Molecular markers of biomass burning in arctic aerosols

Biomass burning is one of the most important sources of organic matter in the atmosphere as it affects the absorption and scattering of solar radiation, creates cloud condensation nuclei and possibly influences ice and snow albedo. Here we created and validated an analytical method using HPLC/(-)-ESI-MS/MS to determine phenolic compounds (PCLCs): vanillic acid, isovanillic acid, homovanillic acid, syringic acid, syringaldehyde, ferulic acid, p-coumaric acid, and coniferyl aldehyde at trace levels in particulate matter. We analyzed eighteen high-volume air samples from Ny Ålesund (Svalbard) collected during the boreal spring and summer of 2010. Biomass burning molecules including PCLCs (<0.49 μm, mean atmospheric concentration 6 pg m(-3)), levoglucosan (0.004 to 0.682 ng m(-3)) and acrylamide (32 fg m(-3) to 166 fg m(-3)) were present in the sampled aerosols. Levoglucosan concentrations, an unambiguous cellulose combustion tracer, derived from 2010 Russian fires. PCLCs levels in the Ny Alesund atmosphere in different size fractions reflected both long-range transport linked to biomass burning and a terrigenous local source.