6th Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography
11th Conference on Interaction of the Sea and Atmosphere

J1.1

SEAFLUX: Ocean Surface Turbulent Flux Project (Invited)

Judith A. Curry, University of Colorado, Boulder, CO; and W. B. Rossow, J. Schulz, and R. Weller

The need for high-resolution, accurate surface turbulent fluxes (heat, water vapor, momentum) over the global ocean has been articulated by numerous groups within the global climate community. In August 1999, the GEWEX Radiation Panel and JSC/SCOR Joint Working Group on Air/Sea Fluxes sponsored a workshop to review the analysis methods and data sets currently available and organize an intercomparison activity that includes in situ data, flux algorithms, satellite-derived input parameters and fluxes, and NWP products, which has been named SEAFLUX. The goals of SEAFLUX are to o assemble an extensive library of in situ data sets from research ships and buoys that includes direct turbulent flux measurements, skin and bulk sea surface temperature, wave information, and surface air temperature, humidity, and vector winds o evaluate bulk turbulent flux algorithms that are used in satellite flux algorithms and NWP models against the in situ data sets that include direct turbulent flux measurements o evaluate satellite retrieval techniques and NWP analyses against in situ data for surface skin temperature, surface air temperature, humidity and winds o evaluate satellite and NWP flux products against in situ data o conduct two intercomparison workshops to evaluate the comparison activities, recommend improvements to strategies being used to determine high resolution ocean surface turbulent fluxes, and assess the utility of the flux products in the target applications.

In this talk, an overview of the SEAFLUX project is given. To date, an extensive data set of in situ observations has been assembled. NWP and satellite data corresponding to the in situ observations have also been assembled. Preliminary results are presented for an intercomparison of NWP flux products with the in situ data, focusing on the the mid/high latitudes.

Joint Session 1, Air-Sea Interactions in High Latitudes (Joint with the Sixth Conference on Polar Meteorology and Oceanography and the 11th Conference on Interaction of the Sea and Atmosphere)
Wednesday, 16 May 2001, 8:00 AM-10:00 AM

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