A generalized model for the air-sea transfer of dimethyl sulfide at high wind speeds

The air-sea exchange of dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is an important component of ocean biogeochemistry and global climate models. Both laboratory experiments and field measurements of DMS transfer rates have shown that the air-sea flux of DMS is analogous to that of other significant greenhouse gases such as CO2 at low wind speeds (< 10 m/s) but that these DMS transfer rates may diverge from other gases as wind speeds increase. Herein we provide a mechanism that predicts the attenuation of DMS transfer rates at high wind speeds. The model is based on the amphiphilic nature of DMS that leads to transfer delay at the water-bubble interface and becomes significant at wind speeds above > 10 m/s. The result is an attenuation of the dimensionless Henry's Law constant (H) where (H-eff = H/(1 + (C-mix/C-w) Phi(B)) by a solubility enhancement C-mix/C-w, and the fraction of bubble surface area per m(2) surface ocean. Citation: Vlahos, P., and E. C. Monahan (2009), A generalized model for the air-sea transfer of dimethyl sulfide at high wind speeds, Geophys. Res. Lett., 36, L21605, doi: 10.1029/2009GL040695.