Linking surface coverage with surfactant activity to refine the role of surfactants for air-sea gas exchange

Asmussen-Schäfer, Falko; Ribas-Ribas, Mariana; Wurl, Oliver; Friedrichs, Gernot

doi:10.5194/bg-23-3159-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 9

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3159-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-3159-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 9

Research article

|

08 May 2026

Research article |

| 08 May 2026

Linking surface coverage with surfactant activity to refine the role of surfactants for air-sea gas exchange

Falko Asmussen-Schäfer, Mariana Ribas-Ribas, Oliver Wurl, and Gernot Friedrichs

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Final revised paper (published on 08 May 2026)
Supplement to the final revised paper
Preprint (discussion started on 19 Jan 2026)
Supplement to the preprint

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

RC1:
'Comment on egusphere-2025-5276', Anonymous Referee #1, 02 Feb 2026

The sc metric relies on taking square root of integrated SFG area) as proportional to interfacial oscillator number while treating orientational factors as constant across natural samples. Could the authors provide polarization‑resolved SFG checks (e.g., ssp vs ppp) or an external standard spike to demonstrate that orientation changes with composition/wind history do not bias sc, especially at low coverage (<20%) where baseline subtraction issues are acknowledged?

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5276-RC1
- AC1: 'Reply on RC1', Gernot Friedrichs, 28 Feb 2026
  
  Please see the detailed response in the attached pdf file.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5276-AC1
RC2:
'Comment on egusphere-2025-5276', Anonymous Referee #2, 16 Feb 2026

I found the manuscript is very well written on surfactants from the sea surface microlayer (SML). It is worth publication without any corrections.

Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5276-RC2
- AC2: 'Reply on RC2', Gernot Friedrichs, 03 Mar 2026
  
  Thank you for the favorable evaluation of our manuscript. We intend to make a few minor revisions and additions to address the helpful remarks of the other referee(s); however, the overall scientific content of the paper will remain unchanged.
  
  Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-5276-AC2

Peer review completion

AR – Author's response | RR – Referee report | ED – Editor decision | EF – Editorial file upload

ED: Publish subject to minor revisions (review by editor) (03 Mar 2026) by Peter S. Liss

AR by Gernot Friedrichs on behalf of the Authors (24 Mar 2026) Author's response Author's tracked changes Manuscript

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (30 Mar 2026) by Peter S. Liss

ED: Publish subject to technical corrections (30 Mar 2026) by Hermann Bange (Co-editor-in-chief)

AR by Gernot Friedrichs on behalf of the Authors (01 Apr 2026) Manuscript

Post-review adjustments

AA – Author's adjustment | EA – Editor approval

AA by Gernot Friedrichs on behalf of the Authors (29 Apr 2026) Author's adjustment Manuscript

EA: Adjustments approved (29 Apr 2026) by Peter S. Liss

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Short summary

We developed an approach to quantify how molecules accumulate at the ocean surface on a nanometer scale. By combining laser spectroscopy with an electrochemical technique, we determined how densely these molecular films cover the water surface. Such single-molecule-thick layers can strongly affect gas transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere. Comparing our measurements with existing datasets allowed us to generate an initial global estimate of surfactant surface coverage potential.