Vernal distribution and turnover of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the surface water of the Yellow Sea

Abstract

The spatial and interannual variations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and its precursors, dissolved and particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), were discussed on the basis of field observations in the surface waters of the Yellow Sea during spring 2007. Maxima of dimethylated sulfur compounds and low chlorophyll a concentrations were found in the central southern Yellow Sea, whereas low concentrations of DMS and DMSP were detected at the boundary between the northern and southern parts of the Yellow Sea. This frontal region is influenced by active water currents, air‐sea interface exchanges, and biological turnover. The horizontal variations in DMS production and consumption rates showed a decreasing tendency from the coastal to offshore areas mainly due to the complicated biological features. DMS positively correlated with dissolved CH4 and CO2 but negatively correlated with nutrients (nitrite and phosphate). Particulate DMSP concentrations and DMS production rates positively correlated with dinoflagellate abundances but negatively correlated with diatom cell densities. DMS and DMSP concentrations, as well as DMS production and consumption rates, exhibited approximately 2.0–2.8 fold increases from 2005 to 2012. This finding was likely caused by shifts in the phytoplankton communities from diatoms to dinoflagellates and the increases in abundances of zooplankton and bacteria. Average sea‐to‐air DMS fluxes were estimated to be 8.12 ± 1.24 µmol·(m−2·d−1), and DMS microbial consumption was approximately 1.68 times faster than the DMS sea‐air exchange. These findings imply that biological consumption, relative to ventilation, is a predominant mechanism in DMS removal from the surface water.

Occurrence and Turnover of Biogenic Sulfur in the Bering Sea During Summer

“…Wong et al, 2005). DMSP concentrations (DMSPd: 0.90-53.31 nM; in the surface layer of Bering Sea during our investigation were generally comparable to the surveys of the sub-Arctic and Arctic regions located at the Northeast Atlantic (DMSPd: <1.25- 199 nM; DMSPp: 10.8-280 nM, Malin et al, 1993), but higher than those in the coastal and oceanic surveys ofLi et al (2016b) (DMSPd: 2.13-18.6 nM, DMSPp: 4.14-21.2 nM in the Yellow Sea), and (DMSPd: 1-10 nM; DMSPp: 9-23 nM in the Gulf of Mexico). However, the levels of the dimethylated sulfur compounds we observed were about 255-fold lower than those reported byGalindo et al (2014) in the bottom ice in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago where an DMSP-rich under-ice blooms dominated by pennate diatoms developed.…”

“…DMSPp was positively correlated with Chl a in the surface waters, and in the upper and intermediate waters of the basin ( Figure 6b). This phenomenon was reported in previous studies (e.g., Andreae et al, 1994;Yang et al, 2015), whereas researchers have found poor or no correlations between them in the Ross Sea (DiTullio & Smith, 1995), the Yellow Sea (Li et al, 2016b), and the Mediterranean waters (Sim o et al, 1997;Vila-Costa et al, 2008).…”

“…Our result is similar to the findings of Salgado et al (2014), who demonstrated that significantly lower concentrations of DMS in cultures of R. pomeroyi DSS-3 accumulated in high-salinity treatments. Conversely, high DMS production under lowsalinity conditions has been previously observed in the Yalu River estuary (Li et al, 2016b) and in moderately hypersaline mats (Visscher et al, 2003). Salinity can selectively modulate DMSP enzymatic degradation routes (Magalhães et al, 2012).…”

“…Obvious negative correlations were obtained between DMS and nutrients (e.g., nitrate, phosphorus, etc.) in the Yellow Sea (Li et al, ) and in the Australasian sector of the Southern Ocean (Curran et al, ), whereas Yang et al () found the positive correlation of DMS with dissolved nitrate in East China Sea. Although high nutrient loads generally contribute to algal growth, the difficulties in obtaining a general correlation are usually attributable to specific phytoplankton nutrient requirements (Lagus et al, ), which was strongly dependent upon acclimation to light intensity or upon nutrient storage capability (Klausmeier et al, ).…”

Acrylic acid and related dimethylated sulfur compounds in the Bohai and Yellow Seas during summer and winter

“…AA showed positive relationships with DMSPd in the SYS, which suggests that AA in the SYS is mainly produced by DMSPd degradation rather than the terrestrial inputs. Although phytoplankton plays an important role in controlling 175 the levels of sulfur products, some researchers still found no correlations between Chl a and them in this study area (Li et al, 2016;Yang et al, 2015b) .…”