RUSSIAN JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, VOL. 21, ES5005, doi:10.2205/2021ES000777, 2021

Features of suspended matter distribution at the atmosphere-water boundary in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans

Inna A. Nemirovskaya and Vyacheslav V. Gordeev

Abstract

The new results of studying the particle size distribution of aerosol, suspended matter and organic compounds in the suspended matter of surface waters of the South and Atlantic Oceans along the Africa–Antarctic–Southern America–English Channel route are presented. The measurements show that the fraction of 0–3 μm prevails in the particle size distribution of aerosols. The maximum amount of aerosols was found in the coastal regions of Europe (on average 29,353 p/L), and the minimum – in the coastal regions of Antarctica (on average 5197 p/L), that is due to the Antarctic ice cover on the continent. In surface waters, the distribution of suspended particulate matter and organic matter in it is mainly influenced by the frontal zones. In the Antarctic region, the development of phytoplankton at the ice – water interface in the surface water layer leads to an increase in the concentrations of suspended particulate matter and chlorophyll a and, to a lesser extent, of lipids and hydrocarbons. In the open waters of the arid oceanic zones, the influx of aerosols from the atmosphere has the most significant effect on the formation of suspended matter and organic matter in surface waters in comparison with the another parts of the oceans.

Received 20 May 2021; accepted 21 September 2021; published 24 October 2021.

Citation: Inna A. Nemirovskaya and Vyacheslav V. Gordeev, (2021), Features of suspended matter distribution at the atmosphere-water boundary in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans, Russ. J. Earth Sci., 21, ES5005, doi:10.2205/2021ES000777.