Supervisors: Dr Hakase Hayashida (hakase.hayashida@utas.edu.au), Pat Wongpan, and A. Prof Delphine Lannuzel
Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a biogenic source of sulfate aerosol that influences the climate system by attenuating solar radiation and altering cloud properties. Recent field observations suggest that DMS may play a dominant role in the aerosol and cloud formation along the Antarctic coast where DMS is produced by marine microbes that reside on top, in, and under sea ice. However, the role of DMS remains unclear especially over the regional scale, partly due to the lack of compilation of DMS data. This project aims to address this research gap by collating the DMS and ancillary data (e.g., ice and snow thicknesses, temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll content) collected over the last few decades in Antarctic snow, sea-ice cores and underlying seawater. The collated data will be used to analyse and understand the spatial and temporal variability in the DMS distribution in ice covered areas and its potential links to the changes in the atmospheric DMS and oxidation products. After compilation, the data will be hosted on the AAD’s ASPeCt and SOOS database, made publically available and ready for model evaluation.
To apply: the Undergraduate Scholarship application form can be found here