A Model for the Transport of Sea-Spray Aerosols in the Coastal Zone

We study the dynamics of sea-spray particles in the coastal region of La Reunion Island on the basis of numerical simulations using the transport aerosol model MACMod (Marine Aerosol Concentration Model) and a survey of the aerosol size distributions measured at four locations at two different heights in the north-west part of the island. This allows evaluation of the performance of our model in case of pure marine air masses with implementation of accurate boundary conditions. First of all, an estimate of the aerosol concentration at 10-m height at the upwind boundary of the calculation domain is obtained using a revisited version of the MEDEX (Mediterranean Extinction) model. Estimates of the vertical profile of aerosol concentrations are then provided using aerosol data obtained at two different heights at the upwind boundary of the calculation domain. A parametrization of the vertical profiles of aerosol concentrations for maritime environment is proposed. The results are then compared to the vertical profiles of 0.532 \(\upmu \)m aerosol particle extinction coefficient obtained from lidar data provided by the Cloud-Aerosol LIdar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) and also to the data provided by the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET). This allows validation of the complete vertical profiles in the mixed layer and shows the validity of satellite data for determination of the vertical profiles. Two kinds of simulation were made: one without a particle advection flux at the upwind boundary of the numerical domain, whereas the second simulation was made with a particle advection flux. In the first case, the influence of the distance to the shoreline on the local sea-spray dynamics is investigated. In the second set of simulation, the particles issued from the local production in the surf zone near the shoreline are mixed with aerosols advected from the remote ocean. A good agreement between the model calculations using our boundary conditions and the data was found. The present results then attest the ability of this kind of model, as a first approach to predicting the local transport of sea-spray particles in a pure marine environment.