Abstract: The origin of sea-salt aerosol that reaches the high Antarctic plateau and is trapped in snow and ice cores remains still unclear. In particular, the respective role of emissions from the open ocean versus those from the sea-ice surface is not yet quantified. To progress on this question, the composition of bulk and size-segregated aerosol was studied in 2006 at the Concordia station (75S, 123E) located on the high Antarctic plateau. A depletion of sulfate relative to sodium with respect to the seawater composition is observed on sea-salt aerosol reaching Concordia from April to September. That suggests that in winter, when the sea-salt atmospheric load reaches a maximum, emissions from the sea-ice surface significantly contribute to the sea-salt budget of inland Antarctica.
Keywords: Central Antarctica, size segregated aerosol, sea-salt fractionation, 0305 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Aerosols and particles, 0345 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Pollution: urban and regional, 4801 Oceanography: Biological and Chemical: Aerosols, 4906 Paleoceanography: Aerosols, 0368 Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: constituent transport and chemistry, 9310 Geographic Location: Antarctica, 4207 Oceanography: General: Arctic and Antarctic oceanography, 3300 Atmospheric Processes,
Programme: 414;903;1181