The hurricane mixing front

The temperature of the sea surface beneath the hurricane inner core is a key factor controlling the flux of enthalpy from the ocean to the hurricane and thus an important influence on hurricane intensification. Mixing caused by the hurricane winds produces a rapid cooling of the sea surface as cooler water is mixed upward from below. This produces a front in sea surface temperature beneath the storm. The position of this front relative to the eye should thus be related to SST- induced storm intensification. Data from the CBLAST measurements in hurricanes is used to map several examples of this front. The sensitivity of its position to storm properties is explored using simple models of ocean mixing.