Abstract
A one-dimensional turbulent model is used to investigate the effect of sea spray mediated turbulent fluxes on upper ocean temperature during the passage of typhoon Yagi over the Kuroshio Extension area in 2006. Both a macroscopical sea spray momentum flux algorithm and a microphysical heat and moisture flux algorithm are included in this turbulent model. Numerical results show that the model can well reproduce the upper ocean temperature, which is consistent with the data from the Kuroshio Extension Observatory. Besides, the sea surface temperature is decreased by about 0.5°C during the typhoon passage, which also agrees with the sea surface temperature dataset derived from Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing and Reynolds. Diagnostic analysis indicates that sea spray acts as an additional source of the air-sea turbulent fluxes and plays a key role in increasing the turbulent kinetic energy in the upper ocean, which enhances the temperature diffusion there. Therefore, sea spray is also an important factor in determining the upper mixed layer depth during the typhoon passage.
Highlights
When the wind speed reaches a certain level, surface wave breaking produces large numbers of sea spray droplets in the air-sea interface
Wave breaking and sea spray significantly affect the turbulent mixing [1, 2] and turbulent fluxes [3], respectively, which play a key role in the upper ocean in the high wind speed condition (>25 m/s) [4]
Bortkovskii (1973) [9] evaluated the energy and evaporation of the sea spray droplet and claimed that it is a primary source for enhancing the sea-air interfacial transfer in the high wind speeds
Summary
When the wind speed reaches a certain level, surface wave breaking produces large numbers of sea spray droplets in the air-sea interface. Wave breaking and sea spray significantly affect the turbulent mixing [1, 2] and turbulent fluxes [3], respectively, which play a key role in the upper ocean in the high wind speed condition (>25 m/s) [4] (e.g., typhoon). Bortkovskii (1973) [9] evaluated the energy and evaporation of the sea spray droplet and claimed that it is a primary source for enhancing the sea-air interfacial transfer in the high wind speeds. Much research has focused on the effect of sea spray by developing theories [12,13,14,15,16]. The study will introduce the feedback mechanism into the airsea heat flux algorithm, which is feasible for us to calculate reasonable sea-air heat fluxes under the typhoon conditions
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