Measurements of five sulfur isotopes in sulfate aerosol, sulfur dioxide, and coal samples from China suggest that sulfate aerosols enriched in 33S are produced by photochemical reactions in the stratosphere, whereas sulfates depleted in 36S result from biomass and fossil fuel combustion, with implications for understanding sources of present-day atmospheric sulfates as well as the evolution of early Earth's atmosphere.
Article #18-03420: "Five-S-isotope evidence of two distinct massindependent sulfur isotope effects and implications for the modern and Archean atmospheres," by Mang Lin et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Mang Lin, Tokyo Institute of Technology, JAPAN; tel: +86-13570398203; e-mail: <m6lin@ucsd.edu>; Mark Thiemens, University of California, San Diego, CA; tel: 858-534-6882, 858-344-3084; e-mail: <mthiemens@ucsd.edu>; Yanan Shen, University of Science And Technology of China, Hefei, CHINA; e-mail: <yashen@ustc.edu.cn>
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Journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences