Spatial and Longitudinal Distributions of Total Carbon, Nitrogen and Sulfur Together With Water‐Soluble Major Ions in Marine Aerosols Collected From the Western Pacific and Southern Ocean

Abstract

To explore the latitudinal distributions, sources and formation mechanisms of total carbon (TC), nitrogen (TN), sulfur (TS) and water‐soluble major ions (Na+, Cl−, SO42−, K+, nss‐SO42−, NH4+, NO3−, and MSA−), marine aerosol samples were collected over the Western Pacific (WP) and Southern Ocean (SO) from November 1994 to February 1995. Concentrations of TC ranged 30–390 ng m−3 (av. 190 ng m−3) over the SO, which are six times lower than those (1,200 ng m−3) over the WP, whereas concentrations of TN (av. 83 ng m−3) in the SO are three times lower than those (av. 232 ng m−3) over the WP. The highest concentrations of TC and TN were observed near New Zealand (7,000 and 720 ng m−3, respectively), suggesting a continental influence over the marine atmosphere. NO3−, tracer of anthropogenic sources, showed higher concentrations over the WP, whereas NH4+ concentrations over the SO are higher than the WP. The latter may be associated with penguin‐derived guano droppings from Antarctica. The concentration trends and statistical analysis demonstrate that the formation mechanisms of MSA− over the SO and WP is different. We found a strong correlation between MSA− and liquid water content (LWC) over the WP, suggesting the heterogenous aqueous phase production of MSA−, whereas aqueous phase reaction is less important over the SO. The strong correlation (R2 = 0.97) between nss‐Ca2+ and ss‐Ca2+ together with their similar relative abundances demonstrates an influence of CaCO3 eroded from coral reefs and shells and subsequent emission to the atmosphere by bubble bursting process.