Air-sea exchange of dimethylsulfide in the Southern Ocean: Measurements from so GasEx compared to temperate and tropical regions

Abstract

In the Southern Ocean Gas Exchange Experiment (SO GasEx), we measured an atmospheric dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentration of 118±54 pptv (1), a DMS sea-to-air flux of 2.9±2.1 mol m-2 d-1 by eddy covariance, and a seawater DMS concentration of 1.6±0.7 nM. Dividing flux by the concurrent air-sea concentration difference yields the transfer velocity of DMS (kDMS). The kDMS in the Southern Ocean was significantly lower than previous measurements in the equatorial east Pacific, Sargasso Sea, northeast Atlantic, and southeast Pacific. Normalizing k DMS for the temperature dependence in waterside diffusivity and solubility results in better agreement among various field studies and suggests that the low kDMS in the Southern Ocean is primarily due to colder temperatures. The higher solubility of DMS at a lower temperature results in greater airside control and less transfer of the gas by bubbles formed from breaking waves. The final normalized DMS transfer velocity is similar to k of less soluble gases such as carbon dioxide in low-to-moderate winds; in high winds, DMS transfer velocity is significantly lower because of the reduced bubble-mediated transfer. Copyright 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.