Effects of Heating/Cooling on Changes in Sea Surface Temperature: Consequences for Computation of Surface Advection from Satellite Images
Abstract
This project studies error sources in computing surface advection from sequential satellite images primarily focusing on interpretation of infrared weather satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST) images. To evaluate effects of heating and cooling at the ocean's surface the FASINEX data set was acquired along with coincident AVHRR images of the same region. A simple study of the satellite temperatures and those measured at the FASINEX moorings suggests the advective nature of the surface temperature field. A more detailed model is being developed to reveal detailed relationships between surface heat fluxes and the change of SST seen in the satellite images. We are also studying simultaneous of AVHRR and CZCS imagery to understand the similarities and differences between surface motion computed from changes in SST patterns and motion computed from changes in ocean color as revealed by the CZCS instrument. Unfortunately we have CZCS imagery available with 24 hour separations between images while the AVHRR can have separations as short as 4-6 hours. The shorter the interval the better the performance of the surface velocities computed from AVHRR data. While there are similarities between the AVHRR and CZCS data patterns there are also some marked differences between the two types of imagery. The question is are these differences caused by the very different competing sources of local variation (ie heat flux for SST and biological activity for CZCS) or by advection changes of the surface patterns we are trying to track. (EDC)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Oct 24, 1989
- Accession Number
- ADA214125
Entities
People
- Bill Emery
Organizations
- University of Colorado Boulder