The influence of the SML on trace gas biogeochemistry and air–sea gas exchange
ACRONYM
BASS SP 2.1
Title
The influence of the SML on trace gas biogeochemistry and air–sea gas exchange
General information
Our motivation stems from laboratory and in situ evidence that the sea-surface microlayer (SML) greatly impacts the biogeochemical cycling of climate-active and atmospherically important trace gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), and dimethyl sulfide (DMS): (i) recent studies from the PASSME and SOPRAN projects have emphasized that accumulations of surface-active substances (i.e., surfactants) have a strong (dampening) effect on both CO2 and N2O fluxes across the SML/atmosphere interface, and (ii) trace gases can be produced and consumed by (micro)biological or by (photo)chemical processes. Therefore, the upper ocean, including the SML, can be a distinct source or sink for these gases, as compared to waters deeper in the mixed layer, with clear relevance to the BASS research unit. Concentrations of CO2, N2O, and other gases in the SML (or upper centimeters of the ocean) have been shown to be different from their bulk concentrations below the SML.
Start
July, 2022
End
June, 2026
Funding (total)
-
Funding (GEOMAR)
281000
Funding body / Programme
-
DFG
/
Coordination
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany
Contact
