Abstract
Abstract. Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) and carbon disulfide (CS2) are volatile sulfur gases that are naturally formed in seawater and exchanged with the atmosphere. OCS is the most abundant sulfur gas in the atmosphere, and CS2 is its most important precursor. They have attracted increased interest due to their direct (OCS) or indirect (CS2 via oxidation to OCS) contribution to the stratospheric sulfate aerosol layer. Furthermore, OCS serves as a proxy to constrain terrestrial CO2 uptake by vegetation. Oceanic emissions of both gases contribute a major part to their atmospheric concentration. Here we present a database of previously published and unpublished (mainly shipborne) measurements in seawater and the marine boundary layer for both gases, available at https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.905430 (Lennartz et al., 2019). The database contains original measurements as well as data digitalized from figures in publications from 42 measurement campaigns, i.e., cruises or time series stations, ranging from 1982 to 2019. OCS data cover all ocean basins except for the Arctic Ocean, as well as all months of the year, while the CS2 dataset shows large gaps in spatial and temporal coverage. Concentrations are consistent across different sampling and analysis techniques for OCS. The database is intended to support the identification of global spatial and temporal patterns and to facilitate the evaluation of model simulations.
Highlights
Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) is the most abundant sulfur gas in the atmosphere with a tropospheric mixing ratio around 500 ppt (Kremser et al, 2016)
Because OCS is a major product of this oxidation, with a yield of 82 % (i.e., 82 molecules of OCS produced from 100 CS2 molecules), CS2 oxidation is a major source of OCS in the atmosphere
OCS can be used as a proxy to quantify the CO2 uptake of plants, which is a major source of uncertainty in climate modeling (Whelan et al, 2018)
Summary
Carbonyl sulfide (OCS) is the most abundant sulfur gas in the atmosphere with a tropospheric mixing ratio around 500 ppt (Kremser et al, 2016). OCS can be used as a proxy to quantify the CO2 uptake of plants (gross primary production), which is a major source of uncertainty in climate modeling (Whelan et al, 2018). Both scientific interests benefit from a wellconstrained atmospheric budget. We aim to provide such a comprehensive database by compiling previously reported, as well as unpublished data, from corresponding authors of the original studies or via digitalization from pdf documents Both OCS and CS2 show a pronounced variability in seawater, which implies a need for highly resolved observations. The database is described with respect to number of data, range, and patterns of concentrations; analytical methods; temporal and spatial coverage; and sampling frequency for each dataset
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