Specific features of spatial distribution of atmospheric aerosol optical depth along northern sea route

We discuss the aerosol optical depth (AOD) measurements with the sun photometers onboard “Akademik Fedorov” and “Professor Khlyustin” research vessels in Arctic and Far East seas along the Northern Sea Route. Coastal observations in Barentsburg, Tiksi, and Vladivostok are employed to analyze the ship-based measurements. It is shown that AOD in Arctic differs little, with the average AOD values being much less than in the background midlatitude regions. In the spatial distributions of AOD and water vapor in Far East seas, we can clearly see the latitudinal dependence: all characteristics in the Bering Sea are close to data in the Arctic zone, these characteristics increase by a factor of 1.5-2 near south coasts of Kamchatka, and the difference reaches a factor of 4-6 in the region of Vladivostok.