The rapid acidification of sea spray aerosols

ABSTRACT

Angle, Grassian, and Ault discuss the rapid acidification of sea spray aerosols (SSAs). The ocean has a nearly neutral pH. But the same can't be said of the microscopic drops churned up from its surface. Atmospheric aerosols, tiny solid and liquid particles suspended in the air, have profound effects on the world. High in the atmosphere, they seed clouds and thus influence weather and climate. Aerosols in the US have been regulated for many years by the Environmental Protection Agency because breathing high aerosol concentrations is connected to negative effects on the lungs, brain, and tissues. And aqueous aerosols produced by speech and coughing have made the news in the past two years as the dominant route of the spread of SARS-CoV-2.