Greenhouse Gases in Cold Water Filaments in the Arabian Sea During the Southwest Monsoon

 The distribution of partial pressure of carbon dioxide and the concentrations of nitrous oxide and methane were investigated in a cold water filament near the coastal upwelling region off Oman at the beginning of the southwest monsoon in 1997. The results suggest that such filaments are regions of intense biogeochemical activity which may affect the marine cycling of climatically relevant trace gases. Received: 1 March 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 16 June 1999     

Marine sulfur cycling and the atmospheric aerosol over the springtime North Atlantic

We investigated the distribution of phytoplankton species and the associated dimethyl sulfur species, dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and dimethylsulfide (DMS) on a cruise into the spring bloom region of the northern North Atlantic (near 47 degrees N, 19 degrees W). The cruise was timed to characterize the relationship between plankton dynamics and sulfur species production during the spring plankton bloom period. At the same time, we measured the DMS concentrations in the atmospheric boundary layer and determined the abundance and composition of the atmospheric aerosol.The water column studies showed that the interplay of wind-driven mixing and stratification due to solar heating controlled the evolution of the plankton population, and consequently the abundance of particulate and dissolved DMSP and DMS. The sea-to-air transfer of DMS was modulated by strong variations in wind speed, and was found to be consistent with currently available transfer parameterizations. The atmospheric concentration of DMS was strongly dependent on the sea surface emission, the depth of the atmospheric boundary layer and the rate of photooxidation as inferred from UV irradiance. Sea-salt and anthropogenic sulfate were the most abundant components of the atmospheric aerosol. On two days, a strong dust episode was observed bringing mineral dust aerosol from the Sahara desert to our northerly study region. The background concentrations of marine biogenic sulfate aerosol were low, near 30-60 ppt. These values were consistent with the rate of sulfate production estimated from the abundance of DMS in the marine boundary layer.     

Catchment acidification-from the top down

Three main factors define the speed of catchment acidification: the total input of pollutants; the thickness and character of soils, including the nature of the bedrock; and the size of subcatchments. The aerial input of pollutants in the Harz is among the highest in Central Europe (e.g. SO4-S: 22-70 kg (ha year)(-1); NO3-N: 9-10 kg (ha year)(-1); NH4-N: 10-15 kg (ha year)(-1) and Cd: 2.6-8.7 g (ha year)(-1); Cu: 34-125 g (ha year)(-1); Pb: 150-380 g (ha year)(-1); Zn: 105-560 g (ha year)(-1)). Thick soil profiles (2-4 m) acidify from the top down. Whether the soils will neutralize incoming acids depends on their buffering capacity. The small headwater subcatchments acidify first and subsequently release acidic water with pH values down to < or = 40. Four brook zones can be divided by the composition of their biocoenoses. The latter depend on the degree of acidification. These zones are also characterized by different hydrochemical conditions.     

Chemistry and aerosols in the marine boundary layer: 1-D modelling of the three ACE-2 Lagrangian experiments

Three Lagrangian experiments were conducted during IGAC's second aerosol characterization experiment (ACE-2) in the area between Portugal, Tenerife and Madeira in June/July 1997. During each Lagrangian experiment, a boundary layer air mass was followed for about 30 h, and the temporal evolution of its chemical and aerosol composition was documented by a series of vertical profiles and horizontal box pattern flown by the Meteorological Research Flight research aircraft Hercules C130. The wealth of observational data that has been collected during these three Lagrangian experiments is the basis for the development and testing of a one-dimensional Lagrangian boundary layer model with coupled gas, aqueous, and aerosol phase chemistry. The focus of this paper is on current model limitations and strengths. We show that the model is able to represent the dynamical and chemical evolution of the marine boundary layer, in some cases requiring adjustments of the subsidence velocity and of the surface heat fluxes. Entrainment of a layer rich in ozone and carbon monoxide from a residual continental boundary layer into the marine boundary layer as well as in-cloud oxidation of sulphur dioxide by hydrogen peroxide are simulated, and coherent results are obtained, concerning the evolution of the small, presumably sulphate–ammonia aerosol mode.     

A pilot study of methyl chloride emissions from tropical woodrot fungi

Flux chamber measurements made in a rainforest provide evidence that methyl chloride is emitted from rotting wood. However, its net flux was found to be into the soil, probably due to competing production and consumption processes within the soil. Evidence was found for a regional source, possibly vegetation, since its concentration above the canopy was substantially greater than reported average equatorial values.