Methyl iodide in the NW Atlantic; spatial and seasonal variation
Abstract
While the global ocean is an important source of atmospheric methyl iodide (CH (sub 3) I), the major producers of CH (sub 3) I within the ocean remain unclear. During a seasonal study in the NW Atlantic, the relationship between CH (sub 3) I and some characteristic phytoplankton pigments was examined in order to identify possible phytoplankton producers of CH (sub 3) I. Although no characteristic pigments exhibited a strong positive correlation with CH (sub 3) I, in the surface mixed layer, there was a weak correlation (R=0.35, n=70, p=0.003) between the concentrations of CH (sub 3) I and zeaxanthin, a pigment characteristic of cyanobacteria in the open ocean. In this study, a moderate correlation was observed between the surface mixed layer CH (sub 3) I concentration and depth-averaged daily radiant exposure (R=0.61, n=15, p=0.02), which indicates a positive influence of solar radiation on CH (sub 3) I production. However, the results from this study do not conclusively show whether the influence was exerted through photochemistry or other pathways. A positive correlation between the CH (sub 3) I concentration and sea surface temperature was also observed (R=0.61, n=79, p<<0.001).
Citation
This article first appeared in: Wang, Lu, Robert M. Moore, and John J. Cullen. 2009. "Methyl iodide in the NW Atlantic; spatial and seasonal variation." Journal of Geophysical Research 114(C7): 07007-Citation C07007. DOI: 10.1029/2007JC004626
Subject
- Methyl iodide
- Phytoplankton
- Sea water
- Carotenoids
- Plankton
- Spatial variations
- Chemical reactions
- Mixing
- World ocean
- Productivity
- Concentration
- Northwest Atlantic
- Pigments
- Photochemistry
- Atmosphere
- Gases
- Chlorophyll
- Organic compounds
- Deposition
- Solar radiation
- Seasonal variations
- Bathymetry
- Sea-surface temperature
- North Atlantic
- Oceanography
- Atlantic Ocean