Results of comparison of characteristics of atmospheric aerosol over the Southern Ocean according to the data of expeditionary measurements and MERRA-2 reanalysis

The results of measurements of the mass concentration of black carbon in the near-ground aerosol (eBC) and the aerosol optical depth of the atmosphere (AOD) are compared with the data of the MERRA-2 reanalysis in the region of 45°W ÷ 110°E, to the south of 35°S and observatory Mirny. Shipborne measurements were carried out during the Russian Antarctic Expeditions (2004-2005) during the transition from Africa to the coast of Antarctica. It is shown that the correlation coefficients between the model and expedition data are only 0.1 for eBC and 0.65 for AOD, but the values are statistically significant. 90% of the discrepancies between model and measured data lie in the ranges of - 20÷65 ng/m3 and -0.045÷0.015, respectively. The correlation of measured and modelled AOD in observatory Mirny is 0.18, and 90% of the discrepancies lie in the range –0.04÷0.025.