Iodine speciation in aerosol particle samples collected over the sea between offshore China and the Arctic Ocean

• Main Authors: Hui, Kang, Siqi, Xu, Xiawei, Yu, Bing, Li, Wei, Liu, Hongxia, Yang, Zhouqing, Xie
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Polar Research Institute of China - PRIC 2015
• Subjects: Atmosphere; Oceans; Advances in Polar Science; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Polar Science; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://library.arcticportal.org/2576/; http://library.arcticportal.org/2576/1/A20150304.pdf

Iodine species collected by an onboard PM10 particle sampling system during the Second Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition (July–September 2003) were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and ion chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Iodine (I−) was detected in all samples over the Arctic Ocean, whereas additional iodine species including insoluble iodine, soluble organic iodine plus I− were detected over the northwestern Pacific Ocean. The results suggest that the main form of iodine is different within the Arctic Ocean than it is outside. Enrichment factor values showed moderate enrichment of iodine in the northwestern Pacific, whereas a high enrichment factor was found in polar regions, implying sources other than sea salt. A potential explanation was ascribed to the role of sea ice melt in the Arctic and rapid growth of algae in seawater, which enhances the production of iodocarbon and air sea exchange. This was confirmed by the larger values of total iodine in 2008 than in 2003, with greater sea ice melt in the former year. In comparison with earlier reports, ratios of iodate to iodide (IO3−/I−) were much smaller than 1.0. These ratios were also different from modeling results, implying more complicated cycles of atmospheric iodine than are presently understood.