Particulate data from 2004 to 2009                                                                                                                                             

A National Science Foundation grant is providing six undergraduates the ability to gain valuable experience conducting their own atmospheric science research here in Alaska. The program puts students into the field, working closely with faculty from the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska—During the mid-1970s, Glenn Shaw of the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska Fairbanks stumbled upon the notion of Arctic haze after collecting aerosol samples from Barrow, Alaska. At that time, many believed the Arctic to contain relatively pure air due to its remote locale and minimal population. However, the concept was rocked once Shaw’s data indicated there was a murky cloud of pollution that hovered above the Arctic during winter and spring. Now, more than 30 years later, the grey-blue hue of Arctic haze is a well-known phenomenon of the north. It’s a mixture of industrial pollution and it does not originate in the Arctic, but migrates there aboard air currents that pass over the Far East and Eurasia.

Weather is a hot topic here in Interior Alaska and a quick way to get anyone talking. Not a day goesby in winter months without some observations of temperatures, air inversions, or even a mentionthat the sun budged another degree above the horizon.