A universal wind-wave-bubble formulation for air-sea gas exchange and its impact on oxygen fluxes.

ABSTRACT: Bubble-mediated gas exchange associated with wave breaking is a critical pathway for ocean-atmosphere exchange of low solubility gases such as oxygen. Yet, ocean and climate models, as well as observation-based products, usually rely on wind-only air-sea flux formulations derived from carbon constraints that ignore the asymmetric nature of the bubble flux, contributing to discrepancies between estimates of oxygen inventories and their response to climate change. Without bubbles, gas exchange is controlled by a symmetric wind-driven exchange, with the ocean-atmosphere gas partial pressure difference controlling whether outgassing or uptake occurs. Bubbles entrained by wave breaking can enhance this symmetric turbulent exchange, and contribute an additional asymmetric flux, always leading to

SUBMITTER: Deike L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12478149 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature