Effect of elevated <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> on trace gas production during an ocean acidification mesocosm experiment

Abstract. A mesocosm experiment was conducted in Wuyuan Bay (Xiamen), China to investigate the effects of elevated pCO2 on phytoplankton species and production of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) as well as four halocarbon compounds (CHBrCl2, CH3Br, CH2Br2, and CH3I). Over a period of 5 weeks, P. tricornutum outcompeted T. weissflogii and E. huxleyi, comprising more than 99 % of the final biomass. During the logarithmic growth phase (phase I), DMS concentrations in high pCO2 mesocosms (1000 µatm) were 28.2 % lower than those in low pCO2 mesocosms (400 µatm). Elevated pCO2 led to a delay in DMSP-consuming bacteria attached to T. weissflogii and P. tricornutum and finally resulted in the delay of DMS concentration in the HC treatment. Unlike DMS, the elevated pCO2 did not affect DMSP production ability of T. weissflogii or P. tricornutum throughout the 5 week culture. A positive relationship was detected between CH3I and T. weissflogii and P. tricornutum during the experiment, and there was a 40.2 % reduction in mean CH3I concentrations in the HC mesocosms. CHBrCl2, CH3Br, and CH2Br2 concentrations did not increase with elevated chlorophyll a (Chl a) concentrations compared with DMS(P) and CH3I, and there were no major peak in the HC or LC mesocosms. In addition, no effect of elevated pCO2 was identified for any of the three bromocarbons.