178 HILL 



CONCLUSION 



In this paper brief reviews have been given of the atmospheric sulfur budget 

 and of the links through which sulfur in the atmosphere exerts effects on the 

 biota or is itself affected by the biota. Certain research needs aimed at 

 obtaining a better understanding and characterization of these links were cited in 

 the course of presenting these reviews. 



One of the points of greatest interest concerns assessment of man's role in 

 affecting these interactions. The emission rate for anthropogenic sulfur is one 

 measure of that role. Even though this emission rate is one of the better known 

 transfer rates in any atmospheric budget — whether local, regional, continental, 

 or global — its importance is, in general, difficult to assess because of the lack of 

 knowledge on the same scale of accuracy of transfer rates for natural processes, 

 especially those for biogenic emission. However, in the case of sulfate removal 

 by precipitation, it does appear that man's activities may be increasingly 

 affecting the biota on a geographically large scale. 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



The author is grateful to the many members of the Department of Applied 

 Science, Brookhaven National Laboratory, who introduced him to the subject 

 matter of the present paper and who gave helpful comments on the manuscript. 

 Special thanks are due Dr. Frank W. Barvenik, University of Bridgeport, and 

 Dr. Peter H. Rich, Brookhaven National Laboratory, for patient tutelage on 

 matters biological. Dr. George M. Woodwell of Brookhaven was helpful in 

 establishing the scope of the work. Dr. James P. Friend, New York University, 

 Dr. James P. Lodge, Jr., National Center for Atmospheric Research, and 

 Dr. R. A. Rasmussen, Washington State University, kindly provided their papers 

 for citation and discussion prior to publication. 



This work was carried out under the auspices of the U. S. Atomic Energy 

 Commission. 



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