Ice nucleating particles (INPs) are vital for ice initiation in, and precipitation from, mixed-phase clouds. A source of INPs from oceans within sea spray aerosol (SSA) emissions has been suggested in previous studies but remained unconfirmed. Here, we show that INPs are emitted using real wave breaking in a laboratory flume to produce SSA. The number concentrations of INPs from laboratorygenerated SSA, when normalized to typical total aerosol number concentrations in the marine boundary layer, agree well with measurements from diverse regions over the oceans. Data in the present study are also in accord with previously published INP measurements made over remote ocean regions. INP number concentrations active within liquid water droplets increase exponentially in number with a decrease in temperature below 0°C, averaging an order of magnitude increase per 5°C interval. The plausibility of a strong increase in SSA INP emissions in association with phytoplankton blooms is also shown in laboratory simulations. Nevertheless, INP number concentrations, or active site densities approximated using "dry" geometric SSA surface areas, are a few orders of magnitude lower than corresponding concentrations or site densities in the surface boundary layer over continental regions. These findings have important implications for cloud radiative forcing and precipitation within low-level and midlevel marine clouds unaffected by continental INP sources, such as may occur over the Southern Ocean.marine aerosols | ice nucleation | clouds

As part of the European contribution to the Large‐Scale Atmosphere‐Biosphere Experiment in Amazonia (LBA‐EUSTACH), aerosols were sampled at representative pasture and primary rainforest sites in Rondônia, Brazil, during the 1999 “burning season” and dry‐to‐wet season transition (September‐October). Water‐soluble organic compounds (WSOCs) within the samples were characterized using a combination of 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy for chemical functional group analysis, and Gas Chromatography‐Mass Spectrometry (GC‐MS) for identification and quantification of individual low‐molecular‐weight compounds. The 1H NMR analysis indicates that WSOCs are predominantly aliphatic or oxygenated aliphatic compounds (alcohols, carboxylic acids, etc.), with a minor content of aromatic rings carrying carboxylic and phenolic groups. Levoglucosan (1,6‐anhydro‐β‐D‐glucose), a well‐known cellulose combustion product, was the most abundant individual compound identified by GC‐MS (0.04–6.90 μg m−3), accounting for 1–6% of the total carbon (TC) and 2–8% of the water‐soluble organic carbon (WSOC). Other anhydrosugars, produced by hemicellulose breakdown, were detected in much smaller amounts, in addition to series of acids, hydroxyacids, oxoacids, and polyalcohols (altogether 2–5% of TC, 3–6% of WSOC). Most correlated well with organic carbon, black carbon, and potassium, indicating biomass burning to be the major source. A series of sugar alcohols (mannitol, arabitol, erythritol) and sugars (glucose, fructose, mannose, galactose, sucrose, trehalose) were identified as part of the natural background aerosol and are probably derived from airborne microbes and other biogenic material. The bulk of the WSOCs (86–91% WSOC) eluded analysis by GC‐MS and may be predominantly high‐molecular weight in nature.

[1] This review provides a comprehensive account of what is known presently about Amazonian aerosol particles and concludes by formulating outlook and priorities for further research. The review is organized to follow the life cycle of Amazonian aerosol particles. It begins with a discussion of the primary and secondary sources relevant to the Amazonian particle burden, followed by a presentation of the particle properties that characterize the mixed populations present over the Amazon Basin at different times and places. These properties include number and mass concentrations and distributions, chemical composition, hygroscopicity, and cloud nucleation ability. The review presents Amazonian aerosol particles in the context of natural compared to anthropogenic sources as well as variability with season and meteorology. This review is intended to facilitate an understanding of the current state of knowledge on Amazonian aerosol particles specifically and tropical continental aerosol particles in general and thereby to enhance future research in this area.

The Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) was an international, multiplatform field campaign to measure long-range transport of air pollution from South and Southeast Asia toward the Indian Ocean during the dry monsoon season in January to March 1999. Surprisingly high pollution levels were observed over the entire northern Indian Ocean toward the Intertropical Convergence Zone at about 6 degrees S. We show that agricultural burning and especially biofuel use enhance carbon monoxide concentrations. Fossil fuel combustion and biomass burning cause a high aerosol loading. The growing pollution in this region gives rise to extensive air quality degradation with local, regional, and global implications, including a reduction of the oxidizing power of the atmosphere.