Description:

Wintertime air pollution is a serious problem for urban areas and areas affected by industrial activities in the Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. The cause of this pollution is local emissions coupled with poor dispersion caused by strong temperature inversions, yet many uncertainties remain in understanding the physical and chemical processes driving this pollution. A combination of measurements and modeling efforts are needed to thoroughly characterize air pollution sources, transport, evolution, and their impacts on health and climate in cold, dark regions. This session will welcome presentations from recent fieldwork in the Arctic (and sub-Arctic) targeting such processes, including but not limited to the recent Alaskan Layered Pollution And Chemical Analysis (ALPACA) study in Fairbanks, Alaska.