Marine and terrestrial contributions to atmospheric deposition fluxes of methylated arsenic species
Arsenic, a toxic element from both anthropogenic and natural sources, reaches surface environments through atmospheric cycling and dry and wet deposition. Biomethylation volatilizes arsenic into the atmosphere and deposition cycles it back to the surface, affecting soil-plant systems. Chemical speciation of deposited arsenic is important for understanding further processing in soils and bioavailability. However, the range of atmospheric transport and source signature of arsenic species remain understudied. Here we report significant levels of methylated arsenic in precipitation, cloud water and aerosols collected under free tropospheric conditions at Pic du Midi Observatory (France) indicating long-range transport, which is crucial for atmospheric budgets. Through chemical analyses and moisture source diagnostics, we identify terrestrial and marine sources for distinct arsenic species. Estimated atmospheric deposition fluxes of methylated arsenic are similar to reported methylation rates in soils, highlighting atmospheric deposition as a significant, overlooked source of potentially bioavailable methylated arsenic species impacting plant uptake in soils.
Authors
- Rachele Ossola (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4648-5958)
- Adrien Mestrot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4387-3886)
- Franziska Aemisegger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4022-9825)
- Kristopher McNeill (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2981-2227)
- Dariya Tukhmetova
- Iris Thurnherr (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3647-0373)
- Jeroen E. Sonke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7146-3035)
- Sylvain Bouchet (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5753-9643)
- Jochen Vogl (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0104-748X)
- Esther Breuninger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0001-4588-9558)
- Julie Tolu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5249-9497)
- Björn Meermann (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8636-0765)
- Lenny H. E. Winkel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7586-7256)
Institutions
- University of Bern (CH)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Oeschger Centre for Climate Change Research (CH)
- Federal Institute For Materials Research and Testing (DE)
- Université Fédérale de Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées (FR)
- ETH Zurich (CH)
- Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (FR)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (CH)
- Colorado State University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Communications
- Published
- 2024-11-07
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-53974-z
- Citations
- 10
- Primary Topic
- Arsenic contamination and mitigation
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 2.50
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zürich