Physical and radiative properties of Arctic atmospheric aerosols

Atmospheric aerosols sampled in the Arctic Basin by impactors have been analyzed for total aerosol and its black carbon fraction. The mass of black carbon aerosol in the lower troposphere is 1% (1 g black carbon in 100 g total aerosol), reduced to one part in 104 in the stratosphere. The aerosol single scatter albedos vary between 1.0 in the stratosphere, currently dominated by high light scattering due to Pinatubo volcanic aerosol, and 0.94 in the lower troposphere. The aerosol has the potential to regionally warm the earth-atmosphere system because of the high surface albedo of snow-covered surfaces in the Arctic.