| Dimethylsulphide: Oceans, Atmosphere and Climate: Proceedings of the International Symposium Held in Belgirate, Italy, 13-15 October 1992 1993 Edition Contributor(s): Restelli, G. (Editor), Angeletti, G. (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0792324900 ISBN-13: 9780792324904 Publisher: Springer OUR PRICE: $161.49 Product Type: Hardcover - Other Formats Published: September 1993 Annotation: Dimethylsulphide (DMS), emitted by marine phytoplankton, is the second most important source of atmospheric sulphur, after anthropogenic SO2. In the atmosphere, DMS is transformed into condensable acidic sulphur products and, through gas-to-particle conversion, it becomes the most important natural source of atmospheric sulphate aerosols. Possible climatic effects have been suggested, linked to the negative radiative forcing due to scattering of solar radiation and especially to modification of cloud albedo over oceans by sulphate aerosol particles. These effects occur in addition to those deriving from the superimposed anthropogenic component of the atmospheric sulphate. Understanding the cycle of DMS in the marine troposphere and its interaction with the aerosol budget and cloud properties has become a key research target in these last years. Our knowledge of the many processes involved is still fragmentary, however. This book, which updates the state of our comprehension of the marine DMS cycle with special regard to its climatic impact, will be of interest to marine biologists, atmospheric chemists, aerosol physicists and climatologists, and to scientists concerned with changes in the Earth's climate. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Science | Earth Sciences - Meteorology & Climatology - Nature | Ecosystems & Habitats - Lakes, Ponds & Swamps - Science | Life Sciences - Ecology |
| Dewey: 551.511 |
| LCCN: 93030136 |
| Series: Air Pollution Research Reports |
| Physical Information: 0.94" H x 6.14" W x 9.21" (1.67 lbs) 400 pages |
| Themes: - Topical - Ecology |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Since the discovery by J. E. Lovelock, R. J. Maggs and R. A. Rasmussen, in 1972, of its ubiquity in sea water, dimethyl sulphide (DMS), a biologically produced sulphur compound, has been the subject of continuously increasing interest by the scientific community. DMS was immediately recognized as an important component of the biogeochemical sulphur cycle, and is now indicated as the second most important source of sulphur in the atmosphere, after anthropogenic so emission from fossil fuel combustion and 2 industry. DMS reacts rapidly in the atmosphere where it is oxidized to condensable acidic sulphur products; in fact, rainwater acidification, observed in remote areas, is attributed to DMS emissions. The hypothesis of a climatic role of DMS was made already in 1983 by B. Shaw, and by B. C. Nguyen, B. Bonsang and A. Gaudry. In 1987, a study appeared in Nature, in. which R. J. Charlson, J. E. Lovelock, M. O. Andreae and S. G. Warren suggested the possibility of a partial control of the climate by the biosphere through a chain of processes, linking production of DMS by marine phytoplankton with changes in clouds albedo. The publication of this paper triggered a strong debate and stimulated new efforts to describe the various aspects of the DMS cycle in the environment. The paper was timely and added to the discussion on the relative roles of atmospheric sulphur and greenhouse gases in the Earth's radiative budget. |