| Station Information | |
|---|---|
| Category: | Baseline Station |
| Status: | Operational - 1976, Major upgrades: 1997, 2006, 2020 |
| Photos and Drawings: | |
| Links: | |
The Barrow station began measuring aerosol radiative properties in 1976. Since 1988, simultaneous measurements of light absorption and light scattering (as a function of wavelength) have been made. A major upgrade of the aerosol sampling system was completed on October 5, 1997. The new system was funded by the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE/ARM). The new system provides aerosol measurements that are quantitatively comparable to measurements at other NOAA/ESRL and DOE/ARM sites. In addition to improved instrumentation, the new system measures aerosol properties in two particle size ranges at a controlled relative humidity. The old and new systems were operated in parallel for one year to evaluate any potential biases introduced in to the long time series of aerosol measurements at Barrow. The new system was referred to as North Slope of Alaska (NSA) during the overlap period. A comparison of the measurements shows good agreement between the old and new systems. April 2002 provided an opportunity to observe Asian dust at Barrow.
The BRW instruments were augmented again in 2006 to include measurements of aerosol hygroscopicity using a tandem nephelometer humidograph system and a cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) counter. The hygroscopicity measurements have been used in several recent papers: Burgos et al. (2019), Burgos et al. (2020), and Titos et al. (submitted, 2020). The CCN measurements were included in Schmale et al. (2018). The humidograph system was removed in 2013 and the CCN in 2012.
In October 2020, the aerosol instruments were moved to a new observatory building. To identify any biases between the old and new building measurements aerosol number concentration and aerosol light scattering (at two size cuts) were measured in the old observatory building until August 2021. No clear biases were found, suggesting the long term time series will not be significantly affected by the move.
BRW Aerosol Properties Plots
Statistical Summary Plots - Multi-year record of final aerosol and atmospheric property data.Do not quote or cite.
Atmospheric Properties
These plots are designed to provide a quick look at the measured aerosol properties. They display raw unedited data, but known corrections for instrument errors have been applied.
| Short-Term Status Plots (last 5 days) | Long-Term Averaged Plots (hourly averages, last 30 days) |
|---|---|
| Overview | Overview |
| Number Concentration | Number Concentration |
| Absorption Overview | Absorption Overview |
| Nephelometer | Nephelometer |
| Filter Absorption Photometer | Filter Absorption Photometer |
| Aethalometer | Aethalometer |
| Filter Carousel | |
| Housekeeping | Housekeeping |