Zeppelin data used in two studies on Arctic aerosols

Two studies published in September 2026 drew on long-term aerosol measurements from the Zeppelin observatory in Ny-Ålesund. Both investigate the role of aerosols in the Arctic climate, Ny-Ålesund Research Station said on Thursday 29 October. Both appeared within two days of each other, the station said.

One study used long-term aerosol measurements from five Arctic observatories to look at how warm, moist air intrusions affect aerosol and cloud properties, the station said. The other compared eight locations and focused on how new aerosols are formed, on their role as cloud condensation nuclei, and on how these processes vary from place to place.

The second study, in Nature Geoscience, found three distinct aerosol regimes: the High Arctic, the Maritime Arctic and the Continental Arctic. Its authors estimated that cloud condensation nuclei linked to new particle formation could increase by 3 to 16% in the High Arctic by 2090 to 2100, under an intermediate warming scenario. In the Maritime Arctic they could fall by 15 to 31% over the same period. The authors said the estimates show that feedbacks between aerosols and clouds will develop differently in the various regimes.

The Zeppelin data used in both studies belong to Stockholm University, the station said. It added that the studies show how Zeppelin forms part of a wider network of Arctic and global measurements, and that consistent procedures are key to comparing data.

Coverage: Ny-Ålesund Research Station