In situ laboratory sea spray production during the Marine Aerosol Production 2006 cruise on the northeastern Atlantic Ocean
article
Bubbles bursting from whitecaps are considered to be the most effective mechanism for particulate matter to be ejected into the atmosphere from the Earth's oceans. To realistically predict the climate effect of marine aerosols, global climate models require process-based understanding of particle formation from bubble bursting. During a cruise on the highly biologically active waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean in the summer of 2006, the submicrometer primary marine aerosol produced by a jet of seawater impinging on a seawater surface was investigated. The produced aerosol size spectra were centered on 200 nm in dry diameter and were conservative in shape throughout the cruise. The aerosol number production was negatively correlated with dissolved oxygen (DO) in the water (r < -0.6 for particles of dry diameter D<sub>p</sub> > 200 nm). An increased surfactant concentration as a result of biological activity affecting the oxygen saturation is thought to diminish the particle production. The lack of influence of chlorophyll on aerosol production indicates that hydrocarbons produced directly by the photosynthesis are not essential for sea spray production. The upward mixing of deeper ocean water as a result of higher wind speed appears to affect the aerosol particle production, making wind speed influence aerosol production in more ways than by increasing the amount of whitecaps. The bubble spectra produced by the jet of seawater was representative of breaking waves at open sea, and the particle number production was positively correlated with increasing bubble number concentration with a peak production of 40-50 particles per bubble. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.
Topics
Aerosol particlesAerosol productionAerosol sizeAtlantic OceanBiological activitiesBreaking wavesBubble burstingClimate effectsEffective mechanismsGlobal climate modelIn-situMarine aerosolsNumber concentrationOcean waterOxygen saturationParticle formationsParticle numbersParticle productionParticulate MatterSea spraySubmicrometersSurfactant concentrationsWind speedChlorophyllClimate modelsDissolutionDissolved oxygenDissolved oxygen sensorsHydrocarbonsOceanographyPorphyrinsSeawaterSurface active agentsWind effectsAtmospheric aerosolsaerosol formationbubbleclimate effectclimate modelingcorrelationdissolved oxygenhydrocarbonin situ measurementlaboratory methodmarine environmentphotosynthesisseawaterspectrumsummerAtlantic OceanAtlantic Ocean (Northeast)Vindula arsinoe
TNO Identifier
347464
ISSN
01480227
Source
Journal of Geophysical Research D: Atmospheres, 115(6), pp. 1-19.
Article nr.
No.: D06201
Pages
1-19