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  • Review Article
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The biogeochemistry of marine dimethylsulfide

Nature Reviews Earth & Environment volume 4, pages 361–376 (2023)Cite this article

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Abstract

The marine trace gas dimethylsulfide (DMS) supplies sulfur to the atmosphere at a rate of 15–40 Tg S per year, contributing to the production of atmospheric sulfate aerosols that influence cloud radiative properties and thereby climate. The resulting climate cooling effect of DMS is an estimated −1.7 to −2.3 W m−2, which is similar in magnitude to the warming effect of anthropogenic CO2 emissions (1.83 ± 0.2 W m−2). In this Review, we describe the production and cycling of marine DMS and its fate in the atmosphere. Advances in molecular genetics and large-scale biogeochemical measurements have revealed the global prevalence of DMS-related processes, including in previously overlooked environments and organisms, such as sediment-dwelling bacteria. Most marine DMS (>90%) is degraded or consumed in the water column, but the remainder is emitted to the atmosphere, where it contributes to the formation of cloud condensation nuclei. Large uncertainties (up to ±10 W m−2) associated with the global impact of DMS emissions arise from the use of crudely defined biological parameters, such as total chlorophyll, in models. Constraining and modelling the biogeochemical processes that control DMS production are key to better estimating the influence of DMS on climate.

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Fig. 1: History of dimethylsulfide biogeochemistry research.
Fig. 2: The marine biogeochemical dimethylsulfoniopropionate and dimethylsulfide cycle.
Fig. 3: DMS fluxes and burdens.
Fig. 4: Dimethylsulfoniopropionate biosynthesis and degradation.
Fig. 5: Atmospheric dimethylsulfide-related processes.
Fig. 6: Future projections of global dimethylsulfide flux.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by UK Research and Innovation via the Natural Environment Research Council and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, through the following grants: NE/L004151/1 (Microbial degradation of DMSO in the marine environment), NE/R010382/1 (Is bacterial DMS consumption dependent on methylamines in marine waters?), NE/P012930/1 (A multidisciplinary study of DMSP production and lysis — from enzymes to organisms to process modelling), NE/X001075/1 (Dimethylsulfoniopropionate cycling in terrestrial environments (DMSP InTerrest)), NE/W009277/1 (ConstrAining the Role of sulfur in the Earth System (CARES)) and BB/X005968/1 (Earth’s coolest organosulfur molecule: understanding how agriculture can be more cooling to the climate). Support was also provided by the US National Science Foundation through grant 1807163 (Surface exchange of climate-active trace gases in a sea–ice environment during MOSAiC). The authors thank X. Zhu and B. Williams from the University of East Anglia for discussions and input that informed this Review.

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  1. Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth, UK

    Frances E. Hopkins & Thomas G. Bell

  2. Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, Boothbay, ME, USA

    Stephen D. Archer

  3. School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Parvadha Suntharalingam

  4. School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK

    Jonathan D. Todd

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F.E.H. initiated writing of the Review and organized the writing processes. All the authors contributed equally to the discussion and writing of the manuscript.

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Hopkins, F.E., Archer, S.D., Bell, T.G. et al. The biogeochemistry of marine dimethylsulfide. Nat Rev Earth Environ 4, 361–376 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-023-00428-7

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