Levoglucosan and phenols in Antarctic marine, coastal and plateau aerosols

- Levoglucosan and phenolic compounds were detected in remote Antarctic aerosols.
- Antarctic samples had different levoglucosan/PC ratios than biomass burning aerosol.
- Coastal PCs were less oxidized in comparison to those collected on the plateau.
- The results suggest that PCs have sources other than biomass burning in Antarctica.

Due to its isolated location, Antarctica is a natural laboratory for studying atmospheric aerosols and pollution in remote areas. Here, we determined levoglucosan and phenolic compounds (PCs) at diverse Antarctic sites: on the plateau, a coastal station and during an oceanographic cruise. Levoglucosan and PCs reached the Antarctic plateau where they were observed in accumulation mode aerosols (with median levoglucosan concentrations of 6.4 pg m− 3 and 4.1 pg m− 3, and median PC concentrations of 15.0 pg m− 3 and 7.3 pg m− 3). Aged aerosols arrived at the coastal site through katabatic circulation with the majority of the levoglucosan mass distributed on larger particulates (24.8 pg m− 3), while PCs were present in fine particles (34.0 pg m− 3). The low levoglucosan/PC ratios in Antarctic aerosols suggest that biomass burning aerosols only had regional, rather than local, sources. General acid/aldehyde ratios were lower at the coastal site than on the plateau. Levoglucosan and PCs determined during the oceanographic cruise were 37.6 pg m− 3 and 58.5 pg m− 3 respectively. Unlike levoglucosan, which can only be produced by biomass burning, PCs have both biomass burning and other sources. Our comparisons of these two types of compounds across a range of Antarctic marine, coastal, and plateau sites demonstrate that local marine sources dominate Antarctic PC concentrations.