Data collation for climate-cooling gas dimethylsulfide in Antarctic snow, sea ice and underlying seawater

Abstract

Abstract Dimethylsulfide (DMS) is a climatically active volatile sulfur compound found in Earth’s oceans and atmosphere that plays an important role in cloud formation. DMS originates from its precursor dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), which is produced by several classes of phytoplankton. Concentrations of DMS and DMSP in Antarctic sea ice, snow and underlying seawater are not well documented and there is currently no dataset available to find the existing data. The purpose of this project was to compile historical measurements into a publicly available dataset. A total of 220 samples collected since 1992 were compiled using the Antarctic Sea ice Processes and Climate program template, in accordance with the existing datasets for chlorophyll-a, macronutrients, and dissolved iron. Analyses performed on the completed DMS dataset showed that the spatial and temporal coverages are limited; there are barely any measurements in autumn and winter, nor in the Amundsen or Ross seas. These findings provide a basis for future sampling efforts in the Antarctic region.