The daily process of oceans sending sprays of salty seawater into the atmosphere might actually have beneficial effects on the lifetime of clouds, according to researchers at the Colorado State University. The study says that sea sprays are a source of ice nucleating particles, which are microscopic bits that make their way into clouds and stimulate the formation of ice, which can have positive effects on the composition and lifetime of the clouds.
"The presence of these particles is critically important for precipitation and the lifetime of clouds, and consequently, for their radiative properties," Paul DeMott, who worked on the study, said in a press release.
The importance of clouds, which cover approximately 60 percent of the Earth's surface at any given moment, cannot be understated; their ability to reflect solar energy and absorb terrestrial radiation means they have huge effects on the climate of the Earth. However, these processes largely hinge on the number, size and nature of the droplets and ice particles that they possess.
The study examined the ability of ocean waves to send sea spray aerosols into the air - in particular the biological and chemical makeup of these particles and the transformations that they make - and how these processes are connected to cloud formations.
Global climate models thus far have underestimated the level of short-wave radiation in regions of the world with a high percentage of their land covered by oceans and this study offers a potential explanation for this. "Our paper gives a clearer picture of the behavior of major classes of atmospheric aerosols in cold clouds -factors that need to go into global-scale climate modeling," DeMott said.
"The development of clouds and precipitation is a core issue for understanding weather and climate processes. By studying ice nuclei, which can be considered a building block for clouds, these researchers will help piece together the puzzle of how clouds and precipitation form, especially over remote oceanic regions," said Nick Anderson of the National Science Foundation's Division of Atmospheric and Geospace Sciences, which funded the research.
The findings were published in the Dec. 21 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
