Field Measurements of Ocean Wave Whitecap-Induced Bubbles

这项研究的目标是测量活跃的白浪中的气泡及其在海洋表面形成的泡沫结构，作为风速和海风驱动海洋近表面边界层化学物质的函数。现场观测将使用液体机器人波浪滑翔机（LRWG）进行，包括对海浪白浪的各种远程相机观测以及原位气泡和泡沫传感器。这项工作的动机在于波浪携带的气泡和泡沫在二氧化碳运输、气溶胶形成、海洋反照率以及生物活性和气候相关物质的海洋到大气运输中发挥的关键作用。该项目将支持两名海洋科学的暑期本科生实习生，并由调查人员参与海洋科学展望系列讲座，这是一个由斯克里普斯伯奇水族馆主办的公共宣传工具。该项目旨在：确定气泡形成对气泡大小的尺度依赖性，以及是否可以使用破波噪声在白浪中测量气泡形成率；探讨海洋白浪中表面活性分子对泡沫的稳定作用并使用图像来检查风驱动海洋中白浪泡沫的时变结构。实地研究将在一个液体机器人波浪滑翔机上进行，该滑翔机将在概念点附近的开阔海域进行。将部署四个主要的传感系统：一个水下摄像机，用于测量主动破裂白浪内部的气泡；一个4元水听器阵列，用于测量水下白浪的噪音；安装在桅杆上的摄像机，用于测量白浪泡沫的横截面积、衰变时间和结构；安装在船体上的传感器，用于测量表面张力和生物生产力的代理。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The goal of the study is to measure bubbles within active whitecaps and the structure of the foam they form on the surface of the ocean, as a function of wind speed and chemistry in the near surface boundary layer in wind-driven seas. Field observations will be made using a Liquid Robotics Wave Glider (LRWG) and include a variety of remote camera observations of ocean wave whitecaps and in situ bubble and foam sensors. The motivation for this work lies in the critical role wave-entrained bubbles and foam play in CO2 transport, aerosol formation, ocean albedo, and the sea to atmosphere transport of biologically active and climatically relevant material. The project will support two summer undergraduate interns in marine science and participation by the investigators in the Perspectives on Ocean Science lecture series, a public outreach vehicle hosted by the Birch Aquarium at Scripps.The project aims to: determine the scale-dependence of bubble creation on bubble size and whether bubble creation rates can be measured within whitecaps using breaking wave noise; address the stabilization of surface foam by surface-active molecules in oceanic whitecaps; and use images to examine the time-varying structure of whitecap foam in wind-driven seas. The field study will be staged on a Liquid Robotics Wave Glider in the open ocean waters off Point Conception. Four primary sensory systems will be deployed: a sub-surface camera to measure bubbles inside actively breaking whitecaps, a 4-element hydrophone array to measure whitecap noise underwater, mast-mounted cameras to measure the cross-sectional area, decay time and structure of whitecap foam, and hull-mounted sensors to provide measurements of surface tension and proxies for biological productivity.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.