Effect of wind speed on the size distribution of gel particles in the sea surface microlayer: insights from a wind–wave channel experiment.

Sun, Cui-Ci, Sperling, Martin and Engel, Anja (2018) Effect of wind speed on the size distribution of gel particles in the sea surface microlayer: insights from a wind–wave channel experiment. Open Access Biogeosciences (BG), 15 . pp. 3577-3589. DOI 10.5194/bg-15-3577-2018.

[thumbnail of bg-15-3577-2018.pdf]
Preview
Text
bg-15-3577-2018.pdf - Published Version
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Download (3MB) | Preview
[thumbnail of bg-15-3577-2018-supplement.pdf]
Preview
Text
bg-15-3577-2018-supplement.pdf - Supplemental Material
Available under License Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0.

Download (303kB) | Preview

Supplementary data:

Abstract

Gel particles, such as transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) and Coomassie stainable particles (CSP), are important organic components in the sea surface microlayer (SML). Here, we present results on the effect of different wind speeds on the accumulation and size distribution of TEP and CSP during a wind wave channel experiment in the Aeolotron. Total areas of TEP (TEPSML) and CSP (CSPSML) in the surface microlayer were exponentially related to wind speed. At wind speeds  <  6 m s−1, accumulation of TEPSML and CSPSML occurred, decreasing at wind speeds of  >  8 m s−1. Wind speeds  >  8 m s−1 also significantly altered the size distribution of TEPSML in the 2–16 µm size range towards smaller sizes. The response of the CSPSML size distribution to wind speed varied through time depending on the biogenic source of gels. Wind speeds  >  8 m s−1 decreased the slope of CSPSML size distribution significantly in the absence of autotrophic growth. For the slopes of TEP and CSP size distribution in the bulk water, no significant difference was observed between high and low wind speeds. Changes in spectral slopes between high and low wind speed were higher for TEPSML than for CSPSML, indicating that the impact of wind speed on size distribution of gel particles in the SML may be more pronounced for TEP than for CSP, and that CSPSML are less prone to aggregation during the low wind speeds. Addition of an E. huxleyi culture resulted in a higher contribution of submicron gels (0.4–1 µm) in the SML at higher wind speed ( >  6 m s−1), indicating that phytoplankton growth may potentially support the emission of submicron gels with sea spray aerosol.

Document Type: Article
Research affiliation: OceanRep > GEOMAR > FB2 Marine Biogeochemistry > FB2-BI Biological Oceanography
Refereed: Yes
Open Access Journal?: Yes
Publisher: Copernicus Publications (EGU)
Projects: SOPRAN, SOLAS
Expeditions/Models/Experiments:
Date Deposited: 15 Jun 2018 10:34
Last Modified: 19 Mar 2021 08:36
URI: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/43411

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item