Unraveling Arctic submicron organic aerosol sources: a year-long study by H-NMR and AMS in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Abstract. Understanding the chemical composition and sources of organic aerosol (OA) in the Arctic is critical given its importance for particle climate-relevant properties. This study presents a year-long analysis (May 2019–June 2020) of PM1 filter samples collected in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard. A multi-instrumental approach is employed to characterize the comprehensive chemical composition of PM1, with a specific focus on its water-soluble organic fraction depicted combining proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (H-NMR) and high-resolution time-of-flight aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-TOF-AMS), which provide complementary insights into the nature and structure of the organic aerosol classes characterizing the bulk OA mixture. Positive matrix factorization (PMF) source apportionment identifies consistent OA sources from the H-NMR and AMS datasets, showing a pronounced seasonality in their relative contributions to total OA mass. Winter–spring aerosol is dominated by long-range transport of Eurasian anthropogenic pollution (up to 70 %), while summer is characterized by biogenic aerosols from marine sources (up to 44 %), including sulfur compounds, amines, and fatty acids. Occasional summertime high OA loadings are associated with wildfire aerosols enriched in levoglucosan and humic-like substances (HULIS; averagely 27 %–28 %). Eventually, about 28 %–40 % of the OA mass is attributed to an unresolved mixture of extremely oxidized compounds of difficult specific source attribution. This integrated approach provides valuable insights into the seasonal dynamics of OA sources in the Arctic.