Error Analysis of Satellite-derived SeaFlux Heat and Moisture Fluxes with In Situ-derived Fluxes

Errors in satellite-derived winds, temperatures, and humidities reduce the accuracy and representativeness of the regional energy and moisture budgets, specifically in regards to the turbulent flux portions of the energy and moisture fluxes. Errors on the order or 10 Wm-2 in the latent heat flux, for example, have significance in the tropics on an annual scale. Additionally, errors of this magnitude are significant on a seasonal scale for the mid-latitudes where the mixed layer is relatively thin. Error estimates of bulk parameters are key to conducting an error analysis of satellite-derived energy and moisture fluxes.

This project will use satellite heat fluxes computed from the SeaFlux version 1 product for the available parameter space in the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. The satellite-derived energy and moisture fluxes will be compared to in situ data from the Shipboard Automated Meteorological Oceanographic System (SAMOS) program and from selected buoy arrays. This will involve co-locating the data temporally and spatially and conducting an analysis to determine the magnitude of the error. Additionally, this project will examine problematic scenarios and develop error flagging for these conditions where errors in the computed fluxes are relatively large.