ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a description of the basic analytical tools required to measure dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), and describes a method which has been used to estimate in situ rates of DMS turnover. The flux of the biogenic sulfur gas, DMS, from natural environments represents a major input of sulfur to the Earth's atmosphere. In addition, the flux of DMS has important implications for the chemistry of the troposphere and, possibly, climate regulation. Most of the DMS in seawater appears to be derived from the degradation of DMSP, which is produced in large amounts by some phytoplankton. Investigations of DMS and DMSP cycling offer the marine microbial ecologist some unique opportunities to study the interactions of microorganisms in the sea. The most common approach to measuring DMS in seawater involves the use of a purge-and-trap system combined with a gas chromatograph and flame photometric detector.
