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Science 11 February 1972:
Vol. 175. no. 4022, pp. 587 - 596
DOI: 10.1126/science.175.4022.587
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Articles

The Sulfur Cycle

W. W. Kellogg 1, R. D. Cadle 1, E. R. Allen 1, A. L. Lazrus 1, and E. A. Martell 1

1 National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado 80303

Even granting our uncertainties about parts of our model of the sulfur cycle, we can draw some conclusions from it:

1) Man is now contributing about one half as much as nature to the total atmospheric burden of sulfur compounds, but by A.D. 2000 he will be contributing about as much, and in the Northern Hemisphere alone he will be more than matching nature.

2) In industrialized regions he is overwhelming natural processes, and the removal processes are slow enough (several days, at least) so that the increased concentration is marked for hundreds to thousands of kilometers downwind.

3) Our main areas of uncertainty, and ones that demand immediate attention because of their importance to the regional air pollution question, are: (i) the rates of conversion of H2S and SO2 to sulfate particles in polluted as well as unpolluted atmospheres; (ii) the efficiency of removal of sulfur compounds by precipitation in polluted air. And for a better understanding of the global model we need to know: (i) the amount of biogenic H2S that enters the atmosphere over the continents and coastal areas; (ii) means of distinguishing man-made and biogenic contributions to excess sulfate in air and precipitation; (iii) the volcanic production of sulfur compounds, and their influence on the particle concentration in the stratosphere; (iv) the large-scale atmospheric circulation patterns that exchange air between stratosphere and troposphere (although absolute amounts of sulfate particles involved are small relative to the lower tropospheric burden); (v) the role of the oceans as sources or sinks for SO2.


THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Dimethyl Sulfoxide Exposure Facilitates Phospholipid Biosynthesis and Cellular Membrane Proliferation in Yeast Cells.
Y. Murata, T. Watanabe, M. Sato, Y. Momose, T. Nakahara, S.-i. Oka, and H. Iwahashi (2003)
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Termites: A Potentially Large Source of Atmospheric Methane, Carbon Dioxide, and Molecular Hydrogen.
P. R. Zimmerman, P. R. ZIMMERMAN, J. P. GREENBERG, S. O. WANDIGA, and P. J. CRUTZEN (1982)
Science 218, 563-565
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Responses of Hawaiian Plants to Volcanic Sulfur Dioxide: Stomatal Behavior and Foliar Injury.
W. E. WINNER and H. A. MOONEY (1980)
Science 210, 789-791
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Atmospheric Sulfur Aerosol Concentrations and Characteristics from the South American Continent.
D. R. LAWSON and J. W. WINCHESTER (1979)
Science 205, 1267-1269
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Estimate of the Contribution of Biologically Produced Dimethyl Sulfide to the Global Sulfur Cycle.
P. J. Maroulis, P. J. MAROULIS, and A. R. BANDY (1977)
Science 196, 647-648
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Environmental Impact of a Geothermal Power Plant.
R. C. Axtmann and R. C. Axtmann (1975)
Science 187, 795-803
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Sulfur Dioxide Contributions to the Atmosphere by Volcanoes.
R. E. Stoiber, R. E. Stoiber, and A. Jepsen (1973)
Science 182, 577-578
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Atmospheric Sulfur: Its Effect on the Chemical Weathering of New England.
N. M. Johnson, N. M. Johnson, R. C. Reynolds, and G. E. Likens (1972)
Science 177, 514-516
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