Publication Date:
2003-07-12
Description:
Atmospheric chloromethane (CH3Cl) plays an important role in stratospheric ozone destruction, but many uncertainties exist regarding the strengths of its sources and sinks and particularly regarding the processes generating this naturally occurring gas. Evidence is presented here that CH3Cl is produced in many terrestrial environments by a common mechanism. Abiotic conversion of chloride to CH3Cl occurs readily in plant material, with the widespread plant component pectin acting as a methyl donor. Significant CH3Cl emissions from senescent and dead leaves were observed at ambient temperatures; those emissions rose dramatically when temperatures increased. This ubiquitous process acting in terrestrial ecosystems and during biomass burning could contribute the bulk of atmospheric CH3Cl.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Notes: 〈/span〉Hamilton, John T G -- McRoberts, W Colin -- Keppler, Frank -- Kalin, Robert M -- Harper, David B -- New York, N.Y. -- Science. 2003 Jul 11;301(5630):206-9.〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Author address: 〈/span〉Department of Agriculture and Rural Development for Northern Ireland, Newforge Lane, Belfast BT9 5PX, UK. jack.hamilton@dardni.gov.uk〈br /〉〈span class="detail_caption"〉Record origin:〈/span〉 〈a href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12855805" target="_blank"〉PubMed〈/a〉
Keywords:
Atmosphere
;
*Biomass
;
Chlorides/*chemistry
;
Ecosystem
;
Methyl Chloride/*chemistry
;
Methylation
;
Pectins/*chemistry
;
Plant Leaves/*chemistry
;
Poaceae/chemistry
;
Temperature
;
Volatilization
;
Water/analysis
;
Wood
Print ISSN:
0036-8075
Electronic ISSN:
1095-9203
Topics:
Biology
,
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Computer Science
,
Medicine
,
Natural Sciences in General
,
Physics
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