Field-based measurements of sulfur gas emissions from an agricultural coastal acid sulfate soil, eastern Australia
Andrew S. Kinsela A F , O. Tom Denmead B , Bennett C. T. Macdonald B , Michael D. Melville C , Jason K. Reynolds D and Ian White E
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
B CSIRO Land and Water, Canberra, ACT 2061, Australia.
C School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia.
D School of Natural Sciences, University of Western Sydney, Penrith, NSW 2750, Australia.
E Fenner School of Environment and Society, Australian National University, Acton, ACT 0200, Australia.
F Corresponding author. Email: a.kinsela@unsw.edu.au
Soil Research 49(6) 471-480 https://doi.org/10.1071/SR11089
Submitted: 2 February 2011 Accepted: 25 May 2011 Published: 25 August 2011
Abstract
The emissions of biogenic hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and sulfur dioxide (SO2) play important roles in the global atmospheric sulfur (S) cycle. Field-based investigations using ultraviolet fluorescence spectroscopy show that drained acid sulfate soils (ASS) are a potentially unaccounted source of biogenic H2S and SO2. Significant diurnal variations were evident in SO2 fluxes, with average daytime measurements 9.3–16.5-fold greater than night-time emissions. Similar diurnal patterns in H2S fluxes were observed but proved statistically insignificant. The results from simultaneously collected micrometeorological measurements suggest that emissions of SO2 and H2S are most likely occurring via different processes. The SO2 fluxes are closely linked to surface soil temperature and moisture content, whereas H2S is constantly emitted from the land surface at the two study sites. Drained ASS are most likely mapped as agricultural lands rather than drained backswamps. Therefore, these areas are likely to be assigned H2S and SO2 flux values of zero in greenhouse gas species inventories. These findings suggest a need to expand these measurements to other drained ASS areas to refine regional (and possibly global) atmospheric S budgets. Further research is necessary to elucidate the sources of measured S compounds, and specifically whether they are limited to individual agricultural drainage patterns in ASS.
Additional keywords: sulfur dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, biogenic, micrometeorological.
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