Environmental constraints on the production and removal of the climatically active gas dimethylsulphide (DMS) and implications for ecosystem modelling

By J. Stefels, Michael Steinke, S. Turner, G. Malin, S. Belviso. 2007

543 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Seawater concentrations of the climate-cooling, volatile sulphur compound dimethylsulphide (DMS) are the result of numerous production and consumption processes within the marine ecosystem. Due to this complex nature, it is difficult to predict temporal and geographical distribution patterns of DMS concentrations and the inclusion of DMS into global ocean climate models has only been attempted recently. Comparisons between individual model predictions, and ground-truthing exercises revealed that information on the functional relationships between physical and chemical ecosystem parameters, biological productivity and the production and consumption of DMS and its precursor dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP) is necessary to further refine future climate models. In this review an attempt is made to quantify these functional relationships. The description of processes includes: (1) parameters controlling DMSP production such as species composition and abiotic factors; (2) the conversion of DMSP to DMS by algal and bacterial enzymes; (3) the fate of DMSP-sulphur due to, e.g., grazing, microbial consumption and sedimentation and (4) factors controlling DMS removal from the water column such as microbial consumption, photo-oxidation and emission to the atmosphere. We recommend the differentiation of six phytoplankton groups for inclusion in future models: eukaryotic and prokaryotic picoplankton, diatoms, dinoflagellates, and other phytoflagellates with and without DMSP-lyase activity. These functional groups are characterised by their cell size, DMSP content, DMSP-lyase activity and interactions with herbivorous grazers. In this review, emphasis is given to ecosystems dominated by the globally relevant haptophytes Emiliania huxleyi and Phaeocystis sp., which are important DMS and DMSP producers.

Subfields: Atmospheric Science, Oceanography, Process Chemistry and Technology

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/0f8dc5ad833984005d50da355f48b7e22ba07836

How researchers see this paper

The researchers whose trusted networks rank it highest, strongest advocate first. Every researcher gets a different order.

In Atmospheric Science

1. Giada N. Arney
2. Hans-Peter Grossart
3. V. Meadows

In Oceanography

1. U. Riebesell
2. Hans-Peter Grossart
3. M. Allgaier
4. M. Vogt
5. R. Thyrhaug
6. U. Passow
7. C. Robinson
8. B. Rost

Citations in the corpus

• Exoplanet Biosignatures: A Review of Remotely Detectable Signs of Life (2017, background): “utes to theproductionofDMS.Thefirstisthebiologicaldegradation of the compound dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which is found primarily in eukaryotic organisms such as certain types of marine algae (Stefels et al., 2007). This pathway is believed to be the dominant source of DMS, which is the large”
• Coupling of heterotrophic bacteria to phytoplankton bloom development at different pCO 2 levels: a mesocosm study (2008, background): “Most DMSP p is transferred to the dissolved phase (DMSP d ) upon demise of phytoplanktonic cells through grazing, autolysis, and viral ly- 10 sis (Stefels et al., 2007).”