Seasonal Variations in Dimethylsulfide in the Water of Maizuru Bay.

Abstract

The concentration of biogenic dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the sea water in Maizuru Bay in one year (May 1986 to April 1987) ranged from 0.04 to 18.0μg DMS/l. Although these concentrations of DMS coincide slightly with the incidence of the concentration of chlorophyll a, a good correla-tion was obtained between concentrations of DMS and chlorophyll a in red tide waters of dinoflagellates such as Prorocentrum micans and Gymnodiniunm nagasakiense. Rough estimates for the average flux of DMS from coastal water to the atmosphere during the summer are of the order of 103μg S/m2.d, a 100-fold increase over the winter flux.