Measurements of aerosol optical and microphysical characteristics in 2018 expeditions onboard RV “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” and RV “Akademik Tryoshnikov”

We discuss the specific features of the spatial distribution of aerosol and black carbon concentrations in the near-ground atmospheric layer, as well as of aerosol optical depth (AOD) over the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean according to measurements in two marine expeditions in 2018. On the average, the spatial distribution shows aerosol characteristics, decreasing with the growing latitude (from the Baltic to Barents Sea), and comparably low characteristics over Arctic seas, from the Barents to Eastern Siberian Sea. The average aerosol characteristics over the Arctic Ocean were: 4.8 cm-3 for number concentrations of particles (with diameters of 0.4 – 10 μm), 40 ng/m3 for black carbon mass concentration, and 0.048 for AOD (0.5 μm). The largest characteristics were obtained in the south of the Barents Sea (near Scandinavia), with values 11 cm-3 for particle concentration, 310 ng/m3 for black carbon concentration, and 0.164 for AOD (0.5 μm).