University of Texas at El Paso DigitalCommons@UTEP Open Access Theses & Dissertations 2019-01-01 Mesacs: A Multi-Method Environmental Study Over The Arctic Chukchi Sea Julio Eduardo Ceniceros University of Texas at El Paso, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd Part of the Environmental Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Ceniceros, Julio Eduardo, "Mesacs: A Multi-Method Environmental Study Over The Arctic Chukchi Sea" (2019). Open Access Theses & Dissertations. 49. https://digitalcommons.utep.edu/open_etd/49 This is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UTEP. It has been accepted for inclusion in Open Access Theses & Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UTEP. For more information, please contact [email protected]. MESACS: A MULTI-METHOD ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY OVER THE ARCTIC CHUKCHI SEA JULIO EDUARDO CENICEROS Master’s Program in Environmental Science APPROVED: Thomas E. Gill, Ph.D., Chair Rosa M. Fitzgerald, Ph.D. Miguel Velez-Reyes, Ph.D. Jessie M. Creamean, Ph.D. Charles Ambler, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School Copyright © by Julio Eduardo Ceniceros 2019 Dedication I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family, friends and colleagues who always believed in me and provided the motivation and support for this research. MESACS: A MULTI-METHOD ENVIRONMENTAL STUDY OVER THE ARCTIC CHUKCHI SEA by JULIO EDUARDO CENICEROS, B.A. THESIS Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at El Paso in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Geological Sciences THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT EL PASO May 2019 Acknowledgements I would like to acknowledge the academic and professional support I received from my entire committee. Specifically, I would like to thank Dr. Jessie M. Creamean for providing me the opportunity to assist her Arctic research and for always being available to help me in my writing. I would also like to especially thank Dr. Thomas E. Gill who always provided me with great research opportunities and really pushed me to make the best out of this research experience. Thank you both for your continued professional advice and hope to keep these relationships going as I transfer into the professional research world. This thesis is based upon work supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Educational Partnership Program, U.S. Department of Commerce, under Agreement No. #NA16SEC4810006. Thank you to NOAA’s Center for Atmospheric Science and Meteorology (NCAS-M) for providing me with the fellowship that made this degree possible. The professional and personal development opportunities offered by NCAS-M really elevated my graduate student experience. To everyone involved, thank you for your time and support. v Abstract The Arctic environment is a dynamic part of Earth’s natural system and is currently undergoing rapid increasing air temperature and decreasing sea ice extent, leading to more open ocean waters. As open water areas become more prevalent, phytoplankton communities near the surface of the ocean can proliferate earlier in the year and are apt to reach higher concentrations by the end of the summer season. Phytoplankton biomass around the world has been known to produce a microscopic biofilm at the surface of the ocean composed of biogenic and biological particles which then become airborne and work as both cloud condensation nuclei and ice nucleating particles. These nuclei can subsequently impact the physical and radiative properties of clouds, thereby affecting the surface energy budget. Various studies have investigated the possible link between phytoplankton biomass and cloud condensation nuclei, but the distinct link between ice nucleating particles and the ocean has only rarely been explored, even more so in the high latitude Arctic environment. A comprehensive multi-method study was executed to investigate marine aerosols originating from surface of the ocean and their role as ice nucleating particles in Arctic clouds over the Chukchi Sea. The overarching objective was to participate in a field study, in parallel with supporting lab and remote sensing techniques. The field study named Ice Nucleating over the ARCtic (INARCO II) provided excellent research experience for a graduate student to make local in situ measurements of both Arctic air and seawater. This study also explores for the first time how microscopic haloarchaeal species Haloferax sulfurifontis, Natronomonas pharaonsis, Haloquadratum walsbyi, and Halococcus morrhuae perform as ice nucleating particles. All four species have demonstrated some form of ice nucleating ability by nucleating ice at temperatures above homogeneous freezing T≤ ~ − 38℃. The third study, remote sensing analysis, quantifiably characterized the Chukchi Sea phytoplankton biomass using satellite derived chlorophyll-a measurements as a tracer for phytoplankton biomass and its correlation to key cloud physical properties including ice cloud effective radius (re), ice water path (IWP), cloud- vi top height (CTH), cloud-top temperature (CTT), cloud top pressure (CTP), phase, and cloud fraction at varying 1-km or 5-km spatial resolution. Correlation results and scatter plot linear fitting indicate a positive correlation between Chl-a concentrations with ice cloud effective radius (P-value = 0.0013 and R-value = 0.45) and cloud pressure (P = 0.0009, R = 0.46). Negative correlations were found between Chl-a with cirrus cloud reflectance (P = 0.0013, R = - 0.45) and ice cloud optical thickness (P = 0.0267, R = -0.32). Spatial analysis results have shown that Chl-a concentrations do not increase evenly in exceptionally high months, but instead increase along the terrestrial coastlines with a weakening gradient leading to near zero concentrations in open ocean. Mean summer Chl-a concentrations for the entire Chukchi Sea showed a variable year to year summer season with a small increasing trend. Additionally, mean summer Chl-a concentrations were maintained between 1.4 mg/m3 and 2.1 mg/m3 in the past 15 years. Together this multi-method investigation produced results exemplifying the importance of considering Arctic plankton biomass and other biogenic INPs in future climatic models since changes in the sea surface concentrations appear to significantly influence certain Arctic cloud properties. vii Table of Contents Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................v Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vi Table of Contents ......................................................................................................................... viii List of Tables ...................................................................................................................................x List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ xi 1 Introduction and Motivation .........................................................................................................1 2 Regions of Interest and Background ...........................................................................................11 2.1 Chukchi Sea ....................................................................................................................11 2.2 Marine Boundary Layer Aerosols ...................................................................................12 2.3 Ice Nucleation .................................................................................................................14 3 Methods.......................................................................................................................................25 3.1 Ice Nucleation Over the Arctic Ocean I and II (INARCO I/II) Field Campaigns ..........25 3.1.1 INARCO I ....................................................................................................................26 3.1.2 INARCO II...................................................................................................................26 3.1.3 Collection Methodology ..............................................................................................28 3.1.4 Drop-Freezing Assay ...................................................................................................29 3.2 Testing Archaea as Ice Nucleating Particles ...................................................................33 3.2.1 Cultivation of Archaea Cultures ..................................................................................35 3.2.2 Testing Conditions .......................................................................................................36 3.3 Remote Sensing Correlation between Plankton and Cloud Properties ...........................36 3.3.1 Correlation Data and Methodology .............................................................................38 4 Results .........................................................................................................................................45 4.1 INARCO I/II Student Results .........................................................................................45 4.2 Archaea Results ..............................................................................................................46