The Exchange of Matter between 

 Atmosphere and Sea 



ERIK ERIKSSON 



Institute of Meteorology, University of Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden 



THE rate of exchange of matter between atmosphere and sea has 

 not been studied to any great extent in the past except for water 

 vapor. For this the rate of evaporation from the ocean areas has 

 been estimated by various methods, including the appHcation of 

 turbulent transfer theories. This transfer is relatively simple be- 

 cause mixing conditions at the sea surface can hardly limit the 

 transfer. As to other compounds, the rate of exchange of oxygen 

 has been studied by Redfield (1948), whose results indicate that 

 conditions in the surface layer of the sea limit this rate of exchange. 

 A similar state of affairs can be anticipated also for other gases 

 in the atmosphere, including carbon dioxide. 



A considerable amount of sea salt leaves the sea surface as parti- 

 cles at a considerable rate. Thanks to the remarkable work of A. 

 H. Woodcock and his co-workers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic 

 Institution, this exchange process can be reconstructed fairly well. 

 The importance of this exchange for cloud formation and precipi- 

 tation is already well known. Another aspect of this exchange, not 

 often mentioned in the past, is the scavenging effect the sea salt 

 particles must have on finely divided matter of foreign origin, for 

 example radioactive debris, soot, and particulate matter from pollu- 

 tion sources. 



With respect to the exchange of matter, one can obviously divide 

 this into two groups: gaseous exchange and aggregate exchange, the 

 latter pertaining to the mechanical ejection of sea water droplets 

 at the sea surface and their removal by fallout and precipitation. 



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