5B.9
Effects of a diurnal sea surface temperature on surface fluxes and atmospheric variability
Christine Haman, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee, FL; and C. A. Clayson
A coupled atmosphere-ocean single-column model is used to evaluate the effects of diurnal sea surface temperature variability on the marine boundary layer. It has been shown that the use of a diurnally-varying sea surface temperature as opposed to a daily-averaged sea surface temperature can substantially impact the lower atmosphere by several degrees, and the upper atmosphere through convection. The extent to which a daily-averaged sea surface temperature changes the resulting atmospheric profiles depends on whether the diurnal variability was strong; under low-wind conditions the differences are the most dramatic. Such perturbations as the Madden-Julian Oscillation with active and suppressed phases in the tropical western Pacific can affect the magnitude of the diurnal warming. The two boundary layers are coupled through the air-sea fluxes of heat and moisture in these model simulations, but the mechanisms causing the extensive and long-lasting atmospheric variability have not yet been identified. These mechanisms and an analysis of the feedbacks at various scales and differing sea surface temperature diurnal warming regimes are shown. .
Session 5B, Session Co-Sponsored by the Interaction of the Sea and Atmosphere
Wednesday, 17 January 2007, 11:30 AM-5:30 PM, 214C
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