Use of remote sensing and mathematical modelling to predict the flux of dimethylsulfide to the atmosphere in the Southern Ocean

An existing ecological model of DMS production has been extended and applied to the spring-summer period in the Subantarctic Southern Ocean. The model predicts that production of phytoplankton and dissolved DMS will increase during spring to reach a maximum in summer consistent with the atmospheric data collected at the Cape Grim baseline station. Archival Coastal Zone Color Scanner satellite imagery has been used to define the seasonal range in phytoplankton concentration in the study region and validate model predictions. Local measured wind and sea temperature data have been used to calculate the DMS transfer velocity which is used to compute the sea-to-air flux of DMS. The seasonal trend in predicted DMS flux is in good agreement with the flux estimates made from observations.