still remains un- known. A possible mechanism for the release of gaseous iodine compounds from the ocean is the production of molecular iodine (I2) and hypoiodus acid (HOI) in the surface seawa- ter by reaction [...] of IO is a widespread phenomenon along the Antarctic coast and over the sea ice covered Antarctic ocean. The presence of iodine monoxide in the ppt range is ex- pected to have a significant impact on the [...] amounts of tropo- spheric IO in Spitsbergen byWittrock et al.(2000), IO has not been detected in the Arctic. It is yet unknown why this hemispheric asymmetry exists and what the sources for the elevated levels