Aerosol absorption coefficients at seven wavelengths measured at Neumayer station (2019 et seq)@en

It is obvious that the atmosphere above Antarctica is the cleanest part of the Earth's troposphere and can be employed as a large clean air laboratory to study natural conditions comparable to atmospheric processes prevailed elsewhere in pre-industrial times. The nearly completely ice covered Antarctic continent is virtually free of aerosol sources while the Southern Ocean is by far the dominant source to the Antarctic aerosol body, making atmospheric sea salt and biogenic sulfur the major aerosol components. Terrestrial sources are limited to some insular rocky regions (on the Antarctic Peninsula, in the coastal dry valleys and on high mountain ranges) and volcanic activity of Mt. Erebus. Nowadays, minor anthropogenic emissions arising from fossil fuel combustion during research and tourism activities may be considered as well. On the whole these natural and anthropogenic sources constitute local or regional trace element emissions of mineral dust and specific heavy metals which are of minor importance for the overall aerosol budget of Antarctica. Therefore, Antarctica offers an outstanding place to study the background composition and the natural biogeochemical cycling of aerosol. […]