Distribution of the liquid aerosol produced from bursting bubbles in sea and distilled water

Abstract

Laser holographic techniques are used to observe and measure the liquid droplets (film drops) produced by air bubbles bursting in both seawater and distilled water. Film drop aerosol production is found not only to be a function of parent bubble size but also of the type of water (sea or distilled) in which the bubbles burst. For bubbles in the diameter range of about 4 mm-10 mm, fewer but bigger film drops are observed for the distilled water sample. Furthermore, the mass of the droplets produced per bubble is found to be greater for bubbles that burst in distilled water. In general, the film drop size range shifts towards larger sizes as the diameter of the parent bubble is increased. The largest drop sizes measured are 680 μm in distilled water and 500 μm in seawater for a 10 mm bubble. These values happen to be much greater than those hitherto reported.