A Systematic Analysis of the Salinity Effect on Air Bubbles Evolution: Laboratory Experiments in a Breaking Wave Analog

The evolution of air bubbles after breaking waves plays an important role in gas and particle exchange between water bodies and the atmosphere. To improve our understanding of the impacts of salinity on this process, we systematically investigate the effect of salt concentrations ranging from 0 to 40 g/kg on the volume and size distributions of subsurface bubble plumes and surface foams in a laboratory breaking wave analog. Our experimental setup utilizes an intermittent plunging sheet to simulate breaking waves, while two synchronized digital cameras were used to monitor the temporal evolution of bubble plumes and surface foams. We first highlight the importance of plunging sheet intermittency on surface foam evolution. We then show that increasing salinity enhances the entrainment of submillimeter bubbles but has a less significant effect on larger supramillimeter bubbles. We observed that the foam area in saltier waters is consistently higher than that in freshwater throughout the foam decay phase. Furthermore, our investigation of surface bubble sizes shows that salinity has a more distinct effect on smaller (sub 2 mm) than on larger bubbles. This suggests that salinity may have a more pronounced impact on jet than on film drops ejection mechanisms. Finally, we conclude that the change in salinity within the typical oceanographic range is likely not a major factor for bubble‐mediated interactions at the water surface during breaking waves. However, even low‐salt concentrations greatly alter air entrainment characteristics in freshwater systems.