Sea Spray Droplet Transport in Controlled Atmospheric Turbulence

Despite its central role in climate and weather systems, the fundamental physical mechanisms governing sea spray transport remain poorly understood. In particular, the interplay between turbulence, gravity, and inertia is absent from most current models. Sea spray generation and transport shape air–sea fluxes and influence atmospheric processes, yet models often rely on tracer-diffusion assumptions and empirical data from quiescent-air experiments. This neglects the roles of inertia and turbulence, especially for droplets in the 10–100 μm range where discrepancies in the sea spray generation function (SSGF) persist. We present new laboratory experiments that decouple and independently control droplet formation, surface waves, and air turbulence. The core facility is a custom-built octagonal tank with programmable bubble injection to control sea spray, synthetic jet arrays to generate atmospheric turbulence, and dynamic wave control. Using multiscale optical diagnostics—including simultaneous PIV/PTV—we resolve both airflow and droplet motion to directly quantify the effects of turbulence and inertia. Preliminary results reveal a marked influence of turbulence with strong deviations from tracer-like behavior—underscoring the need for inertia-aware turbulent transport models. This talk will outline the motivation, experimental approach, early results, and implications for SSGF models and atmospheric transport.