Constituents of a remote pacific marine aerosol: A tem study

Marine aerosol particles from the Equatorial Pacific were studied using transmission electron microscopy. Sea-salt aggregates consist largely of NaCl and Na-Ca sulfate crystals. Variations in the composition of sea-salt aggregates occur, and these may reflect the effects of relative humidity. There are several species of submicron, S-bearing particles, presumably including ammonium sulfate and strong acids. Diatom fragments are common, and sparse kaolinite and rutile crystals are the mineral component of this marine aerosol. The samples we studied appeared to be free of obvious anthropogenic effects.