A comparison of dimethylsulphide (DMS) data from the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme with proposed algorithms for global surface DMS concentrations.
Measurements of the climate-cooling trace gas dimethylsulphide (DMS) and other ancillary data, including pigments, nutrient concentrations and the depth of the mixed layer, were made over a wide latitude range during the U.K. Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) programme. The data were used to test algorithms from the recent literature for their effectiveness at predicting surface DMS concentrations. Dividing the data by research cruise (i.e. year and season) and into biogeochemical provinces aided data interpretation. For this new dataset, many of the available algorithms over-predicted the measured DMS concentration. The best fit was found with a dilution model based on the depth of the mixed layer (Aranami and Tsunogai, 2004), but there are still parts of the data that cannot be explained. We suggest that, in order to test, improve and refine current predictive models, further data for DMS and related compounds are needed for remote oligotrophic regions.
Deep-Sea Research Part II-Topical Studies in Oceanography, 53, (14-16), 1720-1735
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2006.05.013
DSRII_Paper_Text_-_final_version_after_changes.doc