A novel wave breaking framework to estimate air-sea gas transfer velocities
• Sophia E. Brumer,
• Christopher J Zappa
Sophia E. Brumer
Univ. Brest, CNRS, IRD, Ifremer, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS)

Corresponding Author:sophia.brumer@ifremer.fr

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Christopher J Zappa
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University
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## Abstract

Parameterizations of gas transfer velocities are needed for climate predictions. Single parameter models typically only include wind dependence and may readily be used in climate studies. Their application is however gas specific and limited to select environments. Mechanistic parameterizations incorporating multiple forcing factors allow modelling the transfer of gases with differing solubilities for a wide range of conditions. A novel framework is put forward to model gas transfer in the open ocean in the presence of breaking waves. It incorporates both the turbulence- and bubble-mediated transfers based on statistics determined from the breaking crest length distribution ($\Lambda(c)$). Testing the mechanistic model with measurements from the HiWinGS field campaign shows promising results for both CO\textsubscript{2} and DMS. Uncertainties remain in the quantification of bubble clouds which are at the core of the formulation of the bubble-mediated transfer.