Sustainability Report 2019;
Yuzo MIYAZAKI, Assistant Professor, Institute of Low Temperature Science
Fine particles (aerosol) in the air scatter/absorb sunlight and affect the climate, including the amount of clouds and the precipitation process. Almost no information was previously available about how organic matter included in aerosol at rates of up to 80 to 90% is affected by the surface of the ocean. Using a research vessel in the North Pacific Ocean in the west of the subarctic zone, the research group has succeeded in the direct observation of microbially derived organic matter that moves from seawater to the air by sea spray. Comparing the air and surface seawater, they have found there is a great deal of humified organic matter that is resistant to biological degradation in ambient aerosol. Expectations are placed on the clarification of the impact of marine microorganisms on climate change through the air.
North Pacific Ocean in the western subarctic seen from the Hakuhomaru academic research vessel