Lipid geochemistry of remote aerosols from the southwestern Pacific Ocean sector

Aerosol samples collected on Ninety Mile Beach on the West coast of the North Island of New Zealand were analyzed for three classes of naturally occurring organic compounds (n-alkanes, fatty alcohols and long-chain n-aldehydes) which are major constituents of epicuticular waxes of terrestrial plants. In the eight samples analyzed, we identified three distinct regional source signatures for these aerosols depending upon their origin: southwest Pacific Ocean, New Zealand or Australia. Source identifications were entirely consistent with the origin of the aerosols derived by isentropic air mass trajectories. Impactor studies provided additional information as to the source of the aerosols and the mode of introduction of the material into the atmosphere.