Insights into the Photochemical Transformation of Iodine in Aqueous Systems: Humic Acid Photosensitized Reduction of Iodate

Marine aerosol is highly enriched in iodine, mostly in the form of iodate (IO3-) ions, compared to its relative abundance in seawater. This paper describes a laboratory study of the photochemical reduction of IO3- in the presence of humic acid. Spectroscopic analysis showed that similar to 20% of IO3- was converted to "free" iodide (I-) ions and this fraction remained constant as a function of time. Direct detection of an organically fixed fraction (i.e., similar to 80%) was not possible, but a number of test reactions with surrogate organic compounds containing functional groups identified in humic acid structures indicate that efficient substitution of iodine occurs at aromatic 1,2 diol sites. These iodinated humic acids are stable with respect to photolysis at near-UV/visible wavelengths and are likely to account for a significant proportion of the soluble iodine-containing organic material occurring within aerosols. In the lower atmosphere, oxidation of I- to I-2 in marine aerosol occurs mostly through the uptake of O-3, with H2O2 playing a very minor role. A model of iodine chemistry in the open ocean tropical boundary layer, which incorporates these experimental results, is able to account for the observed enrichment of iodine in marine aerosol.