scholarly journals The Heat Balance of the Western Hemisphere Warm Pool

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (14) ◽  
pp. 2662-2681 ◽  
Author(s):  
David B. Enfield ◽  
Sang-ki Lee
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Heat Balance ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Western Hemisphere ◽  
Flux Divergence ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
The Heat Balance

Abstract The thermodynamic development of the Western Hemisphere warm pool and its four geographic subregions are analyzed. The subregional warm pools of the eastern North Pacific and equatorial Atlantic are best developed in the boreal spring, while in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, the highest temperatures prevail during the early and late summer, respectively. For the defining isotherms chosen (≥27.5°, ≥28.0°, ≥28.5°C) the warm pool depths are similar to the mixed-layer depth (20–40 m) but are considerably less than the Indo–Pacific warm pool depth (50–60 m). The heat balance of the WHWP subregions is examined through two successive types of analysis: first by considering a changing volume (“bubble”) bounded by constant temperature wherein advective fluxes disappear and diffusive fluxes can be estimated as a residual, and second by considering a slab layer of constant dimensions with the bubble diffusion estimates as an additional input and the advective heat flux divergence as a residual output. From this sequential procedure it is possible to disqualify as being physically inconsistent four of seven surface heat flux climatologies: the NCEP–NCAR reanalysis (NCEP1) and the ECMWF 15-yr global reanalysis (ERA-15) because they yield a nonphysical diffusion of heat into the warm pools from their cooler surroundings, and the unconstrained da Silva and Southampton datasets because their estimated diffusion rates are inconsistent with the smaller rates of the better understood Indo–Pacific warm pool when the bubble analysis is applied to both regions. The remaining surface flux datasets of da Silva and Southampton (constrained) and Oberhuber have a much narrower range of slab surface warming (+25 ± 5 W m−2) associated with bubble residual estimates of total diffusion of –5 to –20 W m−2 (±5 W m−2) and total advective heat flux divergence of –2 to –14 W m−2 (±5 W m−2). The latter are independently confirmed by direct estimates using wind stress data and drifters for the Gulf of Mexico and eastern North Pacific subregions.

scholarly journals A Modeling Study of Summertime East Pacific Wind-Induced Ocean–Atmosphere Exchange in the Intraseasonal Oscillation

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 568-584 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Maloney ◽  
Steven K. Esbensen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Northeast Pacific ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Convection Parameterization

Abstract Intraseasonal precipitation variability over the northeast Pacific warm pool during June–October in the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Atmosphere Model 2.0.1 with a relaxed Arakawa–Schubert convection parameterization is found to be strongly sensitive to wind-induced variations in surface latent heat flux. A control simulation with interactive surface fluxes produces northeast Pacific warm pool intraseasonal wind and precipitation variations that are of similar magnitude and structure to those associated with the observed intraseasonal oscillation (ISO). Periods of low-level westerly intraseasonal wind anomalies are associated with enhanced surface latent heat fluxes and enhanced precipitation, as in observations. Variations in surface wind speed primarily control the surface flux anomalies. A simulation in which eastern North Pacific oceanic latent heat fluxes are fixed produces intraseasonal precipitation variations that are significantly weaker than those in the control simulation and in observations. These results support the observational findings of Maloney and Esbensen, who suggested that wind-induced latent heat flux variability is a significant driver of ISO-related convective variability over the northeast Pacific warm pool during Northern Hemisphere summer. East Pacific ISO-related convection in this model, thus, appears to be forced by an analogous wind-induced surface heat exchange mechanism to that proposed by Maloney and Sobel to explain the forcing of west Pacific ISO-related convection. The surface exchange mechanism is apparently active within regions of mean westerly low-level flow. In contrast, summertime eastern North Pacific intraseasonal wind variance and spatial structure does not differ significantly between the control and fixed-evaporation simulations. A strong coupling between the east Pacific flow and precipitation over Central America may be responsible for the relatively small changes in wind variability between the simulations. Interactions among the coarsely resolved Central American orography, the large-scale flow, and the convection parameterization in the model likely contribute to this anomalous coupling.

scholarly journals Satellite and Buoy Observations of Boreal Summer Intraseasonal Variability in the Tropical Northeast Pacific

2007 ◽  
Vol 135 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric D. Maloney ◽  
Steven K. Esbensen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Intraseasonal Variability ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
East Pacific ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Westerly Flow ◽  
Trmm Precipitation

Abstract Tropical intraseasonal variability in the eastern North Pacific during June–September of 2000–03 is analyzed using satellite and buoy observations. Quick Scatterometer ocean vector winds and the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation indicate that periods of anomalous surface westerly flow over the east Pacific warm pool during a summertime intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) life cycle are generally associated with an enhancement of convection to the east of 120°W. An exception is a narrow band of suppressed precipitation along 8°N that is associated with negative column-integrated precipitable water anomalies and anticyclonic vorticity anomalies. Periods of surface easterly anomalies are generally associated with suppressed convection to the east of 120°W. Summertime wind jets in the Gulfs of Tehuantepec and Papagayo exhibit heightened activity during periods of ISO easterly anomalies and suppressed convection. Strong variations in east Pacific warm pool wind speed occur in association with the summertime ISO. Anomalous ISO westerly flow is generally accompanied by enhanced wind speed to the east of 120°W, while anomalous easterly flow is associated with suppressed wind speed. Intraseasonal vector wind anomalies added to the climatological flow account for the bulk of the wind speed enhancement in the warm pool during the westerly phase, while the easterly phase shows strong contributions to the negative wind speed anomaly from both intraseasonal vector wind anomalies and suppressed synoptic-scale eddy activity. An analysis using Tropical Atmosphere Ocean buoys and TRMM precipitation suggests that wind–evaporation feedback is important for supporting summertime intraseasonal convection over the east Pacific warm pool. A statistically significant correlation of 0.6 between intraseasonal latent heat flux and precipitation occurs at the 12°N, 95°W buoy. Correlations between precipitation and latent heat flux at the 10°N, 95°W and 8°N, 95°W buoys are positive (0.4), but not statistically significant. Intraseasonal latent heat flux anomalies at all buoys are primarily wind induced. Consistent with the suppressed convection there during the ISO westerly phase, a negative but not statistically significant correlation (−0.3) occurs between precipitation and latent heat flux at the 8°N, 110°W buoy.

scholarly journals Estimating Air–Sea Heat Fluxes in Semienclosed Basins: The Case of the Gulf of Elat (Aqaba)

2009 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 185-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moshe Ben-Sasson ◽  
Steve Brenner ◽  
Nathan Paldor
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature ◽  
Air Temperature ◽  
Heat Balance ◽  
Evaporation Rate ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
The Heat Balance

Abstract Meteorological and oceanographic data collected at the head of the Gulf of Elat were used to compute the air–sea heat flux components and the heat storage in the water column, which are in turn used to estimate the heat balance of this semienclosed basin. The solar radiation was measured directly, whereas the longwave (LW) cooling and the turbulent heat fluxes (latent, LH; sensible, SH) were computed from commonly used bulk formulas. Nine formulas for LW and four formulas for LH + SH were tested for a total of 36 possible combinations. Independent estimates for the bounds on the advective heat flux through the straits and results from a one-dimensional mixed layer model provided criteria to help identify the best choice of bulk formulas for the gulf. It was concluded that the LW formula of Bignami together with the turbulent flux formulas of Kondo provide the best estimate of the heat balance of the gulf. Based on this, the annual mean evaporation is 1.6–1.8 m yr−1, with a minimum of 1 m yr−1 in (the long) summer and a maximum of 3–4 m yr−1 in (the short) winter. The increase in evaporation rate during the winter results from the instability of the atmosphere at that time when the sea surface temperature exceeds the air temperature; in the summer, when the air temperature is much higher than the sea surface temperature, evaporation nearly stops due to the atmospheric stability. This estimated evaporation rate for the gulf, which is similar for all four of the LH formulas considered, is significantly smaller than values commonly quoted in the literature. Finally, in contrast to previous studies, it is found that the advective heat flux from the Straits of Tiran is large and significant in spring, reaching an estimated value of over 125 W m−2, but its annually averaged value is only about 35–40 W m−2.

Meridional SST gradient in the western North Pacific warm pool associated with typhoon generation

2008 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. n/a-n/a ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Sato ◽  
R. Shirooka ◽  
M. Yoshizaki ◽  
Y. N. Takayabu
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Sst Gradient ◽  
Meridional Sst Gradient

scholarly journals The Record-Breaking Hot Summer in 2015 over Hawaii and Its Physical Causes

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 4253-4266 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhiwei Zhu ◽  
Tim Li
Keyword(s):  
North Pacific ◽  
North Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Surface Air Temperature ◽  
Warm Pool ◽  
Trade Winds ◽  
Pacific Warm Pool ◽  
Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies ◽  
Sst Warming ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
Central North Pacific

Abstract Hawaiian surface air temperature (HST) during the summer of 2015 (from July to October) was about 1.5°C higher than the climatological mean, which was the hottest since records began in 1948. In the context of record-breaking seasonal-mean high temperature, 98 exceptional local heatwave days occurred during the summer of 2015. Based on diagnoses and simulations, this paper demonstrates that the record-high HST during the summer of 2015 arose mainly from the combined effects of the interannual and interdecadal variability of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTAs). The interannual variability of SSTAs, with an El Niño–like pattern in the tropics and cold (warm) anomalies over the western (eastern) North Pacific, was the primary contributor to the abnormally high HST in the summer of 2015. This interannual tropical–extratropical SSTA pattern was accompanied by low-level southwesterly anomalies over the central North Pacific, which weakened the climatological northeasterly trade winds and reduced the ventilation effect, warming Hawaii. Numerical experiments further revealed that the SST warming in the subtropical eastern North Pacific was mostly responsible for the weakened trade winds and warming over Hawaii. Interdecadal SST warming in the tropics was a secondary factor. By superimposing the positive SSTAs over the Indo-Pacific warm pool and tropical North Atlantic Ocean upon the climatological-mean maximum SST regions, it was found that these anomalies led to enhanced convection over the Maritime Continent and the oceans around Mexico, causing anomalous subsidence and reduced cloud cover over the tropical central North Pacific. The reduced cloudiness increased the amount of downward solar radiation, thus warming Hawaii.

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