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AGU: Geophysical Research Letters

 

Keywords

  • DMS
  • air-sea transfer
  • bubbles

Index Terms

  • Atmospheric Composition and Structure: Air/sea constituent fluxes
  • Biogeosciences: Trace gases
  • Geochemistry: Marine geochemistry
  • Biogeosciences: Sulfur cycling
  • Geochemistry: Thermodynamics

Abstract

GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH LETTERS, VOL. 36, L21605, 6 PP., 2009
doi:10.1029/2009GL040695

A generalized model for the air-sea transfer of dimethyl sulfide at high wind speeds

Penny Vlahos

Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA

Department of Chemistry, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA

Edward C. Monahan

Department of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut, Groton, Connecticut, USA

The air-sea exchange of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is an important component of ocean biogeochemistry and global climate models. Both laboratory experiments and field measurements of DMS transfer rates have shown that the air-sea flux of DMS is analogous to that of other significant greenhouse gases such as CO2 at low wind speeds (<10 m/s) but that these DMS transfer rates may diverge from other gases as wind speeds increase. Herein we provide a mechanism that predicts the attenuation of DMS transfer rates at high wind speeds. The model is based on the amphiphilic nature of DMS that leads to transfer delay at the water-bubble interface and becomes significant at wind speeds above >10 m/s. The result is an attenuation of the dimensionless Henry's Law constant (H) where (Heff = H/(1 + (Cmix/Cw) ΦB) by a solubility enhancement Cmix/Cw, and the fraction of bubble surface area per m2 surface ocean.

Received 28 August 2009; accepted 8 October 2009; published 11 November 2009.

Citation: Vlahos, P., and E. C. Monahan (2009), A generalized model for the air-sea transfer of dimethyl sulfide at high wind speeds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L21605, doi:10.1029/2009GL040695.

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