Field Assessment and determination of concentration levels of Dimethylsulphide in Tropical Seawater

Adebusayo E Adedapo,Nsikak U Benson,Akan B Williams,Kei Toda

doi:10.1088/1742-6596/1299/1/012132

Abstract

Dimethylsulphide (DMS) is an important climatically reactive trace gas which is emitted from the seawater to the atmosphere. It undergoes various oxidative reactions to produce cloud condensation nuclei, which affect the earth radiation budget. DMS and its precursor dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) were measured using a modified vapour generation – chemiluminescence (VG-CL) detection system that was designed for this study. The chosen sampling locations used for the measurement were Nigeria Institute of oceanography and marine research (NIOMR) and ELEGUSHI. They are situated along the Gulf of Guinea. The modified VG-CL analyser was used for trace analysis of dimethylsulphide in the study area. The mean concentrations of DMS in the surface seawater at the two sampling locations ranged from 0 to 35.53±2.34 nM, 10.67±0.28 and 44.95±0.27 nM, respectively. The average minimum and maximum concentrations of DMS and DMSP across the two locations were between 0 and 44.95 nM, respectively. The concentrations of DMS and DMSP were compared across the sampling locations, and the observed pattern showed that DMS for ELEGUSHI has a higher concentration than NIOMR. The result further revealed that the concentration of the DMS is a function of the sea surface temperature (SST) of the aquatic ecosystem. The observed DMS concentration data of this study provides a baseline measurement for the tropical Atlantic Ocean (Lagos), thus a significant addition to the global DMS database.

Highlights

The ocean surface layer significantly plays a vital role in the climatic change of many biogenic gases to global emissions and is increasingly seen as a significant component of the climate system [1,2]
The concentrations of DMS and DMSP were compared across the sampling locations, and the observed pattern showed that DMS for ELEGUSHI has a higher concentration than Nigeria Institute of oceanography and marine research (NIOMR)
The observed DMS concentration data of this study provides a baseline measurement for the tropical Atlantic Ocean (Lagos), a significant addition to the global DMS database

Summary

Introduction

The ocean surface layer significantly plays a vital role in the climatic change of many biogenic gases to global emissions and is increasingly seen as a significant component of the climate system [1,2]. Dimethylsulphide (DMS) is a known dominant volatile sulphur containing a compound that is emitted from the ocean to the atmosphere [3,4]. The potential sources of atmospheric DMS are largely promoted by biogenically productive regions of the ocean surface, which invariably fillip the sea surface production of dimethylsulphide and its metabolite, dimethylsulphoniopropionate [5,6]. DMSP and DMS play crucial roles in the global sulphur cycle, marine microbial food web, and the global climate justifying the growing studies in the last three decades on the measurements, assessment of sea-air flux variations, and understanding of their biochemical pathways [7,8,9,10].

Methods

Results

Conclusion