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Multi-seasonal ultrafine aerosol particle number concentration measurements at the Gruvebadet observatory, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Islands

  • Environmental Changes in Arctic
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Abstract

The object of this study was to investigate the different modal behavior of ultrafine aerosol particles collected at the Gruvebadet observatory located in Ny-Ålesund (Svalbard Islands, 78°55′N, 11°56′E). Aerosol particle size distribution was measured in the size range from 10 to 470 nm typically from the beginning of spring to the beginning of fall during four (non-consecutive) years (2010, 2011, 2013 and 2014). The median concentration for the whole period taken into account was 214 particles cm−3, oscillating between the median maximum in July with a concentration of 257 particles cm−3 and a median minimum in April with 197 particles cm−3. The median total number concentration did not present a well-defined seasonal behavior, as shown by contrast looking at the sub/modal number concentration, where distinct trends appeared in the predominant accumulation concentration recorded during April/May and the preponderant concentration of Aitken particles during the summer months. Lastly, the short side-by-side spring 2013 campaign performed at the Zeppelin observatory with a differential mobility particle sizer was characterized by an aerosol concentration mean steady difference between the two instruments of around 14 %, thereby supporting the reliability of the device located at Gruvebadet.

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Acknowledgments

This study was partially funded by the Italian Ministry of University and Research (MIUR) within the framework of the PRIN-2009 project 20092C7KRC_002. The authors gratefully acknowledge the DTA (Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente, CNR) for their logistic help.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), 40129, Bologna, Italy

    Angelo Lupi, Maurizio Busetto, Mauro Mazzola, Boyan Petkov & Vito Vitale

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy

    Silvia Becagli, Fabio Giardi & Roberto Udisti

  3. European Commission, Joint Research Center, Institute of Environment and Sustainability (IES), Land Resource Management Unit (LRM) H05, 21020, Ispra, VA, Italy

    Christian Lanconelli

  4. Department of Environmental Sciences and Analytical Chemistry (ACES), Stockholm University, 10691, Stockholm, Sweden

    Hans-Christen Hansson, Tabea Henning, Johan Ström, Radovan Krejci & Peter Tunved

  5. Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (CNR-ISAC), 00133, Rome, Italy

    Angelo Pietro Viola

Authors
  1. Angelo Lupi
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  2. Maurizio Busetto
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  3. Silvia Becagli
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  4. Fabio Giardi
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  5. Christian Lanconelli
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  6. Mauro Mazzola
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  7. Roberto Udisti
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  8. Hans-Christen Hansson
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  9. Tabea Henning
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  10. Boyan Petkov
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  11. Johan Ström
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  12. Radovan Krejci
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  13. Peter Tunved
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  14. Angelo Pietro Viola
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  15. Vito Vitale
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Angelo Lupi.

Additional information

This peer-reviewed article is a result of the multi and interdisciplinary research activities based at the Arctic Station “Dirigibile Italia”, coordinated by the “Dipartimento Scienze del Sistema Terra e Tecnologie per l’Ambiente” of the National Research Council of Italy.

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Lupi, A., Busetto, M., Becagli, S. et al. Multi-seasonal ultrafine aerosol particle number concentration measurements at the Gruvebadet observatory, Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard Islands. Rend. Fis. Acc. Lincei 27 (Suppl 1), 59–71 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0532-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0532-8

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