The sea surface temperature deviation and the heat flow at the sea-air interface

The deviation of the sea surface temperature from the water temperature below is calculated as a function of the heat flow through the air-sea interface, using wind tunnel determinations of the effective thermal diffusivity in a boundary layer. The influence ofQ, shortwave radiation, andH, latent and sensible heat transfer plus effective back radiation, and U, wind speed, can be described by:T ₀ –T _w =C ₁ ·H/U +C ₂ ·Q/U. The calculated coefficients vary slightly with reference depth, Tables II and III. They are in good agreement with independent observations.On leave at Department of Oceanography, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon in 1969–70.