Marine polysaccharides reach great altitudes and influence the climate of the Arctic

Not only salt from seawater reaches the atmosphere, but sugars can also rise hundreds of meters upward. Researchers from Leipzig have demonstrated, for the first time through direct measurements in Svalbard, that these marine polysaccharides can reach great heights, where they may participate in the formation of clouds and ice crystals, and thus affect the amount of sunlight that reaches the North Pole. According to a report by the German MDR channel. A research team led by the Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS) in Leipzig was able to prove that organic materials found in seawater can rise to a height of nearly a thousand metres, reaching layers of the free troposphere. Sugars affect cloud properties Among these organic materials are complex sugars produced by marine algae and bacteria. When waves break and air bubbles pop on the surface of the sea, small droplets of seawater are released into the air, carrying these organic materials with them. To conduct the study, the researchers used a twelve-meter tethered balloon and took air samples at different altitudes above Svalbard. They were able to detect marine sugars in these samples. This finding is particularly important for Arctic climate, because some of these sugars appear to influence the formation of ice crystals inside clouds. This can change the properties of clouds, including the amount of sunlight the clouds reflect back into space, as well as the timing of rainfall. Previous studies have shown that sugars coming from the sea can help form ice inside clouds. The new study has proven that these materials are already present at altitudes, which play an important role in cloud formation. Do sugars also form inside clouds? However, the researchers caution against assuming that all sugars found in the atmosphere came directly from the sea. Laboratory measurements and experiments have shown indications that these materials can change while in the atmosphere, and may even form again there. Microorganisms within the clouds themselves are likely partly responsible for these processes. The importance of this phenomenon may increase in the future as temperatures continue to rise in the Arctic and the extent of sea ice declines. As the ice recedes, larger areas of open water appear, which may allow greater amounts of seawater droplets and organic matter to be transported into the atmosphere. But researchers stress that the extent to which this process affects the Arctic climate is still unclear. However, understanding the role of marine organic matter in cloud and ice formation may help scientists improve their climate models in a region that is experiencing particularly rapid changes. Edited by: A.J.M