A Numerical Study of Sea-Spray Aerosol Motion in a Coastal Thermal Internal Boundary Layer

A three-dimensional large-eddy simulation model is applied to the study of sea-spray aerosol transport, dispersion and settling in the coastal thermal internal boundary layer (IBL) formed by cool airflow from the open sea to the warm land. An idealized situation with constant inflow from the ocean and constant heat flux over the coastal land is considered. The numerical results confirm that the thickness of the coastal thermal IBL increases with the distance from the coastline until the outer edge of the IBL penetrates into the capping inversion layer. The thickness increases also with time until a fully-developed thermal boundary layer is formed. In addition, the thickness of the coastal thermal IBL increases more rapidly when the heat flux over the land is greater. Existence of large-scale eddies within the thermal IBL is identified and the turbulence intensity within the thermal IBL is also found to be significantly higher than that above. It is also indicated that the vertical position of the maximum concentration does not occur at the surface but increases as sea-spray aerosols are transported inland. The vertical position of the maximum flux of sea-spray aerosols within the coastal thermal IBL is shown to coincide with that of the maximum vertical velocity fluctuations when the coastal thermal IBL is fully developed with increased distance in the airflow direction.