Photochemical production of low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds in seawater and surface microlayer and their air-sea exchange

Coastal and oceanic surface microlayer samples were collected using a stainless steel screen, along with subsurface bulk seawater, and were analyzed for low-molecular-weight (LMW) carbonyl compounds, including formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, propanal, glyoxal, methylglyoxal, glyoxylic acid and pyruvic acid. The enrichment factor in surface microlayer compared to corresponding subsurface seawater ranged from 1.2 to 21. A time-series measurement at a coastal site showed strong diurnal variations in concentrations of the LMW carbonyl compounds in the surface microlayer and in the enrichment factor, with maxima in the early afternoon and minima in the early morning. Exposure of samples to sunlight resulted in the higher yields of these compounds in the surface microlayer than in the bulk seawater, by a factor of 1.1–25, suggesting that the higher photoproduction rate of LMW carbonyl compounds in the surface microlayer accounts for the majority of the observed enrichment in these samples. Potential sinks include biological uptake and mixing. Air-sea exchange may be a source for soluble compounds and a sink for less soluble compounds. The enrichment of the LMW carbonyl in surface microlayer may alter their net air-sea exchange direction e.g., from the ocean as a potential sink to a source for atmospheric acetaldehyde and acetone. The residence times of the LMW carbonyl compounds in the microlayer were estimated to be on the order of tens of seconds to minutes using a modified two-layer model. However, to maintain the observed microlayer enrichment factor, the residence time should be on the order of ˜ 1 hour. This prolonged residence time may be due to organic enrichment in the surface microlayer (‘organic film’) which inhibited molecular transfer of carbonyl compounds into and out of the microlayer. The deviated behavior from model prediction may also be due to changes in the apparent partition coefficients of these species as a result of thier physical and chemical interactions with organic matrix in the surface microlayer.