Air-sea gas exchange is the movement of gases between the atmosphere and the ocean. Carbon dioxide enters and leaves the ocean through this process, and the global ocean takes up a quarter of human-emitted CO2 through this exchange. The same process regulates the air-sea exchange of oxygen and many other climatically and biologically important gases. Gas exchange is therefore central to understanding climate, marine ecosystems, and the global carbon cycle. However, the ocean surface is not a simple, flat boundary. Wind, waves, turbulence, temperature differences, surface films, rain, and bubbles all influence how rapidly gases cross it.

link to open access paper https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025RG000903