ACP Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics ACP 1680-7324 Copernicus GmbH Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/acp-12-10453-2012 Amino acids in Arctic aerosols Scalabrin E. 1 2 Zangrando R. 2 Barbaro E. 1 Kehrwald N. M. 2 Gabrieli J. 2 Barbante C. 1 2 3 Gambaro A. 1 2 Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics, University of Venice, Ca' Foscari, 30123 Venice, Italy Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes-CNR, University of Venice, 30123 Venice, Italy Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Centro "B. Segre", 00165, Roma, Italy 08 11 2012 12 21 10453 10463 This is an open-access article ditributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. This article is available from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/10453/2012/acp-12-10453-2012.html The full text article is available as a PDF file from http://www.atmos-chem-phys.net/12/10453/2012/acp-12-10453-2012.pdf

Amino acids are significant components of atmospheric aerosols, affecting organic nitrogen input to marine ecosystems, atmospheric radiation balance, and the global water cycle. The wide range of amino acid reactivities suggest that amino acids may serve as markers of atmospheric transport and deposition of particles. Despite this potential, few measurements have been conducted in remote areas to assess amino acid concentrations and potential sources. Polar regions offer a unique opportunity to investigate atmospheric processes and to conduct source apportionment studies of such compounds. In order to better understand the importance of amino acid compounds in the global atmosphere, we determined free amino acids (FAAs) in seventeen size-segregated aerosol samples collected in a polar station in the Svalbard Islands from 19 April until 14 September 2010. We used an HPLC coupled with a tandem mass spectrometer (ESI-MS/MS) to analyze 20 amino acids and quantify compounds at fmol m<sup>−3</sup> levels. Mean total FAA concentration was 1070 fmol m<sup>−3</sup> where serine and glycine were the most abundant compounds in almost all samples and accounted for 45–60% of the total amino acid relative abundance. The other eighteen compounds had average concentrations between 0.3 and 98 fmol m<sup>−3</sup>. The higher amino acid concentrations were present in the ultrafine aerosol fraction (< 0.49 μm) and accounted for the majority of the total amino acid content. Local marine sources dominate the boreal summer amino acid concentrations, with the exception of the regional input from Icelandic volcanic emissions.

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