Sea surface warming suppresses primary sea spray aerosol number production

Leibensperger III, Raymond J.; Hamlin, Justin D.; Herbst, Jena K.; Harb, Charbel; Kimble, Ke'La A.; Andreae, Meinrat O.; Lee, Christopher; Sandstrom, Greg; Stokes, M. Dale; Deane, Grant B.; Prather, Kimberly A.

doi:10.5194/acp-26-12211-2026

Articles | Volume 26, issue 16

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12211-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12211-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 26, issue 16

Research article

|

28 Aug 2026

Research article |

| 28 Aug 2026

Sea surface warming suppresses primary sea spray aerosol number production

Raymond J. Leibensperger III, Justin D. Hamlin, Jena K. Herbst, Charbel Harb, Ke'La A. Kimble, Meinrat O. Andreae, Christopher Lee, Greg Sandstrom, M. Dale Stokes, Grant B. Deane, and Kimberly A. Prather

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-26-12211-2026-supplement

Data sets

Data from: Increasing Sea Surface Warming Suppresses Primary Sea Spray Aerosol Number Production Raymond J. Leibensperger III et al. https://doi.org/10.6075/J01V5FXR

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Short summary

This study presents a systematic investigation of how sea surface temperature (SST) influences sea spray aerosol (SSA) production under controlled wind-wave interactions. Using the Scripps Ocean-Atmosphere Research Simulator (SOARS), we characterize how SSA emissions decrease as SST increases from 2 to 23 °C, quantifying bubble populations, steady-state SSA concentrations, and SSA emission fluxes. We derive correction factors to improve the representation of SSA emissions in climate models.