Global airborne sampling reveals a previously unobserved dimethyl sulfide oxidation mechanism in the marine atmosphere

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS), emitted from the oceans, is the most abundant biological source of sulfur to the marine atmosphere. Atmospheric DMS is oxidized to condensable products that form secondary aerosols that affect Earth’s radiative balance by scattering solar radiation and serving as cloud conden...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 117; no. 9; pp. 4505 - 4510
Main Authors Veres, Patrick R., Neuman, J. Andrew, Bertram, Timothy H., Assaf, Emmanuel, Wolfe, Glenn M., Williamson, Christina J., Weinzierl, Bernadett, Tilmes, Simone, Thompson, Chelsea R., Thames, Alexander B., Schroder, Jason C., Saiz-Lopez, Alfonso, Rollins, Andrew W., Roberts, James M., Price, Derek, Peischl, Jeff, Nault, Benjamin A., Møller, Kristian H., Miller, David O., Meinardi, Simone, Li, Qinyi, Lamarque, Jean-Francois, Kupc, Agnieszka, Kjaergaard, Henrik G., Kinnison, Douglas, Jimenez, Jose L., Jernigan, Christopher M., Hornbrook, Rebecca S., Hills, Alan, Dollner, Maximilian, Day, Douglas A., Cuevas, Carlos A., Campuzano-Jost, Pedro, Burkholder, James, Bui, T. Paul, Brune, William H., Brown, Steven S., Brock, Charles A., Bourgeois, Ilann, Blake, Donald R., Apel, Eric C., Ryerson, Thomas B.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Goddard Space Flight Center National Academy of Sciences 03.03.2020
Subjects
Aerosols
Airborne observation
Atmosphere
Atmospheric models
Biogeochemistry
Climate effects
Condensates
Condensation nuclei
Dimethyl sulfide
Earth Resources And Remote Sensing
Oceans
Oxidation
Physical Sciences
Solar radiation
Sulfides
Sulfur
Autoxidation
Marine Aerosols
Dms Gas-Phase Oxidation Product
Aerosol Sulfate
Hydroperoxymethyl Thioformate
Hpmtf
Dimethyl Sulfide
Marine Sulfur
marine sulfur
dimethyl sulfide
marine aerosols
aerosol sulfate
autoxidation
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Dimethyl sulfide (DMS), emitted from the oceans, is the most abundant biological source of sulfur to the marine atmosphere. Atmospheric DMS is oxidized to condensable products that form secondary aerosols that affect Earth’s radiative balance by scattering solar radiation and serving as cloud condensation nuclei. We report the atmospheric discovery of a previously unquantified DMS oxidation product, hydroperoxymethyl thioformate (HPMTF, HOOCH₂SCHO), identified through global-scale airborne observations that demonstrate it to be a major reservoir of marine sulfur. Observationally constrained model results show that more than 30% of oceanic DMS emitted to the atmosphere forms HPMTF. Coincident particle measurements suggest a strong link between HPMTF concentration and new particle formation and growth. Analyses of these observations show that HPMTF chemistry must be included in atmospheric models to improve representation of key linkages between the biogeochemistry of the ocean, marine aerosol formation and growth, and their combined effects on climate.
Bibliography:GSFC
Goddard Space Flight Center
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 14
content type line 23
Edited by John H. Seinfeld, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, and approved January 21, 2020 (received for review November 5, 2019)
Author contributions: P.R.V. designed research; P.R.V., J.A.N., T.H.B., C.J.W., B.W., S.T., C.R.T., A.B.T., J.C.S., A.W.R., D.P., J.P., B.A.N., D.O.M., S.M., A.K., J.L.J., R.S.H., A.H., M.D., D.A.D., P.C.-J., T.P.B., W.H.B., C.A.B., I.B., D.R.B., E.C.A., and T.B.R. performed research; P.R.V., E.A., G.M.W., A.S.-L., J.M.R., K.H.M., Q.L., J.-F.L., H.G.K., D.K., C.M.J., C.A.C., J.B., and S.S.B. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; P.R.V., J.A.N., T.H.B., C.J.W., B.W., S.T., C.R.T., A.B.T., J.C.S., A.S.-L., A.W.R., D.P., J.P., B.A.N., K.H.M., D.O.M., S.M., Q.L., A.K., H.G.K., J.L.J., C.M.J., R.S.H., A.H., M.D., D.A.D., P.C.-J., T.P.B., W.H.B., C.A.B., I.B., D.R.B., E.C.A., and T.B.R. analyzed data; and P.R.V., J.A.N., T.H.B., and S.S.B. wrote the paper.
2Present address: Air Pollution Control Division, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO 80246.
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.1919344117