The Pacific marine aerosol: Evidence for natural acid sulfates

Abstract

Optical, chemical, and physical measurements of marine boundary layer aerosol were made during two oceanographic cruises in the central Pacific in the fall of 1983 and spring of 1984. Both cruises revealed a ubiquitous accumulation mode atmospheric aerosol that showed marked increases in the region of equatorial upwelling, 4°N to 15°S, between Hawaii and Tahiti. Changes in the aerosol size distribution in response to thermal conditioning revealed properties consistent with those of sulfuric acid and/or ammonium sulfate/bisulfate depending upon the sampling location. Changes in the apparent acidity of the accumulation mode varied in conjunction with physical and chemical properties of the region sampled, while the number concentration suggests that it is the dominant and possibly limiting aerosol for cloud condensation nuclei in the remote central Pacific.