LAUSR

Abstract We study the statistical relations between the black carbon (BC) content in the atmospheric column and the surface albedo ( A ), the values of which are available from MERRA-2 reanalysis data for four test areas near the Arctic coast of Russia in April 2010–2016. We also analyze the atmospheric meteorological parameters: air temperature and rainfall and snowfall amounts. The statistical analysis has been carried out using diurnally averaged parameters. An increase in the air temperature is accompanied everywhere by a decrease in the surface albedo, both on a monthly scale and in daily variations. Precipitation in the form of fresh snow increases the surface albedo. On the whole over 7 years, a significant negative correlation between BC and A in April was found in Nenets Autonomous okrug and on the Gydan Peninsula. Separate years (generally diverse for different areas) are revealed when day-to-day variations in A and BC correlate within a month, again with negative coefficients. We estimated possible albedo variations due to changes in different parameters, as well as variations in albedo radiative forcing.