Molecular iodine, a major emission from the ocean, can quickly convert to iodic oxoacids even under weak daylight conditions.
Molecular iodine, a major emission from the ocean, can quickly convert to iodic oxoacids even under weak daylight conditions. These oxoacids lead rapidly to aerosol particles that significantly affect climate and human health.
Iodine-containing vapors that are emitted from oceans are a major source of aerosol particles. “Despite their importance to the climate, the formation of marine particles has been poorly understood,” says Siddharth Iyer, Postdoctoral Researcher in Aerosol Physics Laboratory at Tampere University.
In this research, the formation of aerosol particles form from iodine-containing vapours under marine boundary layer conditions were studied. The experiments were carried out in the ultra-clean CLOUD chamber in CERN, where the nucleation and growth rates as well as the composition of freshly formed particles from iodic oxoacids (iodic acid and iodous acid) were measured.
Read more: Tampere University
Iodine emitted from the sea and ice is converted by ozone and sunlight into iodic acid and other compounds. These form new particles and increase clouds, warming the polar climate. Cosmic rays strongly enhance the particle formation rates. (Photo Credit: Helen Cawley)
