AAAR 36th Annual Conference October 16 - October 20, 2017 Raleigh Convention Center Raleigh, North Carolina, USA
Abstract View
Marine Aerosol Organic Composition and Sea Spray Production Processes
LYNN RUSSELL, Raghu Betha, Savannah Lewis, Jun Liu, Patricia Quinn, Timothy Bates, Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Abstract Number: 481 Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosols
Abstract Organic functional group composition of marine aerosol particles associated with sea spray were measured for submicron particles during five open ocean research cruises: one in the northeastern Pacific and four in the northwestern Atlantic. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy provides information about the functional group composition that represents the marine organic fraction more completely than is possible with techniques that measure non-refractory mass. Primary biogenic marine particles have measured compositions in these ocean regions that include approximately 50-70% hydroxyl groups and 10-20% alkane groups. The organic composition of atmospheric primary marine (ocean-derived) aerosol particles is nearly identical to model generated primary marine aerosol particles from bubbled seawater. This study evaluates the processes that link the organic composition to sea spray production using ambient measurements.