Atmospheric Boundary Layer Simulations During Cold Air Outbreaks over the Gulf Stream

Several large domain 10 and 2 km nested simulations of cold air outbreaks (CAOs) were performed using the Weather Research and Forecast Model (WRF) Advanced Research WRF version 3.2.1. CAOs over the Gulf Stream cause large upward heat and moisture fluxes from the ocean surface to the atmospheric boundary layer. As ocean water density depends on both temperature and salinity, these weather events may have a large impact on the ocean climatology as the Gulf Stream makes its way northward. Specifically, cold air outbreaks act to increase ocean surface density by decreasing the sea surface temperature and increasing the sea surface salinity. Thus, this study quantifies the ocean to atmosphere heat and moisture losses during several cold air outbreaks to better understand the ocean-atmosphere heat transfer.