Antarctic Low Cloud Interaction with Natural Aerosol
ALCINA will deploy a suite of instruments for 18 months, spanning two full summer seasons, to measure aerosol size distributions, aerosol organic and inorganic chemistry, aerosol-cloud properties, downwelling spectral shortwave irradiance at both visible and near-infrared wavelengths, the surface energy budget comprising downwelling and upwelling shortwave and longwave radiation, and turbulent fluxes. Palmer Station is a unique maritime high latitude site that sees frequent alternation in all seasons between airmasses arriving from over the Southern Ocean versus those with continental Antarctic origins. These contrasting origins are expected to have marked contrasts in aerosol chemical and microphysical properties, driven by marine biogenic versus terrestrial sources, respectively. The scientific objective is to acquire a comprehensive set of aerosol microphysics and chemistry, and atmospheric radiometry and remote sensing measurements, to examine the influence of aerosol properties on cloud microphysics and the surface energy budget. Acquiring a full seasonal cycle in aerosol microphysics and chemistry in the Antarctic is a rare opportunity, and the concurrent measurement of atmospheric radiation, will provide a unique resource for improving climate model parameterizations and understanding of the Antarctic atmosphere.
Platform: Land-based
Location: Palmer Station
Timing: September 2022 – March 2024
Contact: Jessie Creamean (jessie.creamean<@>colostate.edu), Dan Lubin (dlubin@ucsd.edu), Lynn Russell (lmrussell@ucsd.edu), and Greg Roberts (gcroberts@ucsd.edu)