Understanding weather and climate through the droplets known as ocean spray

If you’ve ever been to the beach, it’s likely that you have observed the foamy whitecaps that form as waves break along the shore or out at sea. For many, it’s a photo-worthy moment, but what most people don’t know is that the droplets contained in these whitecaps also serve an important role in our global weather and climate. Scientists call these droplets ocean spray.

UDaily talked with the University of Delaware’s Fabrice Veron, professor in the School of Marine Science and Policy who studies how the ocean and the atmosphere are connected, about how ocean spray influences global climate. Veron and colleague David Richter, an assistant professor at University of Notre Dame, recently reported on the subject in an article in Physics Today.