With bromine being approximately 40-100 times more effective at destroying ozone than chlorine, there has been much concern over regulating the production of CH 3 Br. Precise and accurate measurements of this trace gas and of its rates of degradation and production are necessary to better define the budget and to detect the changes in the amount of CH 3 Br in the atmosphere expected with changes in man-made emissions. Over the past 4-5 years, our understanding of the role of the ocean in this cycle has improved. The oceans have gone from being considered a large net source of CH 3 Br to being a large net sink for atmospheric CH 3 Br.
Further research is necessary.
Our research utilizes laboratory and field measurements as well as numerical models. Our ongoing research into this issue includes extending the biological production and degradation rate measurements to include measurements made in the field during research cruises. The results from these measurements are then tested for correlation to satellite measuremnts to allow us to extrapolate our results to the global ocean. The global extrapolations will be included in a numerical model to study organic bromine in the troposphere . During this cruise, measurements were made of production rates, degradation rates, and saturation states for CH 3 Br.