Characteristics of Satellite-Based Ocean Turbulent Heat Flux around the Korean Peninsula and Relationship with Changes in Typhoon Intensity

Jaemin Kim,Yun Gon Lee

doi:10.3390/rs13010042

Abstract

Ocean-atmosphere energy exchange is an important factor in the maintenance of oceanic and atmospheric circulation and the regulation of meteorological and climate systems. Oceanic sensible and latent heat fluxes around the Korean Peninsula were determined using satellite-based air-sea variables (wind speed, sea surface temperature, and atmospheric specific humidity and temperature) and the coupled ocean-atmosphere response experiment (COARE) 3.5 bulk algorithm for six years between 2014 and 2019. Seasonal characteristics of the marine heat flux and its short-term fluctuations during summer typhoons were also investigated. air-sea variables were produced through empirical relationships and verified with observational data from marine buoys around the Korean Peninsula. Satellite-derived wind speed, sea surface temperature, atmospheric specific humidity, and air temperature were strongly correlated with buoy data, with R2 values of 0.80, 0.97, 0.90, and 0.91, respectively. Satellite-based sensible and latent heat fluxes around the peninsula were also validated against fluxes calculated from marine buoy data, and displayed low values in summer and higher values in autumn and winter as the difference between air-sea temperature and specific humidity increased. Through analyses of spatio-temporal fluctuations in the oceanic turbulent heat flux and variations in intensities of typhoons, this study assessed the possibility of monitoring air-sea energy exchange using satellite-based ocean turbulent heat fluxes during high-impact weather.

Highlights

IntroductionAir–sea energy exchange through turbulent heat (sensible and latent heat) makes a significant contribution to Earth’s energy budget, together with the exchange via shortwave and long-wave radiation
Air–sea energy exchange through turbulent heat makes a significant contribution to Earth’s energy budget, together with the exchange via shortwave and long-wave radiation
The purpose of this study is to produce a satellite-based oceanic turbulent heat flux dataset optimized for the ocean around the Korean Peninsula, and to make it so it can be utilized for further research on the intercorrelation between typhoon and ocean heat flux over the region

Summary

Introduction

Air–sea energy exchange through turbulent heat (sensible and latent heat) makes a significant contribution to Earth’s energy budget, together with the exchange via shortwave and long-wave radiation. Differences in temperature and humidity between the atmosphere and sea surface cause turbulent sensible heat flux (SHF) and latent heat flux (LHF), respectively. Continuous monitoring of the temporospatial distribution of oceanic heat fluxes by in situ and/or remote sensing observations is required to understand and elucidate the process of energy exchange by the turbulent heat. Oceanic turbulent heat flux can be used to study the effects of air–ocean interactions and energy transfer on weather events such as typhoons. Previous simulation- and observation-based studies have shown that typhoon intensity increases with increasing oceanic LHF in the open ocean [1,2,3,4], whereas for several typhoons in the closed ocean of the South China Sea, the LHF decreases during the intensification phase [5]. The SHF has been found to affect the size and rainband activity of typhoons, rather than their intensity [6,7]

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