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An Overview of Atmospheric Features Over the Western North Atlantic Ocean and North American East Coast – Part 1: Analysis of Aerosols, Gases, and Wet Deposition Chemistry
Author(s) -
Corral Andrea F.,
Braun Rachel A.,
Cairns Brian,
Gorooh Vesta Afzali,
Liu Hongyu,
Ma Lin,
Mardi Ali Hossein,
Painemal David,
Stamnes Snorre,
van Diedenhoven Bastiaan,
Wang Hailong,
Yang Yang,
Zhang Bo,
Sorooshian Armin
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: atmospheres
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-8996
pISSN - 2169-897X
DOI - 10.1029/2020jd032592
Subject(s) - troposphere , aerosol , environmental science , climatology , atmospheric sciences , atmospheric chemistry , deposition (geology) , air mass (solar energy) , precipitation , particulates , climate model , climate change , oceanography , ozone , meteorology , geography , geology , boundary layer , chemistry , sediment , paleontology , physics , organic chemistry , thermodynamics
Abstract The Western North Atlantic Ocean (WNAO) and adjoining East Coast of North America are of great importance for atmospheric research and have been extensively studied for several decades. This broad region exhibits complex meteorological features and a wide range of conditions associated with gas and particulate species from many sources regionally and other continents. As Part 1 of a 2‐part paper series, this work characterizes quantities associated with atmospheric chemistry, including gases, aerosols, and wet deposition, by analyzing available satellite observations, ground‐based data, model simulations, and reanalysis products. Part 2 provides insight into the atmospheric circulation, boundary layer variability, three‐dimensional cloud structure, properties, and precipitation over the WNAO domain. Key results include spatial and seasonal differences in composition along the North American East Coast and over the WNAO associated with varying sources of smoke and dust and meteorological drivers such as temperature, moisture, and precipitation. Spatial and seasonal variations of tropospheric carbon monoxide and ozone highlight different pathways toward the accumulation of these species in the troposphere. Spatial distributions of speciated aerosol optical depth and vertical profiles of aerosol mass mixing ratios show a clear seasonal cycle highlighting the influence of different sources in addition to the impact of intercontinental transport. Analysis of long‐term climate model simulations of aerosol species and satellite observations of carbon monoxide confirm that there has been a significant decline in recent decades among anthropogenic constituents owing to regulatory activities.