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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • methyl iodide
  • halocarbons
  • terrestrial ecosystems

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Troposphere: composition and chemistry
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions
  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Air/sea constituent fluxes
  • Biogeosciences: Biosphere/atmosphere interactions

Abstract

A large terrestrial source of methyl iodide

Barkley C. Sive

Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Ruth K. Varner

Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Huiting Mao

Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

Donald R. Blake

Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, California, USA

Oliver W. Wingenter

Department of Chemistry, New Mexico Tech., Socorro, New Mexico, USA

Robert Talbot

Climate Change Research Center, Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans and Space, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA

We have identified terrestrial sources of methyl iodide (CH3I) and assessed their importance in its atmospheric budget using a synthesis of field observations. Measurements include those from NASA DC-8 research flights over the United States and the North Atlantic, the AIRMAP long-term ground-observing network in New England, and a field campaign at Duke Forest, North Carolina. We found an average CH3I flux of ∼2,700 ng m−2 d−1 to the atmosphere from midlatitude vegetation and soils, a value similar in magnitude to previous estimates of the oceanic source strength. The large-scale aircraft measurements of vertical profiles over the continental U.S. showed CH3I-mixing ratios comparable to and greater than those observed over the North Atlantic. Overall, midlatitude terrestrial biomes appear to contribute 33 Gg yr−1 to the CH3I global budget.

Received 28 April 2007; accepted 2 August 2007; published 6 September 2007.

Citation: Sive, B. C., R. K. Varner, H. Mao, D. R. Blake, O. W. Wingenter, and R. Talbot (2007), A large terrestrial source of methyl iodide, Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L17808, doi:10.1029/2007GL030528.

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