Aerosol optical depth in the Canadian arctic

The aerosol optical depth was calculated for Resolute, Alert, Inuvik, Baker Lake and Frobisher Bay for the period from January 1978 to December 1980 making use of solar irradiance data from the Canadian Atmospheric Environment Service network. Except for Resolute, the clear‐sky global solar irradiance model of Davies and Hay (1980) was used for the calculations. The amount and seasonal march of the aerosol optical depth is similar at all five stations. The most pronounced feature of the seasonal march is a short but intensive spring maximum.