Observational Characteristics of Wintertime Extreme Surface Turbulent Heat Flux Events in the North Pacific Subtropical Region

Abstract

Surface turbulent heat flux is the most direct variable denoting air-sea interactions. In wintertime North Pacific, in addition to the Kuroshio-Oyashio extension (KOE) region, high-resolution observations show that the North Pacific subtropical region (NPSR) is also characterized with high surface heat flux, whose characteristics need systematic investigation. In this study, the extreme surface turbulent heat flux events in the NPSR are investigated using daily observational data. Our results show that the extreme events exhibit dipolar changes of surface flux over NPSR and KOE regions, lasting for several days. Though with a spatially correlated pattern, the occurrence of extreme events in NPSR and KOE is found greatly independent. In the extreme events, both surface sensible and latent heat fluxes display evident changes in north NPSR, while in south NPSR the change in surface latent heat flux dominates. The formation of extreme events in the NPSR is mainly determined by anomalous atmospheric circulation. Changes in the intensity of subtropical high influence the surface air wind speed, humidity, and temperature, contributing to the formation of extreme events in the NPSR. Our results further suggest that the processes through which the extreme events affect the atmospheric precipitation may be different in south and north NPSR. In south NPSR, the change of precipitation in extreme events is very likely attributed to the change of surface latent heat flux. In north NPSR, the change of water vapor transport by atmospheric circulations is found to play a major role.