News & Events

Evidence for Marine Biogenic Influence on the Composition and Growth of Summertime Arctic Aerosol

Date: 
Wednesday, January 10, 2018 - 15:00 to 16:00
Speaker: 
Dr. Megan D. Willis
Affiliation: 
Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto
Event Category: 
Analytical Professor Search
Location: 
Chemistry D215

Abstract: The summertime Arctic lower troposphere is a relatively pristine background aerosol environment dominated by small particles. Understanding the mechanisms that control the formation and growth of aerosol is crucial for our ability to predict cloud properties and therefore radiative balance and Arctic climate. Using aircraft-based ensemble and single particle aerosol mass spectrometry measurements and support from model calculations, this work demonstrates evidence for a secondary source of marine organic aerosol in the pristine summertime Arctic. Our observations illustrate the importance of marine influenced organic aerosol under Arctic background conditions, which are likely to change as the Arctic transitions to larger areas of open water in summer.