Habitable Japan Sustainability of atmospheric and oceanic environment as a survival basis of island country Japan Grant-in-Aid for Transformative Research Areas (A) (2024–2028)

Physical, chemical, and biological processes at the atmosphere-ocean boundary impact on the global climate through CO2 absorption and cloud formation. The exchange of various physical quantities that control the biogeochemical cycles between the atmosphere and ocean is closely related to sea surface wind speed, sea surface temperature, and waves.

In this project, we will focus on the region from the euphotic layer to the free troposphere, which has been insufficiently studied by conventional vertical resolution in both observations and numerical models.

A new method to understand the dynamics of fine particles that contribute to the fluxes of materials and energy between the atmosphere and ocean will be established through the following three sub-themes:

1. Development of devices for measuring the fluxes of gases and particles between the atmosphere and ocean generated by waves
2. Continuous observation of the atmosphere and ocean at remote sites targeting sea-spray particles
3. Verification of wave-related processes, particle formation and deposition processes using numerical models

New monitoring bases will be established at two remote sites where anthropogenic influences are small, and long-term data that cannot be covered by ship observations will be acquired. In addition, the particle size distribution, composition and flux of fine particles, which cannot be explained by physical processes alone, will be elucidated by integrating with biology and chemistry, and verified using numerical models.