Collaborative Research: Resolving the processes controlling the distribution of the biogenic trace gas dimethylsulfide and related compounds in the Subarctic NE Pacific

来自南阿拉巴马大学和伍兹霍尔海洋研究所的研究人员将使用一种新方法来量化东北太平洋亚北区二甲基硫化物(DMS)及其相关化合物的循环。二甲基硫是一种含硫气体，在世界海洋中大量存在。海洋DMS排放是大气中生物产生的硫的最大来源，对大气化学和世界气候具有重要影响。过去二十年的研究表明，海洋中DMS的循环涉及一个复杂的过程网络。然而，这些过程中的许多仍然鲜为人知。这项研究的结果将为从微生物学到地球系统科学的广泛学科提供关键信息，并进一步开发对更广泛的研究界有用的方法和技术。这项研究还将为研究生、本科生、K-12学生和高中教师提供教育机会。此外，这项研究的结果将通过播客向公众传达。二甲基硫化物(DMS)、二甲基磺基丙酸酯(DMSP)和二甲基亚砜(DMSO)作为海洋硫循环的代谢底物和重要组成部分，在海洋微生物生态中起着至关重要的作用。此外，海洋二甲基硫的排放作为大气中生物硫的最大来源，具有重要的地球化学意义，并被认为是大气辐射平衡的一个促成因素，具有重要的气候影响。研究人员将研究东北太平洋亚北区生物痕量气体DMS及其相关化合物DMSP和DMSO的动态，这是一个高营养、低叶绿素(HNLC)的地区，DMS浓度异常高。他们将使用一种新的同位素示踪方法来量化这些化合物在不同地表水团中的现场周转率，这些水团跨越锋面边界，通过对比DMS/P/O和营养物质的浓度，并在拉格朗日实验中研究循环速度的时间演变。使用最新开发的自动在航采样方法，研究人员将以前所未有的空间分辨率绘制DMS、DMSP和DMSO的表面分布图。这项研究的结果将通过准确测量这些化合物的循环速率来加深我们对海洋DMS、DMSP和DMSO在表层水中浓度的空间变异性的理解。

Researchers from the University of South Alabama and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will use a new method to quantify the cycling of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its related compounds in the Subarctic Northeast Pacific Ocean. DMS is a sulfur-containing gas that is abundant in the world's oceans. Oceanic DMS emissions are the largest source of biologically-produced sulfur to the atmosphere, with important implications for atmospheric chemistry and the world's climate. Research over the last two decades has revealed that a complex web of processes is involved in the cycling of DMS in the ocean. However, many of these processes remain poorly understood. Results from this research will provide key information to a broad range of disciplines from microbiology to Earth-system science, and further develop methods and technologies useful to the broader research community. The study will also provide educational opportunities for graduate, undergraduate, K-12 students, and high school teachers. In addition, results from the study will be communicated to the general public through podcasts. Dimethylsulfide (DMS), dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), and dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) play critical roles in marine microbial ecology as metabolic substrates and as essential components of the oceanic sulfur cycle. Moreover, oceanic DMS emissions are geochemically important as the largest source of biogenic sulfur to the atmosphere and have been implicated as a contributing factor for the atmospheric radiative balance, with important climate implications. The researchers will study the dynamics of the biogenic trace gas DMS, and the related compounds DMSP and DMSO in the Subarctic Northeastern Pacific, a high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll (HNLC) region with exceptionally high DMS concentrations. They will use a novel isotope tracer method to quantify the in-situ turnover rates of these compounds in different surface water masses across frontal boundaries with contrasting DMS/phosphorus/oxygen and nutrient concentrations, and in Lagrangian experiments to investigate temporal evolution of cycling rates. Using newly-developed methods for automated underway sampling, researchers will map the surface distributions of DMS, DMSP and DMSO at unprecedented spatial resolution. Results from this study will improve our understanding of the spatial variability in oceanic DMS, DMSP, and DMSO concentrations in surface waters by accurately measuring the cycling rates of these compounds.