Arctic Haze

Abstract

Arctic haze is the pseudonym for large-scale industrial air pollution found all through the arctic air mass. It is perhaps in areal extent the most extensive air pollution system so far identified, affecting as it does approximately 9 percent of the earth's surface (an area larger than the African continent) when at its maximum size and strength in January to April. It is the result of strong meridional air currents that surge northward over central to western Eurasia carrying polluted air to the arctic basin. The arctic air mass is dark, cold, stable and stratified, all of which are characteristics that slow the removal of material from the atmosphere. Arctic haze has built up since the industrial revolution, but the pace has quickened since the Second World War as industry evolves northward. Pollution material in arctic haze is of a submicron size and contains a fraction of black carbon: it interacts strongly with solar radiation. In springtime, the atmosphere is heated by an additional 5-20 wm-2 The chemistry of arctic haze is fascinating since it represents an affected air mass in a sort of equilibirium state. Sulfate, mostly as H2SO4, graphitic carbon, and a wide range of heavy metals in higher concentration than in strongly enriched crustal material are the predominant constituents of the particulate arctic air pollution. In addition, the polluted air reaching the arctic brings with it dozens of man-made gaseous pollutants; these can serve as indicators of the original arctic pollution.