scholarly journals Airborne microplastic particles detected in the remote marine atmosphere

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Miri Trainic ◽  
J. Michel Flores ◽  
Iddo Pinkas ◽  
Maria Luiza Pedrotti ◽  
Fabien Lombard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Trajectory Analysis ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Anthropogenic Pollution ◽  
Terminal Velocity ◽  
Back Trajectory ◽  
Marine Atmosphere ◽  
Local Production ◽  
The North ◽  
Back Trajectory Analysis

AbstractAnthropogenic pollution from marine microplastic particles is a growing concern, both as a source of toxic compounds, and because they can transport pathogens and other pollutants. Airborne microplastic particles were previously observed over terrestrial and coastal locations, but not in the remote ocean. Here, we collected ambient aerosol samples in the North Atlantic Ocean, including the remote marine atmosphere, during the Tara Pacific expedition in May-June 2016, and chemically characterized them using micro-Raman spectroscopy. We detected a range of airborne microplastics, including polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and poly-silicone compounds. Polyethylene and polypropylene were also found in seawater, suggesting local production of airborne microplastic particles. Terminal velocity estimations and back trajectory analysis support this conclusion. For technical reasons, only particles larger than 5 µm, at the upper end of a typical marine atmospheric size distribution, were analyzed, suggesting that our analyses underestimate the presence of airborne microplastic particles in the remote marine atmosphere.

scholarly journals Enhanced stratospheric water vapor over the summertime continental United States and the role of overshooting convection

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (9) ◽  
pp. 6113-6124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert L. Herman ◽  
Eric A. Ray ◽  
Karen H. Rosenlof ◽  
Kristopher M. Bedka ◽  
Michael J. Schwartz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Trajectory Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Atmospheric Composition ◽  
Back Trajectory ◽  
Stratospheric Water Vapor ◽  
Mixing Ratios ◽  
The North ◽  
Back Trajectory Analysis

Abstract. The NASA ER-2 aircraft sampled the lower stratosphere over North America during the field mission for the NASA Studies of Emissions and Atmospheric Composition, Clouds and Climate Coupling by Regional Surveys (SEAC4RS). This study reports observations of convectively influenced air parcels with enhanced water vapor in the overworld stratosphere over the summertime continental United States and investigates three case studies in detail. Water vapor mixing ratios greater than 10 ppmv, which is much higher than the background 4 to 6 ppmv of the overworld stratosphere, were measured by the JPL Laser Hygrometer (JLH Mark2) at altitudes between 16.0 and 17.5 km (potential temperatures of approximately 380 to 410 K). Overshooting cloud tops (OTs) are identified from a SEAC4RS OT detection product based on satellite infrared window channel brightness temperature gradients. Through trajectory analysis, we make the connection between these in situ water measurements and OT. Back trajectory analysis ties enhanced water to OT 1 to 7 days prior to the intercept by the aircraft. The trajectory paths are dominated by the North American monsoon (NAM) anticyclonic circulation. This connection suggests that ice is convectively transported to the overworld stratosphere in OT events and subsequently sublimated; such events may irreversibly enhance stratospheric water vapor in the summer over Mexico and the United States. A regional context is provided by water observations from the Aura Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS).

Zooplankton Biogeochemical Cycles

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Steinberg
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Significant Proportion ◽  
Biogeochemical Cycles ◽  
Biological Pump ◽  
The North ◽  
Particle Export ◽  
Chemical Cycling ◽  
Cycling Of Nutrients ◽  
Planktonic Communities

The structure of planktonic communities profoundly affects particle export and sequestration of organic material (the biological pump) and the chemical cycling of nutrients. This chapter describes the integral and multifaceted role zooplankton (both protozoan and metazoan) play in the export and cycling of elements in the ocean, with an emphasis on the North Atlantic Ocean and adjacent seas. Zooplankton consume a significant proportion of primary production across the world's oceans, and their metabolism plays a key role in recycling carbon, nitrogen, and other elements. The chapter also addresses how human or climate-influenced changes in North Atlantic zooplankton populations may in turn drive changes in zooplankton-mediated biogeochemical cycling.

Spatiotemporal evolution of the chlorophyll a trend in the North Atlantic Ocean

2018 ◽  
Vol 612 ◽  
pp. 1141-1148 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Zhang ◽  
Yuanling Zhang ◽  
Qi Shu ◽  
Chang Zhao ◽  
Gang Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Spatiotemporal Evolution ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

On the uncertainty of future projections of Marine Heatwave events in the North Atlantic Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 56 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 2027-2056
Author(s):  
Sandra M. Plecha ◽  
Pedro M. M. Soares ◽  
Susana M. Silva-Fernandes ◽  
William Cabos
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Future Projections ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Monthly satellite-derived phytoplankton pigment distribution for the North Atlantic Ocean basin

Eos ◽  
1986 ◽  
Vol 67 (44) ◽  
pp. 835 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. E. Esaias ◽  
G. C. Feldman ◽  
C. R. McClain ◽  
J. A. Elrod
Keyword(s):  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Ocean Basin ◽  
Phytoplankton Pigment ◽  
The North ◽  
Pigment Distribution ◽  
The North Atlantic

scholarly journals A New Method for Tracking Meddies by Satellite Altimetry

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 1434-1445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federico Ienna ◽  
Young-Heon Jo ◽  
Xiao-Hai Yan
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Atlantic Ocean ◽  
North Atlantic ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Saline Water ◽  
Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
In Situ Techniques ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic

Abstract Subsurface coherent vortices in the North Atlantic, whose saline water originates from the Mediterranean Sea and which are known as Mediterranean eddies (meddies), have been of particular interest to physical oceanographers since their discovery, especially for their salt and heat transport properties into the North Atlantic Ocean. Many studies in the past have been successful in observing and studying the typical properties of meddies by probing them with in situ techniques. The use of remote sensing techniques would offer a much cheaper and easier alternative for studying these phenomena, but only a few past studies have been able to study meddies by remote sensing, and a reliable method for observing them remotely remains elusive. This research presents a new way of locating and tracking meddies in the North Atlantic Ocean using satellite altimeter data. The method presented in this research makes use of ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) as a means to isolate the surface expressions of meddies on the ocean surface and separates them from any other surface constituents, allowing robust meddies to be consistently tracked by satellite. One such meddy is successfully tracked over a 6-month time period (2 November 2005 to 17 May 2006). Results of the satellite tracking method are verified using expendable bathythermographs (XBT).

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