Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222
We discuss remote terrestrial influences on boundary layer air over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and the mechanisms by which they arise, using atmospheric radon observations as a proxy. Our primary motivation was to enhance the scientific community’s ability to understand and quantify the pote...
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2018-11-01
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Series: | Frontiers in Earth Science |
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Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00190/full |
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doaj-14d9175bfa8041588dce2c23da8fd22e |
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record_format |
Article |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Scott D. Chambers Susanne Preunkert Rolf Weller Sang-Bum Hong Ruhi S. Humphries Ruhi S. Humphries Laura Tositti Hélène Angot Michel Legrand Alastair G. Williams Alan D. Griffiths Jagoda Crawford Jack Simmons Taejin J. Choi Paul B. Krummel Suzie Molloy Zoë Loh Ian Galbally Stephen Wilson Olivier Magand Francesca Sprovieri Nicola Pirrone Aurélien Dommergue |
spellingShingle |
Scott D. Chambers Susanne Preunkert Rolf Weller Sang-Bum Hong Ruhi S. Humphries Ruhi S. Humphries Laura Tositti Hélène Angot Michel Legrand Alastair G. Williams Alan D. Griffiths Jagoda Crawford Jack Simmons Taejin J. Choi Paul B. Krummel Suzie Molloy Zoë Loh Ian Galbally Stephen Wilson Olivier Magand Francesca Sprovieri Nicola Pirrone Aurélien Dommergue Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 Frontiers in Earth Science radon Southern Ocean Antarctica atmospheric transport MBL troposphere |
author_facet |
Scott D. Chambers Susanne Preunkert Rolf Weller Sang-Bum Hong Ruhi S. Humphries Ruhi S. Humphries Laura Tositti Hélène Angot Michel Legrand Alastair G. Williams Alan D. Griffiths Jagoda Crawford Jack Simmons Taejin J. Choi Paul B. Krummel Suzie Molloy Zoë Loh Ian Galbally Stephen Wilson Olivier Magand Francesca Sprovieri Nicola Pirrone Aurélien Dommergue |
author_sort |
Scott D. Chambers |
title |
Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 |
title_short |
Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 |
title_full |
Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 |
title_fullStr |
Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222 |
title_sort |
characterizing atmospheric transport pathways to antarctica and the remote southern ocean using radon-222 |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Earth Science |
issn |
2296-6463 |
publishDate |
2018-11-01 |
description |
We discuss remote terrestrial influences on boundary layer air over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and the mechanisms by which they arise, using atmospheric radon observations as a proxy. Our primary motivation was to enhance the scientific community’s ability to understand and quantify the potential effects of pollution, nutrient or pollen transport from distant land masses to these remote, sparsely instrumented regions. Seasonal radon characteristics are discussed at 6 stations (Macquarie Island, King Sejong, Neumayer, Dumont d’Urville, Jang Bogo and Dome Concordia) using 1–4 years of continuous observations. Context is provided for differences observed between these sites by Southern Ocean radon transects between 45 and 67°S made by the Research Vessel Investigator. Synoptic transport of continental air within the marine boundary layer (MBL) dominated radon seasonal cycles in the mid-Southern Ocean site (Macquarie Island). MBL synoptic transport, tropospheric injection, and Antarctic outflow all contributed to the seasonal cycle at the sub-Antarctic site (King Sejong). Tropospheric subsidence and injection events delivered terrestrially influenced air to the Southern Ocean MBL in the vicinity of the circumpolar trough (or “Polar Front”). Katabatic outflow events from Antarctica were observed to modify trace gas and aerosol characteristics of the MBL 100–200 km off the coast. Radon seasonal cycles at coastal Antarctic sites were dominated by a combination of local radon sources in summer and subsidence of terrestrially influenced tropospheric air, whereas those on the Antarctic Plateau were primarily controlled by tropospheric subsidence. Separate characterization of long-term marine and katabatic flow air masses at Dumont d’Urville revealed monthly mean differences in summer of up to 5 ppbv in ozone and 0.3 ng m-3 in gaseous elemental mercury. These differences were largely attributed to chemical processes on the Antarctic Plateau. A comparison of our observations with some Antarctic radon simulations by global climate models over the past two decades indicated that: (i) some models overestimate synoptic transport to Antarctica in the MBL, (ii) the seasonality of the Antarctic ice sheet needs to be better represented in models, (iii) coastal Antarctic radon sources need to be taken into account, and (iv) the underestimation of radon in subsiding tropospheric air needs to be investigated. |
topic |
radon Southern Ocean Antarctica atmospheric transport MBL troposphere |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00190/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
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doaj-14d9175bfa8041588dce2c23da8fd22e2020-11-24T21:06:20ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Earth Science2296-64632018-11-01610.3389/feart.2018.00190411770Characterizing Atmospheric Transport Pathways to Antarctica and the Remote Southern Ocean Using Radon-222Scott D. Chambers0Susanne Preunkert1Rolf Weller2Sang-Bum Hong3Ruhi S. Humphries4Ruhi S. Humphries5Laura Tositti6Hélène Angot7Michel Legrand8Alastair G. Williams9Alan D. Griffiths10Jagoda Crawford11Jack Simmons12Taejin J. Choi13Paul B. Krummel14Suzie Molloy15Zoë Loh16Ian Galbally17Stephen Wilson18Olivier Magand19Francesca Sprovieri20Nicola Pirrone21Aurélien Dommergue22Environmental Research, ANSTO, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaCNRS, IRD, IGE, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, FranceAlfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, GermanyKorea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, South KoreaClimate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, VIC, AustraliaCentre for Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaEnvironmental Chemistry and Radioactivity Lab, University of Bologna, Bologna, ItalyInstitute for Data, Systems and Society, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United StatesCNRS, IRD, IGE, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, FranceEnvironmental Research, ANSTO, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaEnvironmental Research, ANSTO, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaEnvironmental Research, ANSTO, Sydney, NSW, AustraliaCentre for Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaKorea Polar Research Institute, Incheon, South KoreaClimate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, VIC, AustraliaClimate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, VIC, AustraliaClimate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, VIC, AustraliaClimate Science Centre, CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere, Aspendale, VIC, AustraliaCentre for Atmospheric Chemistry, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, AustraliaCNRS, IRD, IGE, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, FranceCNR-Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, Monterotondo, ItalyCNR-Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research, Monterotondo, ItalyCNRS, IRD, IGE, University Grenoble Alpes, Grenoble, FranceWe discuss remote terrestrial influences on boundary layer air over the Southern Ocean and Antarctica, and the mechanisms by which they arise, using atmospheric radon observations as a proxy. Our primary motivation was to enhance the scientific community’s ability to understand and quantify the potential effects of pollution, nutrient or pollen transport from distant land masses to these remote, sparsely instrumented regions. Seasonal radon characteristics are discussed at 6 stations (Macquarie Island, King Sejong, Neumayer, Dumont d’Urville, Jang Bogo and Dome Concordia) using 1–4 years of continuous observations. Context is provided for differences observed between these sites by Southern Ocean radon transects between 45 and 67°S made by the Research Vessel Investigator. Synoptic transport of continental air within the marine boundary layer (MBL) dominated radon seasonal cycles in the mid-Southern Ocean site (Macquarie Island). MBL synoptic transport, tropospheric injection, and Antarctic outflow all contributed to the seasonal cycle at the sub-Antarctic site (King Sejong). Tropospheric subsidence and injection events delivered terrestrially influenced air to the Southern Ocean MBL in the vicinity of the circumpolar trough (or “Polar Front”). Katabatic outflow events from Antarctica were observed to modify trace gas and aerosol characteristics of the MBL 100–200 km off the coast. Radon seasonal cycles at coastal Antarctic sites were dominated by a combination of local radon sources in summer and subsidence of terrestrially influenced tropospheric air, whereas those on the Antarctic Plateau were primarily controlled by tropospheric subsidence. Separate characterization of long-term marine and katabatic flow air masses at Dumont d’Urville revealed monthly mean differences in summer of up to 5 ppbv in ozone and 0.3 ng m-3 in gaseous elemental mercury. These differences were largely attributed to chemical processes on the Antarctic Plateau. A comparison of our observations with some Antarctic radon simulations by global climate models over the past two decades indicated that: (i) some models overestimate synoptic transport to Antarctica in the MBL, (ii) the seasonality of the Antarctic ice sheet needs to be better represented in models, (iii) coastal Antarctic radon sources need to be taken into account, and (iv) the underestimation of radon in subsiding tropospheric air needs to be investigated.https://www.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/feart.2018.00190/fullradonSouthern OceanAntarcticaatmospheric transportMBLtroposphere |