Aerosol and bacterial emissions from Baltic Seawater

Factors influencing the production of primary marine aerosol are of great importance to better understand the marine aerosols' impact on our climate. Bubble-bursting from whitecaps is considered the most effective mechanism for sea spray production, and a way of sea–air transfer for some bacterial species. Two coastal sites in the Baltic Sea were used to investigate aerosol and bacterial emissions from the bubble-bursting process by letting a jet of water hit a water surface within an experimental tank, mimicking the actions of breaking waves. The aerosol size distribution spectra from the two sites were similar and conservative in shape where the modes were centered at about 200 nm dry diameter. We found a distinct decrease in bubbled aerosol production with increasing water temperature. A clear diurnal cycle in bubbled aerosol production was observed, anticorrelated with both water temperature and dissolved oxygen, which to our knowledge has never been shown before. A link between decreasing aerosol production in daytime and phytoplankton activity is likely to be an important factor. Colony-forming bacteria were transferred to the atmosphere via the bubble-bursting process, with a linear relationship to their seawater concentration.