Modeling bubbles and dissolved gases in the ocean

The bubble model solves a set of concentration equations for multiple gases in bubbles of different sizes, and the dissolved gas concentration model simulates the evolution of dissolved gases and dissolved inorganic carbon. The models include the effects of advection, diffusion, bubble buoyant rising, bubble size changes, gas exchange between bubbles and ambient water, and chemical reactions associated with the dissolution of CO₂.

The formulation consistency and the numerical accuracy are shown by the good agreement with a model describing individual bubble behavior in a test simulating the evolution of a bubble cloud released in the water. To study the bubble and dissolved gas evolution after a single wave-breaking event, the models are coupled with a fluid dynamical Direct Numerical Simulation model with spatially and temporally distributed momentum and bubble injection for a typical breaking wave.