2025/12/15 by Yuzo Miyazaki, Yunhan Wang, Eri Tachibana +3 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Arctic and Antarctic ice dynamics #Atmospheric chemistry and aerosols #Marine and coastal ecosystems
paper · pdf · doi:10.5194/acp-25-18325-2025
openalex created_date 2025/12/15 · openalex publication_date 2025/12/15 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30
Abstract. The Sea of Okhotsk is one of the most biologically productive regions, where primary production during spring phytoplankton blooms after sea ice melting/retreat has the potential to contribute to the sea-to-air emission flux of atmospheric organic aerosols (OAs). To elucidate the effect of oceanic biological activity during blooms on the formation process of OAs, aerosol samples and surface seawater were collected during the bloom period of April 2021. Organic matter (OM) was the dominant component of submicrometer aerosols during both the bloom (53 ± 16 %) and bloom-decay periods (44 ± 12 %), with OM being highly water-soluble during the bloom. Stable carbon isotope ratios of aerosol organic carbon (OC) showed that 73 %–82 % of the observed aerosols were of marine origin. Relations between water-soluble OC (WSOC) and molecular tracers suggested that aerosol WSOC of marine origin was likely affected by secondary formation from precursors such as α-pinene and DMS-relevant compounds rather than primary emissions of sea spray aerosols. The amounts of water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) in aerosol and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in seawater during the bloom were larger than those during bloom-decay period, suggesting the preferential formation of N-containing water-soluble OAs of marine origin during the bloom. The increase in the amount of DON during the bloom was likely associated with the predominant diatoms, Thalassiosira spp. and Fragilariopsis spp. This study highlights the significant contribution of the secondary formation of marine biogenic OAs with increased N-containing components during the bloom after sea ice melting/retreat in the subarctic ocean.