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PCBs in the Arctic atmosphere: determining important driving forces using a global atmospheric transport model

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dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Institute for Data, Systems, and Society
dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Center for Global Change Science
dc.contributor Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
dc.contributor Friedman, Carey L.
dc.contributor Selin, Noelle Eckley
dc.creator Friedman, Carey L.
dc.creator Selin, Noelle Eckley
dc.date 2016-05-23T16:18:25Z
dc.date 2016-05-23T16:18:25Z
dc.date 2016-03
dc.date 2016-03
dc.date.accessioned 2023-03-01T18:12:23Z
dc.date.available 2023-03-01T18:12:23Z
dc.identifier 1680-7324
dc.identifier 1680-7316
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/102622
dc.identifier Friedman, Carey L., and Noelle E. Selin. “PCBs in the Arctic Atmosphere: Determining Important Driving Forces Using a Global Atmospheric Transport Model.” Atmos. Chem. Phys. 16, no. 5 (March 16, 2016): 3433–3448.
dc.identifier https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6396-5622
dc.identifier.uri http://localhost:8080/xmlui/handle/CUHPOERS/279151
dc.description We present a spatially and temporally resolved global atmospheric polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) model, driven by meteorological data, that is skilled at simulating mean atmospheric PCB concentrations and seasonal cycles in the Northern Hemisphere midlatitudes and mean Arctic concentrations. However, the model does not capture the observed Arctic summer maximum in atmospheric PCBs. We use the model to estimate global budgets for seven PCB congeners, and we demonstrate that congeners that deposit more readily show lower potential for long-range transport, consistent with a recently described "differential removal hypothesis" regarding the hemispheric transport of PCBs. Using sensitivity simulations to assess processes within, outside, or transport to the Arctic, we examine the influence of climate- and emissions-driven processes on Arctic concentrations and their effect on improving the simulated Arctic seasonal cycle. We find evidence that processes occurring outside the Arctic have a greater influence on Arctic atmospheric PCB levels than processes that occur within the Arctic. Our simulations suggest that re-emissions from sea ice melting or from the Arctic Ocean during summer would have to be unrealistically high in order to capture observed temporal trends of PCBs in the Arctic atmosphere. We conclude that midlatitude processes are likely to have a greater effect on the Arctic under global change scenarios than re-emissions within the Arctic.
dc.description National Science Foundation (U.S.). Arctic Natural Sciences Program (1203526)
dc.description National Science Foundation (U.S.). Dynamics of Coupled Natural Human Systems Program (1313755)
dc.description National Science Foundation (U.S.). Atmospheric Chemistry Program (1053648)
dc.description National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Training Grant T32-ES007-020)
dc.format application/pdf
dc.language en_US
dc.publisher Copernicus GmbH
dc.relation http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-3433-2016
dc.relation Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
dc.rights Creative Commons Attribution
dc.rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
dc.source Copernicus Publications
dc.title PCBs in the Arctic atmosphere: determining important driving forces using a global atmospheric transport model
dc.type Article
dc.type http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle


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