scholarly journals Physical Processes Associated with the Tropical Atlantic SST Meridional Gradient

2006 ◽  
Vol 19 (21) ◽  
pp. 5500-5518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zeng-Zhen Hu ◽  
Bohua Huang
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Meridional Gradient ◽  
Boreal Spring ◽  
Leading Mode ◽  
Sst Gradient ◽  
Meridional Sst Gradient

Abstract The major modes of seasonal sea surface temperature (SST) meridional gradient and their connection with some regional mean SST indices in the Atlantic Ocean are examined using reanalysis data. The focus of the work is on the evolution of the dominant mode of the meridional SST gradient in boreal spring and the associated physical processes. The spatial distribution of the dominant mode in boreal spring is a seesaw pattern, reflecting the opposite variation of the meridional SST gradient between the subtropical and tropical North Atlantic, which resulted from a coherent warming or cooling with maxima along 10°–15°N. It is confirmed that this mode is dominated by the wind–evaporation–SST feedback. The feedback persists a longer time in the western Atlantic than in the eastern. The contribution to the SST variation is mainly from latent heat flux. The surface longwave and shortwave cloud radiative forcings are mainly determined by low cloud cover variations. The authors also found that the thermodynamic mode that peaked in boreal spring becomes weak in the following boreal summer. A similar thermodynamic mode appears in a northward position in boreal autumn, and its life cycle is shorter than the one in boreal spring. In contrast to the leading mode in boreal spring, it is shown that the leading mode in boreal summer is a dynamical air–sea feedback mode, reflecting a coherent warming or cooling pattern extending from the Angolan coast toward the equator in the Gulf of Guinea. The thermodynamic processes act as a negative feedback. The net surface latent heat flux anomalies are the leading damping factor, while the sensible heat flux plays the same role on a smaller scale.

scholarly journals Relationship between the Hadley Circulation and Different Tropical Meridional SST Structures during Boreal Summer

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (16) ◽  
pp. 6575-6590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Feng ◽  
Jianping Li ◽  
Feifei Jin ◽  
Sen Zhao ◽  
Jianlei Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Asian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Hadley Circulation ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Sst Variability ◽  
Warming Pattern ◽  
Leading Mode ◽  
Asian Summer ◽  
Tropical Sea ◽  
Relationship Of

Abstract The relationship of the Hadley circulation (HC) to different tropical sea surface temperature (SST) meridional structures during boreal summer is investigated over the period of 1979–2016. After decomposing the variations of the HC into the equatorially asymmetric HC (HEA), zonal-mean equatorially asymmetric SST (SEA), equatorially symmetric HC (HES), and equatorially symmetric SST (SES) components, the ratio of the HEA associated with SEA with respect to the HES associated with SES is around 2 across multiple reanalyses, which is a smaller ratio than in the annual and seasonal cycle. The reduced ratio of the HC to SST is due to the regional SST variation in the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) domain. The first leading mode (EOF1) of the regional SST variability in the ASM domain is dominated by a homogeneous warming pattern. This pattern is associated with an equatorially asymmetric HC, but it has an opposite direction to the climatological HEA and so weakens the HEA. The second dominant mode has an El Niño–like pattern, which resembles the distribution of the principal mode of the SST in the non-ASM region. Both modes are responsible for the variation of HES. However, the SST EOF1 in the ASM domain displays a significant upward trend, favoring a suppressed HEA, and leading to the smaller ratio of the HC to SST during boreal summer. Moreover, the variation of the SST EOF1 is closely linked with the intensity of the ASM, highlighting the potential modulation by the ASM of the relation between the HC and SST during boreal summer.

Wind Speed, Surface Flux, and Convection Coupling from CYGNSS Data

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Maloney ◽  
Hien Bui ◽  
Emily Riley Dellaripa ◽  
Bohar Singh
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Surface Flux ◽  
Surface Wind Speed ◽  
Surface Fluxes ◽  
Heat Fluxes ◽  
Boreal Summer

<p>This study analyzes wind speed and surface latent heat flux anomalies from the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS), aiming to understand the physical mechanisms regulating intraseasonal convection, particularly associated with the Madden-Julian oscillation (MJO). The importance of wind-driven surface flux variability for supporting east Pacific diurnal convective disturbances during boreal summer is also examined. An advantage of CYGNSS compared to other space-based datasets is that its surface wind speed retrievals have reduced attenuation by precipitation, thus providing improved information about the importance of wind-induced surface fluxes for the maintenance of convection. Consistent with previous studies from buoys, CYGNSS shows that enhanced MJO precipitation is associated with enhanced wind speeds, and that associated surface heat fluxes anomalies have a magnitude about 7%-12% of precipitation anomalies. Thus, latent heat flux anomalies are an important maintenance mechanism for MJO convection through the column moist static energy budget. A composite analysis during boreal summer over the eastern north Pacific also supports the idea that wind-induced surface flux is important for MJO maintenance there. We also show the surface fluxes help moisten the atmosphere in advance of diurnal convective disturbances that propagate offshore from the Colombian Coast during boreal summer, helping to sustain such convection.  </p>

Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere Interactions between the Madden–Julian Oscillation and Synoptic-Scale Variability over the Warm Pool

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (12) ◽  
pp. 2004-2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crispian P. Batstone ◽  
Adrian J. Matthews ◽  
David P. Stevens
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Ocean Model ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Madden Julian Oscillation ◽  
Wind Variability ◽  
Eastern Hemisphere

Abstract A principal component analysis of the combined fields of sea surface temperature (SST) and surface zonal and meridional wind reveals that the dominant mode of intraseasonal (30 to 70 day) covariability during northern winter in the tropical Eastern Hemisphere is that of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO). Regression calculations show that the submonthly (30-day high-pass filtered) surface wind variability is significantly modulated during the MJO. Regions of increased (decreased) submonthly surface wind variability propagate eastward, approximately in phase with the intraseasonal surface westerly (easterly) anomalies of the MJO. Because of the dependence of the surface latent heat flux on the magnitude of the total wind speed, this systematic modulation of the submonthly surface wind variability produces a significant component in the intraseasonal latent heat flux anomalies, which partially cancels the latent heat flux anomalies due to the slowly varying intraseasonal wind anomalies, particularly south of 10°S. A method is derived that demodulates the submonthly surface wind variability from the slowly varying intraseasonal wind anomalies. This method is applied to the wind forcing fields of a one-dimensional ocean model. The model response to this modified forcing produces larger intraseasonal SST anomalies than when the model is forced with the observed forcing over large areas of the southwest Pacific Ocean and southeast Indian Ocean during both phases of the MJO. This result has implications for accurate coupled modeling of the MJO. A similar calculation is applied to the surface shortwave flux, but intraseasonal modulation of submonthly surface shortwave flux variability does not appear to be important to the dynamics of the MJO.

Upscale Feedback of Tropical Synoptic Variability to Intraseasonal Oscillations through the Nonlinear Rectification of the Surface Latent Heat Flux*

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (21) ◽  
pp. 5738-5754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhua Zhou ◽  
Tim Li
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Wave Train ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillation ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Specific Humidity ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Northwestern Pacific ◽  
Surface Latent Heat Flux

Abstract Analysis of observational data suggests two-way interactions between the tropical intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) and synoptic-scale variability (SSV). On one hand, SSV is strongly modulated by the ISO; that is, a strengthened (weakened) SSV appears during the enhanced (suppressed) ISO phase. The northwest–southeast-oriented synoptic wave train is strengthened and well organized in the northwestern Pacific during the enhanced ISO phase but weakened during the suppressed ISO phase. On the other hand, SSV may exert an upscale feedback to ISO through the nonlinearly rectified surface latent heat flux (LHF). The maximum synoptic contribution exceeds 20%–30% of the total intraseasonal LHF over the tropical Indian Ocean, western Pacific, and northeastern Pacific. The nonlinearly rectified LHF leads the ISO convection and boundary layer specific humidity, and thus it may contribute to the propagation of the ISO in boreal summer through the preconditioning of the surface moisture and moist static energy ahead of the convection.

The Potential Roles of Background Surface Wind in the SST Variability Associated with Intraseasonal Oscillations

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (18) ◽  
pp. 7053-7068 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaya Kanemaru ◽  
Hirohiko Masunaga
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Heat Budget ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Boreal Winter ◽  
Westerly Wind ◽  
Sst Variability ◽  
Intraseasonal Oscillations

Abstract The current study is aimed at exploring the potential roles of the seasonally altering background surface wind in the seasonality of the intraseasonal oscillations (ISOs) with a focus on the sea surface temperature (SST) variability. A composite analysis of the ocean mixed layer heat budget in term of ISO phases with various satellite data is performed for boreal winter and summer. The scalar wind is found to be a dominant factor that accounts for the ocean surface heat budget, implying that the background surface wind as well as its anomaly is important for the SST variability. An easterly anomaly to the east of convection diminishes scalar wind, and thus latent heat flux, when superposed onto a background westerly wind, implying that the presence of basic westerly wind is important for the development of a warm SST anomaly ahead of the ISO convection. On the other hand, an easterly anomaly in combination with basic easterly wind magnifies scalar wind and latent heat flux and cancels out the shortwave heat flux anomaly. The seasonal migration of the background westerly wind, which is confined to a southern equatorial belt in boreal winter but spread across the northern Indian Ocean in boreal summer, may offer a mechanism that partly accounts for the seasonal characteristics of ISO propagation. The northward propagation of the SST variability associated with the boreal summer ISO is found to also involve a similar mechanism with the meridional wind modulation of scalar wind.

scholarly journals Seasonal Variability of SST Fronts in the Inner Sea of Chiloé and Its Adjacent Coastal Ocean, Northern Patagonia

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 181
Author(s):  
Gonzalo S. Saldías ◽  
Wilber Hernández ◽  
Carlos Lara ◽  
Richard Muñoz ◽  
Cristian Rojas ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Coastal Upwelling ◽  
Environmental Variability ◽  
Function Analysis ◽  
Coastal Ocean ◽  
Dominant Mode ◽  
Early Summer ◽  
High Biological Activity ◽  
Northern Patagonia ◽  
Sst Gradient ◽  
Sst Fronts

Surface oceanic fronts are regions characterized by high biological activity. Here, Sea Surface Temperature (SST) fronts are analyzed for the period 2003–2019 using the Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) SST product in northern Patagonia, a coastal region with high environmental variability through river discharges and coastal upwelling events. SST gradient magnitudes were maximum off Chiloé Island in summer and fall, coherent with the highest frontal probability in the coastal oceanic area, which would correspond to the formation of a coastal upwelling front in the meridional direction. Increased gradient magnitudes in the Inner Sea of Chiloé (ISC) were found primarily in spring and summer. The frontal probability analysis revealed the highest occurrences were confined to the northern area (north of Desertores Islands) and around the southern border of Boca del Guafo. An Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis was performed to clarify the dominant modes of variability in SST gradient magnitudes. The meridional coastal fronts explained the dominant mode (78% of the variance) off Chiloé Island, which dominates in summer, whereas the SST fronts inside the ISC (second mode; 15.8%) were found to dominate in spring and early summer (October–January). Future efforts are suggested focusing on high frontal probability areas to study the vertical structure and variability of the coastal fronts in the ISC and its adjacent coastal ocean.

scholarly journals Factors of boreal summer latent heat flux variations over the tropical western North Pacific

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuqi Wang ◽  
Renguang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Wind Speed ◽  
North Pacific ◽  
High Frequency ◽  
Western North Pacific ◽  
Surface Wind ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Boreal Summer ◽  
Wind Intensity ◽  
Tropical Western North Pacific

AbstractSurface latent heat flux (LHF) is an important component in the heat exchange between the ocean and atmosphere over the tropical western North Pacific (WNP). The present study investigates the factors of seasonal mean LHF variations in boreal summer over the tropical WNP. Seasonal mean LHF is separated into two parts that are associated with low-frequency (> 90-day) and high-frequency (≤ 90-day) atmospheric variability, respectively. It is shown that low-frequency LHF variations are attributed to low-frequency surface wind and sea-air humidity difference, whereas high-frequency LHF variations are associated with both low-frequency surface wind speed and high-frequency wind intensity. A series of conceptual cases are constructed using different combinations of low- and high-frequency winds to inspect the respective effects of low-frequency wind and high-frequency wind amplitude to seasonal mean LHF variations. It is illustrated that high-frequency wind fluctuations contribute to seasonal high-frequency LHF only when their intensity exceeds the low-frequency wind speed under which there is seasonal accumulation of high-frequency LHF. When high-frequency wind intensity is smaller than the low-frequency wind speed, seasonal mean high-frequency LHF is negligible. Total seasonal mean LHF anomalies depend on relative contributions of low- and high-frequency atmospheric variations and have weak interannual variance over the tropical WNP due to cancellation of low- and high-frequency LHF anomalies.

An analog period method for gap‐filling of latent heat flux measurements

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucas Emilio B. Hoeltgebaum ◽  
Nelson Luís Dias ◽  
Marcelo Azevedo Costa
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Latent Heat Flux ◽  
Gap Filling ◽  
Flux Measurements

scholarly journals Thermodynamic feedback processes in a single-column sea-ice-ocean model

1997 ◽  
Vol 25 ◽  
pp. 327-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marika M. Holland ◽  
Julie L. Schramm ◽  
Judith A. Curry
Keyword(s):  
Heat Flux ◽  
Sea Ice ◽  
Surface Heat Flux ◽  
General Circulation ◽  
Accurate Determination ◽  
Circulation Model ◽  
Surface Heat ◽  
Physical Processes ◽  
Feedback Mechanisms ◽  
Albedo Feedback

Due to large uncertainties in many of the parameters used to model sea ice, it is possible that models with significantly different physical processes can be tuned to obtain realistic present-day simulations. However, in studies of climate change, it is the response of the model it various perturbations that is important, in studies response can be significantly different in sea-ice models that include or exclude various physical feedback mechanisms. Because simplifications in sea-ice physics are necessary for general circulation model experiments, it is important to assess which physical processes are essential for the accurate determination of the sensitivity of the ice pack to climate perturbations. We have attempted to address these issues using a new coupled ice-thickness distribution ocean mixed-layer model. The sensitivity of the model to surface heat-flux perturbations is examined and the importance of the ice ocean and ice-albedo feedback mechanisms in determining this sensitivity is analyzed. We find that the ice ocean and ice-albedo feedback processes are not mutually exclusive, and that they both significantly alter the model response to surface heat flux perturbations.

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