Emerging atmospheric particulates—including micro- and nanoplastics, engineered nanoparticles, and chemicals used in consumer and industrial products—are increasingly detected in marine environments. My group combines field measurements with laboratory studies to elucidate the emissions, enrichment, molecular composition, and multiphase chemical transformations of these particulates in sea spray aerosol (SSA). We investigate how particle matrix, interfacial composition, and phase state control reaction pathways and kinetics.

Fieldwork along the San Diego coastline reveals elevated concentrations of wastewater-derived contaminants in SSA associated with the Tijuana River, with phthalate esters showing strong and chain-length-dependent enrichment. Complementary aerosol flow-tube and online mass spectrometry experiments probe the photo-initiated and heterogeneous oxidation of representative consumer-product compounds. We find that oxybenzone, triclosan, and bisphenol A undergo accelerated oxidation in SSA mimics—especially in the presence of salts and photosensitizers—forming higher yields of and more toxic particle-phase transformation products.

Together, this work demonstrates how marine aerosols act as chemically active microreactors, where multiphase kinetics and physicochemical properties govern the fate and transformation of particulates of emerging concern.