Dimethyl sulfide control of the clean summertime Arctic aerosol and cloud

Abstract One year of aerosol particle observations from Alert, Nunavut shows that new particle formation (NPF) is common during clean periods of the summertime Arctic associated with attendant low condensation sinks and with the presence of methane sulfonic acid (MSA), a product of the atmospheric o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene
Main Authors: Leaitch, W. Richard, Sharma, Sangeeta, Huang, Lin, Toom-Sauntry, Desiree, Chivulescu, Alina, Macdonald, Anne Marie, von Salzen, Knut, Pierce, Jeffrey R., Bertram, Allan K., Schroder, Jason C., Shantz, Nicole C., Chang, Rachel Y.-W., Norman, Ann-Lise
Other Authors: Helmig, Detlev, Savarino, Joël
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: University of California Press 2013
Subjects:
Atmospheric Science
Geology
Geotechnical Engineering and Engineering Geology
Ecology
Environmental Engineering
Oceanography
Arctic
Nunavut
albedo
black carbon
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.12952/journal.elementa.000017
http://online.ucpress.edu/elementa/article-pdf/doi/10.12952/journal.elementa.000017/465820/111-1049-1-ce.pdf
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Summary:Abstract One year of aerosol particle observations from Alert, Nunavut shows that new particle formation (NPF) is common during clean periods of the summertime Arctic associated with attendant low condensation sinks and with the presence of methane sulfonic acid (MSA), a product of the atmospheric oxidation of dimethyl sulfide (DMS). The clean aerosol time periods, defined using the distribution of refractory black carbon number concentrations, increase in frequency from June through August as the anthropogenic influence dwindles. During the clean periods, the number concentrations of particles that can act as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) increase from June through August suggesting that DMS, and possibly other oceanic organic precursors, exert significant control on the Arctic summertime submicron aerosol, a proposition supported by simulations from the GEOS-Chem-TOMAS global chemical transport model with particle microphysics. The CCN increase for the clean periods across the summer is estimated to be able to increase cloud droplet number concentrations (CDNC) by 23–44 cm-3, comparable to the mean CDNC increase needed to yield the current global cloud albedo forcing from industrial aerosols. These results suggest that DMS may contribute significantly to modification of the Arctic summer shortwave cloud albedo, and they offer a reference for future changes in the Arctic summer aerosol.

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