The marine community of microorganisms determines the organic composition of seawater and sea spray aerosol. During natural and synthetic seawater phytoplankton blooms the structure and properties of these compartments change with the fluctuating populations. This atmospheric microbiome influences aerosol properties through the sea-air transfer of whole cells or the transfer of particles that form from the detritus, enzymatic processing, and biomolecules arising from microbial degradation or secretive processes. This has direct consequence for a variety of climatic processes including cloud condensation and ice nucleation. Here we demonstrate the role of enzymatic processing as it relates to available organic pools. In an aerosol producing bench-scale system, large biomolecules both in isolation and treated with degrading enzymes are examined to determine effects on aerosols though mass spectrometry and particle sizing.

Role of enzymatic processing on seawater and sea spray aerosol properties

251st National Meeting (2016)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.