| Study and modelling of DMSP production and its conversion into DMS by North Sea specific phytoplankton |
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- Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique (FNRS), more, sponsor
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| Abstract |
| Dimethylsulphide (DMS) is a climatic gas affecting the global climate through the production of atmospheric aerosols. The ocean is the main natural source as dimethylsulphoniopropionate (DMSP), the DMS precursor, is mainly synthesized by phytoplankton and macroalgae. This project aims to improve the knowledge and modelling of dimethylsulphide production and its emission to the atmosphere in the coastal North Sea. The research strategy combines 3 approaches: laboratory-controlled experimentation with monospecies phytoplankton cultures, field measurements, mechanistic modelling. The DMSP cellular concentrations of key phytoplankton species isolated from the North Sea are measured by gas chromatography. These data will be synthesised and integrated in the mechanistic model MIRO-DMS. Thereafter, this model will be applied to the Southern Bight of the North Sea, and DMS(P) and phytoplankton simulations will be compared with field measurements obtained along a seasonal cycle. Once validated, the model will be analyzed for assessing biotic (phytoplankton diversity) and abiotic (temperature, light, salinity, nutrients, wind speed) controls of DMS production and its emission to the atmosphere. |
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