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Kiene Lab members attend
DMSP symposium in England
In early May I attended, along with three students and a
post-doc from my group, the fourth International Symposium
on DMS(P) and Related Compounds at the University of East
Anglia in Norwich England. DMSP is the sulfur compound that
I study in marine environments from Mobile Bay to
Antarctica. It is the precursor of dimethylsulfide (DMS), a
volatile sulfur gas that comes out of the ocean and affects
the climate system. The three-day conference was attended by
a total of sixty five researchers from around the world.
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Dr.
James E. Lovelock (left) discusses DMS with Dr. Ron
Kiene at the recent 4th International Symposium on
DMS(P) in Norwich, England. |
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Among the attendees was Dr. James E. Lovelock, best known
for developing the Gaia hypothesis, which proposes that the
Earth behaves as a living organism and is a self regulating
entity. Lovelock coined the term “Geophysiology” to describe
the role of biology in regulating the Earth’s elemental
cycles and climate system so that conditions on the planet
remain suitable for life over the long term. Although
controversial, the Gaia hypothesis has stimulated a lot of
interesting research. The reason Lovelock attended the DMS(P)
symposium was that he was a true pioneer in the field of DMS
research. He was the first scientist to discover that DMS
was present in the oceans in sufficient quantities to affect
the transfer of sulfur from the oceans to the atmosphere
where it could move around the globe. He later contributed
to the idea that DMS could affect the climate system. His
discoveries about DMS stemmed directly from his Gaian view
of the Earth.
Although Dr. Lovelock was only able to attend one day of the
conference, I had the chance to have a brief chat with him.
We discussed the mechanisms for regulation of DMS emission
from the ocean and he pointed out that it made most sense
for the system to regulate DMS emission with a strong
consumption process which lets only a little bit leak out.
This is exactly what my students and I are studying - how
exciting to hear him say that! It was a great honor to meet
such a creative scientist.
The continued success of the DMS(P) symposium series (this
was the 4th conference of its kind) is also very gratifying
to me. This is because I organized the very first
International DMSP symposium in Mobile in 1995. That initial
meeting brought together about 55 researchers and students
from around the world. Quite a few of those original
participants, including several that were students at the
time, attended this 4th Symposium. Plans are underway for
the 5th DMS(P) symposium to be held in a few years time.
(Ron Kiene)
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