Sulfur is an essential element of life in the ocean. But so far, researchers know little about the amounts of sulfur and its processes of decomposition. A research team with the participation of the AWI could now conclude a part of the knowledge gap. Their results have now been published in the journal Science.
![[Translate to English:] Schwefel ist ein fundamentaler Baustein des Lebens im Ozean, doch über dessen Kreislauf ist bislang wenig bekannt.](/fileadmin/_processed_/8/b/csm_20101201_ANTXXVII2_010_FRoedel_f805b25b99.jpg "Sulfur is a fundamental component of life in the ocean, but little is known about its cycle.")
The primary focus of the collaborative work, which included researchers from the MARUM Centre for Marine Environmental Sciences at the University of Bremen and the Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), was the role of dissolved organic sulfur compounds and their impact on climate change.
"What we know about the importance of organic sulfur in the ocean is that it is a basic building block in the composition of proteins, that large amounts of sulfur are produced from sulfates by single-celled algae, and that bacteria in the ocean require organic sulfur as a source of energy," says Professor Boris Koch. Beyond a doubt, there are sulfur compounds in the ocean that are quite climate-relevant.
In previous studies, however, scientists have focused on climate-relevant gaseous compounds. "It turns out that these components account for less than three percent of the sulfur bound by algae annually. We now know that there are at least 6.7 billion tonnes of dissolved organic sulfur in the ocean that comes from the remains of marine organisms, and about whose role we need to learn more," says Boris Koch.
The detailed press release with further information can be found on the MARUM website.