GLOBAL OCEAN-TO-ATMOSPHERE DIMETHYL SULFIDE FLUX

The global ocean-to-atmosphere flux of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is calculated on a monthly basis with 4.5°× 7.5° latitude/longitude spatial resolution. An atmospheric general circulation model is used to drive algorithms pertinent to the air-sea exchange of DMS. The cloud and radiation package in the CCM1 provides estimates of the solar radiation impinging on the surface ocean, which is then related to the flux of DMS from the ocean to the atmosphere on the basis of the empirical data of Bates et al (1987a). The computed DMS flux values vary globally from 0.5 to 5.5 μmol m-2d-1. A globally integrated ocean-to-atmosphere flux of 15 Tg S yr-1 (as DMS) is computed. -from Authors