!

Dimethyl Sulfide Emissions from

Dairies and Agriculture as a Potential
Contributor to Sulfate Aerosols in the
California Central Valley
Eric Lebel
Providence College Class of 2015
Student Airborne Research Program 2014 ~ August 5, 2014
Dr. Don Blake, University of California Irvine
Josette Marrero, Research Mentor
Dimethyl sulfide
(DMS)
concentrations
seem to be
higher over the
land near the
Salton Sea
A two-tailed T-Test shows that the
means are not similar
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% &
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78 9
Variable Mean Difference 95.00% Confidence Interval t df p-Value
Lower Limit Upper Limit
LOG_LAND 0.441 0.120 0.763 2.937 14.451 0.011
LOG_SEA
! = 0.05
! H
0
= The means are the same
! H
A
= The means are different
P < 0.05,
H
0
is rejected
The DMS over the land is probably
not coming from the Salton Sea
! Methyl iodide (CH
3
I)
! Emitted from marine sources
! Longer lifetime than DMS
DMS (ppt) CH
3
I (ppt)
Air 10.5 0.35
Ground 287.3 1.14
27x
difference
3x
difference
Marine transport is unlikely due to
reactions and dilution
! Can 1419, south of
Salton Sea
! P. Alt. = 1103 ft
! DMS = 21 pptv
! There is a
significant amount
of uncertainty in
the trajectories.
The DMS likely comes from local
sources
! DMS is primarily emitted
from lactating cows in
dairies and from manure.
! Literature has reported that
DMS can be emitted from
terrestrial plants.
! Can DMS also be emitted
from other agricultural
sources as well?
Comparing DMS and Ethanol
around the Salton Sea shows some
correlation
High DMS, but low ethanol
Joshua Richardson (SARP
2012) showed that ethanol can
be a tracer for dairies.
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
0 5 10 15 20 25
[
E
t
h
a
n
o
l
]

(
p
p
t
v
)

[DMS] (pptv)
Ethanol vs. DMS Over Land Around the Salton Sea
DMS is normally emitted from
marine environments and can form
CCN and sulfur aerosols
dimethyl
sulfide
http://saga.pmel.noaa.gov/review/dms_climate.html
http://apollo.eas.gatech.edu/yhw/Cindy/tropo.htm
Oxidation of DMS in the
atmosphere can lead to aerosols
Precursor to aerosols
Main contributors
to aerosols
Reaction with OH is
most common; pathway
determines aerosol
formation
http://joseba.mpch-mainz.mpg.de/dms.htm
(Methanesulfonic acid)
(Sulfur dioxide)
(Sulfuric acid)
(DMS)
(Methanesulfinic acid)
An increase in
particle count
was found
around the same
location as the
above-average
DMS
Justin Trousdell (Bertram group)
found a spike in particle count
Central Valley, SARP 2014
The Central Valley, excluding dairies,
also shows elevated DMS
concentrations
Average DMS
<2000 ft:
12.9 pptv
Boundary excluding dairies
DMS over land near
the Salton Sea:
14 pptv
The entire
Central Valley
shows high
DMS
concentrations
! Average DMS <2000 ft
for all SARP years:
27.2 pptv
Estimates of the contribution of
DMS to aerosol formation show that
it may not be negligible
! 27.2 pptv DMS from all SARP years = 0.074 g/m
3

! 61.1% mass conversion of DMS to aerosol
! 0.045 g/m
3
aerosols from DMS
! Central Valley had an average submicron particle count of 4 g/m
3
! UHSAS data from the Bertram Group
!

0.0452g / m
3
4g / m
3
=
1.1 %
May not be negligible,
especially in the regions with
above-average DMS levels.
Chen, T.; Myoseon, J. Secondary organic aerosol formation from photooxidation of a mixture of dimethyl sulfide and isoprene. Atmospheric Environment.
2012. 46, 271-278.
More samples
should be taken in
the northern
Central Valley to
evaluate how
DMS contributes
to particle
formation
! We only sampled a small
section of the Central
Valley in 2014
Conclusions
! Elevated DMS was seen over the land around the Salton Sea.
! A spike in the particle count corresponded to higher DMS levels.
! Since DMS is known to contribute to aerosol formation, DMS
concentrations were analyzed in the Central Valley.
! Especially high concentrations of DMS were found over dairies and
in the north of the sampled region.
! Future studies should be conducted to further understand the
connection between DMS and aerosol formation in the Central
Valley.
! The estimated contribution of DMS to particle formation is not
negligible.
Acknowledgements
! Dr. Don Blake and Josette Marrero
! Dr. Jack Kaye, NASA
! Rick Shetter and Dr. Emily Schaller, NSERC
! Jen Broughton, Steve Schill
! Dr. Jessie Sagona
! Rowland-Blake Lab Group
! Nick Heath