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Influence of the Surf Zone on the Marine Aerosol Concentration in a Coastal Area

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Abstract

Sea-salt aerosol concentrations in the coastal zone are assessed with the numerical aerosol-transport model MACMod that applies separate aerosol source functions for open ocean and the surf zone near the sea–land transition. Numerical simulations of the aerosol concentration as a function of offshore distance from the surf zone compare favourably with experimental data obtained during a surf-zone aerosol experiment in Duck, North Carolina in autumn 2007. Based on numerical simulations, the effect of variations in aerosol production (source strength) and transport conditions (wind speed, air–sea temperature difference), we show that the surf-zone aerosols are replaced by aerosols generated over the open ocean as the airmass advects out to sea. The contribution from the surf-generated aerosol is significant during high wind speeds and high wave events, and is significant up to 30 km away from the production zone. At low wind speeds, the oceanic component dominates, except within 1–5 km of the surf zone. Similar results are obtained for onshore flow, where no further sea-salt aerosol production occurs as the airmass advects out over land. The oceanic aerosols that are well-mixed throughout the boundary layer are then more efficiently transported inland than are the surf-generated aerosols, which are confined to the first few tens of metres above the surface, and are therefore also more susceptible to the type of surface (trees or grass) that determines the deposition velocity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mediterranean Institute of Oceanography (MIO) - UM 110, University of Toulon - CNRS/INSU - IRD, CS 60584, 83041, Toulon cedex 9, France

    Gilles Tedeschi & Jacques Piazzola

  2. TNO, P.O. Box 96864, 2509 JG, The Hague, The Netherlands

    Alexander M. J. van Eijk

  3. LHEEA UMR CNRS 6598, LUNAM Université - Ecole Centrale de Nantes, 1 rue de la Noë, 44300, Nantes, France

    Alexander M. J. van Eijk

  4. CTBTO, Vienna International Centre, P.O. Box 1200, 1400, Vienna, Austria

    Jolanta T. Kusmierczyk-Michulec

Authors
  1. Gilles Tedeschi
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  2. Alexander M. J. van Eijk
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  3. Jacques Piazzola
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  4. Jolanta T. Kusmierczyk-Michulec
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Correspondence to Gilles Tedeschi.

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The views expressed in this study are those of the authors and not necessarily represent the views of the CTBTO Preparatory Commission.

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Tedeschi, G., van Eijk, A.M.J., Piazzola, J. et al. Influence of the Surf Zone on the Marine Aerosol Concentration in a Coastal Area. Boundary-Layer Meteorol 163, 327–350 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-016-0229-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10546-016-0229-7

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