In order to assess the contribution of carbonyl sulfide to stratospheric sulfate aerosol (SSA), we examined the stratospheric OC34S and OC32S concentration profiles in the infrared limb- transmittance spectra acquired by the JPL MkIV instrument. We found that OC34S is preferentially depleted by solar photolysis. The derived 34S enrichment factor: ε=+73.8±8.6‰, in conjunction with literature values of δ34S ∼ +11‰ for tropospheric OCS, and a ∼ 10% net processing of the OCS transported upwardly into the stratosphere, suggests that aerosol sulfate proceeding from OCS should be highly enriched in δ34S ∼ 80‰, comparing our prediction with previous reports of δ34S ∼ +2.6‰ for background SSA, we infer either that OCS is a minor contributor to SSA or that current views about its 34S-abundance and atmospheric circulation are seriously flawed.
CITATION STYLE
Leung, F. Y. T., Colussi, A. J., Hoffmann, M. R., & Toon, G. C. (2002). Isotopic fractionation of carbonyl sulfide in the atmosphere: Implications for the source of background stratospheric sulfate aerosol. Geophysical Research Letters, 29(10), 112-1-112–4. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001gl013955
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