Movatterモバイル変換

[0]ホーム
URL:

Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Advertisement

Nature
  • Review Article
  • Published:

The case against climate regulation via oceanic phytoplankton sulphur emissions

Naturevolume 480, pages51–56 (2011)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

More than twenty years ago, a biological regulation of climate was proposed whereby emissions of dimethyl sulphide from oceanic phytoplankton resulted in the formation of aerosol particles that acted as cloud condensation nuclei in the marine boundary layer. In this hypothesis—referred to as CLAW—the increase in cloud condensation nuclei led to an increase in cloud albedo with the resulting changes in temperature and radiation initiating a climate feedback altering dimethyl sulphide emissions from phytoplankton. Over the past two decades, observations in the marine boundary layer, laboratory studies and modelling efforts have been conducted seeking evidence for the CLAW hypothesis. The results indicate that a dimethyl sulphide biological control over cloud condensation nuclei probably does not exist and that sources of these nuclei to the marine boundary layer and the response of clouds to changes in aerosol are much more complex than was recognized twenty years ago. These results indicate that it is time to retire the CLAW hypothesis.

This is a preview of subscription content,access via your institution

Access options

Subscription info for Japanese customers

We have a dedicated website for our Japanese customers. Please go tonatureasia.com to subscribe to this journal.

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to full article PDF

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1:Modified diagram of the climate feedback loop proposed by ref.7.
Figure 2:Ocean-derived source of organics to the MBL CCN population.
Figure 3:Major sources and production mechanisms for CCN in the remote MBL.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Twomey, S. The influence of pollution on the shortwave albedo of clouds.J. Atmos. Sci.34, 1149–1152 (1977)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Sunda, W., Kieber, D. J., Kiene, R. P. & Huntsman, S. An antioxidant function for DMSP and DMS in marine algae.Nature418, 317–320 (2002)

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Vallina, S. M. & Simo, R. Strong relationship between DMS and the solar radiation dose over the global surface ocean.Science315, 506–508 (2007)

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Bates, T. S., Lamb, B. K., Guenther, A. B., Dignon, J. & Stoiber, R. E. Sulfur emissions to the atmosphere from natural sources.J. Atmos. Chem.14, 315–337 (1992)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Andreae, M. O. et al. Dimethylsulfide in the marine atmosphere.J. Geophys. Res.90, 12891–12900 (1985)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  6. Shaw, G. E. Bio-controlled thermostasis involving the sulphur cycle.Clim. Change5, 297–303 (1983)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Charlson, R. J., Lovelock, J. E., Andreae, M. O. & Warren, S. G. Oceanic phytoplankton, atmospheric sulphur, cloud albedo, and climate.Nature326, 655–661 (1987)This paper introduced the CLAW hypothesis proposing the link between marine biota and climate.

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Andreae, M. O. Marine aerosol chemistry at Cape Grim, Tasmania and Townsville, Queensland.J. Geophys. Res.87, 8875–8885 (1982)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Savoie, D. L. & Prospero, J. M. Particle size distribution of nitrate and sulphate in the marine atmosphere.Geophys. Res. Lett.9, 1207–1210 (1982)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Hobbs, P. V. Simultaneous airborne measurements of cloud condensation nuclei and sodium-containing particles over the ocean.Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc. Soc97, 263–271 (1971)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  11. Ayers, G. P. & Gras, J. L. Seasonal relationship between cloud condensation nuclei and aerosol methanesulphonate in marine air.Nature353, 834–835 (1991)This paper presented the coherence in the seasonality of DMS-derived particulate phase sulphur species and CCN at Cape Grim, Tasmania.

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ayers, G. P., Cainey, J. M., Gillett, R. W. & Ivey, J. P. Atmospheric sulphur and cloud condensation nuclei in marine air in the southern hemisphere.Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B352, 203–211 (1997)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Andreae, M. O., Elbert, W. & de Mora, S. J. Biogenic sulphur emissions and aerosols over the tropical South Atlantic. 3. Atmospheric dimethylsulfide, aerosols, and cloud condensation nuclei.J. Geophys. Res.100 (D6). 11335–11356 (1995)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Hegg, D. A., Ferek, R. J., Hobbs, P. V. & Radke, L. F. Dimethyl sulfide and cloud condensation nucleus correlations in the northeast Pacific Ocean.J. Geophys. Res.96 (D7). 13189–13191 (1991)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  15. Parungo, F. P., Nagamoto, C. T., Rosinski, J. & Haagenson, P. L. A study of marine aerosols over the Pacific Ocean.J. Atmos. Chem.4, 199–226 (1986)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Pósfai, M., Anderson, J. R. & Buseck, P. R. Constituents of a remote Pacific marine aerosol: A TEM study.Atmos. Environ.28, 1747–1756 (1994)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  17. McInnes, L., Covert, D. & Baker, B. The number of sea-salt, sulfate, and carbonaceous particles in the marine atmosphere: EM measurements consistent with the ambient size distribution.Tellus49B, 300–313 (1997)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Murphy, D. M. et al. Influence of sea-salt on aerosol radiative properties in the Southern Ocean marine boundary layer.Nature392, 62–65 (1998)This paper provided direct observational evidence of significant numbers of CCN-size particles containing sea salt and organics in the remote MBL.

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Leck, C. & Bigg, E. K. Comparison of sources and nature of the tropical aerosol with the summer high Arctic aerosol.Tellus60B, 118–126 (2008)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  20. Russell, L. M., Hawkins, L. N., Frossard, A. A., Quinn, P. K. & Bates, T. S. Carbohydrate-like composition of submicron atmospheric particles and their production from ocean bubble bursting.Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA107, 6652–6657 (2010)

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Hawkins, L. N. & Russell, L. M. Polysaccharides, proteins, and phytoplankton fragments: four chemically distinct types of marine primary organic aerosol classified by single particle spectromicroscopy.Adv. Meteorol.2010, 612132 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Clarke, A. D., Owens, S. R. & Zhou, J. An ultrafine sea-salt flux from breaking waves: implications for cloud condensation nuclei in the remote marine atmosphere.J. Geophys. Res.111, D06202 (2006)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  23. Campuzano-Jost, P. et al. Near-real-time measurement of sea-salt aerosol during the SEAS campaign: comparison of emission-based sodium detection with an aerosol volatility technique.J. Atmos. Ocean. Technol.20, 1421–1430 (2003)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  24. O’Dowd, C. D. & Smith, M. H. Physicochemical properties of aerosols over the northeast Atlantic: evidence for wind-speed-related submicron sea-salt aerosol production.J. Geophys. Res.98 (D1). 1137–1149 (1993)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  25. Dinger, J. E., Howell, H. B. & Wojciechowski, T. A. On the source and composition of cloud nuclei in a subsident air mass over the north Atlantic.J. Atmos. Sci.27, 791–797 (1970)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  26. O’Dowd, C. D., Smith, M. H. & Jennings, S. G. Submicron particle, radon, and soot carbon characteristics over the Northeast Atlantic.J. Geophys. Res.98, 1123–1135 (1993)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  27. Twohy, C. H. & Anderson, J. R. Droplet nuclei in non-precipitating clouds: composition and size matter.Environ. Res. Lett.3, 045002. 1–9 (2008)This paper provided direct observational evidence of cloud droplets formed primarily through nucleation on sea-salt particles.

  28. Peter, J. A., Blyth, A. M., Brooks, B., Lingard, J. & Smith, M. H. On the composition of Caribbean maritime aerosol particles measured during RICO.Q. J. R. Meteorol. Soc.134, 1059–1063 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  29. Fuhrman, J. A. Marine viruses and their biogeochemical and ecological effects.Nature399, 541–548 (1999)

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Wells, M. L. & Goldberg, E. D. Occurrence of small colloids in sea water.Nature353, 342–344 (1991)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  31. Biersmith, A. & Benner, R. Carbohydrates in phytoplankton and freshly produced dissolved organic matter.Mar. Chem.63, 131–144 (1998)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  32. Hedges, J. I. Global biogeochemical cycles: progress and problems.Mar. Chem.39, 67–93 (1992)

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  33. Facchini, M. C. et al. Primary submicron marine aerosol dominated by insoluble organic colloids and aggregates.Geophys. Res. Lett.35, L17814 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  34. Leck, C. & Bigg, E. K. Evolution of the marine aerosol—a new perspective.Geophys. Res. Lett.32, L19803 (2005)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  35. Bigg, E. K. Sources, nature, and influence on climate of marine airborne particulates.Environ. Chem.4, 155–161 (2007)This paper described an organic alternative to DMS as a source of CCN to the MBL.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  36. Decho, A. W. Microbial exopolymer secretions in ocean environments: their role(s) in food webs and marine processes.Oceanogr. Mar. Biol. Ann. Rev.28, 73–153 (1990)

    Google Scholar 

  37. Bigg, E. K. & Leck, C. The composition of fragments of bubbles bursting at the ocean surface.J. Geophys. Res.113, D11209 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  38. O’Dowd, C. D. et al. Biogenically-driven organic contribution to marine aerosol.Nature431, 676–680 (2004)

    ADS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Keene, W. C. et al. Chemical and physical characteristics of nascent aerosols produced by bursting bubbles at a model air-sea interface.J. Geophys. Res.112, D21202 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  40. Tyree, C. A., Hellion, V. M., Alexandrova, O. A. & Allen, J. O. Foam droplets generated from natural and artificial seawaters.J. Geophys. Res.112, D12204 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  41. Hultin, K. A. H. et al.In situ laboratory sea spray production during the Marine Aerosol Production 2006 cruise on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean.J. Geophys. Res.115, D06201 (2010)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  42. Fuentes, E., Coe, H., Green, D., de Leeuw, G. & McFiggans, G. On the impacts of phytoplankton-derived organic matter on the properties of marine aerosol—Part 1: Source fluxes.Atmos. Chem. Phys.10, 9295–9317 (2010)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  43. Bigg, E. K., Leck, C. & Tranvik, L. Particulates of the surface microlayer of open water in the central Arctic Ocean in summer.Mar. Chem.91, 131–141 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  44. Covert, D. S., Kapustin, V. N., Quinn, P. K. & Bates, T. S. New particle formation in the marine boundary layer.J. Geophys. Res.97, 20581–20589 (1992)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  45. Warren, D. R. & Seinfeld, J. H. Prediction of aerosol concentration resulting from a burst of nucleation.J. Colloid Interf. Sci.105, 136–142 (1985)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  46. Pirjola, L., O’Dowd, C. D., Brooks, I. M. & Kulmala, M. Can new particle formation occur in the clean marine boundary layer?J. Geophys. Res.105 (D21). 26,531–26,546 (2000)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  47. Clarke, A. D. et al. Particle production in the remote marine atmosphere: cloud outflow and subsidence during ACE-1.J. Geophys. Res.103 (D13). 16,397–16,409 (1998)This paper was one of the first to provide unambiguous evidence of an upper tropospheric source of sulphur particles to the marine boundary layer.

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  48. Ehn, M. et al. in Nucleation and Atmospheric Aerosols: 17th International Conference (Galway, Ireland, 2007) (eds O’Dowd, C. D. & Wagner, P. E. ) 1,102–1, 105 (Springer, 2007)

  49. Davison, B. et al. Dimethyl sulfide, methyl sulfonic acid, and physicochemical aerosol properties in Atlantic air from the United Kingdom to Halley Bay.J. Geophys. Res.101, 22,855–22,867 (1996)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  50. O’Dowd, C. D. et al. Biogenic sulphur emissions and inferred non-sea-salt sulfate cloud condensation nuclei in and around Antarctica.J. Geophys. Res.102, 12839–12854 (1997)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  51. Cainey, J. & Harvey, M. Dimethylsulfide, a limited contributor to new particle formation in the clean marine boundary layer.Geophys. Res. Lett.29 1128 10.1029/2001GL014439 (2002)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  52. Hegg, D. A., Radke, L. F. & Hobbs, P. V. Particle production associated with marine clouds.J. Geophys. Res.95, 13,917–13,926 (1990)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  53. Perry, K. D. & Hobbs, P. V. Further evidence for particle nucleation in clear air adjacent to marine cumulus clouds.J. Geophys. Res.99, 22,803–22,818 (1994)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  54. Hoppel, W. A., Frick, G. M., Fitzgerald, J. & Larson, R. E. Marine boundary layer measurements of new particle formation and the effects nonprecipitating clouds have on aerosol size distributions.J. Geophys. Res.99, 14,443–14,459 (1994)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  55. Clarke, A. D., Li, Z. & Litchy, M. Aerosol dynamics in the equatorial Pacific marine boundary layer: microphysics, diurnal cycles, and entrainment.Geophys. Res. Lett.23, 733–736 (1996)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  56. Raes, F. Entrainment of free-tropospheric aerosol as a regulating mechanism for cloud condensation nuclei in the remote marine boundary layer.J. Geophys. Res.100, 2893–2903 (1995)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  57. Pierce, J. R. & Adams, P. J. Global evaluation of CCN formation by direct emission of sea salt and growth of ultrafine sea salt.J. Geophys. Res.111, D06203 (2006)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  58. Kazil, J., Lovejoy, E. R., Barth, M. C. & O’Brien, K. Aerosol nucleation over oceans and the role of galactic cosmic rays.Atmos. Chem. Phys.6, 4905–4924 (2006)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  59. Spracklen, D. V. et al. Evaluation of a global aerosol microphysics model against size-resolved particle statistics in the marine atmosphere.Atmos. Chem. Phys.7, 2073–2090 (2007)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  60. Merikanto, J., Spracklen, D. V., Mann, G. W., Pickering, S. J. & Carslaw, K. S. Impact of nucleation on global CCN.Atmos. Chem. Phys.9, 8601–8616 (2009)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  61. Korhonen, H., Carslaw, K. S., Spracklen, D. V., Mann, G. W. & Woodhouse, M. T. Influence of oceanic dimethyl sulfide emissions on cloud condensation nuclei concentrations and seasonality over the remote Southern Hemisphere oceans: a global model study.J. Geophys. Res.113, D15204 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  62. Woodhouse, M. T., Mann, G. W., Carslaw, K. S. & Boucher, O. New directions: the impact of oceanic iron fertilization on cloud condensation nuclei.Atmos. Environ.42, 5728–5730 (2008)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  63. Roelofs, G. J. A GCM study of organic matter in marine aerosol and its potential contribution to cloud drop activation.Atmos. Chem. Phys.8, 709–719 (2008)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  64. de Leeuw, G. et al. Production flux of sea spray aerosol.Rev. Geophys.49, 2010RG000349 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  65. O’Dowd, C. D. et al. A combined organic-inorganic sea-spray source function.Geophys. Res. Lett.35, L01801 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  66. Woodhouse, M. T. et al. Low sensitivity of cloud condensation nuclei to changes in the sea-air flux of dimethyl-sulphide.Atmos. Chem. Phys.10, 7545–7559 (2010)This study modelled the sensitivity of CCN to changes in the sea-to-air flux of DMS and found it to be low, such that the role of DMS in climate regulation is very weak.

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  67. Carslaw, K. S. et al. A review of natural aerosol interactions and feedbacks within the Earth system.Atmos. Chem. Phys.10, 1701–1737 (2010)

    ADS CAS  Google Scholar 

  68. Wood, R. Cancellation of aerosol indirect effects in marine stratocumulus through cloud thinning.J. Atmos. Sci.64, 2657–2669 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  69. Stevens, B. & Feingold, G. Untangling aerosol effects on clouds and precipitation in a buffered system.Nature461, 607–613 (2009)

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  70. Small, J. D., Chuang, P. Y., Feingold, G. & Jiang, H. Can aerosol decrease cloud lifetime?Geophys. Res. Lett.36, L16806 (2009)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  71. Zuidema, P., Xue, H. & Feingold, G. Shortwave radiative impacts from aerosol effects on marine shallow cumuli.J. Atmos. Sci.65, 1979–1990 (2008)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  72. Toole, D. A. & Siegel, D. A. Light-driven cycling of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in the Sargasso Sea: closing the loop.Geophys. Res. Lett.31, L09308 (2004)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  73. Vallina, S. M., Simo, R. & Manizza, M. Weak response of oceanic dimethylsulfide to upper mixing shoaling induced by global warming.Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA104, 16004–16009 (2007)This studied modelled the sensitivity of DMS seawater concentrations to a 50% increase in CO2 and found it to be too low to be a significant offset for global warming.

    ADS CAS PubMed  Google Scholar 

  74. Gunson, J. R. et al. Climate sensitivity to ocean dimethyl sulphide emissions.Geophys. Res. Lett.33, L07701 (2006)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  75. Latham, J. & Smith, M. H. Effect on global warming of wind-dependent aerosol generation at the ocean surface.Nature347, 372–373 (1990)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  76. Korhonen, H. et al. Aerosol climate feedback due to decadal increases in Southern Hemisphere wind speeds.Geophys. Res. Lett.37 L02805 10.1029.2009GL041320 (2010)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

  77. Yang, X.-Y., Huang, R. X. & Wang, D. X. Decadal changes of wind stress over the Southern Ocean associated with Antarctic ozone depletion.J. Clim.20, 3395–3410 (2007)

    ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank our PhD adviser R. J. Charlson for guidance early in our scientific careers. This review should be seen as ‘coming both to praise and bury Caesar’ in that the good that the CLAW hypothesis has done will far outlive its use. We also thank W. E. Asher for comments on this manuscript. This is PMEL contribution number 3697.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, 98115, Washington, USA

    P. K. Quinn & T. S. Bates

Authors
  1. P. K. Quinn

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

  2. T. S. Bates

    You can also search for this author inPubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

The ideas presented here were developed jointly by P.K.Q. and T.S.B. and both authors participated actively in the writing of the manuscript and the drafting of the figures.

Corresponding author

Correspondence toP. K. Quinn.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Quinn, P., Bates, T. The case against climate regulation via oceanic phytoplankton sulphur emissions.Nature480, 51–56 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1038/nature10580

Download citation

This article is cited by

Editorial Summary

Marine biota not major driver of climate

The CLAW hypothesis advanced the idea of biological regulation of Earth's climate. In the proposed feedback loop, cloud condensation nuclei and cloud albedo are regulated up or down by oceanic phytoplankton through the medium of dimethyl sulphide emissions, such that climate remains moderate. CLAW, named after the authors of theNature article that introduced it in 1987 (Charlson, Lovelock, Andreae and Warren, seego.nature.com/alfv2n), proved influential and spawned two decades of intensive research investigating the required mechanisms. Patricia Quinn and Timothy Bates have now synthesized this sprawling field and argue that there is no strong evidence to support any of the critical steps required by CLAW. Instead, contributions by organic and non-organic compounds suggest a far more complex reality.

Advertisement

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for theNature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox.Sign up for Nature Briefing
[8]ページ先頭
©2009-2025 Movatter.jp