Dimethysulfide concentrations in the ocean close to the antarctic continent

Abstract

Dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentrations in seawater collected on a regular basis from May 1987 until February 1988 at a site 10 km offshore from Australia's Davis antarctic research station (68°35’ S, 77°52’ E) were measured and found, during a bloom of the unicellular alga Phaeocystis pouchetii, to be higher (up to 290 nM) than any previously reported for the ocean. A correlation was found between DMS levels and cell numbers of P. pouchetii. The amount of DMS present in the water samples per cell of the alga in this study was found to be significantly higher than recorded in two studies in the Northern Hemisphere. The seawater concentrations of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), the biological precursor of DMS, was also measured and was found to be present for most of the year at levels above that of DMS. The results suggest that it is possible that the antarctic region contributes significantly to the atmospheric sulfur budget.