Marine aerosol generation experiments in the High Arctic during summertime

Bibliographic Data

ID19568419
AuthorsJessica A Mirrielees (0000-0003-2678-3720, University of Michigan), Rachel M Kirpes (0000-0002-2998-0108, University of Michigan), Emily J Costa (0000-0001-5229-2664, University of Michigan), Grace C E Porter (0000-0001-8027-6549, University of Leeds), Benjamin J Murray (0000-0002-8198-8131, University of Leeds), Nurun Nahar Lata (0000-0003-1466-3545, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), V Boschi (0000-0003-4072-1788, Villanova University), Swarup China (0000-0001-7670-335X, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory), Amanda M Grannas (0000-0003-4719-348X, Villanova University), Andrew P Ault (0000-0002-7313-8559, University of Michigan), Patricia A Matrai (0000-0003-1656-5519, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), Kerri A Pratt (0000-0003-4707-2290, University of Michigan)
Year2024
Volume12
Issue1
Publication date2024-10-22
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueElementa Science of the Anthropocene (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2325-1026 • E-ISSN: 2325-1026
PublisherUniversity of California Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1525/elementa.2023.00134
OpenAlexW4408733024
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited189

The rapidly warming Arctic has transitioned to thinner sea ice which fractures, producing leads. Few studies have investigated Arctic sea spray aerosol (SSA) produced from open ocean, leads, and melt ponds, which vary in salinity and organic and microbial community composition. A marine aerosol reference tank was deployed aboard an icebreaker to the Arctic Ocean during August–September 2018 to study SSA generated from locally collected surface waters. Aerosol generation experiments were carried out using water collected from the marginal ice zone, a human-made hole in sea ice near the North Pole, and both lead and melt pond water during an ice floe drift period. Salinity, chlorophyll a, organic carbon, nitrogen, and microbial community composition were measured. Eukaryotic plankton and bacterial abundance were elevated in experimental water from the marginal ice zone, but the relative contributions from major eukaryotic taxonomic groups varied little across the experiments. The chemical composition of individual SSA particles was analyzed using Raman microspectroscopy and computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Individual sea salt aerosol, primary organic aerosol, and mineral dust particles were observed. Sea salt aerosol constituted 44–95% of individual submicrometer and 68–100% of supermicrometer particles, by number, generated during each experiment. Carbon was detected in 85%, by number, of the individual sea salt particles, with visible organic coatings. Carbohydrates were detected in 72% of particles, by number, with smaller contributions from long-chain fatty acids (13%) and siliceous material (15%). SSA generated from melt pond water contained only long-chain fatty acids and siliceous material. Quantification of the ice-nucleating activity showed that locally produced SSA may define the High Arctic background ice-nucleating particle population, but cannot account for the peak atmospheric concentrations observed. As the Arctic warms, the increasing SSA emissions have a complex dependence on changing biological and physical processes

Aerosol · Arctic · Atmospheric sciences · Climatology · Geography · Meteorology · The arctic · Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics · Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols · Climate change and permafrost · Environmental Science · Geology · Oceanography

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