Question: What is 'sea spray' and how is it caused?:)

Dave Sproson answered on 15 Jun 2011:

Hey Kris,

Sea spray is just small droplets of water that are sprayed into the air from the surface of the ocean. They can be all sorts of sizes, from the size of small raindrops (called spume droplets — I love that name!) which are ripped off the tops of waves by the winds, or they can be much, much smaller droplets that are usually created by bubbles bursting on the surface of the ocean.

These droplets are important for all sorts of reasons: they help produce clouds, reflect some sunlight back into space, helping the keep the planet cool, provide a surface for many chemical reactions to happen on, and they also help in the exchange of energy (or heat) between the ocean and the atmosphere. This is what I’m working on: can this exchange of energy help to power typhoons and hurricanes? Hopefully one day soon I’ll find this out!