Sulfur Emissions to the Atmosphere from Natural Sources

T. S. Bates

NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Seattle, WA 98115

B. K. Lamb

Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164

A. Guenther

Cooperative Institute for Research in the Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO 80303

J. Dignon

Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94550

R. E. Stoiber

Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755

Journal of Atmospheric Chemistry, 14, 315-337, 1992
Copyright ©1992 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Further electronic distribution is not allowed.

Emissions of sulfur gases from both natural and anthropogenic sources strongly influence the chemistry of the atmosphere. To assess the relative importance of these sources we have combined the measurements of sulfur gases and fluxes during the past decade to create a global emission inventory. The inventory, which is divided into 12 latitude belts, takes into account the seasonal dependence of sulfur emissions from biogenic sources. The total emissions of sulfur gases from natural sources are approximately 0.79 Tmol S/a. These emissions are 16% of the total sulfur emissions in the Northern Hemisphere and 58% in the Southern Hemisphere. The inventory clearly shows the impact of anthropogenic sulfur emissions in the region between 35° and 50°N.

• Outline of paper

1. Introduction

2. Estimates of Natural Emissions

2.1 Marine

2.1.1 Oceanic concentrations of volatile sulfur gases

2.1.2 Oceanic emissions of volatile sulfur gases

2.1.3 Oceanic emissions of non-volatile sulfur species

2.2 Terrestrial Biogenic

2.2.1 Emission measurements

2.2.1.1 Marsh and tideland emissions

2.2.1.2 Freshwater emissions

2.2.1.3 Soil emissions

2.2.1.4 Vegetation emissions

2.2.2 Emissions algorithms

2.2.3 Global inventory of terrestrial biogenic volatile sulfur emissions

2.3 Volcanic

2.4 Other Natural Sources

2.4.1 Biomass Burning

2.4.2 Aeolian dust

3. Conclusions and Acknowledgments

4. References

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