Generating and Characterizing Marine Aerosols in the Laboratory

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Fog frequently reduces visibility, causing delays, hazardous conditions and loss of economic activity. Droplets, such as in fog and clouds, form by water condensing on pre-existing particles in the atmosphere. A likely source of these particles in marine and coastal environments is the ocean. Although oceans cover 70% of the earth's surface, current model predictions of their contribution to atmospheric particle mass vary over two orders of magnitude. In addition, recent research has confirmed that a previously unaccounted for organic component is emitted from the ocean into the atmosphere and could be affecting the ability of the particles to act as droplets. Both of these add uncertainty in the contributions of oceans to droplet number and formation, which affect visibility in fogs and reflectivity in clouds.