Meteorological transport of continental soot to Antarctica?

Abstract

An impactor/concentrator/microdensitometer (ICM) instrument system has been constructed and calibrated. This system is sufficiently sensitive to measure the black (carbon soot) component of Antarctic aerosol with a sampling time of four hours. The impactor concentrator was exposed to Antarctic air at Ross Island in September 1987. Microdensitometer analysis of the collected specimens indicates that the maximum black aerosol concentration was observed concurrently with the arrival of the warmest air accompanying a cyclonic storm. This is similar to the concurrence of continental radon and lead isotopes with warm advection, measured on the Antarctic coast by Polian et al. (1986). It is possible that continental soot can be transported to the Antarctic coast several times each year by this mechanism.