Abstract
Abstract. A set of meteorological instruments was added to an oceanographic cruise crossing the Southern Ocean from Cape Town to 57°33' S during the summer of 2008. The Cape Cauldron, the Subtropical, Subantarctic, Polar and southern Antarctic Circumpolar current fronts were successively crossed. The recorded data permitted to derive the exchange of momentum, heat and water vapour at the ocean-atmosphere interface. A set of 38 radiosonde releases complemented the dataset. The marine atmospheric boundary layer characteristics and air-sea interaction when the ship crossed the fronts and eddies are discussed. The specific role of the atmospheric synoptic systems advection on the air-sea interaction over these regions is highlighted. Additionally, the Subantarctic front mesoscale variability induced an anticyclonic eddy considered as part of the Subantarctic front. The specific influence of this Agulhas ring on the aloft atmosphere is also presented.
Highlights
IntroductionSeveral in-situ observational studies have previously identified some interactions between the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and the atmosphere over regions where intensive and highly variable mesoscale activity is persistent: Gulf Stream and Kuroshio and Agulhas currents (Businger and Shaw, 1984; Jury and Walker, 1988; Friehe et al, 1991; Rouault and Lee-Thorp, 1996; Kwon et al, 1998; Giordani et al, 1998; Rouault and Lutjeharms, 2000; Rouault et al, 2000a, b; Bourras et al, 2004; Tokinaga et al, 2006)
The direct and derived atmospheric measurements above the M eddy presented in this paper enabled the description of some thermodynamic effects of the M eddy on the vertical atmosphere aloft
The measurements performed during the BONUS-GOODHOPE 2008 cruise provided a continuous sampling of the atmospheric state close to the ocean surface as well as vertical samplings of the atmosphere where the radiosondes were released regularly and/or over remarkable oceanic features
Summary
Several in-situ observational studies have previously identified some interactions between the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) and the atmosphere over regions where intensive and highly variable mesoscale activity is persistent: Gulf Stream and Kuroshio and Agulhas currents (Businger and Shaw, 1984; Jury and Walker, 1988; Friehe et al, 1991; Rouault and Lee-Thorp, 1996; Kwon et al, 1998; Giordani et al, 1998; Rouault and Lutjeharms, 2000; Rouault et al, 2000a, b; Bourras et al, 2004; Tokinaga et al, 2006) These papers described the SST fronts’ interaction with the atmosphere and wind changes near the surface and throughout the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer (MABL). The effect on the MABL is to increase (decrease) the wind stress over warm (cold) water through a modification of the vertical structure of the MABL by turbulent heat fluxes
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