摘要:In situ measurements have been made in the upper troposphere of the properties of particles
containing light absorbing carbon (LAC). These measurements, made in late November 2006
over northern Europe, show that the average LAC mass concentration varies between 1 and
5 ng m−3 over a
latitude range 50° to 70°N, with
maxima at 50° and 66°. The relative fraction of all particles larger than
0.1 µm that contain LAC decreases at higher latitudes. The derived extinction
coefficient, which also increases with latitude, reaches a maximum of
1.4 Mm−1 at
66°. The air mass histories associated with the LAC were evaluated with back trajectory
analysis using wind field analysis from the European Center for Median-Range Weather
Forecast (ECMWF). A positive correlation exists between the fraction of particles
containing LAC and the maximum relative humidity (RH), minimum temperature and
maximum number of hours of cloud experienced by the air mass in the 5–10 days prior to
being sampled by the aircraft. Air masses arriving from lower altitudes and with
trajectories over North America also had larger concentration fractions of LAC. The average LAC mass is in good agreement with previous measurements made over North
America for the same latitude range, and the span of values fits best with model
predictions of LAC distributions that assume that the LAC transported from surface
sources is hydrophobic.