School of Geography, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences - Research Publications
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ItemCoral reef-derived dimethyl sulfide and the climatic impact of the loss of coral reefs( 2020-10-27)Abstract. Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a naturally occurring aerosol precursor gas which plays an important role in the global sulfur budget, aerosol formation and climate. While DMS is produced predominantly by phytoplankton, recent observational literature has suggested that corals and their symbionts produce a comparable amount of DMS, which is unaccounted for in models. It has further been hypothesised that the coral reef source of DMS may modulate regional climate. This hypothesis presents a particular concern given the current threat to coral reefs under anthropogenic climate change. In this paper, a global climate model with online chemistry and aerosol is used to explore the influence of coral reef-derived DMS on atmospheric composition and climate. A simple representation of coral reef-derived DMS is developed and added to a common DMS surface water climatology, resulting in an additional DMS flux of 0.3 Tg year−1 S, or 1.7 % of the global flux. By comparing the differences between both nudged and free running ensemble simulations with and without coral reef-derived DMS, the influence of coral reef-derived DMS on regional climate is quantified. In the Maritime Continent-Australian region, where the highest density of coral reefs exist, a small decrease in nucleation and Aitken mode aerosol number concentration and mass is found when coral reef DMS emissions are removed from the system. However, these small responses are found to have no robust effect on regional climate via direct and indirect aerosol effects. This work emphasises the complexities of the aerosol-climate system and the limitations of current modelling capabilities are highlighted, in particular surrounding convective responses to changes in aerosol. In conclusion we find no robust evidence that coral reef-derived DMS influences global and regional climate.
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ItemCloud, precipitation and radiation responses to large perturbations in global dimethyl sulfide( 2017-12-22)Abstract. Natural aerosol emission represents one of the largest uncertainties in our understanding of the climate system. Sulfur emitted by marine organisms, as dimethyl sulfide (DMS), constitutes one fifth of the global sulfur budget and yet the distribution, fluxes and fate of DMS remain poorly constrained. In this study we quantify the role of DMS in the chemistry-climate system and determine the climate's response to large DMS perturbations. By removing all marine DMS in the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator (ACCESS) – United Kingdom Chemistry and Aerosol (UKCA), we find a top of atmosphere radiative effect of 1.7 W m−2. The largest responses to removing marine DMS are in stratiform cloud decks in the Southern Hemisphere's eastern ocean basins. These regions show significant differences in low-cloud (−9 %), radiation (+7 W m−2 in short wave incoming surface radiation) and large-scale rainfall (+15 %) when all DMS is removed. We demonstrate a precipitation suppression effect of DMS-derived aerosol in stratiform cloud deck regions, coupled with an increase in low cloud fraction. The increase in low cloud fraction is an example of the aerosol lifetime effect. Other areas of low cloud formation, such as the Southern Ocean and stratiform cloud decks in the Northern Hemisphere, have a relatively weak response to DMS perturbations. Our study highlights the need for further modelling and field studies of natural aerosols and their impact on cloud and precipitation, in particular in Southern Hemisphere stratiform cloud regions.