Abstract
A parameterization of sea-salt aerosol source function for sub- and super-micron particles
A parameterization of sea-salt aerosol source function for sub- and super-micron particles
S. L. Gong
Air Quality Research Branch, Meteorological Service of Canada, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
A parameterization of a sea-salt source function for both sub- and super-micron particles was developed based on the semi-empirical
formulation of
Monahan et al. [1986]
. This new parameterization extends the range of Monahan's equation to below 0.2 μm in diameter where it has been found to
overestimate submicron sea-salt aerosols, especially the sea-salt number concentrations. The new parameterization was used
in a one-dimensional (1-D) column model to predict the number size distributions and compared with reasonable agreement to
the observed distributions at various wind speeds reported by
O'Dowd et al. [1997]
. A global 3-D sea-salt simulation with this parameterization was also made and a much better dependence of sea-salt on surface
wind speed was predicted than other schemes compared to observations. For an indirect impact assessment of sea-salt aerosols
on climate where submicron particles may have a dominant contribution to aerosol-cloud interactions, this scheme provides
the most realistic number flux of sea-salt particles between ocean and atmosphere.
Received 8
April
2003;
accepted 5
August
2003;
published 10
October
2003.
Citation: Gong, S. L.
(2003),
A parameterization of sea-salt aerosol source function for sub- and super-micron particles,
Global Biogeochem. Cycles,
17(4),
1097,
doi:10.1029/2003GB002079.