Increasing Sea Surface Temperature Suppresses Sea Spray Aerosol-mediated Microplastics Emission

Floating marine plastics weather and fragment into microplastics (MP ≤10 µm), which are emitted to the atmosphere via sea spray aerosol (SSA) for long-distance transport. Yet the ocean-air cycling of MPs and environmental controls on their transfer fluxes remain largely unclear. A novel study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology integrates lab simulations and model calculations to quantify sea surface temperature (SST) effects on size-resolved MP's emission via SSA. Higher SST weakens bubble scavenging and interfacial MP accumulation during bubble rupture to hinder sea-to-air MP transfer. A high-resolution global oceanic MP emission inventory was built, accounting for SST variations, estimating annual SSA mediated MP emissions of 3.85–23.32 tonnes.

Reference: Hu J., Li J., Tsona Tchinda N., et al. (2026). Increasing sea surface temperature suppresses sea spray aerosol-mediated microplastics emission. Environ. Sci. Technol., https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.6c02083