Latent and Sensible Heat Flux Calculations at the Air-Sea Interface During AMTEX 74

Abstract

Computations of latent and sensible heat flux at the air-sea interface using the bulk-aerodynamic method are presented for the period of the 1974 Air Mass Transformation Experiment (AMTEX) conducted over the East China Sea. Results show quantitatively the impact of the outbreak of cold and dry polar air over the warm Kuroshio Current as sensible and latent heat flux increased, respectively, from minima of 49 and 182 cal cm⁻² day⁻¹ to maxima of 485 and 1099 cal cm⁻² day⁻¹. Correspondingly, the total heat flux (sensible and latent) from the sea to the atmosphere from the warm to cold periods increased from 231 cal cm⁻² day⁻¹ to 1584 cal cm⁻² day⁻¹ which should be a representative range of extreme values for weak and strong heat flux associated with air-sea interaction. Some discussion is given as to the effect of this strong increase in heat flux during air mass modification on the evolution of cyclones over the Kuroshio Current and the Gulf Stream.