Measurement of Combustion Effluent Carbonaceous Aerosols in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica

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9815140HansenThis project involves the installation of an instrument to measure carbonaceous aerosol in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, and the generation of a data base that will be used to assess the impact of the operations of the U.S. Antarctic Program on the antarctic environment.The McMurdo Dry Valleys, the location of a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) study site, supports a fragile, nutrient-limited ecosystem that may be significantly affected by human activities. One aspect is the generation and deposition of carbonaceous aerosols particles ("black carbon") from the exhaust of diesel power generators and helicopter operations within the Dry Valleys, and the possible long-distance transport of combustion products from McMurdo station, approximately 100 km distant. A real-time optical analyzer will be deployed at the LTER site for three austral summer seasons to measure the concentration of black carbon, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and other filterable organic useful in fingerprinting combustion products.