Weak response of oceanic dimethylsulfide to upper mixing shoaling induced by global warming S. M. Vallina†‡§, R. Simo´ †, and M. Manizza‡¶ʈ †Institut de Cie`ncies del Mar–Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas, 08003 Barcelona, Spain; ‡School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom; ¶Max-Planck-Institut fu¨r Biogeochemie, 07745 Jena, Germany; and ʈDepartment of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139 Edited by Inez Y. Fung, University of California, Berkeley, CA, and approved June 26, 2007 (received for review February 1, 2007) The solar radiation dose in the oceanic upper mixed layer (SRD) has In this context, phytoplankton is a necessary, but not sufficient, recently been identified as the main climatic force driving global condition for the production of DMS. It is obvious that some dimethylsulfide (DMS) dynamics and seasonality. Because DMS is phytoplankton activity needs to be present, but phytoplankton suggested to exert a cooling effect on the earth radiative budget biomass proxies like chlorophyll-a (CHL) are not correlated with through its involvement in the formation and optical properties of DMS concentrations over large scales except for at high latitudes tropospheric clouds over the ocean, a positive relationship be- (13) and in highly productive near-coastal regions (3). In these tween DMS and the SRD supports the occurrence of a negative (usually nutrient-replete) regions, the solar radiation dose in the feedback between the oceanic biosphere and climate, as postu- upper mixed layer (UML) drives both phytoplankton biomass and lated 20 years ago. Such a natural feedback might partly counteract DMS concentrations. These have been postulated to be the ‘‘DMS anthropogenic global warming through a shoaling of the mixed bloom-regime’’ regions (7). However, in subtropical and low tem- layer depth (MLD) and a consequent increase of the SRD and DMS perate regions (which cover most of the ocean‘s surface), DMS is concentrations and emission. By applying two globally derived basically driven by the solar radiation dose, both increasing in DMS diagnostic models to global fields of MLD and chlorophyll summer despite CHL reduction due to nutrient depletion after simulated with an Ocean General Circulation Model coupled to a water column stratification. These have been postulated to be the biogeochemistry model for a 50% increase of atmospheric CO2 and ‘‘DMS stress-regime’’ regions (7). Therefore, with the exception of an unperturbed control run, we have estimated the response of the high levels of DMS resulting from some phytoplankton blooms, DMS-producing pelagic ocean to global warming. Our results show most of the DMS dynamics could be predicted based purely on a net global increase in surface DMS concentrations, especially in geophysical data (3, 7). In support of that, recent works have found summer. This increase, however, is so weak (globally 1.2%) that it that the daily averaged solar radiation dose received in the UML can hardly be relevant as compared with the radiative forcing of (hereafter SRD) seems to be the key factor governing DMS the increase of greenhouse gases. This contrasts with the seasonal dynamics at all spatial scales, from the local to the global (11, 12). variability of DMS (1000–2000% summer-to-winter ratio). We These results also explain why previous diagnostic models of DMS suggest that the ‘‘plankton–DMS–clouds–earth albedo feedback’’ concentrations, based basically (3) or exclusively (14) on the MLD, hypothesis is less strong a long-term thermostatic system than a work so well: the MLD might simply be a proxy of the SRD. seasonal mechanism that contributes to regulate the solar radia- Because MLD seasonality is related to surface irradiance (an tion doses reaching the earth’s biosphere. increase on surface irradiance is usually followed by a decrease in the MLD), a multiplicative (nonlinear) effect arises on the SRD. mixed layer depth ͉ solar radiation dose ͉ global modeling This leads to the observed nonlinearity of the relationship between DMS and MLD, whereas DMS is linearly related to SRD. MLD is predicted to be reduced by several meters in most regions cean-emitted dimethylsulfide (DMS) has been suggested to of the ocean as a consequence of GW, because the increase in air Oplay a climatic role by contributing to cloud droplet conden- temperature would increase the atmosphere-to-ocean heat flux sation and thereby to cloud albedo. As such a climate-active (then reinforcing water column stratification) (15). In this regard, compound, DMS was proposed as a candidate to partially coun- it has been speculated that, because of the links between MLD, teract human-induced global warming (GW) through a global SRD, and DMS, in a GW scenario, the shoaling of ocean stratifi- biogeochemical feedback between oceanic biosphere and climate, cation will imply an increase of DMS concentrations and its fluxes the so-called ‘‘CLAW hypothesis’’ (1). To quantitatively assess the to the atmosphere (3, 7), in support of the CLAW hypothesis. feasibility and magnitude of this potential long-term climate- Because DMS is believed to be the main contributor to cloud stabilizing response, it is important to understand which are the condensation nuclei (CCN) concentrations over marine remote main factors that drive DMS dynamics: if we can estimate how they regions (12, 16–22) and CCN numbers are related to cloud forma- are changing due to GW, we should be able to predict the DMS tion, cloud optical properties, and lifetime [hence to the earth response. Early works pointed to the mutual interaction of several factors (i.e., phytoplankton community structure, zooplankton grazing, bacterial activity, etc.), over which the mixed layer depth Author contributions: S.M.V. and R.S. designed research; S.M.V. and M.M. performed (MLD) seems to have some kind of regulatory influence (2, 3). research; S.M.V. and M.M. analyzed data; and S.M.V. and R.S. wrote the paper. However, more recent studies have strongly suggested that solar The authors declare no conflict of interest. radiation is the key factor regarding DMS dynamics, notably This article is a PNAS Direct Submission. through its stress effects on phytoplankton and inhibitory effects on Abbreviations: DMS, dimethylsulfide; GW, global warming; GSS, Global Sea Surface (DMS heterotrophic bacterioplankton (4–8). One suggestion is that the database); UML, upper mixed layer; SRD, solar radiation dose in the UML; MLD, mixed layer depth; CHL, chlorophyll-a; CCN, cloud condensation nuclei. enzymatic cleavage of dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) into §To whom correspondence should be addressed at: Institut de Cie`ncies del Mar de Barce- DMS in phytoplankton is part of an antioxidant system that protects lona (ICM-CSIC), P. Mar de la Barceloneta, 37-49, 08003 Barcelona. Spain. E-mail: the cell from endogenous, hazardous hydroxyl (OH) radicals under [email protected] or [email protected]. high-light stressing conditions (5). This hypothesis is supported by This article contains supporting information online at www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/ several laboratory studies (5, 6, 9, 10) as well as local and global time 0700843104/DC1. series analyses (7, 11, 12, 47). © 2007 by The National Academy of Sciences of the USA 16004–16009 ͉ PNAS ͉ October 9, 2007 ͉ vol. 104 ͉ no. 41 www.pnas.org͞cgi͞doi͞10.1073͞pnas.0700843104 Downloaded by guest on October 1, 2021 albedo (1)], the anticipated DMS increase might constitute a a DMS DMS natural negative feedback mechanism that could counteract the GSS b Kettle 80 >5.5 effects of GW on earth‘s climate (1, 23). The present study seeks to 60 5 estimate this (potential) DMS increase under GW conditions by 40 4 using the global relationship between DMS concentrations and the 20 3 SRD (11) as a diagnostic model, as well as the diagnostic model 0 −20 2 proposed by Simo´and Dachs (3), that relates DMS to the MLD and −40 1 CHL. Both diagnostic models are applied to global model outputs −60 of MLD (from which the SRD is calculated) and CHL for the year −80 0 2061, obtained under a 50% increase in CO2. A control with today’s c DMS deBoyer + SeaWiFS DMS deBoyer levels of CO2 is run as a reference. The results are discussed in the MLD−model d SRD−model context of the CLAW hypothesis. 80 >5.5 60 5 Results and Discussion 40 4 20 With the aim at quantifying the (potential) future ‘‘MLD reduc- 0 3 tion–SRD increase–DMS increase,’’ we applied the globally de- −20 2 −40 rived DMS diagnostic equations of Vallina and Simo´(11) (SRD- 1 −60 model; see Eq. 2 in Data and Methodology) and Simo´and Dachs (3) −80 0 (MLD-model; see Eqs. 3 and 4 in Data and Methodology)to modeled global fields of MLD and CHL obtained for 2061 (15) e DMS Control DMS Control MLD−model f SRD−model under two scenarios (GW vs. Control; see Control and Global 80 >5.5 Warming Scenarios in Data and Methodology). 60 5 40 4 Global Validity of the DMS Diagnostic Models. 20 To evaluate the 0 3 validity of the DMS diagnostic models used, we compared their −20 2 results against actual data. Fig. 1 shows the Hovmoller Diagrams −40 1 (Top and Middle) obtained both from data [Global Sea Surface −60 −80 0 (GSS)–DMS database and Kettle and Andreae (24)] as well as from JFMAMJJASOND JFMAMJJASOND model results (see Fig. 1 legend), along with the global maps of seasonal correlations (13) between DMS modeled results from the g DMS Control vs. DMS h DMS Control vs. DMS MLD−model Kettle SRD−model Kettle control run against the Kettle and Andreae (24) climatology (Fig. +1 1 Bottom).