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Article
Diel cycle of sea spray aerosol concentration over vast areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea
J. Michel Flores
Weizmann Institute of Science
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3609-286X
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Ocean-atmosphere interactions such as sea spray aerosol (SSA) formation have a major role in the climate system, but a global-scale assessment of this micro-scale process is highly challenging. We measured high-resolution temporal patterns of SSA number concentration over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean covering 42,000 km of open ocean waters. We discovered a ubiquitous 24-hour rhythm to the number concentration, clearly seen for particle diameters > ~ 0.58 µm, with spikes at dawn and drops at dusk throughout the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, showing more than doubling of the SSA number concentration during the day than at night. No correlation with surface winds, atmospheric radiation, pollution nor oceanic physical properties were found. Instead, parallel diel patterns in particle sizes detected in near-surface waters, attributed to variations in the size of particles smaller than ~ 1 µm, point to microbial day-to-night modulation of bubble-bursting dynamics as the cause of the SSA cycle.
Keywords
Sea Spray Aerosol, Diel Cycle, Bubble-bursting Dynamics
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Diel cycle of sea spray aerosol concentration over vast areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea
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This preprint is under consideration at a Nature Research Journal. A preprint is a preliminary version of a manuscript that has not completed peer review at a journal. Research Square does not conduct peer review prior to posting preprints. The posting of a preprint on this server should not be interpreted as an endorsement of its validity or suitability for dissemination as established information or for guiding clinical practice.
Nature journals have partnered with Research Square to offer In Review, a journal-integrated preprint deposition service.
Article
Diel cycle of sea spray aerosol concentration over vast areas of the tropical Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea
J. Michel Flores
Weizmann Institute of Science
Corresponding Author
ORCiD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3609-286X
Badges
Prescreen
This manuscript passed our Prescreen assessment
Complete author information
Appropriate declaration statements
Potential risks to human health
Prescreen
Peer Review Timeline
CURRENT STATUS: Under Review
Version 1
Posted 21 Sep, 2020
Metrics
Comments: 0
PDF Downloads: ...
HTML Views: ...
License:
This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License. Read Full License
Ocean-atmosphere interactions such as sea spray aerosol (SSA) formation have a major role in the climate system, but a global-scale assessment of this micro-scale process is highly challenging. We measured high-resolution temporal patterns of SSA number concentration over the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and the Pacific Ocean covering 42,000 km of open ocean waters. We discovered a ubiquitous 24-hour rhythm to the number concentration, clearly seen for particle diameters > ~ 0.58 µm, with spikes at dawn and drops at dusk throughout the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, showing more than doubling of the SSA number concentration during the day than at night. No correlation with surface winds, atmospheric radiation, pollution nor oceanic physical properties were found. Instead, parallel diel patterns in particle sizes detected in near-surface waters, attributed to variations in the size of particles smaller than ~ 1 µm, point to microbial day-to-night modulation of bubble-bursting dynamics as the cause of the SSA cycle.
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4