Abstract
THE exchange of gases between the ocean and the atmosphere exerts an important influence on the cycling and global budget of trace gases. Air–sea gas flux is normally parameterized as the product of a gas-transfer velocity and the air–sea concentration difference1,2. Despite suggestions3–8 that the parameterization might be inappropriate when air-bubble penetration occurs, this 'thin-film' model remains widely accepted9 and is employed regularly in regional10 and global-scale11 models. Here we present a time series of ear-surface dissolved O2 from November to March in coastal waters. The time series is punctuated by sudden large increases in dissolved O2 associated with surface wave activity. A numerical simulation including air injection by bubbles shows similar behaviour. If the observed O2 'events' reflect the air–sea O2 flux, our results imply that conventional parameterizations might seriously underestimate gas invasion of surface waters under storm conditions. Our study confirms that important questions remain concerning air–sea gas transfer at high wind speeds.
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Wallace, D., Wirick, C. Large air–sea gas fluxes associated with breaking waves. Nature 356, 694–696 (1992). https://doi.org/10.1038/356694a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/356694a0
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