Bioaerosols and dust are the dominant sources of organic P in atmospheric particles

Kalliopi Violaki (1, 2) , Athanasios Nenes (1, 3) , Maria Tsagkaraki (4) , Marco Paglione (5) , Stéphanie Jacquet (2) , Richard Sempere (2) , Christos Panagiotopoulos (2)

1 LAPI - Laboratory of Atmospheric Processes and their Impacts
2 MIO - Institut méditerranéen d'océanologie
3 Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas - Institute of Chemical Engineering Sciences
4 ECPL - Environmental Chemical Processes Laboratory [Heraklion]
5 ISAC - CNR Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate

Several studies assessed the impact of inorganic P in fertilizing oligotrophic areas, however, the importance of organic P in such fertilization processes received far less attention. In this study, the amount and origin of organic P delivered to the eastern Mediterranean Sea were characterized in atmospheric particles using the positive matrix factorization model (PMF). Phospholipids together with other chemical compounds (sugars, metals) were used as tracers in PMF. The model revealed that dominant sources of organic P are bioaerosols and dust. The amount of organic P from bioaerosols (~4 Gg P y −1 ) is similar to the amount of soluble inorganic P originating from dust aerosols; this is especially true during highly stratified periods when surface waters are strongly P-limited. The deposition of organic P from bioaerosols can constitute a considerable flux of bioavailable P—even during periods of dust episodes, implying that airborne biological particles can potentially fertilize marine ecosystems.

Mots clés: Environmental impact; Atmospheric chemistry

Domaines: Planète et Univers [physics]; Océan, Atmosphère

Kalliopi Violaki, Athanasios Nenes, Maria Tsagkaraki, Marco Paglione, Stéphanie Jacquet, et al.. Bioaerosols and dust are the dominant sources of organic P in atmospheric particles. npj climate and atmospheric science, 2021, 4 (1), ⟨10.1038/s41612-021-00215-5⟩. ⟨hal-03468649⟩