Publication Date:
2022-05-25
Description:
Monthly atmospheric and oceanographic variables for the western North Atlantic Ocean from various sources are
presented as contour or vector maps. These fields were assembled for a study of the upper ocean heat budget. Atmospheric
fields include the net surface heat fluxes and wind stress derived from the 1000 mb winds from the European Centre for
Medium-range Weather Forecasting (ECMWF). Oceanographic fields include the sea surface height from the Geosat radar
altimeter and sea surface temperature from the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR). An additional
estimate of net surface heat flux is shown; this estimate was derived by assimilating winds, currents and ocean
temperatures into a mixed layer model. The maps show a complex interplay of fluctuations in the winds and heat fluxes,
and in the structure and temperature gradients of the Gulf Stream system. Some comments are offered on a comparison of
the two heat flux estimates.
Description:
Funding was provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under Contract
No. NA16RC0468-01 and by the National Aeronautic Space Administration under Contract No. NAGW-1666.
Keywords:
Heat flux
;
Sea surface height
;
Wind stress
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Technical Report
Format:
10012095 bytes
Format:
application/pdf
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