The relationships among aerosol optical depth, ice, phytoplankton and dimethylsulfide and the implication for future climate in the Greenland Sea

The sea-to-air flux of dimethylsulphide（DMS） is one of the major sources of marine biogenic aerosol, and can have an important radiative impact on climate, especially in the Arctic Ocean. Satellite-derived aerosol optical depth（AOD） is used as a proxy for aerosol burden which is dominated by biogenic aerosol during summer and autumn. The spring sea ice melt period is a strong source of aerosol precursors in the Arctic. However, high aerosol levels in early spring are likely related to advection of continental pollution from the south（Arctic haze）.Higher AOD was generally registered in the southern part of the study region. Sea ice concentration（SIC） and AOD were positively correlated, while cloud cover（CLD） and AOD were negative correlation. The seasonal peaks of SIC and CLD were both one month ahead of the peak in AOD. There is a strong positive correlation between AOD and SIC. Melting ice is positively correlated with chlorophyll a（CHL） almost through March to September,but negatively correlated with AOD in spring and early summer. Elevated spring and early summer AOD most likely were influenced by combination of melting ice and higher spring wind in the region. The peak of DMS flux occurred in spring due to the elevated spring wind and more melting ice. DMS concentration and AOD were positively correlated with melting ice from March to May. Elevated AOD in early autumn was likely related to the emission of biogenic aerosols associated with phytoplankton synthesis of DMS. The DMS flux would increase more than triple by 2100 in the Greenland Sea. The significant increase of biogenic aerosols could offset the warming in the Greenland Sea.

Recent Trends in Satellite-Derived Chlorophyll and Aerosol Optical Depth Together with Simulated Dimethylsulfide in the Eastern China Marginal Seas

The biogenic compound dimethylsulfide(DMS)produced by a range of marine biota is the major natural source of re-duced sulfur to the atmosphere and plays a major role in the formation and evolution of aerosols,potentially affecting climate.The spatio-temporal distribution of satellite-derived chlorophyll_a(CHL)and aerosol optical depth(AOD)for the recent years(2011-2019)in the Eastern China Marginal Seas(ECMS)(25°-40°N,120°-130°E)are studied.The seasonal CHL peaks occurred during late April and the CHL distribution displays a clear zonal gradient.Elevated CHL was also observed along the northern and western coastlines during summer and winter seasons.Trend analysis shows that mean CHL decreases by about 10%over the 9-year study period,while AOD was higher in south and lower in north during summertime.A genetic algorithm technique is used to calibrate the key model parameters and simulations are carried out for 2015,a year when field data was available.Our simulation results show that DMS seawater concentration ranges from 1.56 to 5.88 nmol L^(−1) with a mean value of 2.76 nmol L^(−1).DMS sea-air flux ranges from 2.66 to 5.00mmol m^(−2) d^(−1) with mean of 3.80mmol m^(−2) d^(−1).Positive correlations of about 0.5 between CHL and AOD were found in the study region,with higher correlations along the coasts of Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces.The elevated CHL concentration along the west coast is correlated with increased sea-water concentrations of DMS in the region.Our results suggest a possible influ-ence of DMS-derived aerosol in the local ECMS atmosphere,especially along the western coastline of ECMS.