and polar climate zones. We find that concentrations of ice nuclei in these meridional zones follow temperature spectra with similar slopes but vary in absolute concentration. Typically, the frequency with which specific concentrations of ice nuclei are observed at a certain temperature follows a log-normal distribution. A consequence of the log-normal distribution is that the mean concentration is higher than the most frequently measured concentration. Finally, the potential contribution of ship exhaust to the measured ice nuclei concentration on board research vessels is analysed as function of temperature. We find a sharp onset of the influence at approximately -36 degrees C but none at warmer temperatures that could bias ship-based measurements.