Sulfur: The plankton/climate connection

Journal Article · Thu Oct 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992 · Journal of Phycology; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.0022-3646.1992.00590.x· OSTI ID:6708151

Malin, G; Turner, S M; Liss, P S ^[1]

---

1. Univ. of East Anglia, Norwich (United Kingdom)

A key process in the global sulfur cycle is the transfer of volatile forms of the element from sea to land via the atmosphere. Early budgets calculated the amount of sulfur required to balance the cycle and generally assumed that this flux was achieved by formation of hydrogen sulfide (H[sub 2]S) in coastal waters, mud flats, etc. However, Lovelock et al. (1972) made the first field measurements of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in seawater and suggested that it represented the missing link in the S cycle. Other sulfur gases, such as carbonylsulfide (COS), carbon disulfide (CS[sub 2]), methylmercaptan (CH[sub 3]SH), and dimethyldisulfide (CH[sub 3]SSCH[sub 3]), are also often observed, but DMS is usually dominant (Andreae et al. 1983, Cline and Bates 1983, Turner and Liss 1985). Over the past decade or so thousands of analyses have been made covering coastal, shelf, and open ocean environments, which show that DMS is ubiquitous in seawater but that considerable spatial and temporal variability occurs (see Cooper and Matrai 1989). In this review the authors consider processes leading to the formation of DMS in seawater, its emission to the atmosphere, and transformations therein, the possible role of DMS oxidation products in climate regulation as proposed by Charlson et al. (1987), and how global changes might affect DMS production. 80 refs., 2 figs.

• OSTI ID: 6708151
• Journal Information: Journal of Phycology; (United States), Journal Name: Journal of Phycology; (United States) Vol. 28:5; ISSN 0022-3646; ISSN JPYLAJ
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540320* -- Environment
Aquatic-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
550200 -- Biochemistry
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AQUATIC ORGANISMS
CHALCOGENIDES
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
EARTH ATMOSPHERE
ECOLOGICAL CONCENTRATION
ELEMENTS
EMISSION
FLUIDS
GASES
GLOBAL ASPECTS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
NONMETALS
OXIDATION
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PLANKTON
SEAWATER
SULFIDES
SULFUR
SULFUR COMPOUNDS
SULFUR CYCLE
TRANSFORMATIONS
WATER