Observation of the marine atmospheric boundary layer in the Gulf of Guinea during the 2006 boreal spring

Abstract

AbstractIn situ, satellite and model analyses data in April–July 2006 are used to investigate the links between sea surface temperature (SST) and the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) in the Gulf of Guinea. The study region between 10°W and 6°E is divided into three areas with different characteristics: the North Area (4.5°N to 1°N) with the wettest atmosphere and the warmest SST, the Upwelling Area (1°N to 4°S) with the strongest SST decrease, and the South Area (4°S to 8°S) with a drier atmosphere and a more slowly decreasing SST than in the Upwelling Area. The key zone of the air‐sea interactions in this region seems to be the SST front between North and Upwelling Areas. On the one hand, the study of the MABL on either side of the front shows a well‐mixed layer between the surface and about 500 m high, sensitive to surface variations, which gets shallower (deeper) when the SST decreases (increases). The MABL height (about 1500 m) follows the same variations but is not exactly collocated with the SST variations. On the other hand, the observation of the MABL across the SST front shows a strengthening of southeasterlies in the South Area coinciding with a strong SST decrease in the Upwelling Area. In the latter, the wind weakens above the colder SST. Besides, in the North Area, the wind strengthens above the warmer SST. However, the wind acceleration spans from the equator to 2°N in April and as far as 4°N in June. A convergence zone is observed in the vicinity of 2°N in April, suggesting a convection activity there, favoured by the SST front. Copyright © 2011 Royal Meteorological Society