Moscow smoke haze in October 2014. Variations in the aerosol mass concentration

Abstract

Variations in the aerosol mass concentration in the smoky atmosphere of the Moscow region in autumn 2014 have been analyzed. The soot mass fraction and ratio between the PM2.5 and PM10 mass concentrations were typical of the fires in boreal forests. The smoke event in the Moscow region was due to the long-range transfer of the smoke aerosol, which was confirmed by a joint analysis of aerospace monitoring data and inverse trajectories of air mass transfer, and local fires in the Moscow region. As a result, statistical parameters of variations in the smoke aerosol mass concentrations were atypical, including empirical distribution functions and power spectra.