Carbonyl sulfide measurements from a South Pole ice core and implications for atmospheric variability since the last glacial period
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: . Carbonyl sulfide (COS) is the most abundant sulfur gas in the atmosphere with links to terrestrial and oceanic productivity. We measured COS in ice core air from an intermediate depth ice core from the South Pole using both dry and wet extraction methods, recovering a 52,500-year record. We find evidence for COS production in the firn, altering the atmospheric signal preserved in the ice core. Mean sea salt aerosol concentrations from the same depth are a good proxy for the COS production, which disproportionately impacts the measurements from glacial ice with high sea salt aerosol concentrations. The COS measurements are corrected using sea salt sodium (ssNa) as a proxy for the excess COS resulting from the production. The ssNa-corrected COS record displays substantially less COS in the glacial atmosphere than the Holocene and a 2–4 fold COS rise during the deglaciation synchronous with the associated climate signal. The deglacial COS rise was primarily source driven. Oceanic emissions in the form of COS, carbon disulfide (CS2), and dimethylsulfide (DMS) are collectively the largest natural source of atmospheric COS. A large increase in ocean COS emissions during the deglaciation suggests enhancements in emissions of all three sulfur gases via processes that involve ocean productivity.
Source: Climate of the past
Institutions: University of California, Irvine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, University of Maine, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Dartmouth College, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, University of California, Los Angeles
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,725
OpenAlex ID: W4402063932