Sea Spray Aerosol (SSA) as a Source of Perfluoroalkyl Acids (PFAAs) to the Atmosphere: Field Evidence from Long-Term Air Monitoring.

The effective enrichment of perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) in sea spray aerosols (SSA) demonstrated in previous laboratory studies suggests that SSA is a potential source of PFAAs to the atmosphere. In order to investigate the influence of SSA on atmospheric PFAAs in the field, 48 h aerosol samples were collected regularly between 2018 and 2020 at two Norwegian coastal locations, Andøya and Birkenes. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) between the SSA tracer ion, Na+, and PFAA concentrations were observed in the samples from both locations, with Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) between 0.4-0.8. Such significant correlations indicate SSA to be an important source of atmospheric PFAAs to coastal areas. The correlations in the samples from Andøya were observed for more PFAA species and were generally stronger than in the samples from Birkenes, which is located further away from the coast and closer to urban areas than Andøya. Factors such as the origin of the SSA, the distance of the sampling site to open water, and the presence of other PFAA sources (e.g., volatile precursor compounds) can have influence on the contribution of SSA to PFAA in air at the sampling sites and therefore affect the observed correlations between PFAAs and Na+.

Isotope-Based Source Apportionment of EC Aerosol Particles during Winter High-Pollution Events at the Zeppelin Observatory, Svalbard.

Black carbon (BC) aerosol particles contribute to climate warming of the Arctic, yet both the sources and the source-related effects are currently poorly constrained. Bottom-up emission inventory (EI) approaches are challenged for BC in general and the Arctic in particular. For example, estimates from three different EI models on the fractional contribution to BC from biomass burning (north of 60° N) vary between 11% and 68%, each acknowledging large uncertainties. Here we present the first dual-carbon isotope-based (Δ(14)C and δ(13)C) source apportionment of elemental carbon (EC), the mass-based correspondent to optically defined BC, in the Arctic atmosphere. It targeted 14 high-loading and high-pollution events during January through March of 2009 at the Zeppelin Observatory (79° N; Svalbard, Norway), with these representing one-third of the total sampling period that was yet responsible for three-quarters of the total EC loading. The top-down source-diagnostic (14)C fingerprint constrained that 52 ± 15% (n = 12) of the EC stemmed from biomass burning. Including also two samples with 95% and 98% biomass contribution yield 57 ± 21% of EC from biomass burning. Significant variability in the stable carbon isotope signature indicated temporally shifting emissions between different fossil sources, likely including liquid fossil and gas flaring. Improved source constraints of Arctic BC both aids better understanding of effects and guides policy actions to mitigate emissions.