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A B S T R A C T Anhydrosugars including levoglucosan and mannosan are the most effective organic tracers for biomass burning aerosol in the atmosphere. In this study, to investigate the contribution of biomass burning emissions to the aerosol burden in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region, China, 24-hour integrated PM 2.5 samples were collected simultaneously at four locations, (i) Guangzhou (GZ), (ii) Zhaoqing (ZQ) in Guangdong province, (iii) Hok Tsui (HT) and (iv) Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PU) in Hong Kong, in four seasons between 2006 and 2007. Levoglucosan and mannosan, together with water-soluble inorganic ions and water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), were determined to elucidate the seasonal and spatial variations in biomass burning contributions. The concentrations of levoglucosan and mannosan were on average 82.49123 and 5.89 8.6 ng m (3 , respectively. The WSOC concentrations ranged from 0.2 to 9.4 mg m (3 , with an average of 2.191.6 mg m (3 . The relative contributions of biomass burning emissions to OC were 33% in QZ, 12% in GZ, 4% at PU and 5% at HT, respectively, estimated by the measured levoglucosan to organic carbon ratio (LG/ OC) relative to literature-derived LG/OC values. The contributions from biomass burning emissions were in general 1.7Á2.8 times higher in winter than those in other seasons. Further, it was inferred from diagnostic tracer ratios that a significant fraction of biomass burning emissions was derived from burning of hard wood and likely also from field burning of agricultural residues, such as rice straw, in the PRD region. Our results highlight the contributions from biomass/biofuel burning activities on the regional aerosol budget in South China.

Total suspended particle (TSP) samples were collected onboard a round‐trip cruise from Shanghai, China to Prydz Bay, Antarctica from November 2005 to March 2006. Water soluble iodine species were measured using ion chromatography coupled to Inductively Coupled Plasma‐Mass Spectrometry (IC‐ICP‐MS). The results reveal that soluble organic iodine (SOI) is the most abundant fraction, accounting for approximately 70 % of total soluble iodine (TSI) on average. One unidentified organic iodine (UOI) signal was present in almost all of the samples and was responsible for up to 38.3% of TSI. The abundance of inorganic iodine species, iodate and iodide, was less than 30% of TSI. Iodide was significantly correlated with SOI suggesting a link between iodide formation and SOI decomposition. TSI levels varied considerably over the length of the voyage. In the coastal Antarctic enhanced level of TSI were found to be correlated with the air mass transport from the ice front sector.

Iodine containing species have been measured in the particle phase (PM2.5) and the gas phase during a ship campaign between January and February 2007 in the South Atlantic marine boundary layer (MBL). Methyl iodide (CH3I) in the gas phase and soluble iodine species, i.e. iodide, iodate and an unidentified organic iodine species (UOI), in PM2.5 were measured. Temporal variations of gaseous and particulate iodine species were investigated. The exposure of the sampled air masses to phytoplankton along the back‐trajectories was studied using a lagrangian transport model and satellite observations of oceanic chlorophyll‐a concentration. Significant correlations were found between the concentrations of iodine species and the average chlorophyll exposure along back‐trajectories, indicating an emission from phytoplankton in the open ocean. Good correlations were found when the ship approached or crossed the active biological region in the West‐southern Atlantic. These results strongly suggest a connection between iodine species and the phytoplankton in the ocean. This study was extended to examine the relation of the iodine measurements to satellite derived phytoplankton distributions. We show that specific phytoplankton species may have impact on different iodine containing species.

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Iodine has recently been of interest in atmospheric chemistry due to its role in tropospheric ozone depletion, modification of the HO/HO(2) ratio and aerosol nucleation. Gas-phase iodine chemistry is tightly coupled to the aerosol phase through heterogeneous reactions, which are dependent on iodine concentrations and speciation in the aerosol. To date, the only method available for total iodine determination in aerosols is collection on filters by impaction and quantification by neutron activation analysis (NAA). NAA is not widely available to all working groups and is costly to commission. Here, we present a method to determine total iodine concentrations in aerosol impact filter samples by combustion of filter sub-samples (approximately 5 cm(2)) at 1,000 degrees C, trapping in deionised water and quantification by UV/Vis spectroscopy. Both quartz and cellulose filters were analysed from four separate sampling campaigns. The method proved to be sensitive (3sigma = 6 ng absolute iodine approximately 3 pmol m(-3)) precise (RSD approximately 5%) and accurate, as determined by external and standard addition calibrations. Total iodine concentrations ranged from 10 pmol m(-3) over the Southern Ocean to 100 pmol m(-3) over the tropical Atlantic, in agreement with previous estimates. The soluble iodine concentration (extracted with water and measured by ICP-MS) was then subtracted from the total iodine to yield non-water-soluble iodine (NSI). The NSI fraction ranged from 20% to 53% of total iodine, and thus can be significant in some cases.