Satellite observations have revealed a small-scale (< 1000 km) air-sea coupling in regions of strong sea surface temperature (SST) gradients (e.g., fronts, currents, eddies, and tropical instability waves), where the surface wind and wind stress are modified. Surface winds and wind stresses are persistently higher over the warm side of the SST front compared to the cool side, causing perturbations in the dynamically and thermodynamically curl and divergence fields. Capturing this small-scale SST-wind variability is important because it can significantly impact both local and remote (i.e., large scale) oceanic and atmospheric processes. The SST-wind relationship is not well represented in numerical weather prediction (NWP) and climate models, and the relative importance of the physical processes that are proposed to be responsible for this relationship is actively and vehemently debated. This study focuses on the physical mechanisms that are primarily responsible for the SST-induced changes in surface wind and wind stress, and on the physical implication on ocean forcing through Ekman pumping. The roles that SST-induced atmospheric baroclinicity and boundary-layer stability play in modifying the surface vector wind in regions of strong SST gradients are examined with an idealized model. Modeled changes in surface wind speed due to changes in atmospheric boundary-layer stability and baroclinicity are largely between -2.0 and 2.0 m s-1, which is consistent with past observational findings. The baroclinic-related changes in the surface vector wind are found to have a largely linear dependence on the SST gradient, whereas the stability-related changes are highly non-linear. The linearity of the baroclinic impacts matches that of the observed (satellite and in situ) SST-wind relationship. This result suggests that the baroclinic-related mechanism is the leading factor in driving the observed surface wind response to strong open ocean SST fronts on scales greater than 25 km. This study shows that the baroclinic-related changes in Ekman pumping are significant (first-order) over a seasonal (2003 winter season) time scale and that the small-scale impacts are quite important over larger spatial scales. These findings highlight the need to consider the small-scale SST-wind relationship even in coarser resolution model simulation, for which it may be feasible to parameterize because of the linear nature of the baroclinic-related effects. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Summer Semester, 2014. / June 27, 2014. / Air-Sea Interaction, Sea Surface Temperature Gradients, SST-wind relationship, Surface Vector Winds / Includes bibliographical references. / Mark A. Bourassa, Professor Directing Dissertation; Eric Chassignet, University Representative; William Dewar, Committee Member; Guosheng Liu, Committee Member; Xiaolei Zou, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_254442 |
| Contributors | Hughes, Paul J. (authoraut), Bourassa, Mark A. (professor directing dissertation), Chassignet, Eric (university representative), Dewar, William (committee member), Liu, Guosheng (committee member), Zou, Xiaolei (committee member), Department of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource, computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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