DOI: 10.21455/GPB2017.4-1

AIR MASS AND POLLUTION TRANSPORT
TO THE ARCTIC RUSSIAN ISLANDS (1986-2016):
LONG-TERM, YEAR TO YEAR, AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS

A.A. Vinogradova, Yu.A. Ivanova

Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Abstract. The Arctic is the most important as well the most vulnerable region in the Northern hemisphere in relation to climate changes. Analysis of temporal variations in the processes determining these effects allow to understand them and to forecast their consequences. Air mass transport from Europe, Asia, North America to arctic Archipelagos Franz-Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya, as well to Wrangel Island was investigated with atmospheric circulation indexes through 30-years for four year seasons. Anthropogenic heavy metals (HM) air concentrations and fluxes onto the surface were analyzed in the Russian Arctic. For all three points, frequencies of air mass transport from continents decreased through the last 30 years. So, contents of the arctic air and surface fluxes became more and more marine ones. Indexes of atmospheric circulations show sizable variations from year to year, causing high variations in HM air concentrations and surface fluxes. Also, this is a reason of high variations in snow constituents falling down onto surface environment during spring melting period every year. Maximal nickel and copper air concentrations at the Arctic islands can be (in some months and years) as high as they are at some points of not so far distant territories of the land. On the contrary, there are the years when in summer anthropogenic HM did not reach the Arctic islands by air transport. Seasonal variations in HM’s deposition velocity are the main reason of annual variations in their concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere.

Keywords: Russian Arctic, heavy metals, atmospheric circulation indexes, long-range atmospheric transport, year to year variations, seasonal variations.

VINOGRADOVA Anna A. – doctor in geography, leading researcher, Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Tel.: +7 (495) 959-50-76.
E-mail: anvinograd@yandex.ru

IVANOVA Yulia A. – junior researcher, Obukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian
Academy of Sciences. Moscow, Russia. Tel.: +7 (495) 959-50-76. E-mail: ulia_sml@mail.ru