The research results of Li Chengxuan, FIO's Research Associate, and his partner were particularly reported by Climate Change, a Sub-journal of Nature. 

The paper, titled Spatial and interannual variability in distributions and cycling of summer biogenic sulfur in the Bering Sea, was published on the well-known academic journal Geophysical Research Letters in May 2019. 

Dimethyl sulfide (DMS) is a gas from natural sources, which is known as a "negative greenhouse gas". The atmospheric oxidation product of DMS produces aerosol, which may increase the amount of condensation nucleus, improve the cloud's reflection of the of sunlight, reduce the global heat income, and mitigate or offset the greenhouse effects by CO2 and other gases to some extent. Over the past years, due to the global warming, the surface temperature of Arctic Ocean has continuously been rising, which will lead to the structural changes in marine environment and ecological system or the abrupt changes in the new patterns. The marine DMS geo-biological-chemical process will be reshaped and make important climate response. The sea waters of the North Pole plays a significant role in the global DMS geo-biological-chemical circulation. At high-altitude areas, warm sea water may accelerate the DMS production, yet such argument has not been justified by Bering Sea and other seas in the world.

The first author of the paper, Research Associate Li Chengxuan and his team completed the China's first observation task of DMS in the sea waters of Poles during the fifth Chinese national Arctic Research Expedition in 2012, and continued their observations and research in the following years. Spatial and temporal variations of DMS in the Bering Sea during the cold and warm years of 2012-2016 showed that the surface temperature of Bering Sea increased by 2.8°C in summer, the biomass of phytoplankton and the proportion of dinoflagellates increased, and the large copepods as the dominating creature is gradually replaced by small copepods, which contributes to the accumulation of DMS remarkable increase in the concentration of DMS, expansion of areas with high concentration of DMS, vertically extending to deep water areas, and increase in air-sea release of DMS by 3-5 times. Although the climate feedback effect of DMS is still controversial, if DMS may cause cloud thickening and atmospheric cooling, the increase of DMS concentration and air-sea flux in warm years can alleviate the warming in Bering Sea, the high latitude region. 

This research studied the spatial distribution characteristics and changes of DMS in Bering Sea through years of field measurement and data analysis, quantitatively evaluated the contribution of biological processes and air-sea exchange processes to the production and consumption of DMS, clarified the response of marine DMS to rapid environmental changes in the Arctic Ocean and its potential climatic effects, created innovative knowledge about the production turnover process of the global DMS, and provided an important scientific basis for in-depth study of the response of Arctic waters to regional and global ecological effects and climate change.