Surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer and their contribution to atmospheric aerosols around coastal areas of the Malaysian peninsula

A study was done to determine the concentrations of surfactants on the sea-surface microlayer and in atmospheric aerosols in several coastal areas around the Malaysian peninsula. The concentrations of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer (collected using rotation drum) and from aerosols (collected using HVS) were analyzed as methylene blue active substances and disulphine blue active substances through the colorimetric method using a UV–vis spectrophotometer. The results of this study showed that the average concentrations of surfactants in the sea-surface microlayer ranged between undetected and 0.36 ± 0.34 μmol L−1 for MBAS and between 0.11 ± 0.02 and 0.21 ± 0.13 μmol L−1 for DBAS. The contribution of surfactants from the sea-surface microlayer to the composition of surfactants in atmospheric aerosols appears to be very minimal and more dominant in fine mode aerosols.