Ocean Contributions to the Marine Boundary Layer Aerosol Budget

Dear Colleagues,

Recent studies have shown that an accurate representation of natural background aerosols is critical for improved assessment of direct and indirect anthropogenic aerosol forcing. The reduction of the uncertainties over the representation of natural aerosols in climate models requires improved quantification of number, size distribution, chemical composition, and hygroscopic properties of aerosol in the marine boundary layer (MBL). This Special Issue invites contributions from modeling, field, laboratory, and satellite studies related to 1) production of sea-spray aerosol (SSA) and ocean-derived biogenic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 2) characterization of size-resolved chemical composition of aerosols in the MBL, and 3) assessments for the contribution of ocean-derived primary and secondary aerosols to the MBL cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and ice nucleating particle (INP) number budget.

This Special Issue is motivated by our perceived need to provide a platform for current discussions regarding the oceanic contribution to the MBL aerosol, CCN, and INP number concentration over different parts of the oceans. Global models estimate the production of SSA using wind speed-dependent flux parameterizations, often based on a whitecap method developed under laboratory settings. Ambient studies infer effective SSA production from the ocean using micrometeorological techniques such as the eddy covariance and the gradient method that measure total sub-micron or size-selected particle fluxes in the lowest portion of the MBL. Despite its importance, to this day the size- and composition-dependent production flux of primary SSA particles and its dependence on environmental variables remains poorly characterized. Likewise, oceanic emission rates of biogenic (VOCs) (e.g., dimethyl sulfide (DMS), isoprene, monoterpenes, and iodocarbons) leading to the secondary aerosol production in the MBL are not well constrained. The dependence of the emissions rates on types of phytoplankton and bacteria, as well as environmental parameters such as wind speed, light, and nutrients is not well quantified. Current models also do not fully address marine emission and their relationships with eco-physiological factors, evolutionary drivers, and global consequences. As a result, contribution of oceanic sources to the MBL aerosol, CCN, and INP number budgets remain poorly defined.

Prof. Dr. Nicholas  Meskhidze
Dr. Matthew Salter
Dr. Karine Sellegri
Dr. Scott  Elliott
Guest Editors

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