Covariability of Near-Surface Wind Speed Statistics and Mesoscale Sea Surface Temperature Fluctuations

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dc.contributor.authorGemmrich, Johannes
dc.contributor.authorMonahan, Adam H.
dc.date.accessioned2019-09-26T12:00:50Z
dc.date.available2019-09-26T12:00:50Z
dc.date.copyright2018en_US
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractThe atmospheric (ABL) and ocean (OBL) boundary layers are intimately linked via mechanical and thermal coupling processes. In many regions over the world’s oceans, this results in a strong covariability between anomalies in wind speed and SST. At oceanic mesoscale, this coupling can be driven either from the atmosphere or the ocean. Gridded SST and wind speed data at 0.25° resolution show that over the western North Atlantic, the ABL mainly responds to the OBL, whereas in the eastern North Pacific and in the Southern Ocean, the OBL largely responds to wind speed anomalies. This general behavior is also verified by in situ buoy observations in the Atlantic and Pacific. A stochastic, nondimensional, 1D coupled air–sea boundary layer model is utilized to assess the relative importance of the coupling processes. For regions of little intrinsic SST fluctuations (i.e., most regions of the world’s oceans away from strong temperature fronts), the inclusion of cold water entrainment at the thermocline is crucial. In regions with strong frontal activities (e.g., the western boundary regions), the coupling is dominated by the SST fluctuations, and the frontal variability needs to be included in models. Generally, atmospheric and ocean-driven coupling lead to an opposite relationship between SST and wind speed fluctuations. This effect can be especially important for higher wind speed quantiles.en_US
dc.description.reviewstatusRevieweden_US
dc.description.scholarlevelFacultyen_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was supported by the Canadian Networks of Centres of Excellence as part of Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response (MEOPAR). AHM acknowledges support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada. Gridded SST and wind data were obtained from the NASA EOSDIS Physical Oceanography Distributed Active Archive Center (PO.DAAC). Buoy data are provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (http://www.meds-sdmm.dfo-mpo.gc.ca).en_US
dc.identifier.citationGemmrich, J. & Monahan, A. (2018). Covariability of Near-Surface Wind Speed Statistics and Mesoscale Sea Surface Temperature Fluctuations. Journal of Physical Oceanography, 49(10), 465-478. https://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-17-0177.1en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1175/JPO-D-17-0177.1
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1828/11181
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherJournal of Physical Oceanographyen_US
dc.subjectAtmosphere-ocean interaction
dc.subjectStochastic models
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Physics and Astronomy
dc.subject.departmentDepartment of Earth and Ocean Sciences
dc.subject.departmentSchool of Earth and Ocean Sciences
dc.titleCovariability of Near-Surface Wind Speed Statistics and Mesoscale Sea Surface Temperature Fluctuationsen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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