The chemical composition of remote area aerosols

Studies of background atmospheric aerosols have been conducted at a variety of locations during the past ten years. Most sites that have been studied are dominated by regional aerosols, and have relatively high levels of crustal dust or sea salt. The cleanest place on the earth's surface is the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of aerosol science Vol. 12; no. 4; pp. 367 - 384
Main Authors Cunningham, William C., Zoller, William H.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Elsevier Ltd 1981
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Summary:Studies of background atmospheric aerosols have been conducted at a variety of locations during the past ten years. Most sites that have been studied are dominated by regional aerosols, and have relatively high levels of crustal dust or sea salt. The cleanest place on the earth's surface is the Antarctic, as demonstrated by measurements conducted over the last few years. Atmospheric particles collected there have been analyzed by neutron activation analysis, and the results show that the major mass of aerosol is sulfate during the summer season. Minor quantities of crustal dust, sea salt and meteoritic debris were also observed along with a rather small component made up of volatile elements, which are believed to be due, in part, to volcanism. During the winter season, the levels of sulfate, crustal dust and meteoritic debris were observed to decrease, and the level of sea salt increased almost twenty fold due to severe storm activity off the coast of Antarctica and enhanced transport from these boundary areas into the center of the continent. At the same time, transport from the upper troposphere into the lower, near surface areas was severely hindered. The chemistry of the aerosol appears to be very similar each summer season and, between 1971 and 1978, no drastic changes in the composition of the aerosols collected at the South Pole can be noted.
ISSN:0021-8502
1879-1964
DOI:10.1016/0021-8502(81)90026-4