Surfactant effect on collective bubble bursting and aerosol emission

TL;DR

This study investigates how surfactants influence bubble bursting and aerosol emission at the ocean surface, revealing that organic materials modulate aerosol size and quantity, with implications for climate modeling.

Contribution

It provides detailed laboratory measurements of surfactant effects on bubble bursting and aerosol production, highlighting the role of organic material in sea spray emissions.

Findings

Submicron aerosol emission increased with surfactant up to an optimal concentration.

Supermicron aerosol production was suppressed by surfactant presence.

Organic composition significantly affects aerosol size and emission rates.

Abstract

Bubbles entrained by breaking waves rise to the ocean surface where they cluster and burst, emitting sea spray aerosols into the atmosphere. Bubble bursting thereby links seawater biogeochemistry and aerosol chemistry, influencing the ability of emitted aerosols to serve as cloud condensation nuclei or ice nucleating particles. The mechanisms of film drop and jet drop production are modulated by organic material present in seawater, which may affect the size, number, and composition of resulting aerosols. We disentangle the effect of surfactant on collective bursting processes using laboratory experiments with detailed bubble and aerosol measurements down to small sizes, multiple bubble size configurations, and measurements of bubble lifetime. Submicron aerosol emission, linked to film drop production, increased with surfactant up to an optimal concentration, while production of supermicron aerosols emitted through jet drop production was shut down. Our work paves the way to integrate organic composition into sea spray emission functions.