A parameterization of sea‐salt aerosol source function for sub‐ and super‐micron particles

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Abstract
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.

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