A global database of sea surface dimethylsulfide (DMS) measurements and a procedure to predict sea surface DMS as a function of latitude, longitude, and month

A database of 15,617 point measurements of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in surface waters along with lesser amounts of data for aqueous and particulate dimet hylsulfoniopropionate concentration, chlorophyll concentration, sea surface salinity and temperature, and wind speed has been assembled. The database was processed to create a series of climatological annual and monthly 1 deg rees x1 degrees latitude-longitude squares of data. The results were compar ed to published fields of geophysical and biological parameters. No signifi cant correlation was found between DMS and these parameters, and no simple algorithm could be found to create monthly fields of sea surface DMS concen tration based on these parameters. Instead, an annual map of sea surface DM S was produced using an algorithm similar to that employed by Conkright et al. [1994]. In this approach, a first-guess field of DMS sea surface concen tration measurements is created and then a correction to this field is gene rated based on actual measurements. Monthly sea surface grids of DMS were o btained using a similar scheme, but the sparsity of DMS measurements made t he method difficult to implement. A scheme was used which projected actual data into months of the year where no data were otherwise present.