Marine productivity and sea spray organic matter connected by the microbiology of plankton demise

While some studies have asserted that the enrichment of OM in sea spray aerosol is independent on marine productivity, others, on the contrary, have shown significant correlation with phytoplankton biomass and productivity Chl-a retrieved by satellites. However, the processes that link phytoplankton biomass and productivity to the OM enrichment in sea spray aerosol are far from being understood and modeling predictions remain highly uncertain. This study present new results illustrating a clear dependence of OM mass-fraction enrichment in sea spray on both phytoplankton-biomass, determined from Chlorophyll-a and Net Primary Productivity. We suggest the observed dependence is through the demise of the bloom, driven by nanoscale biological processes (such as viral infections), releasing large quantities of transferable OM comprising cell debris, exudates and other colloidal materials, leading to enrichment in sea-spray. This study shows an important coupling between biologically-driven plankton bloom termination, marine productivity and sea-spray modification with potentially significant climate impacts.