Particulate trimethylamine in the summertime Canadian high Arctic lower troposphere
Size-resolved and vertical profile measurements of single particle chemical composition (sampling altitude range 50–3000 m) were conducted in July 2014 in the Cana- dian high Arctic during an aircraft-based measurement cam- paign (NETCARE 2014). We deployed the single parti- cle laser ablation aerosol mass spectrometer ALABAMA (vacuum aerodynamic diameter range approximately 200– 1000 nm) to identify different particle types and their mix- ing states. On the basis of the single particle analysis, we found that a significant fraction (23 %) of all analyzed parti- cles (in total: 7412) contained trimethylamine (TMA). Two main pieces of evidence suggest that these TMA-containing particles originated from emissions within the Arctic bound- ary layer. First, the maximum fraction of particulate TMA occurred in the Arctic boundary layer. Second, compared to particles observed aloft, TMA particles were smaller and less oxidized. Further, air mass history analysis, associated wind data and comparison with measurements of methane- sulfonic acid give evidence of a marine-biogenic influence on particulate TMA. Moreover, the external mixture of TMA- containing particles and sodium and chloride (“Na/Cl-”) containing particles, together with low wind speeds, sug- gests particulate TMA results from secondary conversion of precursor gases released by the ocean. In contrast to TMA- containing particles originating from inner-Arctic sources, particles with biomass burning markers (such as levoglucosan and potassium) showed a higher fraction at higher al- titudes, indicating long-range transport as their source. Our measurements highlight the importance of natural, marine inner-Arctic sources for composition and growth of summer- time Arctic aerosol.