Interannual variability of the surface heat budget over the northern North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans

Abstract

The January anomaly time series for each term of the surface heat budget (solar and longwave radiation, sensible and latent heat fluxes) are calculated for Ocean Weather Stations (OWSs) in the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans. The data set used is the Comprehensive Ocean-Atmosphere Data Set (COADS). The dominant term is the latent heat flux. The results for OWS P in the northern North Pacific show that the interannual variability of the heat budget parameters is correlated with the synoptic variability of the Aleutian low. There is also an interdecadal signal present in the heat budget anomaly time series, with the sign of the anomaly persisting for about 8–10 years. In contrast, for OWS J in the northern North Atlantic, no correlation is found between the variability of the heat budget parameters and the corresponding synoptic variability of the Icelandic low. The station J air-sea heat fluxes also show a higher frequency variability, compared to those of station P. The results suggest the variability of the January air-sea heat exchange processes are fundamentally different over the two ocean basins.