Mechanisms controlling the SST air-sea heat flux feedback and its dependence on spatial scale
Date
2016-04-05Metadata
Show full item recordCitable URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1912/8853As published
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-016-3142-3Keyword
Sea surface temperature; Air-sea interaction; Feedback; Variability; Southern Ocean; North AtlanticAbstract
The turbulent air-sea heat
flux feedback (α, in W m-2 K-1) is a major
contributor to setting the damping timescale of sea surface temperature (SST)
anomalies. In this study we compare the spatial distribution and magnitude of
α in the North Atlantic and the Southern Ocean, as estimated from the ERA-Interim reanalysis dataset. The comparison is rationalized in terms of an upper
bound on the heat
flux feedback, associated with \fast" atmospheric export of
temperature and moisture anomalies away from the marine boundary layer, and a
lower bound associated with "slow" export. It is found that regions of cold surface
waters (≤10°C) are best described as approaching the slow export limit. This
conclusion is not only valid at the synoptic scale resolved by the reanalysis data,
but also on basin scales. In particular, it applies to the heat
flux feedback acting
as circumpolar SST anomaly scales are approached in the Southern Ocean, with
feedbacks of ≤10 W m-2 K-1. In contrast, the magnitude of the heat
flux feed-back is close to that expected from the fast export limit over the Gulf Stream and
its recirculation with values on the order of ≈40 W m-2 K-1. Further analysis
suggests that this high value reflects a compensation between a moderate thermo-dynamic adjustment of the boundary layer, which tends to weaken the heat flux
feedback, and an enhancement of the surface winds over warm SST anomalies,
which tend to enhance the feedback.
Description
Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2016. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Springer for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Climate Dynamics 48 (2017): 1297–1307, doi:10.1007/s00382-016-3142-3.
Collections
Suggested Citation
Preprint: Hausmann, Ute, Czaja, Arnaud, Marshall, John, "Mechanisms controlling the SST air-sea heat flux feedback and its dependence on spatial scale", 2016-04-05, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-016-3142-3, https://hdl.handle.net/1912/8853Related items
Showing items related by title, author, creator and subject.
-
Bora event variability and the role of air-sea feedback
Pullen, Julie; Doyle, James D.; Haack, Tracy; Dorman, Clive E.; Signell, Richard P.; Lee, Craig M. (American Geophysical Union, 2007-02-13)A two-way interacting high resolution numerical simulation of the Adriatic Sea using the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) and Coupled Ocean/Atmosphere Mesoscale Prediction System (COAMPS®) was conducted to improve forecast ... -
Community feedback collected between June 2019 and February 2020 on how researchers search and access new data for research as well as feedback on potential enhancements to help improve BCO-DMO’s service to the research community.
Haskins, Christina; Soenen, Karen; Biddle, Mathew; Copley, Nancy; Rauch, Shannon; York, Amber D.; Kinkade, Danie; Shepherd, Adam; Saito, Mak A.; Wiebe, Peter H. (Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO). Contact: bco-dmo-data@whoi.edu, 2020-10-06)Oceanographic data, when well-documented and stewarded toward preservation, have the potential to accelerate new science and facilitate our understanding of complex natural systems. The Biological and Chemical Oceanography ... -
Ecosystem feedbacks and cascade processes : understanding their role in the responses of Arctic and alpine ecosystems to environmental change
Wookey, Philip A.; Aerts, Rien; Bardgett, Richard D.; Baptist, Florence; Bråthen, Kari Anne; Cornelissen, Johannes H. C.; Gough, Laura; Hartley, Iain P.; Hopkins, David W.; Lavorel, Sandra; Shaver, Gaius R. (2008-09-11)Global environmental change, related to climate change and the deposition of airborne N-containing contaminants, has already resulted in shifts in plant community composition among plant functional types in arctic and ...