Compositions and mixing states of aerosol particles by aircraft observations in the Arctic springtime, 2018

Aerosol particles were collected at various altitudes in the Arctic during the Polar Airborne Measurements and Arctic Regional Climate Model Simulation Project 2018 (PAMARCMiP 2018) conducted in the early spring of 2018. The composition, size, number fraction, and mixing state of individual aerosol particles were analyzed using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and their sources and transport were evaluated by numerical model simulations. We found that sulfate, sea-salt, mineral-dust, K-bearing, and carbonaceous particles were the major aerosol constituents. Many particles were composed of two or more compositions that had coagulated and were coated with sulfate, organic materials, or both. The number fraction of mineral-dust and sea-salt particles decreased with increasing altitude. The K-bearing particles increased within a biomass burning (BB) plume at altitudes > 3900 m, which originated from Siberia. Chlorine in sea-salt particles was replaced with sulfate at high altitudes. These results suggest that the sources, transport, and aging of Arctic aerosols largely vary depending on the altitude and air-mass history. We also provide the occurrences of solid-particle inclusions (soot, fly-ash, and Fe-aggregate particles), some of which are light-absorbing particles. They were mainly emitted from anthropogenic and biomass burning sources and were embedded within other relatively large host particles. Our TEM measurements revealed the detailed mixing state of individual particles at various altitudes in the Arctic. This information facilitates the accurate evaluation of the aerosol influences on Arctic haze, radiation balance, cloud formation, and snow/ice albedo when deposited.