Observational evidence for the formation of DMS-derived aerosols during Arctic phytoplankton blooms

• Main Authors: K.-T. Park, S. Jang, K. Lee, Y. J. Yoon, M.-S. Kim, K. Park, H.-J. Cho, J.-H. Kang, R. Udisti, B.-Y. Lee, K.-H. Shin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Copernicus Publications 2017-08-01
• Series: Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics
• Online Access: https://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/17/9665/2017/acp-17-9665-2017.pdf
• ISSN: 1680-7316; 1680-7324

The connection between marine biogenic dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and the formation of aerosol particles in the Arctic atmosphere was evaluated by analyzing atmospheric DMS mixing ratio, aerosol particle size distribution and aerosol chemical composition data that were concurrently collected at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard (78.5° N, 11.8° E), during April and May 2015. Measurements of aerosol sulfur (S) compounds showed distinct patterns during periods of Arctic haze (April) and phytoplankton blooms (May). Specifically, during the phytoplankton bloom period the contribution of DMS-derived SO₄²⁻ to the total aerosol SO₄²⁻ increased by 7-fold compared with that during the proceeding Arctic haze period, and accounted for up to 70 % of fine SO₄²⁻ particles (<  2.5 µm in diameter). The results also showed that the formation of submicron SO₄²⁻ aerosols was significantly associated with an increase in the atmospheric DMS mixing ratio. More importantly, two independent estimates of the formation of DMS-derived SO₄²⁻ aerosols, calculated using the stable S-isotope ratio and the non-sea-salt SO₄²⁻ ∕ methanesulfonic acid ratio, respectively, were in close agreement, providing compelling evidence that the contribution of biogenic DMS to the formation of aerosol particles was substantial during the Arctic phytoplankton bloom period.