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The ejection of drops from the sea and their enrichment with bacteria and other materials: A review

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Abstract

This paper is a review of work done on the production of an aerosol by the sea, and on the mechanisms by which bacteria might be enriched on the aerosol. Air bubbles produced in the sea, primarily by breaking waves, burst at the surface to eject both film and jet drops into the atmosphere. These drops are mixed upward by turbulence to produce the well-known marine sea-salt aerosol. In rising through the water, the bubbles may scavenge bacteria which, when the bubble burst, are skimmed off the bubble and ejected upward with the jet drops. Depending on drop size, the distance the bubble moves through the water, and other factors, the concentration of bacteria in jet drops can be several hundred times that in the bulk water film drops can also be enriched with bacteria. The enrichment of jet and film drops with bacteria, viruses, or toxins may at times produce a health hazard for those living along the shore.

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  1. Atmospheric Sciences Research Center, State University of New York at Albany, 12222, Albany, New York

    Duncan C. Blanchard

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Blanchard, D.C. The ejection of drops from the sea and their enrichment with bacteria and other materials: A review. Estuaries 12, 127–137 (1989). https://doi.org/10.2307/1351816

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