A Satellite-Based Method for Estimating Global Oceanic DMS and Its Application in a 3-D Atmospheric GCM
The flux of dimethylsulfide (DMS) from the world's oceans is the largest known source of biogenically-derived reduced sulfur compounds to the atmosphere. Its impact on atmospheric chemistry and radiative transfer is an active area of scientific research, and DMS is routinely included in three-dimensional global climate change and chemical transport models. In such models, DMS fluxes typically are based on global sea surface DMS concentrations and wind-speed-dependent parameterizations of the mass transfer coefficient. We show here how sea surface DMS concentrations can be estimated from satellite-based Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) observations of sea surface chlorophyll a. We compare SeaWiFS-derived DMS concentrations for the twelve month period November 1997 through October 1998 with shipboard measurements made in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The SeaWiFS-derived DMS distributions demonstrate improved capture of DMS spatial variability in Southern Ocean surface waters relative to previous works, but underestimate the amplitude of seasonal DMS variations in this region. Using the three-dimensional Atmospheric General Circulation Model of the Laboratoire de M?orologie Dynamique, model-time-step wind speeds, an atmospheric-stability-dependent parameterization of the mass transfer coefficient, and our SeaWiFS-derived oceanic DMS distributions, we estimate an annual Southern Ocean DMS emission of 6.8 Tg S yr-1. This value represents approximately one-third of the annual global DMS marine emission, and underscores the importance of this region as a source of natural sulfur emissions.
- Research Organization:
- Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC05-76RL01830
- OSTI ID:
- 902413
- Report Number(s):
- PNWD-SA-5830
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Evidence for the climate role of marine biogenic sulfur
DMS role in ENSO cycle in the tropics