Aerosolization of an anionic surfactant (LAS) and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) under laboratory conditions

Aerosolization of natural salt and brackish waters under laboratory conditi ons is responsible for the transfer of synthetic surfactants such as linear alkylbenzene sulphonate (LAS) from water to the atmosphere. Excluded the l agoon sample which stands apart, on the average ca. 45% of the LAS present at concentrations between 0.1 and 4.1 mug 1(-1) in the tested coastal and o ffshore marine and lagoon waters was transferred to the aerosol extract. Th e distribution of the individual LAS homologs in the aerosol is very simila r to that in water, which indicates no preferential removal from the bulk w ater of any LAS homolog. The fraction of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) und ergoing aerosolization under the same conditions for each tested sample was on an average ca. 3.3%, corresponding to ca. 5.6 mg 1(-1). On the average, the enrichment factor of the sea samples, resulting from the changing of t he LAS/DOG ratio before and after aerosolization, was ca. 20. (C) 2001 Else vier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.