The Evolution of Diurnal Cycling in the Mixed Layer: Implications for Propagating Intra-Seasonal Oscillations

Abstract

Diurnal variability in sea surface temperature (SST) in the low latitude ocean influencesintraseasonal variability in the atmosphere. Intraseasonal atmospheric variability in turn feedsbackto the diurnal cycle of SST. The accurate representation of this ocean-atmosphere feedbackis a major challenge for coupled ocean-atmosphere models, but critical for effective forecastingof the southwest monsoon and its subseasonal, quasi-periodic variability (i.e. the MonsoonIntraseasonal Oscillation (MISO)). Diurnal cycling depends both on local surface forcingand the character of upper ocean variability, which is often influenced by non-local oceanographicdynamics across a range of spatiotemporal scales. Our understanding of diurnalcycling, and thus our ability to accurately parameterize SST variability and its influenceon MISOs, is limited by the availability of appropriate in situ observations.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
May 05, 2017
Source ID
N000141712391

Entities

People

  • Andrew J. Lucas

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers