Applicants

Dr. Zsofia Juranyi
Alfred-Wegener-Institut (AWI)
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung
Sektion Physik der Atmosphäre
Am Handelshafen 12
27570 Bremerhaven

Dr. Silvia Henning
Leibniz-Institut für Troposphärenforschung e.V. (TROPOS)
Permoserstraße 15
04318 Leipzig

Project description

Cloud-relevant particles such as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice-nucleating particles (INP) play a key role in forming Antarctic clouds and climate. Yet their sources, variability, and efficiency under the continent’s pristine atmospheric conditions remain among the least understood aspects of the Earth system. The project ACCRASA - Airborne Characterization of Cloud-Relevant Aerosol Sources Over Antarctica and Its Margins aims to improve our understanding concerning the physical and chemical properties of aerosol particles over and in the vicinity of Antarctica. We will unravel the abundance, vertical distribution, and sources of Antarctic aerosol particles in general, and cloud-relevant particles in particular. Knowledge of these parameters, especially at cloud-relevant levels, is essential for improving the representation of aerosol-cloud-climate feedback in atmospheric models but is currently insufficient. ACCRASA builds on the complementary expertise of TROPOS and AWI in airborne and ground-based aerosol observations. The project will use measurements from the SANAT aircraft campaign (Spatial distribution of Antarctic Aerosol and Trace gases), conducted with the AWI’s Polar 6 research aircraft in January/February 2026, in combination with continuous long-term datasets from the Neumayer III Air Chemistry Observatory. These datasets, including aerosol number size distribution, aerosol and CCN number concentration, and INP samples, will provide a comprehensive, altitude-resolved picture of the aerosol system in the austral summer, including cloud levels. Based on these joined datasets, we will characterize new particle formation events and evaluate their contribution to the CCN-budget from ground to free troposphere. We will contrast ground-level CCN populations at Neumayer III with free tropospheric in terms of concentration and hygroscopicity. We will quantify the INP concentration between the surface and the free troposphere over Antarctica. We will address the source regions of the aerosol particles by linking in-situ aerosol, CCN and INP measurements with backward trajectory analyses. We will deliver parameterizations applicable in climate models which allow assessments of the Antarctic climate’s sensitivity to aerosol–cloud–climate feedbacks.

DFG Programme Infrastructure Priority Programmes

Term since 2026