Marine microgels as a source of cloud condensation nuclei in the high Arctic
Marine microgels play an important role in regulating ocean basin-scale biogeochemical dynamics. In this paper, we demonstrate that, in the high Arctic, marine gels with unique physicochemical characteristics originate in the organic material produced by ice algae and/or phytoplankton in the surface...
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Published in | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 108; no. 33; pp. 13612 - 13617 |
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Main Authors | , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
National Academy of Sciences
16.08.2011
National Acad Sciences |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Marine microgels play an important role in regulating ocean basin-scale biogeochemical dynamics. In this paper, we demonstrate that, in the high Arctic, marine gels with unique physicochemical characteristics originate in the organic material produced by ice algae and/or phytoplankton in the surface water. The polymers in this dissolved organic pool assembled faster and with higher microgel yields than at other latitudes. The reversible phase transitions shown by these Arctic marine gels, as a function of pH, dimethylsulfide, and dimethylsulfoniopropionate concentrations, stimulate the gels to attain sizes below 1 μm in diameter. These marine gels were identified with an antibody probe specific toward material from the surface waters, sized, and quantified in airborne aerosol, fog, and cloud water, strongly suggesting that they dominate the available cloud condensation nuclei number population in the high Arctic (north of 80°N) during the summer season. Knowledge about emergent properties of marine gels provides important new insights into the processes controlling cloud formation and radiative forcing, and links the biology at the ocean surface with cloud properties and climate over the central Arctic Ocean and, probably, all oceans. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 Edited* by David M. Karl, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, and approved July 18, 2011 (received for review February 16, 2011) 1M.V.O. and P.A.M. contributed equally to this work. Author contributions: M.V.O., P.A.M., and C.L. designed research; M.V.O., P.A.M., C.L., C.D.R., A.M.L., and E.C. performed research; M.V.O. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; M.V.O., P.A.M., and E.C. analyzed data; and M.V.O. and P.A.M. wrote the paper. |
ISSN: | 0027-8424 1091-6490 1091-6490 |
DOI: | 10.1073/pnas.1102457108 |