Dynamics of Jet Drop Formation in Multi-Bubble Systems

Waves crashing in the ocean generate large numbers of bubbles, which burst and can produce jets that break up into sea spray aerosol droplets. Wind can carry these aerosol drops into the atmosphere and seed cloud formation. Much of the research on bursting bubbles focuses on isolated bubbles; however, bubbles from breaking waves normally exist in close proximity to other bubbles. We therefore investigate how the presence of a neighboring bubble affects jet drop formation from a bursting bubble. Combining high-speed imaging experiments with numerical simulations, we show that a bubble bursting near another bubble ejects drops angled away from the neighbor bubble. We relate this ejection angle to the asymmetry in the collapsing bubble cavity and explore how bubble separation and bubble size affect the process. The observed effects could eventually help to improve aerosol production models and clarify the accuracy of previous assumptions.