CAREER: Quantifying the Sea Salt Aerosol Size Distribution in the Coastal Atmosphere: The Role of Wind and Waves

University Of Hawaii, Honolulu

Investigators

Abstract

This study will investigate the role of wind, waves, and other atmospheric and oceanic properties that influence the production of sea salt aerosol in coastal environments of three Pacific islands. Sea salt aerosol are natural particles suspended in the atmosphere, formed at the ocean surface from breaking waves and bursting bubbles. Despite their small size, they are important in the marine atmosphere as they directly and indirectly impact phenomena including solar radiation and cloud formation. However, due to scientists’ incomplete understanding of the sizes and number of particles produced by breaking waves, especially in coastal regions, it is difficult to assess their impacts. This study will use low-cost, 3D-printed instrumentation both for sampling sea salt aerosol, and for observing weather on multiple Pacific islands. Enhanced estimation of the amount of sea salt in the atmosphere and additional real time weather information will improve weather and climate predictions worldwide. Also, using high-quality, low-cost, hand-made instrumentation allows for this work to be accessible and engaging for students in a unique way, highlighting the role of curiosity, problem solving, and hands-on methodology from start to finish. The goal of this work is to investigate the role of the coastal environment in determining the size distribution of sea salt aerosol particles (SSA) measured in-situ within the coastal marine boundary layer. SSAs are especially important due to their role in direct and indirect radiative effects, including aerosol-cloud interactions, providing one of the largest uncertainties in future climate scenarios. It is notoriously difficult to measure large coarse mode SSA (> 3 microns), and as such, few observations of this size range exist. Using portable, low-cost, 3D-printed and Arduino controlled instrumentation, this study will regularly measure coarse mode SSA size distributions under a wide variety of environmental conditions and in multiple locations in order to provide a consistent, quantifiable, and climatological understanding of SSA production in tropical coastal environments. In addition, 3D-Printed Automatic Weather Stations (3D-PAWS) will be built and installed by undergraduate students in area schools on Oʻahu and training workshops will be provided on two additional Pacific Islands to jumpstart cyberinfrastructure and build capacity for atmospheric monitoring on remote Pacific islands. These efforts will lower barriers and create opportunities by providing the foundation for learning and implementing applicable science. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.