Biogenically driven organic contribution to marine aerosol

Colin D. O'Dowd, Maria Cristina Facchini (), Fabrizia Cavalli, Darius Ceburnis, Mihaela Mircea, Stefano Decesari, Sandro Fuzzi, Young Jun Yoon and Jean-Philippe Putaud
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Colin D. O'Dowd: National University of Ireland
Maria Cristina Facchini: Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Fabrizia Cavalli: Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Darius Ceburnis: National University of Ireland
Mihaela Mircea: Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Stefano Decesari: Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Sandro Fuzzi: Istituto di Scienze dell'Atmosfera e del Clima – Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
Young Jun Yoon: National University of Ireland
Jean-Philippe Putaud: Joint Research Centre

Nature, 2004, vol. 431, issue 7009, 676-680

Abstract: Abstract Marine aerosol contributes significantly to the global aerosol load and consequently has an important impact on both the Earth's albedo and climate. So far, much of the focus on marine aerosol has centred on the production of aerosol from sea-salt1 and non-sea-salt sulphates2,3. Recent field experiments, however, have shown that known aerosol production processes for inorganic species cannot account for the entire aerosol mass that occurs in submicrometre sizes4,5,6. Several experimental studies have pointed to the presence of significant concentrations of organic matter in marine aerosol7,8,9,10,11. There is some information available about the composition of organic matter12,13,14, but the contribution of organic matter to marine aerosol, as a function of aerosol size, as well as its characterization as hydrophilic or hydrophobic, has been lacking. Here we measure the physical and chemical characteristics of submicrometre marine aerosol over the North Atlantic Ocean during plankton blooms progressing from spring through to autumn. We find that during bloom periods, the organic fraction dominates and contributes 63% to the submicrometre aerosol mass (about 45% is water-insoluble and about 18% water-soluble). In winter, when biological activity is at its lowest, the organic fraction decreases to 15%. Our model simulations indicate that organic matter can enhance the cloud droplet concentration by 15% to more than 100% and is therefore an important component of the aerosol–cloud–climate feedback system involving marine biota.

Date: 2004
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DOI: 10.1038/nature02959

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