The cycling of sulfur in surface seawater of the northeast Pacific
T. S. BatesRonald P. KieneGordon V. WolfePatricia A. MatraiFrancisco P. ChávezKurt R. BuckByron BlomquistRussell L. Cuhel
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Abstract:
Oceanic dimethylsulfide (DMS) emissions to the atmosphere are potentially important to the Earth's radiative balance. Since these emissions are driven by the surface seawater concentration of DMS, it is important to understand the processes controlling the cycling of sulfur in surface seawater. During the third Pacific Sulfur/Stratus Investigation (PSI‐3, April 1991) we measured the major sulfur reservoirs (total organic sulfur, total low molecular weight organic sulfur, ester sulfate, protein sulfur, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), DMS, dimethylsulfoxide) and quantified many of the processes that cycle sulfur through the upper water column (sulfate assimilation, DMSP consumption, DMS production and consumption, air‐sea exchange of DMS, loss of organic sulfur by particulate sinking). Under conditions of low plankton biomass (<0.4 μg/L chlorophyll a ) and high nutrient concentrations (>8 μM nitrate), 250 km off the Washington State coast, DMSP and DMS were 22% and 0.9%, respectively, of the total particulate organic sulfur pool. DMS production from the enzymatic cleavage of DMSP accounted for 29% of the total sulfate assimilation. However, only 0.3% of sulfate‐S assimilated was released to the atmosphere. From these data it is evident that air‐sea exchange is currently only a minor sink in the seawater sulfur cycle and thus there is the potential for much higher DMS emissions under different climatic conditions.Keywords:
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
Sulfur Cycle
Biogeochemical Cycle
Sink (geography)
Dimethyl sulfide
Methanethiol
Dimethyl sulfide
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
Sulfur Cycle
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Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
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Sulfur Cycle
Bacterioplankton
Osmolyte
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Abstract. The production of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is poorly quantified in tropical reef environments but forms an essential process that couples marine and terrestrial sulfur cycles and affects climate. Here we quantified net aqueous DMS production and the concentration of its cellular precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) in the sea anemone Aiptasia sp., a model organism to study coral-related processes. Bleached anemones did not show net DMS production whereas symbiotic anemones produced DMS concentrations (mean ± standard error) of 160.7 ± 44.22 nmol g−1 dry weight (DW) after 48 h incubation. Symbiotic and bleached individuals showed DMSP concentrations of 32.7 ± 6.00 and 0.6 ± 0.19 µmol g−1 DW, respectively. We applied these findings to a Monte Carlo simulation to demonstrate that net aqueous DMS production accounts for only 20 % of gross aqueous DMS production. Monte Carlo-based estimations of sea-to-air fluxes of gaseous DMS showed that reefs may release 0.1 to 26.3 µmol DMS m−2 coral surface area (CSA) d−1 into the atmosphere with 40 % probability for rates between 0.5 and 1.5 µmol m−2 CSA d−1. These predictions were in agreement with directly quantified fluxes in previous studies. Conversion to a flux normalised to sea surface area (SSA) (range 0.1 to 17.4, with the highest probability for 0.3 to 1.0 µmol DMS m−2 SSA d−1) suggests that coral reefs emit gaseous DMS at lower rates than the average global oceanic DMS flux of 4.6 µmol m−2 SSA d−1 (19.6 Tg sulfur per year). The large difference between simulated gross and quantified net aqueous DMS production in corals suggests that the current and future potential for its production in tropical reefs is critically governed by DMS consumption processes. Hence, more research is required to assess the sensitivity of DMS-consumption pathways to ongoing environmental change in order to address the impact of predicted degradation of coral reefs on DMS production in tropical coastal ecosystems and its impact on future atmospheric DMS concentrations and climate.
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Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
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Sulfur Cycle
Biogeochemical Cycle
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Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
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Osmolyte
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Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) is the precursor of dimethyl sulfide (DMS), the primary volatile organic sulfur compound released from the world's oceans. DMS flux from the oceans is estimated currently at {approximately}1.2 Tmol S.y{sup {minus}1}, or about half the amount of sulfur resulting from anthroprogenic activities, and has been implicated in important global atmospheric processes. Significant production of DMSP is confined to a few classes of marine phytoplankton, primarily the Dinophyceae and Prymnesiophyceae. In these groups, DMSP can account for up to 80% of total organic sulfur. DMSP remains intracellular and fairly constant over the growth cycle until late stationary phase when extracellular levels begin to rise, suggesting leakage. We have examined the effects of a number of environmental variables on DMSP production and release in several marine phytoplankton. In particular the effects of perturbations in light, temperature and nutrient status have been determined. These results will be discussed in relation to marine sulfur chemistry, with ancillary comments on freshwater phytoplankton.
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Dimethyl sulfide
Sulfur Cycle
Dinoflagellate
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Abstract Dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) are key components of the marine sulfur cycle. The concentrations of these compounds exhibit large spatial and temporal variability in the surface ocean, creating a need for high resolution sampling. Existing automated underway measurement systems for DMS do not measure DMSP or DMSO, so their spatial variability is less well‐characterized. We present an accurate and robust method for the automated, high throughput sampling and measurement of DMS, DMSO, and DMSP (DMS/O/P) in a single water sample. The method is based on a three‐step sequence of purge and trap gas chromatography, where DMS analysis is followed by the enzymatic reduction of DMSO to DMS and the alkaline hydrolysis of DMSP to DMS. The system, which we call the Organic Sulfur Sequential Chemical Analysis Robot (OSSCAR), includes automated calibrations and blank determinations. OSSCAR can be used as a front‐end system for any sulfur detector and is suited for continuous underway analysis or the measurement of discrete water samples. The system described here has a minimum detection limit of ∼ 0.1 nM of DMS/O/P in a 2.5 mL sample. Assessment of liquid standards and intercalibration against independent analytical systems demonstrate good precision and accuracy of our method. Shipboard analysis of surface water DMS/O/P concentrations on a transect from Ocean Station Papa (50°N, 145°W) to Vancouver Island demonstrates the utility of OSSCAR for mapping variability in reduced sulfur compounds across dynamic and contrasting oceanographic conditions.
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Abstract. Dimethyl sulfide (DMS), dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) were measured at the Boknis Eck Time Series Station (BE, Eckernförde Bay, SW Baltic Sea) during the period February 2009–December 2018. Our results show considerable interannual and seasonal variabilities in the mixed-layer concentrations of DMS, total DMSP (DMSPt) and total DMSO (DMSOt). Positive correlations were found between particulate DMSP (DMSPp) and particulate DMSO (DMSOp) as well as DMSPt and DMSOt in the mixed layer, suggesting a similar source for both compounds. The decreasing long-term trends, observed for DMSPt and DMS in the mixed layer, were linked to the concurrent trend of the sum of 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and 19′-butanoyloxy-fucoxanthin, which are the marker pigments of prymnesiophytes and chrysophytes, respectively. Major Baltic inflow (MBI) events influenced the distribution of sulfur compounds due to phytoplankton community changes, and sediment might be a potential source for DMS in the bottom layer during seasonal hypoxia/anoxia at BE. A modified algorithm based on the phytoplankton pigments reproduces the DMSPp : Chl a ratios well during this study and could be used to estimate future surface (5 m) DMSPp concentrations at BE.
Dimethylsulfoniopropionate
Dimethyl sulfide
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