CliSAP flexible pool: Methyl halide emissions of mangroves at the coast of Belem (Brazil)

Field measurements and implementation into a regional atmospheric meteorology and transport and chemistry model

Collaborators

• Seshagirirao Kolusu (MI)
• David Grawe (MI)
• K. Heinke Schlünzen (MI)
• Richard Seifert (IfBM)
• Frank Laturnus (IfBM)

Cooperations

• Within CliSAP

Subject

Anthropogenic and natural halomethanes or methyl halides are important sources of halogens in the troposphere where the atmospheric breakdown products are key-playing in ozone destruction. Relevant sources are oceans, sea ice and terrestrial environments such as tropical rain forests and salt marshes, with salt marshes potentially contributing about 20% of the global flux into the atmosphere. Mangroves are the tropical counterpart to salt marshes at temperate zones and were recently found to produce halomethanes in high amounts within a greenhouse experiment (Manley et al., 2007). These plants cover approximately 60-70% of the tropical coastline between 25°S and N and may thus be central source for halomethanes (Hogarh, 1999). However, field studies on emissions of methyl halides from mangroves are still not available. The main objective of this project is to determine the fluxes of halogenated compounds from mangroves into the atmosphere. The measured data will be ingested into a regional atmospheric meteorology and transport and chemistry model to determine the aerial emissions into the atmosphere is a second objective of this project. Additionally, stable carbon isotopic compositions of halomethanes will be determined to obtain information on the transformation processes of the organic compounds.

References

• Hogarth, P.J. (1999), The Biology of Mangroves, 228 pp., Oxford Univ. Press, New York
• Manley, S.L., N.-Y. Wang, M.L. Walser, and R.J. Cicerone (2007), Methyl halide emissions from greenhouse-grown mangroves , Geophys. Res. Lett., 34, L01806, doi:10.1029/2006GL027777

Results

• HYSPLIT RESULTS