Temperature and Concentration Affect Particle Size Upon Sublimation of Saline Ice: Implications for Sea Salt Aerosol Production in Polar Regions
| Authors | |
|---|---|
| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Article in Periodical |
| Magazine / Source | Geophysical Research Letters |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Web | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097098 |
| Doi | http://dx.doi.org/10.1029/2021GL097098 |
| Keywords | sea salt aerosols; ozone depletion; sublimation; microscopy; eutectic temperature; bromine explosion |
| Description | Using an environmental scanning electron microscope, we quantified for the first time aerosol-sized salt particles formed during the sublimation of sea ice as a function of temperature and concentration. The sublimation temperature of the ice is a dominating physical factor to determine the size of the residua: Below -20°C, micron-sized pieces of salt emerge, whereas above the temperature large chunks of salt are detected. Another such aspect influencing the distribution of sizes in salt particles is the concentration: Micron-sized particles are observed exclusively at salinities below 3.5 psu, while below 0.085 psu particles with a median smaller than 6 µm arise from sea ices at any subzero temperature. Moreover, when a chunk of salt sublimes at less than -30°C to be dried and warmed later, a large number of sub-micron crystals will appear. We relate our findings to the production of the polar atmospheric sea salt aerosols. |
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