On the Distribution of Sea Salt over the United States and its Removal by Precipitation

Abstract

Average maps for summer and winter of the distribution of chloride concentration in rain water over the United States are presented, and an attempt is made to explain them quantitatively. From various considerations, it must be concluded that the essential features of these maps - the drop in the Cl⁻ concentration along the coast and a constant level inland - are determined by large scale vertical mixing in the troposphere rather than by washout. Large scale washout appears to be rather inefficient, so that even large and hygroscopic particles, such as sea spray, can move across continents without being effectively removed from the atmosphere. DOI: 10.1111/j.2153-3490.1957.tb01869.x