A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting
Abstract Bubbles bursting at the ocean surface are an important source of ocean‐spray aerosol, with implications on radiative and cloud processes. Yet, very large uncertainties exist on the role of key physical controlling parameters, including wind speed, sea state and water temperature. We propose...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2022-12-01
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| Series: | AGU Advances |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022AV000750 |
| _version_ | 1797977055881592832 |
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| author | L. Deike B. G. Reichl F. Paulot |
| author_facet | L. Deike B. G. Reichl F. Paulot |
| author_sort | L. Deike |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Bubbles bursting at the ocean surface are an important source of ocean‐spray aerosol, with implications on radiative and cloud processes. Yet, very large uncertainties exist on the role of key physical controlling parameters, including wind speed, sea state and water temperature. We propose a mechanistic sea spray generation function that is based on the physics of bubble bursting. The number and mean droplet radius of jet and film drops is described by scaling laws derived from individual bubble bursting laboratory and numerical experiments, as a function of the bubble radius and the water physico‐chemical properties (viscosity, density and surface tension, all functions of temperature), with drops radii at production from 0.1 to 500 µm. Next, we integrate over the bubble size distribution entrained by breaking waves. Finally, the sea spray generation function is obtained by considering the volume flux of entrained bubbles due to breaking waves in the field constrained by the third moment of the breaking distribution (akin to the whitecap coverage). This mechanistic approach naturally integrates the role of wind and waves via the breaking distribution and entrained air flux, and a sensitivity to temperature via individual bubble bursting mechanisms. The resulting sea spray generation function has not been tuned or adjusted to match any existing data sets, in terms of magnitude of sea salt emissions and recently observed temperature dependencies. The remarkable coherence between the model and observations of sea salt emissions therefore strongly supports the mechanistic approach and the resulting sea spray generation function. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:00:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-59eaaff5dfc64042a28a90afb06e7c73 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2576-604X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T05:00:51Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | AGU Advances |
| spelling | doaj.art-59eaaff5dfc64042a28a90afb06e7c732022-12-26T00:32:38ZengWileyAGU Advances2576-604X2022-12-0136n/an/a10.1029/2022AV000750A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble BurstingL. Deike0B. G. Reichl1F. Paulot2Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Princeton University Princeton NJ USANOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Princeton NJ USANOAA Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory Princeton NJ USAAbstract Bubbles bursting at the ocean surface are an important source of ocean‐spray aerosol, with implications on radiative and cloud processes. Yet, very large uncertainties exist on the role of key physical controlling parameters, including wind speed, sea state and water temperature. We propose a mechanistic sea spray generation function that is based on the physics of bubble bursting. The number and mean droplet radius of jet and film drops is described by scaling laws derived from individual bubble bursting laboratory and numerical experiments, as a function of the bubble radius and the water physico‐chemical properties (viscosity, density and surface tension, all functions of temperature), with drops radii at production from 0.1 to 500 µm. Next, we integrate over the bubble size distribution entrained by breaking waves. Finally, the sea spray generation function is obtained by considering the volume flux of entrained bubbles due to breaking waves in the field constrained by the third moment of the breaking distribution (akin to the whitecap coverage). This mechanistic approach naturally integrates the role of wind and waves via the breaking distribution and entrained air flux, and a sensitivity to temperature via individual bubble bursting mechanisms. The resulting sea spray generation function has not been tuned or adjusted to match any existing data sets, in terms of magnitude of sea salt emissions and recently observed temperature dependencies. The remarkable coherence between the model and observations of sea salt emissions therefore strongly supports the mechanistic approach and the resulting sea spray generation function.https://doi.org/10.1029/2022AV000750aerosolsea spray aerosol emissionbubble burstingwave breaking |
| spellingShingle | L. Deike B. G. Reichl F. Paulot A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting AGU Advances aerosol sea spray aerosol emission bubble bursting wave breaking |
| title | A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting |
| title_full | A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting |
| title_fullStr | A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting |
| title_short | A Mechanistic Sea Spray Generation Function Based on the Sea State and the Physics of Bubble Bursting |
| title_sort | mechanistic sea spray generation function based on the sea state and the physics of bubble bursting |
| topic | aerosol sea spray aerosol emission bubble bursting wave breaking |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2022AV000750 |
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