scholarly journals The Effect of Diurnal Sea Surface Temperature Warming on Climatological Air–Sea Fluxes

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 2546-2556 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Anne Clayson ◽  
Alec S. Bogdanoff

Abstract Diurnal sea surface warming affects the fluxes of latent heat, sensible heat, and upwelling longwave radiation. Diurnal warming most typically reaches maximum values of 3°C, although very localized events may reach 7°–8°C. An analysis of multiple years of diurnal warming over the global ice-free oceans indicates that heat fluxes determined by using the predawn sea surface temperature can differ by more than 100% in localized regions over those in which the sea surface temperature is allowed to fluctuate on a diurnal basis. A comparison of flux climatologies produced by these two analyses demonstrates that significant portions of the tropical oceans experience differences on a yearly average of up to 10 W m−2. Regions with the highest climatological differences include the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, as well as the equatorial western and eastern Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the western coasts of Central America and North Africa. Globally the difference is on average 4.45 W m−2. The difference in the evaporation rate globally is on the order of 4% of the total ocean–atmosphere evaporation. Although the instantaneous, year-to-year, and seasonal fluctuations in various locations can be substantial, the global average differs by less than 0.1 W m−2 throughout the entire 10-yr time period. A global heat budget that uses atmospheric datasets containing diurnal variability but a sea surface temperature that has removed this signal may be underestimating the flux to the atmosphere by a fairly constant value.

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 15825-15853 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Kettle ◽  
C. J. Merchant ◽  
C. D. Jeffery ◽  
M. J. Filipiak ◽  
C. L. Gentemann

Abstract. The effect of diurnal variations in sea surface temperature (SST) on the air-sea flux of CO2 over the central Atlantic ocean and Mediterranean Sea is evaluated for 2005–2006. We use high resolution hourly satellite SST data to determine the diurnal warming (ΔSST). The CO2 flux is then computed using three different temperature fields – a foundation temperature (Tf, measured at a depth where there is no diurnal variation), Tf plus the hourly ΔSST and Tf plus monthly-averaged ΔSST. This is done in conjunction with a physically-based parameterisation for the gas transfer velocity (NOAA-COARE). The differences between the fluxes evaluated for these three different temperature fields quantifies the effects of both diurnal warming and diurnal covariations. We find that including diurnal warming increases the CO2 flux out of the Atlantic for 2005–2006 from 9.6 Tg C a−1 to 30.4 Tg C a−1 (hourly ΔSST) and 31.2 Tg C a−1 (monthly ΔSST). Diurnal warming, therefore, has a large impact on the annual net CO2 flux but diurnal covariations in variables are negligible implying that CO2 fluxes may be adequately computed using monthly averaged ΔSSTs along with a suitable foundation temperature.


1999 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 566-576 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Josse ◽  
G. Caniaux ◽  
H. Giordani ◽  
S. Planton

Abstract. A mesoscale non-hydrostatic atmospheric model has been coupled with a mesoscale oceanic model. The case study is a four-day simulation of a strong storm event observed during the SEMAPHORE experiment over a 500 × 500 km2 domain. This domain encompasses a thermohaline front associated with the Azores current. In order to analyze the effect of mesoscale coupling, three simulations are compared: the first one with the atmospheric model forced by realistic sea surface temperature analyses; the second one with the ocean model forced by atmospheric fields, derived from weather forecast re-analyses; the third one with the models being coupled. For these three simulations the surface fluxes were computed with the same bulk parametrization. All three simulations succeed well in representing the main oceanic or atmospheric features observed during the storm. Comparison of surface fields with in situ observations reveals that the winds of the fine mesh atmospheric model are more realistic than those of the weather forecast re-analyses. The low-level winds simulated with the atmospheric model in the forced and coupled simulations are appreciably stronger than the re-analyzed winds. They also generate stronger fluxes. The coupled simulation has the strongest surface heat fluxes: the difference in the net heat budget with the oceanic forced simulation reaches on average 50 Wm-2 over the simulation period. Sea surface-temperature cooling is too weak in both simulations, but is improved in the coupled run and matches better the cooling observed with drifters. The spatial distributions of sea surface-temperature cooling and surface fluxes are strongly inhomogeneous over the simulation domain. The amplitude of the flux variation is maximum in the coupled run. Moreover the weak correlation between the cooling and heat flux patterns indicates that the surface fluxes are not responsible for the whole cooling and suggests that the response of the ocean mixed layer to the atmosphere is highly non-local and enhanced in the coupled simulation.Key words. Oceanography: physical (air · sea interac- tion; eddies and mesoscale processes). Meteorology and atmospheric dynamics (ocean · atmosphere interactions)


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (11) ◽  
pp. 2451-2465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Du ◽  
Tangdong Qu ◽  
Gary Meyers

Abstract Using results from the Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA), this study assesses the mixed layer heat budget to identify the mechanisms that control the interannual variation of sea surface temperature (SST) off Java and Sumatra. The analysis indicates that during the positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) years, cold SST anomalies are phase locked with the season cycle. They may exceed −3°C near the coast of Sumatra and extend as far westward as 80°E along the equator. The depth of the thermocline has a prominent influence on the generation and maintenance of SST anomalies. In the normal years, cooling by upwelling–entrainment is largely counterbalanced by warming due to horizontal advection. In the cooling episode of IOD events, coastal upwelling–entrainment is enhanced, and as a result of mixed layer shoaling, the barrier layer no longer exists, so that the effect of upwelling–entrainment can easily reach the surface mixed layer. Horizontal advection spreads the cold anomaly to the interior tropical Indian Ocean. Near the coast of Java, the northern branch of an anomalous anticyclonic circulation spreads the cold anomaly to the west near the equator. Both the anomalous advection and the enhanced, wind-driven upwelling generate the cold SST anomaly of the positive IOD. At the end of the cooling episode, the enhanced surface thermal forcing overbalances the cooling effect by upwelling/entrainment, and leads to a warming in SST off Java and Sumatra.


2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 1519-1542 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Ohgaito ◽  
T. Sueyoshi ◽  
A. Abe-Ouchi ◽  
T. Hajima ◽  
S. Watanabe ◽  
...  

Abstract. The importance of evaluating models through paleoclimate simulations is becoming more recognized in efforts to improve climate projection. To evaluate an integrated Earth System Model, MIROC-ESM, we performed simulations in time-slice experiments for the mid-Holocene (6000 yr before present, 6 ka) and preindustrial (1850 AD, 0 ka) periods under the protocol of the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 5/Paleoclimate Modelling Intercomparison Project 3. We first give an overview of the simulated global climates by comparing with simulations using a previous version of the MIROC model (MIROC3), which is an atmosphere–ocean coupled general circulation model. We then comprehensively discuss various aspects of climate change with 6 ka forcing and how the differences in the models can affect the results. We also discuss the representation of the precipitation enhancement at 6 ka over northern Africa. The precipitation enhancement at 6 ka over northern Africa according to MIROC-ESM does not differ greatly from that obtained with MIROC3, which means that newly developed components such as dynamic vegetation and improvements in the atmospheric processes do not have significant impacts on the representation of the 6 ka monsoon change suggested by proxy records. Although there is no drastic difference between the African monsoon representations of the two models, there are small but significant differences in the precipitation enhancement over the Sahara in early summer, which can be related to the representation of the sea surface temperature rather than the vegetation coupling in MIROC-ESM. Because the oceanic parts of the two models are identical, the difference in the sea surface temperature change is ultimately attributed to the difference in the atmospheric and/or land modules, and possibly the difference in the representation of low-level clouds.


2014 ◽  
Vol 57 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nazario Tartaglione ◽  
Rodrigo Caballero

<p>This article investigates the role of sea surface temperature (SST) as well as the effects of evaporation and moisture convergence on the evolution of cyclone Klaus, which occurred on January 23 and 24, 2009. To elucidate the role of sea surface temperature (SST) and air–sea fluxes in the dynamics of the cyclone, ten hydrostatic mesoscale simulations were performed by Bologna Limited Area Model (BOLAM). The first one was a control experiment with European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) SST analysis. The nine following simulations are sensitivity experiments where the SST are obtained by adding a constant value by 1 to 9 K to the ECMWF field. Results show that a warmer sea increases the surface latent heat fluxes and the moisture convergence, favoring the development of convection in the storm. Convection is affected immediately by the increased SST. Later on, drop of mean sea level pressure (MSLP) occurs together with increasing of surface winds. The cyclone trajectory is not sensitive to change in SST differently from MSLP and convective precipitation.</p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 825 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christos Stathopoulos ◽  
Platon Patlakas ◽  
Christos Tsalis ◽  
George Kallos

Air–sea interface processes are highly associated with the evolution and intensity of marine-developed storms. Specifically, in the Mediterranean Sea, the air–ocean temperature deviations have a profound role during the several stages of Mediterranean cyclonic events. Subsequently, this enhances the need for better knowledge and representation of the sea surface temperature (SST). In this work, an analysis of the impact and uncertainty of the SST from different well-known datasets on the life-cycle of Mediterranean cyclones is attempted. Daily SST from the Real Time Global SST (RTG_SST) and hourly SST fields from the Operational SST and Sea Ice Ocean Analysis (OSTIA) and the NEMO ocean circulation model are implemented in the RAMS/ICLAMS-WAM coupled modeling system. For the needs of the study, the Mediterranean cyclones Trixi, Numa, and Zorbas were selected. Numerical experiments covered all stages of their life-cycles (five to seven days). Model results have been analyzed in terms of storm tracks and intensities, cyclonic structural characteristics, and derived heat fluxes. Remote sensing data from the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals (IMERG) for Global Precipitation Measurements (GPM), Blended Sea Winds, and JASON altimetry missions were employed for a qualitative and quantitative comparison of modeled results in precipitation, maximum surface wind speed, and wave height. Spatiotemporal deviations in the SST forcing rather than significant differences in the maximum/minimum SST values, seem to mainly contribute to the differences between the model results. Considerable deviations emerged in the resulting heat fluxes, while the most important differences were found in precipitation exhibiting spatial and intensity variations reaching 100 mm. The employment of widely used products is shown to result in different outcomes and this point should be taken into consideration in forecasting and early warning systems.


2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (12) ◽  
pp. 2953-2968 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Mochizuki ◽  
Hideji Kida

Abstract The seasonality of the decadal sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies and the related physical processes in the northwestern Pacific were investigated using a three-dimensional bulk mixed layer model. In the Kuroshio–Oyashio Extension (KOE) region, the strongest decadal SST anomaly was observed during December–February, while that of the central North Pacific occurred during February–April. From an examination of the seasonal heat budget of the ocean mixed layer, it was revealed that the seasonal-scale enhancement of the decadal SST anomaly in the KOE region was controlled by horizontal Ekman temperature transport in early winter and by vertical entrainment in autumn. The temperature transport by the geostrophic current made only a slight contribution to the seasonal variation of the decadal SST anomaly, despite controlling the upper-ocean thermal conditions on decadal time scales through the slow Rossby wave adjustment to the wind stress curl. When averaging over the entire KOE region, the contribution from the net sea surface heat flux was also no longer significantly detected. By examining the horizontal distributions of the local thermal damping rate, however, it was concluded that the wintertime decadal SST anomaly in the eastern KOE region was rather damped by the net sea surface heat flux. It was due to the fact that the anomalous local thermal damping of the SST anomaly resulting from the vertical entrainment in autumn was considerably strong enough to suppress the anomalous local atmospheric thermal forcing that acted to enhance the decadal SST anomaly.


2015 ◽  
Vol 28 (22) ◽  
pp. 8710-8727 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asmi M. Napitu ◽  
Arnold L. Gordon ◽  
Kandaga Pujiana

Abstract Sea surface temperature (SST) variability at intraseasonal time scales across the Indonesian Seas during January 1998–mid-2012 is examined. The intraseasonal variability is most energetic in the Banda and Timor Seas, with a standard deviation of 0.4°–0.5°C, representing 55%–60% of total nonseasonal SST variance. A slab ocean model demonstrates that intraseasonal air–sea heat flux variability, largely attributed to the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO), accounts for 69%–78% intraseasonal SST variability in the Banda and Timor Seas. While the slab ocean model accurately reproduces the observed intraseasonal SST variations during the northern winter months, it underestimates the summer variability. The authors posit that this is a consequence of a more vigorous cooling effect induced by ocean processes during the summer. Two strong MJO cycles occurred in late 2007–early 2008, and their imprints were clearly evident in the SST of the Banda and Timor Seas. The passive phase of the MJO [enhanced outgoing longwave radiation (OLR) and weak zonal wind stress) projects on SST as a warming period, while the active phase (suppressed OLR and westerly wind bursts) projects on SST as a cooling phase. SST also displays significant intraseasonal variations in the Sulawesi Sea, but these differ in characteristics from those of the Banda and Timor Seas and are attributed to ocean eddies and atmospheric processes independent from the MJO.


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