The Turbulent Fluxes of Momentum and Sensible Heat over the Open Sea during Moderate to Strong Winds.

Abstract

Two systems for remote measurements of the air-sea fluxes of momentum, sensible heat and moisture during moderate to strong winds are described. One employs the dissipation method and the other the Reynolds flux or eddy correlation method. A modified Gill propeller-vane anemometer is the velocity sensor and a method of resolving the vertical velocity component, that accounts for the propeller's non-cosine behavior and avoids its non-linear operating region, is derived. The dynamic responses of the sensors are found from measurements in the actual turbulent conditions of the flux measurements. The results of an experiment on the Bedford tower, a stable platform moored in 59m of water 10 km offshore, are presented. Spectra, cospectra, turbulence statistics and transfer coefficients are calculated from the Reynolds flux velocity and temperature data and found to be comparable to previously reported values. Simultaneous dissipation and Reynolds flux estimates of both the momentum and sensible heat fluxes in up to 20 m/s winds are shown to be in excellent agreement. Also presented are the results of a second experiment where the systems were deployed on the weathership CCGS Quadra. A comparison of ship and tower drag coefficients from the dissipation system, demonstrates that the Bedford tower is essentially an open ocean site.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Aug 01, 1979
Accession Number
ADA081392

Entities

People

  • William George Large

Organizations

  • University of British Columbia

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Atmospheric Motion
  • Birds
  • Boundary Layer
  • British Columbia
  • Buoyancy
  • Drops
  • Fluid Dynamics
  • Frequency Bands
  • Heat Energy
  • Latent Heat
  • Measurement
  • Meteorology
  • Oceanography
  • Oceans
  • Recording Systems
  • Turbulence
  • Wind Direction

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Atmospheric Science / Meteorology, specifically Wind Wave Turbulence.
  • Fluid Dynamics.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers