Abstract
An understanding of sea spray aerosol (SSA) production is needed to better assess its influence on climate. Using satellite data, we investigated the production of the coarse mode of aerosol optical depth (AOD c), a proxy for SSA, over the pristine South Pacific Gyre. The analysis was done on three time scales: daily, seasonal, and interannual. Scale-dependent links were shown between the AOD c and wind speed (W). AOD c and W were positively correlated on both daily and interannual time scales but were significantly anticorrelated on the seasonal time scale. Seasonality of the AOD c − W link suggests contribution of other environmental factors. The main variable that could statistically explain trends in AOD c on the seasonal time scale was chlorophyll a concentration, which showed a clear negative correlation with AOD c. The AOD c yield per W unit was clearly reduced when chlorophyll a concentration was high, suggesting a secondary, but important influence of marine biological activity on SSA production.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 8637-8646 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 45 |
Issue number | 16 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 28 Aug 2018 |
Keywords
- marine biology
- sea spray aerosol
- wind
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Geophysics
- General Earth and Planetary Sciences