Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century

• Published in: Nature Communications
• Main Authors: Cuevas, Carlos A., Maffezzoli, Niccolò, Corella, Juan Pablo, Spolaor, Andrea, Vallelonga, Paul, Kjær, Helle A., Simonsen, Marius, Winstrup, Mai, Vinther, Bo, Horvat, Christopher, Fernandez, Rafael Pedro, Kinnison, Douglas, Lamarque, Jean-François, Barbante, Carlo, Saiz-lopez, Alfonso
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Nature Publishing Group
• Subjects: Iodine Chemistry; Renland Ice-Core; CAM-Chem; Biogeochemical cycles; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.5; https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1; Arctic; Greenland; Argentina; Fernandez; Pablo; Renland; Helle; East Greenland; ice core; North Atlantic; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11336/96699

Atmospheric iodine causes tropospheric ozone depletion and aerosol formation, both of which have significant climate impacts, and is an essential dietary element for humans. However, the evolution of atmospheric iodine levels at decadal and centennial scales is unknown. Here, we report iodine concentrations in the RECAP ice-core (coastal East Greenland) to investigate how atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic have evolved over the past 260 years (1750–2011), this being the longest record of atmospheric iodine in the Northern Hemisphere. The levels of iodine tripled from 1950 to 2010. Our results suggest that this increase is driven by anthropogenic ozone pollution and enhanced sub-ice phytoplankton production associated with the recent thinning of Arctic sea ice. Increasing atmospheric iodine has accelerated ozone loss and has considerably enhanced iodine transport and deposition to the Northern Hemisphere continents. Future climate and anthropogenic forcing may continue to amplify oceanic iodine emissions with potentially significant health and environmental impacts at global scale. Fil: Cuevas, Carlos A. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; España Fil: Maffezzoli, Niccolò. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Corella, Juan Pablo. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas. Instituto de Química Física; España Fil: Spolaor, Andrea. Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes; Italia. Universita' Ca' Foscari Di Venezia; Italia Fil: Vallelonga, Paul. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Kjær, Helle A. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Simonsen, Marius. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Winstrup, Mai. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Vinther, Bo. University of Copenhagen; Dinamarca Fil: Horvat, Christopher. Harvard University; Estados Unidos Fil: Fernandez, Rafael Pedro. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas ...