OXIDATION OF ATMOSPHERIC REDUCED SULFUR-COMPOUNDS - PERSPECTIVE FROM LABORATORY STUDIES

Results of laboratory experiments which address the course of the OH+D MS (dimethyl sulphide) reaction in the atmosphere are presented. It is shown that OH reacts via a complex sequence of reactions to produce C H3S and other products, and argued that NO3 is unlikely to be an impor tant oxidizer of DMS in the marine boundary layer because it is very e fficiently taken up by water droplets. A simplified mechanism for the oxidation of DMS in the troposphere is presented. This mechanism expla ins some of the field observations on the end products of DMS oxidatio n and their variations with temperature.