Surface Meteorology During Ocean Storms Field Program
Abstract
A summary of the meteorological conditions in the Gulf of Alaska during the Ocean Storms experiment is presented along with a data set of the surface meteorological observations by ships of opportunity and National Data Buoy Center buoys. An optimal interpolation procedure is described and used with the surface observations to interpolate air pressure, wind speed and direction, air temperature, air-sea temperature difference, and dew point depression. Separate interpolations are made using the National Meteorological Center 2.5 deg grids and digitized versions of hand analyses made during the experiment. Extensive comparisons are made between these three data sets and the observations at three NDBC buoys. These are used to assess the accuracy of the interpolated fields and to suggest optimal ways to use them to compute surface winds, temperatures, and fluxes. The hand analyzed synoptic charts of the surface meteorology are included. The air stress and sensible heat flux are presented for the position of the Ocean Storms moorings. A data tape containing all the observations, interpolations, and fields is described. Keywords: Marine meteorology; Ocean surface; Sea water temperature; Meteorological data processing; Autumn; Winter.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 1988
- Accession Number
- ADA206856
Entities
People
- Ronald W. Lindsay
Organizations
- University of Washington