Surface exchange fluxes of heat, momentum and mass above the global oceans and at the poles (snowpack, sea-ice, ocean and land) have significant impacts on atmospheric composition, biogeochemistry and climate at regional to global scales. Atmospheric boundary layer processes mediate these chemical and physical fluxes. This session is intended to provide an interdisciplinary forum to bring together researchers working in the areas of meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air quality, biogeochemistry, stable isotope research, oceanography, and climate above the global oceans and in the polar regions.
The session focuses on new research in several areas which include: air-sea fluxes of climate-active trace gases (CO2, CH4, N2O) mediated by the atmospheric boundary layer above the oceans and in polar regions; regional emission and vertical mixing of aerosol, such as cloud-forming particles (CCN/INP) and their precursors (including dimethyl sulfide (DMS), marine organic compounds and halogenated species) and their impacts on atmospheric composition and climate; atmospheric deposition of nutrients (e.g., nitrogen, phosphorus, iron) and its impact on ocean biological systems; and biogeochemistry-climate feedback loops in the ocean-atmosphere system. We also welcome studies on how these surface fluxes may change in response to climate warming, as well as the local to large-scale influences on these exchanges. An adequate understanding and quantification of these processes is necessary to improve modeling and prediction of future changes above the oceans and in the polar regions, their teleconnections with mid-latitude weather and climate (including meridional transport of heat, moisture, chemical trace species, aerosols and isotopic tracers), and the coupling between local and large-scale dynamics.
The session has strong links to the Surface Ocean ̶ Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) and the GESAMP Working Group 38 on atmospheric input of chemicals to the ocean. Submissions are encouraged from all areas covered by these programs, using a range of analysis approaches including field measurements, remote sensing, laboratory studies, and atmospheric and oceanic numerical models.
This year we particularly welcome studies on the impact of extreme events on air-sea gas exchange of climate-relevant compounds in marine systems. Here we invite contributions addressing physical drivers such as marine heatwaves, storms and tropical cyclones, circulation anomalies or sea ice changes; biogeochemical drivers such as hypoxic or anoxic conditions and acidification pulses; biological drivers such as harmful algal blooms; or compound events. Relevant studies may address impacts in all oceanic domains; e.g., open ocean, shelf waters and shallow (< 20 m depth) coastal ecosystems. The reporting on progress as well as critical knowledge gaps in polar regions will help define upcoming research programmes as part of Antarctica InSync and the International Polar Year 2032-33.