First-year sea ice leads to an increase in dimethyl sulfide-induced particle formation in the Antarctic Peninsula

Abstract

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) produced by marine algae represents the largest natural emission of sulfur to the atmosphere. The oxidation of DMS is a key process affecting new particle formation that contributes to the radiative forcing of the Earth. In this study, atmospheric DMS and its major oxidation products (methanesulfonic acid, MSA; non-sea-salt sulfate, nss-SO42-) and particle size distributions were measured at King Sejong station located in the Antarctic Peninsula during the austral spring-summer period in 2018-2020. The observatory was surrounded by open ocean and first-year and multi-year sea ice. Importantly, oceanic emissions and atmospheric oxidation of DMS showed distinct differences depending on source regions. A high mixing ratio of atmospheric DMS was observed when air masses were influenced by the open ocean and first-year sea ice due to the abundance of DMS producers such as pelagic phaeocystis and ice algae. However, the concentrations of MSA and nss-SO42- were distinctively increased for air masses originating from first-year sea ice as compared to those originating from the open ocean and multi-year sea ice, suggesting additional influences from the source regions of atmospheric oxidants. Heterogeneous chemical processes that actively occur over first-year sea ice tend to accelerate the release of bromine monoxide (BrO), which is the most efficient DMS oxidant in Antarctica. Model-estimates for surface BrO confirmed that high BrO mixing ratios were closely associated with first-year sea ice, thus enhancing DMS oxidation. Consequently, the concentration of newly formed particles originated from first-year sea ice, which was a strong source area for both DMS and BrO was greater than from open ocean (high DMS but low BrO). These results indicate that first-year sea ice plays an important yet overlooked role in DMS-induced new particle formation in polar environments, where warming-induced sea ice changes are pronounced.