Abstract
Methanesulphonic acid (MSA, mainly derived from marine biogenic emissions) has been frequently used to estimate the marine biogenic contribution. However, there are few reports on MSA over the Arctic Ocean, especially the central Arctic Ocean. Here, we analyzed MSA in aerosol samples collected over the ocean and seas during the Chinese Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE 2012) using ion chromatography. The aerosol MSA concentrations over the Arctic Ocean varied considerably and ranged from non-detectable (ND) to 229 ng/m3, with an average of 27 ± 54 ng/m3 (median: 10 ng/m3). We found the distribution of aerosol MSA exhibited an obvious regional variation, which was affected by biotic and abiotic factors. High values were generally observed in the Norwegian Sea; this phenomenon was attributed to high rates of phytoplankton primary productivity and dimethylsulfide (DMS) fluxes in this region. Concentrations over the pack ice region in the central Arctic Ocean were generally lower than over the open waters at the ice edge in the Chukchi Sea. This difference was the mainly caused by sea ice. In addition, we found that higher MSA concentrations were associated with warmer sea surface temperature (SST).
Highlights
Atmospheric sulfur of marine origin is considered to be an important biogenic species in the marine atmosphere
We found that higher methanesulphonic acid (MSA) concentrations were associated with warmer sea surface temperature (SST)
(69°N~75°N,133°W~165°W) [22], which is much higher than that measured during CHINARE 2012; this difference may be mainly caused by different observation routes
Summary
Atmospheric sulfur of marine origin is considered to be an important biogenic species in the marine atmosphere. Non-seasalt sulfate (nss-SO42−) [3], both of which can form aerosols [3]. These sulfur-containing aerosols could influence the earth’s radiation balance by directly scattering solar radiation and acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) to influence cloud coverage and albedo, resulting in a negative feedback to climatic perturbations [4]. The main source of MSA is the oxidation of DMS. MSA serves as a tracer to separate sulfate of marine biogenic origin from other sources [5,6], and has been frequently used to estimate the marine biogenic production [7,8]
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