Laboratory Studies on the Influence of Breaking Waves on Air-Sea Gas Transfer
conference paper
A large variety of low molecular weight compounds are produced or consumed in surface marine waters as a result of biologicat and/or photochemical activity. Many of these gases (e.g. carbon dioxide (COz, nitrous oxide (NzO), methane (CFI4), dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and methyl bromide (CH¡Br) a¡e relevant to climate change and may also play impoftant roles in the chemistry of the atmosphere. The rate of exchange between the ocean and the atmosphere for all of these poorly soluble gases is slow and is typically expressed as an exchange coefficient, the air-sea transfer velocity 'k'. For a non-reactive gas, this is usually assumed to be dependent on molecular and turbulent transfer i¡ the sea surface micro-layer. Values of k for different gases and their dependence on environmental conditions (in particular wind speed) are known only approximately. Most estimates of the magnitude of ihe or"- source/sink of biogenic gases have been determined from the product of the concentration difference between the atmosphere and ocean and values ofk derived from parameterisations with wind speed.
Topics
TNO Identifier
95243
Publisher
Office for Official Publications of the European Communities
Source title
Conference Proceedings - Greenhouse gases and their role in climate change: the status of research in Europe - International workshop, Orvieto, Italy, 10 to 13 November 1997
Editor(s)
Valentini, R.
Brning, C.
Brning, C.
Place of publication
Luxembourg
Pages
103-107
Files
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