Meteorology and haze structure during AGASP-II,Part 2: Canadian Arctic flights, 13–16 April 1986

In April 1986, a well-instrumented NOAA WP-3D research aircraft conducted three flights in the Canadian Arctic tied to the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service baseline station in Alert, Northwest Territories. Two of the flights were coordinated with the National Aeronautical Establishment of Canada Twin Otter and the University of Washington C-131 research aircraft. The haze observed in the Canadian Arctic was well-aged and mixed throughout the troposphere in concentrations well below those observed during the previous weeks in the Alaskan Arctic. Over the ice, beneath the surface temperature inversion, ozone was generally depleted to near zero. Over the coast at Alert, there is evidence that topography and downslope winds reduce the strength of the inversion, thus allowing lower tropospheric gases and aerosols to mix down to the surface. At the top of the troposphere, an aerosol-depleted region was observed. In the lower stratosphere, aerosol concentrations were elevated above those observed in the troposphere.