Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century

Carlos A. Cuevas; Niccolo Maffezzoli; Juan Pablo Corella; Andrea Spolaor; Paul Travis Vallelonga; Helle Astrid Kjær; Marius Folden Simonsen; Mai Winstrup; Bo Møllesøe Vinther; Christopher Horvat; Rafael P. Fernandez; Douglas Kinnison; Jean-Francois Lamarque; Carlo Barbante; Alfonso Saiz-Lopez

doi:10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1

Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century

Carlos A. Cuevas, Niccolo Maffezzoli, Juan Pablo Corella, Andrea Spolaor, Paul Travis Vallelonga, Helle Astrid Kjær, Marius Folden Simonsen, Mai Winstrup, Bo Møllesøe Vinther, Christopher Horvat, Rafael P. Fernandez, Douglas Kinnison, Jean-Francois Lamarque, Carlo Barbante, Alfonso Saiz-Lopez

Physics of Ice, Climate and Earth

36 Citations (Scopus)

115 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Atmospheric iodine causes tropospheric ozone depletion and aerosol formation, both of which have significant climate impacts, and is an essential dietary element for humans. However, the evolution of atmospheric iodine levels at decadal and centennial scales is unknown. Here, we report iodine concentrations in the RECAP ice-core (coastal East Greenland) to investigate how atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic have evolved over the past 260 years (1750-2011), this being the longest record of atmospheric iodine in the Northern Hemisphere. The levels of iodine tripled from 1950 to 2010. Our results suggest that this increase is driven by anthropogenic ozone pollution and enhanced sub-ice phytoplankton production associated with the recent thinning of Arctic sea ice. Increasing atmospheric iodine has accelerated ozone loss and has considerably enhanced iodine transport and deposition to the Northern Hemisphere continents. Future climate and anthropogenic forcing may continue to amplify oceanic iodine emissions with potentially significant health and environmental impacts at global scale.

Original language	English
Article number	1452
Journal	Nature Communications
Volume	9
ISSN	2041-1723
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1
Publication status	Published - 1 Dec 2018

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Cuevas, C. A., Maffezzoli, N., Corella, J. P., Spolaor, A., Vallelonga, P. T., Kjær, H. A., Simonsen, M. F., Winstrup, M., Vinther, B. M., Horvat, C., Fernandez, R. P., Kinnison, D., Lamarque, J-F., Barbante, C., & Saiz-Lopez, A. (2018). Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century. Nature Communications, 9, [1452]. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1

Cuevas, CA, Maffezzoli, N, Corella, JP, Spolaor, A, Vallelonga, PT, Kjær, HA, Simonsen, MF, Winstrup, M, Vinther, BM, Horvat, C, Fernandez, RP, Kinnison, D, Lamarque, J-F, Barbante, C & Saiz-Lopez, A 2018, 'Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century', Nature Communications, vol. 9, 1452. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1

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title = "Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century",

abstract = "Atmospheric iodine causes tropospheric ozone depletion and aerosol formation, both of which have significant climate impacts, and is an essential dietary element for humans. However, the evolution of atmospheric iodine levels at decadal and centennial scales is unknown. Here, we report iodine concentrations in the RECAP ice-core (coastal East Greenland) to investigate how atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic have evolved over the past 260 years (1750-2011), this being the longest record of atmospheric iodine in the Northern Hemisphere. The levels of iodine tripled from 1950 to 2010. Our results suggest that this increase is driven by anthropogenic ozone pollution and enhanced sub-ice phytoplankton production associated with the recent thinning of Arctic sea ice. Increasing atmospheric iodine has accelerated ozone loss and has considerably enhanced iodine transport and deposition to the Northern Hemisphere continents. Future climate and anthropogenic forcing may continue to amplify oceanic iodine emissions with potentially significant health and environmental impacts at global scale.",

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T1 - Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century

AU - Cuevas, Carlos A.

AU - Maffezzoli, Niccolo

AU - Corella, Juan Pablo

AU - Spolaor, Andrea

AU - Vallelonga, Paul Travis

AU - Kjær, Helle Astrid

AU - Simonsen, Marius Folden

AU - Winstrup, Mai

AU - Vinther, Bo Møllesøe

AU - Horvat, Christopher

AU - Fernandez, Rafael P.

AU - Kinnison, Douglas

AU - Lamarque, Jean-Francois

AU - Barbante, Carlo

AU - Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso

PY - 2018/12/1

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N2 - Atmospheric iodine causes tropospheric ozone depletion and aerosol formation, both of which have significant climate impacts, and is an essential dietary element for humans. However, the evolution of atmospheric iodine levels at decadal and centennial scales is unknown. Here, we report iodine concentrations in the RECAP ice-core (coastal East Greenland) to investigate how atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic have evolved over the past 260 years (1750-2011), this being the longest record of atmospheric iodine in the Northern Hemisphere. The levels of iodine tripled from 1950 to 2010. Our results suggest that this increase is driven by anthropogenic ozone pollution and enhanced sub-ice phytoplankton production associated with the recent thinning of Arctic sea ice. Increasing atmospheric iodine has accelerated ozone loss and has considerably enhanced iodine transport and deposition to the Northern Hemisphere continents. Future climate and anthropogenic forcing may continue to amplify oceanic iodine emissions with potentially significant health and environmental impacts at global scale.

AB - Atmospheric iodine causes tropospheric ozone depletion and aerosol formation, both of which have significant climate impacts, and is an essential dietary element for humans. However, the evolution of atmospheric iodine levels at decadal and centennial scales is unknown. Here, we report iodine concentrations in the RECAP ice-core (coastal East Greenland) to investigate how atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic have evolved over the past 260 years (1750-2011), this being the longest record of atmospheric iodine in the Northern Hemisphere. The levels of iodine tripled from 1950 to 2010. Our results suggest that this increase is driven by anthropogenic ozone pollution and enhanced sub-ice phytoplankton production associated with the recent thinning of Arctic sea ice. Increasing atmospheric iodine has accelerated ozone loss and has considerably enhanced iodine transport and deposition to the Northern Hemisphere continents. Future climate and anthropogenic forcing may continue to amplify oceanic iodine emissions with potentially significant health and environmental impacts at global scale.

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DO - 10.1038/s41467-018-03756-1

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VL - 9

JO - Nature Communications

JF - Nature Communications

M1 - 1452

ER -

Rapid increase in atmospheric iodine levels in the North Atlantic since the mid-20th century

Abstract

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