Collaborative Research: Spray-Mediated Gas Fluxes across the Air-Sea Interface

海洋大气科学家多年来一直在研究海洋白浪中的气泡如何影响海气界面上的气体交换。气泡在空气和水之间提供了更大的接触面积，并且淹没在气泡中的气体的超压迫使它们溶解。同样地，海洋喷雾液滴也增加了大气-海洋界面的有效表面积，但人们对它们在空气-海洋气体交换中的作用知之甚少，也不知道它们与气泡相比的有效性。了解大气中温室气体（如二氧化碳）进入全球海洋的交换对全球变暖和海洋酸化很重要。本研究将使用微物理模型和雾滴产生速率的知识来评估海喷雾在促进海气交换中的作用，并将其与其他海气交换速率和机制进行比较。

Ocean-atmosphere scientists have for many years been studying how bubbles in ocean whitecaps influence the exchange of gases across the air-sea interface. Bubbles provide greater contact surface area between air and water, and the over-pressure of gases in submerged bubbles forces their dissolution. Sea spray droplets likewise increase the effective surface area of the atmosphere-ocean interface, yet little is known of their role in air-sea gas exchange, or their effectiveness compared to bubbles. Understanding the exchange of atmospheric green-house gases such as CO2 into the global ocean is important to global warming and ocean acidification. This study will use a microphysical model and knowledge of the rate at which spray droplets are produced to evaluate the role of sea spray in enhancing air-sea gas exchange, and compare this to other sea-air gas exchange rates, and mechanisms.