Relating Carbon Monoxide Photoproduction to Dissolved Organic Matter Functionality

2008 ◽  
Vol 42 (9) ◽  
pp. 3271-3276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aron Stubbins ◽  
Vesper Hubbard ◽  
Guenther Uher ◽  
Cliff S. Law ◽  
Robert C. Upstill-Goddard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter

Carbon monoxide emissions by phytoplankton: evidence from laboratory experiments

2009 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valérie Gros ◽  
Ilka Peeken ◽  
Katrin Bluhm ◽  
Eckart Zöllner ◽  
Roland Sarda-Esteve ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Monoxide ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Atmospheric Chemistry ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Euphotic Zone ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Emission Rates ◽  
Direct Production ◽  
Diurnal Cycles

Environmental context. Carbon monoxide (CO) is a key component for atmospheric chemistry and its production in the ocean, although minor at the global scale, could play a significant role in the remote marine atmosphere. Up to now, CO production in the ocean was considered to mainly originate from the photo-production of dissolved organic matter (mainly under UV radiation). In this paper, we show evidence for direct production of CO by phytoplankton and we suggest it as a significant mechanism for CO production in the ocean. Abstract. In order to investigate carbon monoxide (CO) emissions by phytoplankton organisms, a series of laboratory experiments was conducted in Kiel (Germany). Nine monocultures, including diatoms, coccolithophorids, chlorophytes and cyanobacteria have been characterised. This was done by following the CO variations from monoculture aliquots exposed to photosynthetically active radiation during one or two complete diurnal cycles. All the studied cultures have shown significant CO production when illuminated. Emission rates have been estimated to range from 1.4 × 10–5 to 8.7 × 10–4 μg of CO μg chlorophyll–1 h–1 depending on the species. When considering the magnitude of the emission rates from the largest CO emitters (cyanobacteria and diatoms), this biotic source could represent up to 20% of the CO produced in oceanic waters. As global models currently mainly consider CO production from the photo-degradation of dissolved organic matter, this study suggests that biotic CO production should also be taken into account. Whether this biological production might also contribute to some degree to the previous observed non-zero CO production below the euphotic zone (dark CO production) cannot be deduced here and needs to be further investigated.

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