Sea spray
[2] SSA has the ability to form cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and remove anthropogenic aerosol pollutants from the atmosphere.
[4] Sea spray is directly (and indirectly, through SSA) responsible for a significant degree of the heat and moisture fluxes between the atmosphere and the ocean,[5][6] affecting global climate patterns and tropical storm intensity.
Because sea spray is generated when air is mixed into the ocean, formation gradients are established by turbulence of the surface water.
[10] However, particles of seawater generated in this way are often too heavy to remain suspended in the atmosphere and usually are deposited back to the sea within a few dozen meters of transport.
When primary productivity peaks during the summer, algal blooms can generate an enormous amount of organic matter that is eventually incorporated into sea spray.
At high winds the droplet evaporation layer (DEL) influences the surface energy heat exchange of the ocean.
[6] During the formation of whitecaps, sea spray droplets exhibit the same properties as the ocean surface, but rapidly adapt to surrounding air.
[20] SSA has a low albedo, but its presence overlaid on the darker ocean surface affects absorption and reflectance of incoming solar radiation.
[6] In addition, sea spray enhances the air/sea enthalpy flux during high winds as a result of temperature and humidity redistribution in the marine boundary layer.
[24][25][26] It has been shown through several numerical and theoretical studies that sea spray, if present in significant amounts in the atmospheric boundary layer, leads to saturation of air-sea drag coefficients.
[27][28] Salt deposition from sea spray is the primary factor influencing distribution of plant communities in coastal ecosystems.
For example, one study showed that sea spray in Wales, UK delivers roughly 32 kg of potassium per hectare to coastal sand dunes each year.
However, the microbial community in sea spray is often distinct from nearby water and sandy beaches, suggesting that some species are more biased towards SSA transportation than others.
[14] This suggests that sea spray in every coastal region likely has its own unique assemblage of microbial diversity, with thousands of new OTUs yet to be discovered.
[14] Scientists have conjectured a stream of airborne microorganisms circles the planet above weather systems but below commercial air lanes.
These results are often of great interest to marine industries, whose products may suffer extreme acceleration of corrosion and subsequent failure due to salt water exposure.
