Seminar

Abstract

Studies performed during recent years strongly suggest that biogenic organic compounds play an important role in submicron marine aerosol chemical composition over biologically productive, high latitude, marine regions, in both hemispheres, and new biogenic oceanic sources of primary and secondary origins of organic aerosol (OA) were revealed. The global importance of biogenic OA marine sources, their high spatial and temporal variability and the complex interaction with gaseous biogenic precursors and oceanic biotic components (phytoplankton, marine viruses and bacteria) will be presented. Submicron marine organic aerosol is a complex mixture of biogenic materials transferred from the ocean surface by sea spray, of their conversion products due to oxidation and of gas to particle conversion involving volatile organics emitted by decomposition processes of oceanic dissolved organic carbon. The role of marine biota on the evolution of plankton blooms and on the partitioning of oceanic organic carbon in POC and DOC or gaseous species, and on transfer mechanisms to the MBL will be discussed.