SEA SURFACE MICROLAYER

Abstract

The microlayer is involved in the heat and momentum transfer between the ocean and atmosphere and plays a vital role in the uptake of greenhouse gases by the ocean. A striking variety of physical, biological, chemical, and photochemical interactions and feedbacks occur in the ocean surface microlayer. There is a widely held presumption that the microlayer is a highly efficient and selective micro-reactor, effectively concentrating and transforming materials brought to the interface from the atmosphere and oceans by physical processes (Liss and Duce, 1997). These processes are very intriguing and potentially of great importance for remote sensing of sea surface temperature and salinity, climate change, and many other practical applications still waiting their time to come.