Sea-Surface Chemistry and Its Impact on the Marine Boundary Layer

The abundance of organic compounds at the surface of oceans provides a link between ocean biogeochemistry and the atmospheric chemistry of the marine boundary layer through physicochemical processes at and near the air-water interface. These processes, in turn, affect the formation and growth of marine boundary layer aerosols, being involved in primary and secondary aerosol formation and evolution in the atmosphere. The photochemistry and photosensitizing properties of the kinds of biogenically derived organic coatings present at the ocean surface have until now only been suggested but never fully addressed. We present the current state of understanding, and make some suggestions for where the field may go, for greater understanding of the possible feedbacks of air/sea exchanges on air quality and climate change. © 2012 American Chemical Society.