On the comparison of the average arrival directions of air masses in the Moscow region versus the average Hanel parameters and average particle refractive indices

In January–July 2008, based on spectropolarimetric measurements, we obtained a time series of diurnally averaged values of the Hanel parameter, the aerosol particle refractive index, and the total aerosol particle volume. It is shown that when the air masses change upon the passage of atmospheric fronts, the latter two quantities vary synchronously and in antiphase. For the entire observation series, we obtained an array of two-day back trajectories for the Zvenigorod Scientific Station (ZSS). We analyzed the relation between the air mass arrival direction and the character of the variations of the Hanel parameter χ and particle refractive index n. It is shown that on average, minimum n values are characteristic of aerosol-rich air masses arriving in the Moscow region from the south, namely, from the Rostov region, the Caucasus, and Turkey. Maximum n values are recorded in maritime Arctic masses arriving from the north and north-northwest, in particular, from the North Atlantic and Barents Sea. Maximum average χ values (≈0.6) were observed in continental masses, having arrived from near-Caspian regions, and minimum values (about 0.35) were observed in Arctic masses. For air masses in all western bearings, the average χ value turned out to be approximately constant at about 0.45. There is no relation between the n and χ variations for both synchronously measured separate values and for average values.