Trace elements in the atmosphere over the North Atlantic

• Published in: Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
• Main Authors: Arimoto, R., Duce, R. A., Ray, B. J., Ellis, W. G., Cullen, J. D., Merrill, J. T.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@URI 1995
• Subjects: North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gsofacpubs/1938; https://doi.org/10.1029/94JD02618

One major component of the aerosol was atmospheric dust, and the ranking for the median mineral dust concentrations as represented by aluminum was BAT > IZT > BTT > MHT. The al concentrations at BAT, IZT, and BTT ranged over 4 orders of magnitude, ie, from 0.001 to 10μg m-3. At MHT the maximum dust concentrations were about a factor of 10 lower than at the other sites, but the lower end of the range in dust concentrations was similar at all sites. The mineral dust concentrations generally were highest in summer, and the flux of atmospheric dust was dominated by sources in North Africa. The elements showing clear enrichments over the concentrations expected from sea salt or crustal sources were I, Sb, Se, V, and Zn. At Izana, which is in the free troposphere (elevation ~2360m), the concentrations of Se and I were much lower than at the boundary layer sites. -from Authors