A Wind-Wave-Dependent Sea Spray Volume Flux Model Based on Field Experiments

Sea spray can contribute significantly to the exchanges of heat and momentum across the air-sea interface. However, while critical, sea spray physics are typically not included in operational atmospheric and oceanic models due to large uncertainties in their parameterizations. In large part, this is because of the scarcity of in-situ sea spray observations which prevent rigorous validation of existing sea spray models. Moreover, while sea spray is critically produced through the fundamental interactions between wind and waves, traditionally, sea spray models are parameterized in terms of wind properties only. In this study, we present novel in-situ observations of sea spray derived from a laser altimeter through the adoption of the Beer-Lambert law. Observations of sea spray cover a broad range of wind and wave properties and are used to develop a wind-wave-dependent sea spray volume flux model. Improved performance of the model is observed when wave properties are included, in contrast to a parameterization based on wind properties alone. The novel in-situ sea spray observations and the predictive model derived here are consistent with the classic spray model in both trend and magnitude. Our model and novel observations provide opportunities to improve the prediction of air-sea fluxes in operational weather forecasting models.

Automated summary

Sea spray plays a significant role in heat and momentum exchanges between the air and sea, but is often not included in operational atmospheric and oceanic models due to uncertainties in parameterization. This is mainly due to a lack of in-situ observations of sea spray, hindering rigorous validation of existing models.