Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), Incheon, South Korea.
Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI), Incheon, South Korea; University of Science and Technology (UST), Daejeon, South Korea.
Environ Res. 2023 Dec 15;239(Pt 1):117217. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117217. Epub 2023 Sep 28.
Marine organic aerosols play crucial roles in global climatic systems. However, their chemical properties and relationships with various potential organic sources still need clarification. This study employed high-resolution mass spectrometry to investigate the identity, origin, and transportation of organic aerosols in pristine Antarctic environments (King Sejong Station; 62.2°S, 58.8°W), where complex ocean-cryosphere-atmosphere interactions occur. First, we classified the aerosol samples into three clusters based on their air mass transport history. Next, we investigated the relationship between organic aerosols and their potential sources, including organic matter dissolved in the open ocean, coastal waters, and runoff waters. Cluster 1 (C1), in which the aerosols mainly originated from the open ocean area (i.e., pelagic zone-influenced), exhibited a higher abundance of lipid-like and protein-like organic aerosols than cluster 3 (C3), with ratios 1.8- and 1.6-times higher, respectively. In contrast, C3, characterized by longer air mass retention over sea ice and land areas (i.e., inshore-influenced), had higher lignin- and condensed aromatic structures (CAS)-like organic aerosols by 2.2- and 3.4-times compared to C1. Cluster 2 (C2) has intermediate characteristics between C1 and C3 concerning the chemical properties of the aerosols and air mass travel history. Notably, the chemical properties of the aerosols assigned to C1 are closely related to those of phytoplankton-derived organics enriched in the open ocean. In contrast, those of C3 are comparable to those of terrestrial plant-derived organics enriched in coastal and runoff waters. These findings help evaluate the source-dependent properties of organic aerosols in changing Antarctic environment.
海洋有机气溶胶在全球气候系统中发挥着关键作用。然而，它们的化学性质及其与各种潜在有机源的关系仍需要阐明。本研究采用高分辨质谱技术研究了原始南极环境（King Sejong 站；62.2°S，58.8°W）中有机气溶胶的身份、来源和传输，那里发生着复杂的海洋-冰-气相互作用。首先，我们根据空气团的传输历史将气溶胶样本分为三个聚类。接下来，我们研究了有机气溶胶与其潜在来源之间的关系，包括溶解在开阔海洋、沿海水域和径流水域中的有机物。聚类 1（C1）中，气溶胶主要来源于开阔海洋区域（即，远洋区影响），其脂质和蛋白质样有机气溶胶的丰度高于聚类 3（C3），分别高出 1.8 倍和 1.6 倍。相比之下，C3 特征是空气团在海冰和陆地区域的停留时间更长（即，近岸区影响），其木质素和凝聚芳烃结构（CAS）样有机气溶胶的丰度分别比 C1 高出 2.2 倍和 3.4 倍。聚类 2（C2）在气溶胶的化学性质和空气团传输历史方面具有介于 C1 和 C3 之间的中间特征。值得注意的是，归属于 C1 的气溶胶的化学性质与富含开阔海洋的浮游植物衍生有机物密切相关。相比之下，C3 的化学性质与富含沿海和径流水域的陆地植物衍生有机物相似。这些发现有助于评估变化中的南极环境中有机气溶胶的源依赖性特性。
