the summer and into the fall--means it is likely that even in winter, when
such substances may not be produced, large amounts would still be present in
surface waters. If in fact there is a fairly constant source of halomethanes be-
neath the ice pack, any lead, crack, polynya or open water could provide a flux
of these gases to the atmosphere at any time. In this case the question of the
possible origins of the Arctic springtime atmospheric pulse of bromine then
becomes one of physics and ice dynamics. That is, how often, and for how
long, are open-water areas present in the Arctic during the dark winter and
early spring?
Finally, in pursuing our questions of possible biological sources of these
gases, it will be of interest for us to examine our halocarbon data at particular
stations in collaboration with information provided by other AOS-94 col-
leagues. While halomethane concentrations may not be directly correlated
with bulk phytoplankton biomass, they might demonstrate some correlation
with the presence or species abundance of particular ice algae or phytoplank-
ton identified by other researchers during the expedition.
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