Sea spray aerosols are tiny particles produced when ocean waves mix air into the water. These particles have complex chemistry which can impact spectrographic signatures observed from space as well as reactions and exchange of compounds between the ocean and the atmosphere; and may have played a role in creating conditions on early Earth that were suitable for life to emerge. These particles have been studied in the context of our current earth’s conditions but not well understood under the early earth-like environment. What’s interesting about this project is that it aims to study these tiny ocean spray particles in a lab, where scientists can control the conditions to mimic early earth-like environments.
Augustine is launching a new project to use microfluidics to generate aerosols and study these aerosols under control conditions. By doing this, we hope to understand the chemistry of these particles and how they might have affected the Earth’s environment in the past and even help us understand conditions on other planets.
For more information, see the College of Science’s article about it here: https://cos.gatech.edu/news/sea-spray-water-worlds-and-search-life
