The influence of bubble plumes on air-seawater gas transfer velocities

被引:97
作者
Asher, WE
Karle, LM
Higgins, BJ
Farley, PJ
Monahan, EC
Leifer, IS
机构
[1] PACIFIC NW NATL LAB, MARINE SCI LAB, SEQUIM, WA 98382 USA
[2] GEORGIA INST TECHNOL, SCH EARTH & ATMOSPHER SCI, ATLANTA, GA 30332 USA
[3] UNIV CONNECTICUT, INST MARINE SCI, GROTON, CT 06340 USA
关键词
D O I
10.1029/96JC00121
中图分类号
P7 [海洋学];
学科分类号
0707 ;
摘要
Laboratory results have demonstrated that bubble plumes are a very efficient air-water gas transfer mechanism. Because breaking waves generate bubble plumes, it could be possible to correlate the air-sea gas transport velocity k(L) with whitecap coverage. This correlation would then allow k(L) to be predicted from measurements of apparent microwave brightness temperature through the increase in sea surface microwave emissivity associated with breaking waves. In order to develop this remote-sensing-based method for predicting air-sea gas fluxes, a whitecap simulation tank was used to measure evasive and invasive k(L) values for air-seawater transfer of carbon dioxide, oxygen, helium, sulfur hexafluoride, and dimethyl sulfide at cleaned and surfactant-influenced water surfaces. An empirical model has been developed that can predict k(L) from bubble plume coverage, diffusivity, and solubility. The observed dependence of k(L) on molecular diffusivity and aqueous-phase solubility agrees with the predictions of modeling studies of bubble-driven air-water gas transfer. It has also been shown that soluble surfactants can decrease k(L) even in the presence of breaking waves.
引用
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页码:12027 / 12041
页数:15
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