Evaluation of the Diurnal Warming of Sea Surface Temperature Using Satellite-Derived Marine Meteorological Data

In order to produce a high-quality sea surface temperature (SST) data set, the daily amplitude of SST (ΔSST) should be accurately known. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the diurnal variation of sea surface temperature in a simple manner. The authors first simulated ΔSST with a one-dimensional numerical model using buoy-observed meteorological data and satellite-derived solar radiation data. When insolation is strong, the model-simulated 1-m-depth ΔSST becomes much smaller than the in situ value as wind speed decreases. By forcibly mixing the sea surface layer, the model ΔSST becomes closer to the in situ value. It can be considered that part of this difference is due to the turbulence induced by the buoy hull. Then, on the assumption that the model results were reliable, the authors derived a regression equation to evaluate ΔSST at the skin and 1-m depth from daily mean wind speed (U) and daily peak solar radiation (PS). ΔSST is approximately proportional to In(U) and (PS)², and the skin ΔSST estimated by the equation is not inconsistent with in situ observation results reported in past studies. The authors prepared maps of PS and U using only satellite data, and demonstrated the ΔSST evaluation over a wide area. The result showed that some wide patchy areas where the skin ΔSST exceeds 3.0 K can appear in the tropics and the mid-latitudes in summer. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hourly sea surface temperature retrieval using the Japanese Geostationary Satellite,Multi-Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)

An algorithm has been developed for retrieving sea surface temperature (SST) from hourly data transmitted from the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) aboard a Japanese geostationary satellite, Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-1R. Threshold tests screening cloudy pixels are empirically adjusted to cases of daytime with/without sun glitter, and nighttime. The Non-Linear SST (NLSST) equation, including several new additional terms, is used to calculate MTSAT SST. The estimated SST is compared with drifting and moored buoy measurements, with the result that the bias of the MTSAT SST is nearly 0.0°K. The root mean square (rms) error is about 0.8°K, and it is 0.7°K under the condition that the satellite zenith angle is less than 50°. It is demonstrated that the hourly MTSAT SST produced by the algorithm developed here captures diurnal SST variations in the equatorial sea in mid-November 2006.     

Diurnal sea surface temperature variation and its impact on the atmosphere and ocean: A review

The importance of the diurnal variability of sea surface temperature (SST) on air-sea interaction is now being increasingly recognized. This review synthesizes knowledge of the diurnal SST variation, mainly paying attention to its impact on the atmosphere or the ocean. Diurnal SST warming becomes evident when the surface wind is weak and insolation is strong. Recent observations using satellite data and advanced instruments have revealed that a large diurnal SST rise occurs over wide areas in a specific season, and in an extreme case the diurnal amplitude of SST exceeds 5 K. The large diurnal SST rise can lead to an increase in net surface heat flux from the ocean of 50–60 Wm⁻² in the daytime. The temporal mean of the increase exceeds 10 Wm⁻², which will be non-negligible for the atmosphere. A few numerical experiments have indicated that the diurnal SST variation can modify atmospheric properties over the Pacific warm pool or a coastal sea, but the processes underlying the modification have not yet been investigated in detail. Furthermore, it has been shown that the diurnal change of ocean mixing process near the surface must be considered correctly in order to reproduce SST variations on an intraseasonal scale in a numerical model. The variation of mixed-layer properties on the daily scale is nonlinearly related to the intraseasonal variability. The mixed-layer deepening/shoaling process on the daily scale will also be related to biological and material circulation processes.     

Sea surface temperature observation by Global Imager (GLI)/ADEOS-II: Algorithm and accuracy of the product

A sea surface temperature (SST) retrieval algorithm for Global Imager (GLI) aboard the ADEOS-II satellite has been developed. The algorithm is used to produce the standard SST product in the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). The algorithm for cloud screening is formed by combinations of various types of tests to detect cloud-contaminated pixels. The combination is changed according to the solar zenith angle, which enables us to detect clouds even in the sun glitter region in daytime. The parameters in the cloud-detection tests have been tuned using the GLI global observations. SST is calculated by the Multi-Channel SST (MCSST) technique from the detected clear pixels. Using drifting buoy measurements, match-up data are produced to derive the coefficients of the MCSST equations and to examine their performance. The bias and RMSE of the GLI SST are 0.03 K and 0.66 K for daytime and, −0.01 K and 0.70 K for nighttime, respectively.     

In-situ diurnal sea surface temperature variations and near-surface thermal structure in the tropical hot event of the Indo-Pacific warm pool

Diurnal Sea Surface Temperature (SST) variations and the near-surface thermal structure of the tropical hot event (HE) have been investigated using advanced in-situ equatorial observations with hourly temporal resolution. The information on the HE area defined by the satellite cloud-free SSTs is used to sample the in-situ observations. The in-situ SSTs sampled for the HE conditions show that a maximum (minimum) SST has a histogram mode at 30.8°C (29.0°C), and frequently appears at 15:00 (07:00) local time. The amplitude of the diurnal SST variation (DSST) is defined by the difference between the maximum and minimum SSTs. The mean DSST during HEs is greater than 0.5°C, and has a maximum of about 0.75°C at the HE peak. The time series of mean DSST gradually increases (rapidly decreases) before (after) the peak. The satellite SST has a systematic positive bias against the corresponding daytime SST measured by the Triangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network. This bias is enhanced under conditions of large in-situ DSST. One-dimensional numerical model simulation suggests that the systematic bias is caused by the sharp vertical temperature gradient in the surface layer of HE. The near-surface thermal structure is generated by conditions of high insolation and low wind speed, which is the typical HE condition.     

Evaluation of the accuracy of downward radiative flux observations at the sea surface

Observations of downward radiative flux at the sea surface generally contain uncertainty due to limited numbers of observations and limitations of auxiliary equipment. The lack of shading from direct solar radiation and ventilation systems causes bias or random errors. To evaluate the error of radiation measurements at buoys, downward shortwave and longwave radiative fluxes are compared with International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project (ISCCP), Japanese 55-year Reanalysis (JRA55), and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) retrieved model calculations of 3-h and daytime averages. Cloud masking is evaluated by a combination of MTSAT-1R and in situ observations. Coincident observations from a land-surface station located near the buoy observatories are compared with satellite and reanalysis products. The bias at buoys, compared with retrievals, approximately over- and under-estimate for longwave and shortwave fluxes, respectively. The bias at buoys is larger and smaller than the land by 23–34 W m^?2 for longwave and 13–51 W m^?2 for shortwave radiation using 3-h averages under clear-sky conditions. The differences in bias decrease when using daytime averages for longwave, but the difference for shortwave increases with daytime averages. To evaluate the effect of environmental factors on buoy observations, we compared rainfall, wind speed, and solar zenith angle with the biases. We found that rainfall and wind speed affect buoy pyrgeometers such that they overestimate the longwave flux. The cosine of solar zenith angle does not cause overestimation for longwave flux, and the effect of dome heating is small. The strong wind causes underestimation of the shortwave radiative flux due to tilting. The effect of wind is reduced when daily averages are used.     

Evaluation of relative performance of QuikSCAT and NCEP re-analysis winds through simulations by an OGCM

The response of an ocean general circulation model (OGCM) to two different wind products, viz., NCEP/NCAR reanalysis and QuikSCAT scatterometer, was examined. OGCM-simulated thermodynamic variables from the two simulations, hereafter referred to as NCEP-R (NCEP/NCAR wind forced) and QS-R (QuikSCAT wind forced) were intercompared and also were compared against observations for a period of 3 years (2000–2002). In the tropical Indian Ocean (IO), the sea-level anomaly (SLA) simulated by QS-R has less root mean square error (RMSE) and higher correlation with respect to TOPEX/Poseidon SLA observations than SLA simulated by NCEP-R. Intraseasonal variability of currents observed by TRITON buoy in the IO was closely captured by QS-R, although the magnitudes are somewhat underestimated. Surface currents simulated by QS-R have less RMSE than those simulated by NCEP-R in the Pacific. However, the sub-surface currents are much weaker in magnitude in both the solutions, possibly because of deficiencies in the diffusion and viscosity parameterization. Sea-surface temperature (SST) simulated by QS-R has a cooler bias. The RMSE of SST simulated by NCEP-R is less than the RMSE of SST simulated by QS-R, with the latter capturing the variabilities more realistically. The large differences between SST simulated by QS-R and observations could be partly due to physical inconsistency between the momentum and heat fluxes. Scatterometer-forced model simulations of 20^oC thermocline depths (D20) are in better agreement with in situ-derived D20 than the D20 simulated by NCEP-R. Variations in the mixed layer depth at the TRITON buoy are better captured by QS-R than by NCEP-R. Speed of Kelvin and Rossby waves and the strength of upwelling/downwelling features in the IO are closer to observations in QS-R than in NCEP-R simulations.     

Examination of the merged sea surface temperature using wavelet analysis

In the previous study, merged sea surface temperature (SST) dataset called “New Generation SST” has been produced from several infrared and microwave satellite SSTs through an objective mapping. Here we examine the merged SST by comparison with moored buoy SST at 1 m depth, which is treated as true sea surface temperature. Comparison between wavelet spectra of merged and buoy SSTs shows that the former have larger amplitudes than those of the latter, which is partly explained as an aliasing effect due to TRMM Microwave Imager (TMI) aboard Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) sampling on merged products. Coherency between wavelet-decomposed merged and buoy SSTs has high values in autumn and low ones in winter to spring. In winter, phase differences between them are positive, meaning that wavelet components of merged SST lag those of buoy SST. Reasons for delay and low coherency are: (1) seasonal components of merged SSTs are strongly affected by a lack of infrared SSTs due to clouds in winter, and (2) small-scale oceanic features, undetectable by coarse-resolution microwave SSTs, are blurred by the merging process. Improvements of merging methodology are discussed with regard to present study results.     

Mixed Layer Depth and its Variability in the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean as Revealed by Observations and Model Simulations

Mixed layer depth (MLD) variability in the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean (EEIO) from a hindcast run of an Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) forced by daily winds and radiative fluxes from NCEP-NCAR reanalysis from 2004 to 2006 is investigated. Model MLD compares well with the ～20,000 observations from Argo floats and a TRITON buoy (1.5°S and 90°E) in the Indian Ocean. Tests with a one-dimensional upper ocean model were conducted to assess the impact on the MLD simulations that would result from the lack of the diurnal cycle in the forcing applied to the OGCM. The error was of the order of ～12 m. MLD at the TRITON buoy location shows a bimodal pattern with deep MLD during May–June and December–January. MLD pattern during fall 2006 was significantly different from the climatology and was rather shallow during December–January both in the model and observation. An examination of mixed layer heat and salt budget suggested salinity freshening caused by the advective and vertical diffusive mixing to be the cause of shallow MLD.     

Mesoscale wind stress–SST coupling in the Kuroshio extension and its effect on the ocean

Mesoscale perturbations (with a size of 100–1000 km) of wind stress magnitude, divergence and curl in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) are observed to tightly link to those of sea surface temperature (SST), and downwind and crosswind SST gradients, respectively. Based on long-term satellite observational data, their empirical relationships are established, which are further used to represent mesoscale wind stress–SST coupling in an ocean model that is based on the Regional Oceanic Modelling Systems (ROMS). The strength of mesoscale perturbations of wind stress and SST is observed to display a consistent seasonal variability, with the maximum appeared in winter while the minimum appeared in summer. This seasonal variability characteristic is also successfully simulated by ROMS with high resolution. Through comparing two experiments with and without the mesoscale wind stress–SST coupling, it is found that the mesoscale wind stress perturbation (τ _MS) has a negative feedback on SST perturbation (SST_MS). Analyses of sensitivity experiments suggest that the τ _MS acts to inhibit SST_MS mainly by means of surface heat flux. The τ _MS –SST_MS coupling also exerts influences on the ocean mean state and seasonal variability of SST in the KE. The effect of τ _MS on the SST is distinct in autumn and winter when the mesoscale perturbations are most active. Analyses of sensitivity experiments demonstrate that the τ _MS can affect the long term mean SST through either way of surface heat flux or momentum flux.     

Coastal upwelling along the north coast of Papua New Guinea and SST cooling over the pacific warm pool: A case study for the 2002/03 El Niño event

We investigate an overlooked mechanism—coastal upwelling—for sea surface temperature (SST) cooling in the western side of the mean location of the Pacific warm pool (WSWP: 5°S–5°N, 140°E–150°E) prior to El Niño onset. We analyze various observed data such as the TRIangle Trans-Ocean buoy Network (TRITON) moored buoy data, Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) data, satellite data and a hindcast experiment output by a high-resolution ocean general circulation model (OGCM). We focus on the precondition of the 2002/03 El Niño event, for which many datasets are available. Relatively cool water upwelled along the north coast of Papua New Guinea (PNG) during December 2001, prior to the onset of the 2002/03 El Niño event, and then spread out over a wider area to the northeast. Simultaneously, strong west-northerly surface winds occur along the north coast. Heat budget analysis of TRITON buoy data in the WSWP reveals that negative zonal heat advection due to eastward current is the main factor for cooling the mixed layer in the WSWP in contrast to the warming effect of the surface heat flux during the period. This cooling requires a source of colder water to the west. Similar analysis of OGCM outputs also suggests that the upwelled relatively cool water along the PNG north coast, and its northeastward extension to the equatorial region, contributes to cooling of the surface water over the WSWP mainly via negative zonal heat advection. Similar mechanisms are confirmed also for the 1982/83 and 1997/98 El Niño events by analyses of OGCM outputs and historical SST data. The low SST in the WSWP generated a positive zonal SST gradient together with high SST east of the WSWP. It may contribute to enhancement of the westerly surface wind in this region, leading to the onset of the 2002/03 El Niño event.     

Empirical method of diurnal correction for estimating sea surface temperature at dawn and noon

An empirical method has been developed for estimation of sea surface temperature (SST) at dawn and noon in local time from microwave observations at other times of the day. By using solar radiation, microwave sea surface wind, and SSTs, root-mean-square differences were reduced to approximately 0.75 and 0.8 °C for dawn and noon, respectively. The pseudo SST variation and spatial patterns found in daily mean SST values by simple averaging of samples were damped down by use of diurnal correction. The satellite SST with the diurnal correction shows highly significant coherent variation with in-situ measurements.     

基于MTSAT卫星遥感的中国海及西北太平洋海域海表温度日增温研究

Hourly sea surface temperature(SST) observations from the geostationary satellite are increasingly used in studies of the diurnal warming of the surface oceans. The aim of this study is to derive the spatial and temporal distribution of diurnal warming in the China seas and northwestern Pacific Ocean from Multi-functional Transport Satellite(MTSAT) SST. The MTSAT SST is validated against drifting buoy measurements firstly. It shows mean biases is about –0.2°C and standard deviation is about 0.6°C comparable to other satellite SST accuracy. The results show that the tropics, mid-latitudes controlled by subtropical high and marginal seas are frequently affected by large diurnal warming. The Kuroshio and its extension regions are smaller compared with the surrounding regions. A clear seasonal signal, peaking at spring and summer can be seen from the long time series of diurnal warming in the domain in average. It may due to large insolation and low wind speed in spring and summer, while the winter being the opposite. Surface wind speed modulates the amplitude of the diurnal cycle by influencing the surface heat flux and by determining the momentum flux. For the shallow marginal seas, such as the East China Sea, turbidity would be another important factor promoting diurnal warming. It suggests the need for the diurnal variation to be considered in SST measurement, air-sea flux estimation and multiple sensors SST blending.     

Validation of interannual simulations from the 1/8° global Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM)

A 1/8° global version of the Navy Coastal Ocean Model (NCOM) is used for simulation of upper-ocean quantities on interannual time scales. The model spans the global ocean from 80°S to a complete Arctic cap, and includes 19 terrain-following σ- and 21 fixed z-levels. The global NCOM assimilates three-dimensional (3D) temperature and salinity fields produced by the Modular Ocean Data Assimilation System (MODAS) which generates synthetic temperature and salinity profiles based on ocean surface observations. Model-data intercomparisons are performed to measure the effectiveness of NCOM in predicting upper-ocean quantities such as sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS) and mixed layer depth (MLD). Subsurface temperature and salinity are evaluated as well. An extensive set of buoy observations is used for this validation. Where possible, the model validation is performed between year-long time series obtained from the model and time series from the buoys. The statistical analyses include the calculation of dimensionless skill scores (SS), which are positive if statistical skill is shown and equal to one for perfect SST simulations. Model SST comparisons with year-long SST time series from all 83 buoys give a median SS value of 0.82. Model subsurface temperature comparisons with the year-long subsurface temperature time series from 24 buoys showed that the model is able to predict temperatures down to 500 m reasonably well, with positive SS values ranging from 0.18 to 0.97. Intercomparisons of MLD reveal that the model MLD is usually shallower than the buoy MLD by an average of about 15 m. Annual mean SSS and subsurface salinity biases between the model and buoy values are small. A comparison of SST between NCOM and a satellite-based Pathfinder data set demonstrates that the model has a root-mean-square (RMS) SST difference of 0.61 °C over the global ocean. Spatial variations of kinetic energy fields from NCOM show agree with historical observations. Based on these results, it is concluded that the global NCOM presented in this paper is able to predict upper-ocean quantities with reasonable accuracy for both coastal and open ocean locations.     

Surface heat fluxes during hot events

We selected surface flux datasets to investigate the heat fluxes during “hot events”; (HEs), defined as short-term, large-scale phenomena involving very high sea surface temperature (SST). Validation of the heat fluxes against in-situ ones, which are estimated from in-situ observation in HE sampling conditions, shows the accuracies (bias ± RMS error) of net shortwave radiation, net long wave radiation, latent heat and sensible heat fluxes are 20 ± 45.0 W m⁻², −9 ± 12.3 W m⁻², −2.3 ± 31.5 W m⁻² and 1.5 ± 5.0 W m⁻², respectively. Statistical analyses of HEs show that, during these events, net solar radiation remains high and then decreases from 246 to 220 W m⁻², while latent heat is low and then increases from 100 W m⁻² to 124 W m⁻². Histogram peaks indicate net solar radiation of 270 W m⁻² and latent heat flux of 90 W m⁻² during HEs. Further, HEs are shown to evolve in three phases: formation, mature, and ending phases. Mean heat gain (HG) in the HE formation phase of 60 W m⁻² is larger than the reasonably estimated annual mean HG range of 0–25 W m⁻² in the Indo-Pacific Warm Pool. Such large daily HG in the HE formation phase can be expected to increase SSTs and produce large amplitudes of diurnal SST variations during HEs, which have been observed by both satellite and in-situ measurements in our previous studies.     

Near-surface current measurement from a surface following data buoy (DB1)—II. An harmonic and residual analysis of current meter records

This part of the paper examines near-surface current data from different periods during the test mooring of the data buoy, DB1.Harmonic analyses show that variations in the major tidal constituents between each period are not significantly greater than the standard error of the measurement: the differences observed in the principal lunar semi-diurnal tide are explained partly in terms of a modulation by adjacent constituents. Unexpected forms for the quarter diurnal tidal ellipses derived from the DB1 data have been found also in independent measurements, in which a different mooring technique had been used. These are therefore unlikely to be of instrumental origin.Non-tidal energy at periods exceeding three days is shown to correlate with changes in wind and surface elevation, the correspondence between wind and current being greatest during a period of strong winds, when current at 3 m depth was 0.9% of wind speed at 8 m. The data are interpreted in favour of an Eulerian current rather than Lagrangian Stokes transport due to waves. Rectification of wave orbital velocities due to buoy motion is not detectable.In view of the overall quality of the data it is concluded that this combination of surface following buoy and long-path acoustic current meter can contribute usefully to the determination of mean near-surface currents in the open sea.     

A discus-hulled wave measuring buoy

Described herein is a self-contained, discus-hulled buoy 1.5 m dia., weighing 150 kg, which uses inertial instruments to measure wave height and tilt. Wave tank calibration and the theory of shallow draft buoys demonstrate such a hull accurately follows waves with length greater than twice the buoy diameter. The non-linear response of the buoy determines its sensitivity to low-frequency waves in a sea. And the ratio of wave signal to instrument “noise” is constant over the energetic part of the ocean-wave spectrum for measurements of wave acceleration and slope.     

Experimental investigations of the spatial and temporal variability of temperature in the near-surface layer with weak wind blowing

In situ data compiled during Cruise 52 of the R/VMikhail Lomonosov in May 1990 have been used to study the space-time variability of the near-surface temperature, with weak wind blowing. Temperature fluctuations within the layer of diurnal warming are shown to be primarily controlled by the heterogeneity of the wind-induced mixing and to be capable of indicating internal waves. The data on the manifestation of internal waves over a bottom rise are submitted, along with the statistical characteristics of temperature fluctuations in a cycle of solar warming. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

局地凝结加热对大气赤道波动稳定性的影响(英文)

利用β平面上大气斜压强迫模式,探讨了局地海表温度异常所造成的非绝热加热影响的赤道小振幅“拦截波”的稳定性。指出当加热函数是半余弦形式时,在加热区大气的反应是局地性的,但这个加热函数的小扰动能产生非局地性的大尺度反应。平均海表温度降低了赤道波动的稳定性。当稍超过临界值时,小尺度海表温度异常有可能使波动不稳定。     

船型海洋资料浮标的设计

介绍了我国船型海洋资料浮标浮标体和锚泊系统的设计方案 ,该浮标可适用于远海、深海海域布放 ,定点实时获取布放海域的水文、气象等有关要素的现场参数