Air-sea fluxes in the Gulf of Tehuantepec

Measurements of air-sea fluxes were made during gap wind events in the Gulf of Tehuantepec using the NSF C-130 aircraft in winds to 25 m/sec at 30m. Parameterizations of the wind stress, sensible and latent heat fluxes were obtained from approximately 700 5 km long 30m tracks. Structure of the marine boundary layer as it evolved off-shore was obtained with stack patterns, aircraft soundings and deployment of dropsondes. The air-sea fluxes approximately follow previous parameterizations with some evidence of the drag coefficient leveling out at about 20 meters/sec with the latent heat flux slightly increasing. The boundary layer starts at shore as a gap wind low-level jet, thins as the jet expands out over the gulf, exhibits a hydraulic jump, and then increases due to turbulent mixing.