Sea spray aerosol flux estimation based on long-term variation of wave statistics

Abstract

This note provides estimates of the mean sea spray aerosol flux based on long-term wave statistics using the whitecap method based on the limiting steepness and threshold vertical acceleration criteria. The aim is to present a procedure demonstrating how global wave statistics can be used to give estimates of the long-term aerosol flux. These estimates are obtained by using bivariate distributions of significant wave height and characteristic wave period, representing open ocean deep water waves in the Northern North Sea and the North Atlantic.

Keywords

• Sea spray aerosol flux
• Whitecap coverage
• Significant wave height
• Spectral peak period
• Mean zero-crossing wave period
• Bivariate distributions