Das Projekt "Brechende Wellen und der Luft-See-Gasaustausch" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Max-Planck-Institut für Chemie (Otto-Hahn-Institut) durchgeführt. The principal aim of the proposed research is to understand, quantify and parameterize the effect of breaking waves on gas transfer through the sea surface micro-layer. Three quite distinct mechanisms of gas transfer are associated with large-scale wave breaking and air entrainment: 1. Transfer associated with patches of turbulence in the upper ocean generated by breaking waves. 2. Transfer mediated by bubbles, where gas is within a bubble during an interval of its exchange between atmosphere and ocean. 3. Transfer across the sea surface where the micro-layer has been disrupted by bubbles bursting at the sea surface.