Diurnal sea surface temperature drives turbulence in the tropical atmospheric mixed layer
Abstract
Absorption of sunlight forms a diurnal warm layer (DWL) in the afternoon at the surface and upper meters of the ocean when wind is weak. Analyses using models and remote sensing data disagree on the frequency of DWLs stronger than 1 °C. In situ time series in the central Indian Ocean showed the DWL exceeded 1 °C for 24% of days in October-December 2011 during the Dynamics of the Madden Julian Oscillation (DYNAMO) experiment. For 4 days with mean wind of 1.4 m/s, the DWL was 1.5-2.5 °C.
- Publication:
-
AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts
- Pub Date:
- December 2020
- Bibcode:
- 2020AGUFMA103...05D
- Keywords:
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- 3311 Clouds and aerosols;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 3322 Land/atmosphere interactions;
- ATMOSPHERIC PROCESSES;
- 4504 Air/sea interactions;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL;
- 4572 Upper ocean and mixed layer processes;
- OCEANOGRAPHY: PHYSICAL