Articles | Volume 22, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5725-2022
https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-5725-2022
Research article
 | 
02 May 2022
Research article |  | 02 May 2022

High number concentrations of transparent exopolymer particles in ambient aerosol particles and cloud water – a case study at the tropical Atlantic Ocean

Manuela van Pinxteren, Tiera-Brandy Robinson, Sebastian Zeppenfeld, Xianda Gong, Enno Bahlmann, Khanneh Wadinga Fomba, Nadja Triesch, Frank Stratmann, Oliver Wurl, Anja Engel, Heike Wex, and Hartmut Herrmann

Related authors

Modelling emission and transport of key components of primary marine organic aerosol using the global aerosol-climate model ECHAM6.3–HAM2.3
Anisbel Leon-Marcos, Moritz Zeising, Manuela van Pinxteren, Sebastian Zeppenfeld, Astrid Bracher, Elena Barbaro, Anja Engel, Matteo Feltracco, Ina Tegen, and Bernd Heinold
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2917,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2917, 2024
Short summary
Marine carbohydrates in Arctic aerosol particles and fog – diversity of oceanic sources and atmospheric transformations
Sebastian Zeppenfeld, Manuela van Pinxteren, Markus Hartmann, Moritz Zeising, Astrid Bracher, and Hartmut Herrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 15561–15587, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15561-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-15561-2023, 2023
Short summary
Amino acids, carbohydrates, and lipids in the tropical oligotrophic Atlantic Ocean: sea-to-air transfer and atmospheric in situ formation
Manuela van Pinxteren, Sebastian Zeppenfeld, Khanneh Wadinga Fomba, Nadja Triesch, Sanja Frka, and Hartmut Herrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 23, 6571–6590, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6571-2023,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-23-6571-2023, 2023
Short summary
Circum-Antarctic abundance and properties of CCN and INPs
Christian Tatzelt, Silvia Henning, André Welti, Andrea Baccarini, Markus Hartmann, Martin Gysel-Beer, Manuela van Pinxteren, Robin L. Modini, Julia Schmale, and Frank Stratmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 9721–9745, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9721-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-9721-2022, 2022
Short summary
Understanding aerosol composition in a tropical inter-Andean valley impacted by agro-industrial and urban emissions
Lady Mateus-Fontecha, Angela Vargas-Burbano, Rodrigo Jimenez, Nestor Y. Rojas, German Rueda-Saa, Dominik van Pinxteren, Manuela van Pinxteren, Khanneh Wadinga Fomba, and Hartmut Herrmann
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 22, 8473–8495, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8473-2022,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-22-8473-2022, 2022
Short summary

Related subject area

Subject: Aerosols | Research Activity: Field Measurements | Altitude Range: Troposphere | Science Focus: Chemistry (chemical composition and reactions)
Burning conditions and transportation pathways determine biomass-burning aerosol properties in the Ascension Island marine boundary layer
Amie Dobracki, Ernie R. Lewis, Arthur J. Sedlacek III, Tyler Tatro, Maria A. Zawadowicz, and Paquita Zuidema
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2333–2363, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2333-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2333-2025, 2025
Short summary
Observations of high-time-resolution and size-resolved aerosol chemical composition and microphysics in the central Arctic: implications for climate-relevant particle properties
Benjamin Heutte, Nora Bergner, Hélène Angot, Jakob B. Pernov, Lubna Dada, Jessica A. Mirrielees, Ivo Beck, Andrea Baccarini, Matthew Boyer, Jessie M. Creamean, Kaspar R. Daellenbach, Imad El Haddad, Markus M. Frey, Silvia Henning, Tiia Laurila, Vaios Moschos, Tuukka Petäjä, Kerri A. Pratt, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Matthew D. Shupe, Paul Zieger, Tuija Jokinen, and Julia Schmale
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 2207–2241, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-2207-2025, 2025
Short summary
Measurement report: Brown carbon aerosol in rural Germany – sources, chemistry, and diurnal variations
Feng Jiang, Harald Saathoff, Uzoamaka Ezenobi, Junwei Song, Hengheng Zhang, Linyu Gao, and Thomas Leisner
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1917–1930, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1917-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1917-2025, 2025
Short summary
Multiple eco-regions contribute to the seasonal cycle of Antarctic aerosol size distributions
James Brean, David C. S. Beddows, Eija Asmi, Aki Virkkula, Lauriane L. J. Quéléver, Mikko Sipilä, Floortje Van Den Heuvel, Thomas Lachlan-Cope, Anna Jones, Markus Frey, Angelo Lupi, Jiyeon Park, Young Jun Yoon, Rolf Weller, Giselle L. Marincovich, Gabriela C. Mulena, Roy M. Harrison, and Manuel Dall'Osto
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 1145–1162, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1145-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-1145-2025, 2025
Short summary
Seasonal investigation of ultrafine-particle organic composition in an eastern Amazonian rainforest
Adam E. Thomas, Hayley S. Glicker, Alex B. Guenther, Roger Seco, Oscar Vega Bustillos, Julio Tota, Rodrigo A. F. Souza, and James N. Smith
Atmos. Chem. Phys., 25, 959–977, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-959-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-25-959-2025, 2025
Short summary

Cited articles

Alldredge, A. L., Passow, U., and Logan, B. E.: The abundance and significance of a class of large, transparent organic particles in the ocean, Deep-Sea Res. Pt. I, 40, 1131–1140, https://doi.org/10.1016/0967-0637(93)90129-q, 1993. 
Aller, J. Y., Radway, J. C., Kilthau, W. P., Bothe, D. W., Wilson, T. W., Vaillancourt, R. D., Quinn, P. K., Coffman, D. J., Murray, B. J., and Knopf, D. A.: Size-resolved characterization of the polysaccharidic and proteinaceous components of sea spray aerosol, Atmos. Environ., 154, 331–347, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2017.01.053, 2017. 
Bigg, E. K. and Leck, C.: The composition of fragments of bubbles bursting at the ocean surface, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos., 113, D11209, https://doi.org/10.1029/2007jd009078, 2008. 
Bittar, T. B., Passow, U., Hamaraty, L., Bidle, K. D., and Harvey, E. L.: An updated method for the calibration of transparent exopolymer particle measurements, Limnol. Oceanogr. Meth., 16, 621–628, https://doi.org/10.1002/lom3.10268, 2018. 
Blanchard, D. C.: Bubble Scavenging and the Water-to-Air Transfer of Organic Material in the Sea, in: Applied Chemistry at Protein Interfaces, Advances in Chemistry, 145, American Chemical Society, 360–387, https://doi.org/10.1021/ba-1975-0145.ch018, 1975. 
Download
Short summary
A class of marine particles (transparent exopolymer particles, TEPs) that is ubiquitously found in the world oceans was measured for the first time in ambient marine aerosol particles and marine cloud waters in the tropical Atlantic Ocean. TEPs are likely to have good properties for influencing clouds. We show that TEPs are transferred from the ocean to the marine atmosphere via sea-spray formation and our results suggest that they can also form directly in aerosol particles and in cloud water.
Share
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint