This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: As the climate gets warmer, the number of particles that make up clouds in the Arctic may increase or decrease, depending on the specific area. A new study indicates that the Arctic should be divided into three parts rather than considered as a whole.
Based on aerosol–cloud interactions, the Arctic region is composed of three distinct "regimes," as demonstrated in a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience. Clouds in the Arctic are among the biggest unanswered questions in climate science, with particular uncertainty about how the minute particles found in the air, known as aerosols, drive cloud formation and how clouds affect the number of aerosols as the region warms. One key question is the significance of aerosols originating in atmospheric trace gases.
As they grow, these particles can turn into cloud condensation nuclei, meaning particles on whose surfaces water vapor condenses into droplets. According to the study, the Arctic is divided into three regimes: the High Arctic, the Maritime Arctic and the Continental Arctic. The High Arctic stands out from the other two because of its permanent ice cover, which affects aerosol formation.
The study estimates that, as the climate becomes warmer, the number of naturally formed aerosols and cloud condensation nuclei is likely to increase in the ice-covered High Arctic. In contrast, a decline is likely in the open waters of the Maritime Arctic. In the Continental Arctic, the outcome depends less on global warming than on changes in human-generated air pollution in the coming decades.
Although the relevance of aerosols for cloud formation has been known for decades, knowledge of the formation of the particles themselves has accumulated more slowly. The reason is technical: Detecting newly formed nanometer-sized particles is difficult. In addition, using measuring equipment in the demanding conditions of the Arctic poses a challenge.
The recently published study is based on data collected over more than 20 years on the size distribution of aerosols. The data were compiled from eight measuring stations and several research expeditions across the Arctic. The aerosol data were paired with satellite observations and analyzed using methods developed for the study, making it possible to distinguish differences within the Arctic for the first time.
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