Production and distributions of sea spray

Sea spray within the lowest meter of the atmospheric surface layer was measured with an optical instrument supported on a raft. Sizes of measured droplets appear to follow a two-segment equilibrium spectrum; the division of two size regions within the production zone (the ejection range of jet drops), however, differs from that outside. Vertical distributions of droplet concentrations vary greatly with the droplet size; critical diameters for the droplet suspension under various wind velocities are determined. The mass concentrations of droplets at various elevations were also obtained. Longitudinally, the droplets are distributed in patches, whose occurrence appears to correlate well with the frequency of dominant waves.