Open AccessOceanic distributions and air‐sea fluxes of biogenic halocarbons in the open ocean
Author(s) -
Chuck Adele L.,
Turner Suzanne M.,
Liss Peter S.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.67
H-Index - 298
eISSN - 2156-2202
pISSN - 0148-0227
DOI - 10.1029/2004jc002741
Subject(s) - bromoform , sink (geography) , seawater , methyl iodide , oceanography , environmental science , atmospheric sciences , saturation (graph theory) , temperate climate , climatology , geology , chemistry , botany , cartography , mathematics , chromatography , combinatorics , chloroform , medicinal chemistry , biology , geography
Surface seawater and atmospheric concentrations of methyl iodide, chloroiodomethane, bromoform, dichlorobromomethane, and chlorodibromethane were measured during three open ocean cruises in the Atlantic and Southern oceans. The measurements spanned a longitudinal range of 115°, between 50°N and 65°S. The saturation anomalies and the instantaneous air‐sea fluxes of the gases during one of these cruises (ANT XVIII/1) are presented and discussed. Methyl iodide and chloroiodomethane were highly supersaturated (>1000%) throughout the temperate and tropical regions, with calculated mean fluxes of 15 and 5.5 nmol m −2 d −1 , respectively. The oceanic emissions of the brominated compounds were less substantial, and a significant area of the temperate Atlantic Ocean was found to be a sink for bromoform. Correlation analyses have been used to investigate possible controls on the concentrations of these gases. In particular, the relationship of CH 3 I with sea surface temperature and light is discussed, with the tentative conclusion that this compound may be formed abiotically.