Elemental ratios and enrichment factors in aerosols from the US-GEOTRMES North Atlantic transects

• Published in: Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
• Main Authors: Shelley, Rachel U., Morton, Peter L., Landing, William M.
• Other Authors: Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Florida State University Tallahassee (FSU)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: ACL; trace-elements; Aerosols; Dust; GEOTRACES; pacific-ocean; Iron; iron fertilization; North Atlantic; phytoplankton bloom; southeastern united-states; tropical atlantic; Trace metals; african dust; air-quality; Aluminum; marine aerosols; mineral-dust; [SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology; [SDU.OCEAN]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Ocean; Atmosphere; Pacific
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02560899; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2014.12.005

WOS:000356116700020 International audience The North Atlantic receives the highest aerosol (dust) input of all the oceanic basins. Dust deposition provides essential bioactive elements, as well as pollution-derived elements, to the surface ocean. The arid regions of North Africa are the predominant source of dust to the North Atlantic Ocean. In this study, we describe the elemental composition (Li, Na, Mg, Al, P, Sc, Ti, V. Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Cd, Sn, Sb, Cs, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Pb, Th, U) of the bulk aerosol from samples collected during the US-GEOTRACES North Atlantic Zonal Transect (2010/11) in order to highlight the differences between a Saharan dust end-member and the reported elemental composition of the upper continental crust (UCC), and the implications this has for identifying trace element enrichment in aerosols across the North Atlantic basin. As aerosol titanium (Ti) is less soluble than aerosol aluminum (Al), it is a more conservative tracer for lithogenic aerosols and trace element-to-Ti ratios. However, the presence of Ti-rich fine aerosols can confound the interpretation of elemental enrichments, making Al a more robust tracer of aerosol lithogenic material in this region.