Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation

Primary marine aerosol particles containing biogenic polymer microgels play a potential role for cloud formation in the pristine high Arctic summer. One of the major sources of the polymer gels in Arctic aerosol was suggested to be the surface water and more specifically, the surface microlayer (SML...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Gao, Qiuju
Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
Language:English
Published: Meteorologiska institutionen (MISU) 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-72433
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spelling ftstockholmuniv:oai:DiVA.org:su-72433 2023-05-15T14:44:29+02:00 Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation Gao, Qiuju 2012 application/pdf http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-72433 eng eng Meteorologiska institutionen (MISU) Department of Meteorology, Stockholm University http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-72433 urn:isbn:978-91-7447-446-6 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Polysaccharides Biogenic polymer microgels Arctic Ocean LC/MS/MS Surface microlayer Marine aerosol particles Remote marine cloud condensation nuclei Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning Doctoral thesis, comprehensive summary info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis text 2012 ftstockholmuniv 2023-02-23T21:41:51Z Primary marine aerosol particles containing biogenic polymer microgels play a potential role for cloud formation in the pristine high Arctic summer. One of the major sources of the polymer gels in Arctic aerosol was suggested to be the surface water and more specifically, the surface microlayer (SML) of the open leads within the perennial sea ice as a result of bubble bursting at the air-sea interface. Phytoplankton and/or ice algae are believed to be the main origins of the polymer gels. In this thesis, we examine the chemical composition of biogenic polymers, with focus on polysaccharides, in seawater and airborne aerosol particles collected during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) in the summer of 2008. The main results and findings include: A novel method using liquid chromatography coupling with tandem mass spectrometry was developed and applied for identification and quantification of polysaccharides. The enrichment of polysaccharides in the SML was shown to be a common feature of the Arctic open leads. Rising bubbles and surface coagulation of polymers are the likely mechanism for the accumulation of polysaccharides at the SML. The size dependencies of airborne polysaccharides on the travel-time since the last contact with the open sea are indicative of a submicron microgel source within the pack ice. The similarity of polysaccharides composition observed between the ambient aerosol particles and those generated by in situ bubbling experiments confines the microgel source to the open leads. The demonstrated occurrence of polysaccharides in surface sea waters and in air, with surface-active and hygroscopic properties, has shown their potential to serve as cloud condensation nuclei and subsequently promote cloud-drop activation in the pristine high Arctic. Presumably this possibility may renew interest in the complex but fascinating interactions between marine biology, aerosol, clouds and climate. At the time of doctoral defence, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Arctic Arctic Ocean ice algae Phytoplankton Sea ice Stockholm University: Publications (DiVA) Arctic Arctic Ocean
institution Open Polar
collection Stockholm University: Publications (DiVA)
op_collection_id ftstockholmuniv
language English
topic Polysaccharides
Biogenic polymer microgels
Arctic Ocean
LC/MS/MS
Surface microlayer
Marine aerosol particles
Remote marine cloud condensation nuclei
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning
spellingShingle Polysaccharides
Biogenic polymer microgels
Arctic Ocean
LC/MS/MS
Surface microlayer
Marine aerosol particles
Remote marine cloud condensation nuclei
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning
Gao, Qiuju
Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
topic_facet Polysaccharides
Biogenic polymer microgels
Arctic Ocean
LC/MS/MS
Surface microlayer
Marine aerosol particles
Remote marine cloud condensation nuclei
Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
Meteorologi och atmosfärforskning
description Primary marine aerosol particles containing biogenic polymer microgels play a potential role for cloud formation in the pristine high Arctic summer. One of the major sources of the polymer gels in Arctic aerosol was suggested to be the surface water and more specifically, the surface microlayer (SML) of the open leads within the perennial sea ice as a result of bubble bursting at the air-sea interface. Phytoplankton and/or ice algae are believed to be the main origins of the polymer gels. In this thesis, we examine the chemical composition of biogenic polymers, with focus on polysaccharides, in seawater and airborne aerosol particles collected during the Arctic Summer Cloud Ocean Study (ASCOS) in the summer of 2008. The main results and findings include: A novel method using liquid chromatography coupling with tandem mass spectrometry was developed and applied for identification and quantification of polysaccharides. The enrichment of polysaccharides in the SML was shown to be a common feature of the Arctic open leads. Rising bubbles and surface coagulation of polymers are the likely mechanism for the accumulation of polysaccharides at the SML. The size dependencies of airborne polysaccharides on the travel-time since the last contact with the open sea are indicative of a submicron microgel source within the pack ice. The similarity of polysaccharides composition observed between the ambient aerosol particles and those generated by in situ bubbling experiments confines the microgel source to the open leads. The demonstrated occurrence of polysaccharides in surface sea waters and in air, with surface-active and hygroscopic properties, has shown their potential to serve as cloud condensation nuclei and subsequently promote cloud-drop activation in the pristine high Arctic. Presumably this possibility may renew interest in the complex but fascinating interactions between marine biology, aerosol, clouds and climate. At the time of doctoral defence, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: ...
format Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
author Gao, Qiuju
author_facet Gao, Qiuju
author_sort Gao, Qiuju
title Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
title_short Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
title_full Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
title_fullStr Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
title_full_unstemmed Marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high Arctic : Towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
title_sort marine biogenic polysaccharides as a potential source of aerosol in the high arctic : towards a link between marine biology and cloud formation
publisher Meteorologiska institutionen (MISU)
publishDate 2012
url http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-72433
geographic Arctic
Arctic Ocean
geographic_facet Arctic
Arctic Ocean
genre Arctic
Arctic Ocean
ice algae
Phytoplankton
Sea ice
genre_facet Arctic
Arctic Ocean
ice algae
Phytoplankton
Sea ice
op_relation http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:su:diva-72433
urn:isbn:978-91-7447-446-6
op_rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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