scholarly journals High-Resolution Satellite Measurements of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Response to SST Variations along the Agulhas Return Current

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 2706-2723 ◽  
Author(s):  
Larry W. O’Neill ◽  
Dudley B. Chelton ◽  
Steven K. Esbensen ◽  
Frank J. Wentz
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Sensible Heat Flux ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Return Current ◽  
Short Scale ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) response to sea surface temperature (SST) perturbations with wavelengths shorter than 30° longitude by 10° latitude along the Agulhas Return Current (ARC) is described from the first year of SST and cloud liquid water (CLW) measurements from the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) on the Earth Observing System (EOS) Aqua satellite and surface wind stress measurements from the QuikSCAT scatterometer. AMSR measurements of SST at a resolution of 58 km considerably improves upon a previous analysis that used the Reynolds SST analyses, which underestimate the short-scale SST gradient magnitude over the ARC region by more than a factor of 5. The AMSR SST data thus provide the first quantitatively accurate depiction of the SST-induced MABL response along the ARC. Warm (cold) SST perturbations produce positive (negative) wind stress magnitude perturbations, leading to short-scale perturbations in the wind stress curl and divergence fields that are linearly related to the crosswind and downwind components of the SST gradient, respectively. The magnitudes of the curl and divergence responses vary seasonally and spatially with a response nearly twice as strong during the winter than during the summer along a zonal band between 40° and 50°S. These seasonal variations closely correspond to seasonal and spatial variability of large-scale MABL stability and surface sensible heat flux estimated from NCEP reanalysis fields. SST-induced deepening of the MABL over warm water is evident in AMSR measurements of CLW. Typical annual mean differences in cloud thickness between cold and warm SST perturbations are estimated to be about 300 m.

scholarly journals The Atmospheric Response to Weak Sea Surface Temperature Fronts*

2015 ◽  
Vol 72 (9) ◽  
pp. 3356-3377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Niklas Schneider ◽  
Bo Qiu
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Coupling Coefficients ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract The response of the atmospheric boundary layer to fronts of sea surface temperature (SST) is characterized by correlations between wind stress divergence and the downwind component of the SST gradient and between the wind stress curl and the crosswind component of the SST gradient. The associated regression (or coupling) coefficients for the wind stress divergence are consistently larger than those for the wind stress curl. To explore the underlying physics, the authors introduce a linearized model of the atmospheric boundary layer response to SST-induced modulations of boundary layer hydrostatic pressure and vertical mixing in the presence of advection by a background Ekman spiral. Model solutions are a strong function of the SST scale and background advection and recover observed characteristics. The coupling coefficients for wind stress divergence and curl are governed by distinct physics. Wind stress divergence results from either large-scale winds crossing the front or from a thermally direct, cross-frontal circulation. Wind stress curl, expected to be largest when winds are parallel to SST fronts, is reduced through geostrophic spindown and thereby yields weaker coupling coefficients.

scholarly journals Response of Surface Wind Divergence to Mesoscale SST Anomalies under Different Wind Conditions

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2065-2082 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Foussard ◽  
G. Lapeyre ◽  
R. Plougonven
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Boundary Layers ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
First Case ◽  
Weak Winds ◽  
Sst Anomalies

Abstract The response of the atmospheric boundary layer to mesoscale sea surface temperature (SST) is often characterized by a link between wind stress divergence and downwind SST gradients. In this study, an idealized simulation representative of a storm track above a prescribed stationary SST field is examined in order to determine in which background wind conditions that relationship occurs. The SST field is composed of a midlatitude large-scale frontal zone and mesoscale SST anomalies. It is shown that the divergence of the surface wind can correlate either with the Laplacian of the atmospheric boundary layer temperature or with the downwind SST gradient. The first case corresponds to background situations of weak winds or of unstable boundary layers, and the response is in agreement with an Ekman balance adjustment in the boundary layer. The second case corresponds to background situations of stable boundary layers, and the response is in agreement with downward mixing of momentum. Concerning the divergence of the wind stress, it generally resembles downwind SST gradients for stable and unstable boundary layers, in agreement with past studies. For weak winds, a correlation with the temperature Laplacian is, however, found to some extent. In conclusion, our study reveals the importance of the large-scale wind conditions in modulating the surface atmospheric response with different responses in the divergences of surface wind and wind stress.

scholarly journals On the internal boundary layer related wind stress curl and its role in generating shallow lake circulations

2014 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
János Józsa
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Shallow Lake ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Internal Boundary Layer ◽  
Internal Boundary ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Flow Models ◽  
Boundary Layer Development

Abstract The paper demonstrates that the wind stress curl as an external vorticity source plays an important role in shaping large scale shallow lake circulations. The analysis of purpose-oriented simultaneous wind and current measurements data from the Hungarian part of Lake Neusiedl reasonably fits well the internal boundary layer development theory over the lake surface. A 2-D vorticity formulation of wind-induced flows is used to demonstrate mathematically the IBL-related large scale circulation generation mechanism well reflected in the measured data. Further validation of the findings is carried out by means of simple 2-D numerical flow modelling, in which details on the flow pattern besides the measurement sites could be also revealed. Wind-induced lake circulations linked to IBL development shows a novelty to be implemented in up-to-date numerical flow models.

How is the marine atmospheric boundary layer turbulence organized in the trades ?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre-Etienne Brilouet ◽  
Marie Lothon ◽  
Sandrine Bony
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Vertical Velocity ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Layer Structure ◽  
Potential Temperature ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Cloud Amount ◽  
Velocity Spectrum ◽  
Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer

<p>Tradewind clouds can exhibit a wide diversity of mesoscale organizations, and the turbulence of marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) can exhibit coherent structures and mesoscale circulations. One of the objectives of the EUREC4A (Elucidating the role of cloud-circulation coupling in climate) field experiment was to better understand the tight interplay between the mesoscale organization of clouds, boundary-layer processes, and the large-scale environment.</p><p>During the experiment, that took place East of Barbados over the Western Tropical Atlantic Ocean in Jan-Feb 2020, the French ATR-42 research aircraft was devoted to the characterization of the cloud amount and of the subcoud layer structure. <span>During its 17 research flights, </span><span>it</span> <span>sampled a </span><span>large diversity of large scale conditions and </span><span>cloud patterns</span><span>. </span>Multiple sensors onboard t<span>he aircraft measure</span><span>d</span> <span>high-frequency </span><span>fluctuations of potential temperature, water vapour mixing ratio and wind , allowing </span><span>for </span><span>an extensive characterization </span><span> of</span><span> the turbulence </span><span>within</span><span> the subcloud layer. </span> <span>A </span><span>quality-controled and calibrated turbulence data</span><span>set</span><span> was produced </span><span>on the basis of these measurements</span><span>, which is now </span><span> available on the EUREC4A AERIS data portal.</span></p><p><span>The </span><span>MABL </span><span>turbulent </span><span>structure i</span><span>s</span><span> studied </span><span>using this dataset, </span><span>through a spectral analysis </span><span>of the vertical velocity</span><span>. Vertical profiles of characteristic length scales reveal a non-isotropic structure with a stretching of the eddies along the mean wind. The organization strength of the turbulent field is also explored </span><span>by defining</span><span> a diagnostic based on the shape of the vertical velocity spectrum. </span><span>The </span><span>structure and the degree of organization of the </span><span>subcloud layer </span><span>are</span><span> characterized for </span><span> different type</span><span>s</span><span> of mesoscale </span><span>convective </span><span>pattern </span><span>and </span><span>as a function of</span><span> the large-scale environment, </span><span>including</span> <span>near-</span><span>surface wind </span><span>and</span> <span>lower-</span><span>tropospheric</span><span> stability conditions.</span></p><p> </p>

scholarly journals Impact of the current feedback on kinetic energy over the North-East Atlantic from a coupled ocean/atmospheric boundary layer model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Théo Brivoal ◽  
Guillaume Samson ◽  
Hervé Giordani ◽  
Romain Bourdallé-Badie ◽  
Florian Lemarié ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Kinetic Energy ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Ekman Pumping ◽  
Coupling Coefficients ◽  
Current Feedback ◽  
North East

Abstract. A one-dimensional Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL1D) is coupled with the NEMO ocean model and implemented over the Iberian–Biscay–Ireland (IBI) area at 1/36° resolution to investigate the retroactions between the surface currents and the atmosphere, namely the Current FeedBack (CFB) in this region of low mesoscale activity. The ABL1D-NEMO coupled model is forced by a large-scale atmospheric reanalysis (ERA-Interim) and integrated over the period 2016–2017. The mechanisms of eddy kinetic energy damping and ocean upper-layers re-energization are realistically simulated, meaning that the CFB is properly represented by the model. In particular, the dynamical coupling coefficients between the curls of surface stress/wind and current are in agreement with the literature. The effects of CFB on the kinetic energy (KE) are then investigated through a KE budget. We show that the KE decrease induced by the CFB is significant down to 1500 m. Near the surface (0–300 m), most of the KE decrease can be explained by a reduction of the surface wind work by 4 %. At depth (300–2000 m), the CFB induce a reduction of the pressure work (i.e: the PE to KE conversion) associated with a reduction of KE which is significant down to 1500 m. We show that this reduction of KE at depth can be explained by CFB-induced Ekman pumping above eddies that weakens the mesoscale activity and this over the whole water column.

scholarly journals Idealized Modeling of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer Response to SST Forcing in the Western Indian Ocean

2019 ◽  
Vol 76 (7) ◽  
pp. 2023-2042 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam V. Rydbeck ◽  
Tommy G. Jensen ◽  
Matthew R. Igel
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Western Indian Ocean ◽  
Overturning Circulation ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Sst Gradient ◽  
Equatorial Rossby Waves

Abstract The atmospheric response to sea surface temperature (SST) variations forced by oceanic downwelling equatorial Rossby waves is investigated using an idealized convection-resolving model. Downwelling equatorial Rossby waves sharpen SST gradients in the western Indian Ocean. Changes in SST cause the atmosphere to hydrostatically adjust, subsequently modulating the low-level wind field. In an idealized cloud model, surface wind speeds, surface moisture fluxes, and low-level precipitable water maximize near regions of strongest SST gradients, not necessarily in regions of warmest SST. Simulations utilizing the steepened SST gradient representative of periods with oceanic downwelling equatorial Rossby waves show enhanced patterns of surface convergence and precipitation that are linked to a strengthened zonally overturning circulation. During these conditions, convection is highly organized, clustering near the maximum SST gradient and ascending branch of the SST-induced overturning circulation. When the SST gradient is reduced, as occurs during periods of weak or absent oceanic equatorial Rossby waves, convection is much less organized and total rainfall is decreased. This demonstrates the previously observed upscale organization of convection and rainfall associated with oceanic downwelling equatorial Rossby waves in the western Indian Ocean. These results suggest that the enhancement of surface fluxes that results from a steepening of the SST gradient is the leading mechanism by which oceanic equatorial Rossby waves prime the atmospheric boundary layer for rapid convective development.

scholarly journals The Scripps Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Regional (SCOAR) Model, with Applications in the Eastern Pacific Sector

2007 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 381-402 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyodae Seo ◽  
Arthur J. Miller ◽  
John O. Roads
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Heat Flux ◽  
Atmospheric Boundary Layer ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Mesoscale Eddy ◽  
Eastern Pacific ◽  
Regional Ocean Modeling System ◽  
California Current System ◽  
Ocean Atmosphere

Abstract A regional coupled ocean–atmosphere model is introduced. It is designed to admit the air–sea feedbacks arising in the presence of an oceanic mesoscale eddy field. It consists of the Regional Ocean Modeling System (ROMS) and the Regional Spectral Model (RSM). Large-scale forcing is provided by NCEP/DOE reanalysis fields, which have physics consistent with the RSM. Coupling allows the sea surface temperature (SST) to influence the stability of the atmospheric boundary layer and, hence, the surface wind stress and heat flux fields. The system is denominated the Scripps Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Regional (SCOAR) Model. The model is tested in three scenarios in the eastern Pacific Ocean sector: tropical instability waves of the eastern tropical Pacific, mesoscale eddies and fronts of the California Current System, and gap winds of the Central American coast. Recent observational evidence suggests air–sea interactions involving the oceanic mesoscale in these three regions. Evolving SST fronts are shown to drive an unambiguous response of the atmospheric boundary layer in the coupled model. This results in significant model anomalies of wind stress curl, wind stress divergence, surface heat flux, and precipitation that resemble the observations and substantiate the importance of ocean–atmosphere feedbacks involving the oceanic mesoscale.

Summertime Influence of SST on Surface Wind Stress off the U.S. West Coast from the U.S. Navy COAMPS Model*

2008 ◽  
Vol 38 (11) ◽  
pp. 2414-2437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tracy Haack ◽  
Dudley Chelton ◽  
Julie Pullen ◽  
James D. Doyle ◽  
Michael Schlax
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Wind Stress ◽  
West Coast ◽  
Mesoscale Model ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Gradient Field ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
Surface Wind Stress ◽  
The U.S ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract High-resolution mesoscale model sea surface temperature (SST) analyses and surface wind stress forecasts off the U.S. West Coast are analyzed on monthly time scales for robust signatures of air–sea interaction as the surface winds encounter ocean surface features such as SST fronts, filaments, and eddies. This interaction is manifest by the linear relationship, or coupling coefficient, between the downwind SST gradient and wind stress divergence and between the crosswind SST gradient and wind stress curl evident from analysis of fields averaged over 29 days. This study examines fields from the Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS) model, spanning the summer months, June–September, for four consecutive years, 2002–05. Relative to several models evaluated previously, coupling coefficients are much closer to those calculated from Quick Scatterometer (QuikSCAT) satellite measurements. In addition, the summertime correlation between the wind stress derivative field and its corresponding SST gradient field on monthly time scales agrees well with satellite-derived correlations. Sensible and latent heat flux fields are also analyzed for features indicative of pronounced air–sea exchange associated with SST influence.

scholarly journals A Coupled Decadal Prediction of the Dynamic State of the Kuroshio Extension System

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (4) ◽  
pp. 1751-1764 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Qiu ◽  
Shuiming Chen ◽  
Niklas Schneider ◽  
Bunmei Taguchi
Keyword(s):  
Wind Stress ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Current System ◽  
Kuroshio Extension ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Storm Tracks ◽  
Dynamic State ◽  
Western Boundary ◽  
Wind Stress Curl ◽  
The Kuroshio

Abstract Being the extension of a wind-driven western boundary current, the Kuroshio Extension (KE) has long been recognized as a turbulent current system rich in large-amplitude meanders and energetic pinched-off eddies. An important feature emerging from recent satellite altimeter measurements and eddy-resolving ocean model simulations is that the KE system exhibits well-defined decadal modulations between a stable and an unstable dynamic state. Here the authors show that the decadally modulating KE dynamic state can be effectively defined by the sea surface height (SSH) anomalies in the 31°–36°N, 140°–165°E region. By utilizing the SSH-based KE index from 1977 to 2012, they demonstrate that the time-varying KE dynamic state can be predicted at lead times of up to ~6 yr. This long-term predictability rests on two dynamic processes: 1) the oceanic adjustment is via baroclinic Rossby waves that carry interior wind-forced anomalies westward into the KE region and 2) the low-frequency KE variability influences the extratropical storm tracks and surface wind stress curl field across the North Pacific basin. By shifting poleward (equatorward) the storm tracks and the large-scale wind stress curl pattern during its stable (unstable) dynamic state, the KE variability induces a delayed negative feedback that can enhance the predictable SSH variance on the decadal time scales.

scholarly journals A “Cold Path” for the Gulf Stream–Troposphere Connection

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1363-1379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benoît Vannière ◽  
Arnaud Czaja ◽  
Helen Dacre ◽  
Tim Woollings
Keyword(s):  
Boundary Layer ◽  
Gulf Stream ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Extratropical Cyclone ◽  
Convective Precipitation ◽  
Dynamical Response ◽  
Sst Front ◽  
Simple Boundary ◽  
Pressure Anomaly ◽  
Sst Gradient

Abstract The mechanism by which the Gulf Stream sea surface temperature (SST) front anchors a band of precipitation on its warm edge is still a matter of debate, and little is known about how synoptic activity contributes to the mean state. In the present study, the influence of the SST front on precipitation is investigated during the course of a single extratropical cyclone using a regional configuration of the Met Office Unified Model. The comparison of a control run with a simulation in which SST gradients were smoothed brought the following conclusions: a band of precipitation is reproduced for a single extratropical cyclone, and the response to the SST gradient is dominated by a change of convective precipitation in the cold sector of the storm. Several climatological features described by previous studies, such as surface wind convergence on the warm edge or a meridional circulation cell across the SST front, are also reproduced at synoptic time scales in the cold sector. Based on these results, a simple boundary layer model is proposed to explain the convective and dynamical response to the SST gradient in the cold sector. In this model, cold and dry air parcels acquire more buoyancy over a sharp SST gradient and become more convectively unstable. The convection sets a pressure anomaly over the entire depth of the boundary layer that drives wind convergence. This case study offers a new pathway by which the SST gradient can anchor a climatological band of precipitation.

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