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Characterization of humic-like substances in Arctic aerosols

Nguyen, Quynh T. ; Bjerring Kristensen, Thomas LU ; Hansen, Anne Maria K. ; Skov, Henrik ; Bossi, R. ; Massling, Andreas ; Sørensen, Lise L. ; Bilde, Merete ; Glasius, Marianne and Nøjgaard, Jacob K. (2014) In Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 119(8). p.5011-5027
Abstract
Humic‐like substances (HULIS) are a complex group of relatively high molecular weight organic compounds which contribute considerably to the mass of organic carbon (OC) and influence the light‐absorbing properties of aerosols. In this work, HULIS were investigated for the first time in the high‐Arctic atmosphere, focusing on the chemical characterization and mass contribution of HULIS to the total suspended particle (TSP) mass using weekly aerosol samples collected at Station Nord, northeast Greenland every fourth week during 2010. Average HULIS‐C concentration was 11 ng C m−3 during the darker months (November–April) and 4 ng C m−3 during the other months (May–October) with an annual mass concentration of 0.02 ± 0.01 µg m−3. HULIS‐C... (More)
Humic‐like substances (HULIS) are a complex group of relatively high molecular weight organic compounds which contribute considerably to the mass of organic carbon (OC) and influence the light‐absorbing properties of aerosols. In this work, HULIS were investigated for the first time in the high‐Arctic atmosphere, focusing on the chemical characterization and mass contribution of HULIS to the total suspended particle (TSP) mass using weekly aerosol samples collected at Station Nord, northeast Greenland every fourth week during 2010. Average HULIS‐C concentration was 11 ng C m−3 during the darker months (November–April) and 4 ng C m−3 during the other months (May–October) with an annual mass concentration of 0.02 ± 0.01 µg m−3. HULIS‐C contributed to 3–16% of water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC), whereas HULIS accounted for 0.7–4.1% of TSP mass, with TSP typically below 1.0 µg m−3. Concentrations of OC, WSOC, HULIS, selected HULIS functional groups (carboxylic acids, aromatic carboxylic acids, and organosulfates) and levoglucosan overlapped with the typical Arctic haze pattern with elevated concentrations during winter to early spring. The aromatic carboxylic acid portion accounted for a larger share of total carboxylic acid of HULIS during the darker months (7%) compared to the brighter months (3%). The more abundant aromatic carboxylic acid functional groups and the moderate correlation between HULIS and levoglucosan concentrations during the darker months both indicate that biomass burning aerosols and thereby emissions of aromatic compounds could contribute to HULIS in the Arctic, especially during late winter. During the brighter months, relatively higher average molecular weight of HULIS was observed. (Less)
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author
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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
in
Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
volume
119
issue
8
pages
5011 - 5027
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • scopus:84900530878
ISSN
2169-8996
DOI
10.1002/2013JD020144
language
English
LU publication?
no
id
a29462d7-5402-4366-8c4c-85a109762690
date added to LUP
2018-07-10 15:27:43
date last changed
2022-01-31 04:22:36
@article{a29462d7-5402-4366-8c4c-85a109762690,
  abstract     = {{Humic‐like substances (HULIS) are a complex group of relatively high molecular weight organic compounds which contribute considerably to the mass of organic carbon (OC) and influence the light‐absorbing properties of aerosols. In this work, HULIS were investigated for the first time in the high‐Arctic atmosphere, focusing on the chemical characterization and mass contribution of HULIS to the total suspended particle (TSP) mass using weekly aerosol samples collected at Station Nord, northeast Greenland every fourth week during 2010. Average HULIS‐C concentration was 11 ng C m−3 during the darker months (November–April) and 4 ng C m−3 during the other months (May–October) with an annual mass concentration of 0.02 ± 0.01 µg m−3. HULIS‐C contributed to 3–16% of water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC), whereas HULIS accounted for 0.7–4.1% of TSP mass, with TSP typically below 1.0 µg m−3. Concentrations of OC, WSOC, HULIS, selected HULIS functional groups (carboxylic acids, aromatic carboxylic acids, and organosulfates) and levoglucosan overlapped with the typical Arctic haze pattern with elevated concentrations during winter to early spring. The aromatic carboxylic acid portion accounted for a larger share of total carboxylic acid of HULIS during the darker months (7%) compared to the brighter months (3%). The more abundant aromatic carboxylic acid functional groups and the moderate correlation between HULIS and levoglucosan concentrations during the darker months both indicate that biomass burning aerosols and thereby emissions of aromatic compounds could contribute to HULIS in the Arctic, especially during late winter. During the brighter months, relatively higher average molecular weight of HULIS was observed.}},
  author       = {{Nguyen, Quynh T. and Bjerring Kristensen, Thomas and Hansen, Anne Maria K. and Skov, Henrik and Bossi, R. and Massling, Andreas and Sørensen, Lise L. and Bilde, Merete and Glasius, Marianne and Nøjgaard, Jacob K.}},
  issn         = {{2169-8996}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{8}},
  pages        = {{5011--5027}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres}},
  title        = {{Characterization of humic-like substances in Arctic aerosols}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/2013JD020144}},
  doi          = {{10.1002/2013JD020144}},
  volume       = {{119}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}