Publication Date:
2015-03-28
Description:
We present the first continuous in situ atmospheric observations from the central Iceland Sea collected from a meteorological buoy deployed for a two-year period between November 23, 2007 and August 21, 2009. We use these observations to evaluate the ERA-Interim reanalysis product and demonstrate that it represented low-level meteorological fields and surface turbulent fluxes in this region very well. The buoy observations showed that moderate to strong winds were common from any direction, while wind speeds below 5 m s -1 were relatively rare. The observed low-level air temperature and surface heat fluxes were related to the wind direction with cold-air outbreaks most common from the northwest. Mean wintertime turbulent heat fluxes were modest (〈60 W m -2 ), but the range was substantial. High heat flux events, greater than 200 W m -2 , typically occurred every 1-2 weeks in the winter, with each event lasting on average 2.5 days with an average total turbulent heat flux of ~200 W m -2 . The most pronounced high heat flux events over the central Iceland Sea were associated with cold-air outbreaks from the north and west forced by a deep Lofoten Low over the Norwegian Sea.
Print ISSN:
0148-0227
Topics:
Geosciences
,
Physics
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