Biogenic, anthropogenic, and sea salt sulfate size-segregated aerosols in the Arctic summer

• Published in: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Main Authors: Ghahremaninezhad, Roghayeh, Norman, Ann-Lise, Abbatt, Jonathan P. D., Levasseur, Maurice, Thomas, Jennie L.
• Other Authors: Department of Physics and Astronomy Calgary, University of Calgary, Department of Chemistry University of Toronto, University of Toronto, Department of Biology Québec, Université Laval Québec (ULaval), TROPO - LATMOS, Laboratoire Atmosphères, Milieux, Observations Spatiales (LATMOS), Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (UVSQ)-Université Pierre et Marie Curie - Paris 6 (UPMC)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), NSERC
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2016
• Subjects: [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-AO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics [physics.ao-ph]; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Phytoplankton
• Online Access: https://insu.hal.science/insu-01267733; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01267733/document; https://insu.hal.science/insu-01267733/file/acp-16-5191-2016.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-16-5191-2016

International audience Size-segregated aerosol sulfate concentrations were measured on board the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) Amundsen in the Arctic during July 2014. The objective of this study was to utilize the isotopic composition of sulfate to address the contribution of anthropogenic and biogenic sources of aerosols to the growth of the different aerosol size fractions in the Arctic atmosphere. Non-sea salt sulfate is divided into biogenic and anthropogenic sulfate using stable isotope apportionment techniques. A considerable amount of the average sulfate concentration in the fine aerosols with diameter < 0.49 μm was from biogenic sources (> 70 %) which is higher than previous Arctic studies measuring above the ocean during fall (< 15 %) (Rempillo et al., 2011) and total aerosol sulfate at higher latitudes at Alert in summer (> 30 %) (Norman et al., 1999). The anthropogenic sulfate concentration was less than biogenic sulfate, with potential sources being long range transport and, more locally, the Amundsen’s emissions. Despite attempts to minimize the influence of ship stack emissions, evidence from larger-sized particles demonstrates a contribution from local pollution. A comparison of δ34S values for SO2 and fine aerosols was used to show that gas-to-particle conversion likely occurred during most sampling periods. δ34S values for SO2 and fine aerosols were similar suggesting the same source for SO2 and aerosol sulfate, except for two samples with a relatively high anthropogenic fraction in particles < 0.49 μm in diameter (July 15–17 and 17–19). The high biogenic fraction of sulfate fine aerosol and similar isotope ratio values of these particles and SO2 emphasize the role of marine organisims (e.g. phytoplankton, algea, bacteria) in the formation of fine particles above the Arctic Ocean during the productive summer months.