Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Upper-Ocean Processes under the Stratus Cloud Deck in the Southeast Pacific Ocean

Yangxing Zheng NOAA/ESRL/CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, Boulder, Colorado

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George N. Kiladis NOAA/ESRL/CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, Boulder, Colorado

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Toshiaki Shinoda Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

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E. Joseph Metzger Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

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Harley E. Hurlburt Naval Research Laboratory, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

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Jialin Lin Department of Geography, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

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Benjamin S. Giese Department of Oceanography, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas

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Print Publication:
01 Jan 2010
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/2009JPO4213.1
Page(s):
103–120
Restricted access

Abstract

The annual mean heat budget of the upper ocean beneath the stratocumulus/stratus cloud deck in the southeast Pacific is estimated using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) and an eddy-resolving Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Both are compared with estimates based on Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Improved Meteorological (IMET) buoy observations at 20°S, 85°W. Net surface heat fluxes are positive (warming) over most of the area under the stratus cloud deck. Upper-ocean processes responsible for balancing the surface heat flux are examined by estimating each term in the heat equation. In contrast to surface heat fluxes, geostrophic transport in the upper 50 m causes net cooling in most of the stratus cloud deck region. Ekman transport provides net warming north of the IMET site and net cooling south of the IMET site. Although the eddy heat flux divergence term can be comparable to other terms at a particular location, such as the IMET mooring site, it is negligible for the entire stratus region when area averaged because it is not spatially coherent in the open ocean. Although cold-core eddies are often generated near the coast in the eddy-resolving model, they do not significantly impact the heat budget in the open ocean in the southeast Pacific.

Corresponding author address: Yangxing Zheng, NOAA/ESRL/CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, 325 Broadway, R/PSD1, Boulder, CO 80305. Email: yangxing.zheng@noaa.gov

Abstract

The annual mean heat budget of the upper ocean beneath the stratocumulus/stratus cloud deck in the southeast Pacific is estimated using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA) and an eddy-resolving Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). Both are compared with estimates based on Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Improved Meteorological (IMET) buoy observations at 20°S, 85°W. Net surface heat fluxes are positive (warming) over most of the area under the stratus cloud deck. Upper-ocean processes responsible for balancing the surface heat flux are examined by estimating each term in the heat equation. In contrast to surface heat fluxes, geostrophic transport in the upper 50 m causes net cooling in most of the stratus cloud deck region. Ekman transport provides net warming north of the IMET site and net cooling south of the IMET site. Although the eddy heat flux divergence term can be comparable to other terms at a particular location, such as the IMET mooring site, it is negligible for the entire stratus region when area averaged because it is not spatially coherent in the open ocean. Although cold-core eddies are often generated near the coast in the eddy-resolving model, they do not significantly impact the heat budget in the open ocean in the southeast Pacific.

Corresponding author address: Yangxing Zheng, NOAA/ESRL/CIRES Climate Diagnostics Center, 325 Broadway, R/PSD1, Boulder, CO 80305. Email: yangxing.zheng@noaa.gov

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