Ocean/Atmosphere Cycling of Dimethylsulfide

Abstract

Sulfur is one of the elements for which man’s activities represent a major perturbation of a global geochemical cycle. Although sulfur is a minor element in terms of its abundance in the earth’s crust and atmosphere it plays an important role in atmospheric chemistry by virtue of the fact that it is the principle source for acidic aerosols. For this reason the sulfur cycle is involved in a number of ecological issues of importance on local, regional, and global scales. These issues include 1) the formation and transport of acid precipitation, 2) the impact of aerosols on human health and 3) the effect of aerosols on atmospheric visibility and radiative properties, and 4) the effect of aerosols on cloud distributions and their radiative properties. The possibility has also been raised that sulfur-containing aerosols may have an impact on stratospheric chemistry and thus potentially play a role in the regulation of the planetary ozone layer.