A NOPP Partnership for Skin Sea-Surface Temperature
Abstract
As a result of the heat flow between the ocean and overlying atmosphere, the surface of the ocean is nearly always somewhat cooler than the water at a depth of a millimeter or more. The temperature difference across the thermal conductive layer at the sea surface is called the thermal skin effect. During the day, solar heating may cause vertical temperature gradient in the uppermost several meters of the ocean, especially in conditions of low wind speed, which further decouple the bulk SSTs, conventionally measured by thermometers at a depth of a meter or so, from the skin SST, which is the temperature that controls the exchange of heat, momentum, and gases between the ocean and atmosphere. Furthermore, it is the skin temperature that gives rise to the signal measured by space-borne radiometers. Thus, the uncertainties in the satellite-derived SST fields determined by comparisons with sub-surface bulk temperature include a component due to the variability in the temperature gradients in the upper few meters and across the skin layer. The objectives are to provide accurate skin SSTs using autonomous radiometers, to establish the accuracy of satellite-derived skin SSTs, and to demonstrate the changes in the coupling between ocean and atmosphere in forecast models that help scientists understand the physical behavior of the skin layer. The project has three components: (1) deploying at sea instruments for measuring skin and bulk SST, and telemetering the measurements for use in an operational environment in near real-time; (2) using the skin temperature measurements to demonstrate the accuracy of the skin SSTs derived from a variety of satellite-borne radiometers operating in both the infrared and the microwave; and (3) demonstrating the use of the skin SST in an operational program as a precursor to the widespread use of skin SSTs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA482691
Entities
People
- Andrew T. Jessup
- Doug May
- Frank J. Wentz
- Gary A. Wick
- James A. Cummings
- Peter J. Minnett
- R. M. Reynolds
- William J. Emery
Organizations
- Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, and Earth Science