Polar Cooling Effect Due to Increase of Phytoplankton and Dimethyl-Sulfide Emission

• Published in: Atmosphere
• Main Authors: Ah-Hyun Kim, Seong Soo Yum, Hannah Lee, Dong Yeong Chang, Sungbo Shim
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018
• Subjects: arctic cooling effect; dimethyl-sulfide; aerosol indirect effect; sea-ice increase; climate change; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Arctic; albedo; Climate change; Phytoplankton; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos9100384; https://doaj.org/article/003b945038f3496883441ae4594e686d

The effects of increased dimethyl-sulfide (DMS) emissions due to increased marine phytoplankton activity are examined using an atmosphere-ocean coupled climate model. As the DMS emission flux from the ocean increases globally, large-scale cooling occurs due to the DMS-cloud condensation nuclei (CCN)-cloud albedo interactions. This cooling increases as DMS emissions are further increased, with the most pronounced effect occurring over the Arctic, which is likely associated with a change in sea-ice fraction as sea ice mediates the air-sea exchange of the radiation, moisture and heat flux. These results differ from recent studies that only considered the bio-physical feedback that led to amplified Arctic warming under greenhouse warming conditions. Therefore, climate negative feedback from DMS-CCN-cloud albedo interactions that involve marine phytoplankton and its impact on polar climate should be properly reflected in future climate models to better estimate climate change, especially over the polar regions.