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Long-term high-frequency measurements of dibromomethane in the atmosphere at algae-rich and algae-poor coastal sites

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Abstract

Dibromomethane (CH2Br2), a natural stratospheric ozone depleting substance, is mostly emitted from the ocean, but the relative importance of coastal (or macroalgae) and open ocean emissions is unknown. We made long-term high-frequency measurements of CH2Br2 concentrations at two remote coastal sites in Japan, on the subtropical Hateruma Island (poor in macroalgae) and at Cape Ochiishi (rich in macroalgae). CH2Br2 concentrations at Hateruma showed prominent seasonal variation, being lower in summer (around 0.94 ppt) than in winter (around 1.23 ppt). In contrast, CH2Br2 concentrations at Ochiishi were highly variable, often exceeding 2 ppt in the summer but with minimum baseline concentrations close to those from Hateruma; in the winter the concentrations were almost constant at about 1.3 ppt. Analysis of the data suggested that (1) emissions from macroalgae were not likely to extend offshore, but instead were localized near the shore, (2) strong macroalgal emissions of CH2Br2 were almost limited to the summer, but it was not reflected in the seasonality of the baseline concentrations of CH2Br2 in the atmosphere, and therefore (3) macroalgal or coastal emissions of CH2Br2 in the temperate zone might have a rather limited contribution to the global CH2Br2 sources. These findings are especially important for the understanding of the tropospheric and stratospheric bromine budget.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Nobukazu Oda and other staff members of the Global Environmental Forum Foundation (GEFF) for their great help in maintenance of the analytical systems and stations. This work was partly supported by the Global Environment Fund (Ministry of the Environment of Japan).

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  1. National Institute for Environmental Studies, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8506, Japan

    Yoko Yokouchi, Takuya Saito & Hitoshi Mukai

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  1. Yoko Yokouchi
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  2. Takuya Saito
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  3. Hitoshi Mukai
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Correspondence to Yoko Yokouchi.

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Yokouchi, Y., Saito, T. & Mukai, H. Long-term high-frequency measurements of dibromomethane in the atmosphere at algae-rich and algae-poor coastal sites. J Atmos Chem 75, 171–180 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10874-017-9370-z

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