Atmospheric chemistry in the coastal ocean: A synopsis of processing, scavenging and inputs

The coastal atmosphere provides a complicated chemical environment that can have global implications for climate. For example, the continents transport an array of gases and aerosols, both natural dusts and pollutant species, which can interact with sea-salt and affect coastal clouds and their processing for deposition. Once over the coastal ocean, different mixtures of acids, bases, minerals, sea-salt and water under different solar irradiation can induce a host of heterochemical chemical reactions. Deposition of the products of these reactions can make a significant contribution of nutrient inputs to coastal waters and impact coastal ecosystems. However, the steep gradients and complex physical and chemical processes occurring in this transitional area between terrestrial and marine atmospheric domains complicate the quantification of these inputs. This synopsis considers a group of key processes such as interaction of climatic aerosols that operate to regulate atmospheric scavenging and deposition to the coastal environment.