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Parameterizing the Impact of Seawater Temperature and Irradiance on Dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Great Barrier Reef and the Contribution of Coral Reefs to the Global Sulfur Cycle
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Journal article
Parameterizing the Impact of Seawater Temperature and Irradiance on Dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Great Barrier Reef and the Contribution of Coral Reefs to the Global Sulfur Cycle
Journal of geophysical research. Oceans, Vol.126(3), e2020JC016783
2021
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Abstract
Biogenic emissions of dimethylsulfide (DMS) are an important source of sulfur to the atmosphere, with implications for aerosol formation and cloud albedo over the ocean. Natural aerosol sources constitute the largest uncertainty in estimates of aerosol radiative forcing and climate and thus, an improved understanding of DMS sources is needed. Coral reefs are strong point sources of DMS; however, this coral source of biogenic sulfur is not explicitly included in climatologies or in model simulations. Consequently, the role of coral reefs in local and regional climate remains uncertain. We aim to improve the representation of tropical coral reefs in DMS databases by calculating a climatology of seawater DMS concentration (DMSw) and sea‐air flux in the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia. DMSw is calculated from remotely sensed observations of sea surface temperature and photosynthetically active radiation using a multiple linear regression model derived from field observations of DMSw in the GBR. We estimate that coral reefs and lagoon waters in the GBR (∼347,000 km2) release 0.03–0.05 Tg yr−1 of DMS (0.02 Tg yr−1 of sulfur). Based on this estimate, global tropical coral reefs (∼600,000 km2) could emit 0.08 Tg yr−1 of DMS (0.04 Tg yr−1 of sulfur), with the potential to influence the local radiative balance.
Plain Language Summary
Coral reefs are important sources of biogenic sulfur through stress‐induced emissions of dimethylsulfide (DMS). This volatile sulfur compound has potentially important implications for atmospheric aerosol formation and cloud microphysical properties. However, coral reefs are not accounted for in global DMS climatologies or in model simulations. Consequently, the importance of coral reef‐derived DMS in local climate is uncertain. Here, a proxy for seawater DMS concentration in coral reefs is derived from field measurements taken in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. This proxy is used to calculate a climatology of DMS flux from coral reefs to estimate the contribution to the global sulfur cycle.
Key Points
Seawater dimethylsulfide concentration in coral reefs is parameterized as a function of surface temperature and irradiance
Including coral‐air dimethylsulfide release at low tide in sea‐air flux calculations yields a more accurate estimate of coral reef flux
Coral reefs emit 0.03–0.04 Tg yr−1 of sulfur as dimethylsulfide, representing up to 0.2% of global sea‐air flux estimates
Details
- Title
- Parameterizing the Impact of Seawater Temperature and Irradiance on Dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Great Barrier Reef and the Contribution of Coral Reefs to the Global Sulfur Cycle
- Creators
- R. L Jackson (Author) - Griffith UniversityA. J Gabric (Author) - Griffith UniversityP. A Matrai (Author) - Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean SciencesM. T Woodhouse (Author) - Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research OrganisationR Cropp (Author) - Griffith UniversityG. B Jones (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityE. S. M Deschaseaux (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityY Omori (Author) - University of TsukubaE. L McParland (Author) - Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionH. B Swan (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityH Tanimoto (Author) - National Institute for Environmental Studies
- Publication Details
- Journal of geophysical research. Oceans, Vol.126(3), e2020JC016783
- Publisher
- Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, Inc.
- Number of pages
- 17
- Grant note
- Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Grant‐in‐Aid for Young Scientists (17K12812) Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Grants‐in‐Aid for Scientific Research (23310016,16H02967,24241010,15H01732) National Science Foundation (NSF) (1543450) Australian Research Council (DP150101649)
- Identifiers
- 991012925565102368
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Coastal Biogeochemistry; Emeritus Faculty; Faculty of Science and Engineering
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article