EVIDENCE FOR MARINE PRODUCTION OF ISOPRENE

New data obtained in the Mediterranean Sea and Pacific Ocean show that isoprene could be produced in sea water by biological processes, leading to concentrations in the ppb range (10(-9) liter of gas per liter of water). Taking into account Henry's constant for isoprene in water and the very low concentrations measured in the marine atmosphere, the superficial sea water is supersaturated in isoprene by one or two orders of magnitude. From these observations, an oceanic flux of the order of 1.2 Mt per year of isoprene can be estimated. This is a small value, as compared with the marine fluxes of the other NMHC; it is also practically negligible in the global burden of isoprene. However, because of its short lifetime in air, isoprene in remote marine atmosphere, entirely originates from superficial seawater, it could be therefore an useful tracer of marine emissions of gaseous compounds.