@article{Czaja:2003:10.1256/003590003769682084,
author = {Czaja, A},
doi = {10.1256/003590003769682084},
journal = {Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society},
pages = {2867--2878},
title = {On the time variability of the net ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux in midlatitudes with application to the North Atlantic basin},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1256/003590003769682084},
volume = {129},
year = {2003}
}

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TY  - JOUR
AB  - A new diagnostic to investigate the role of ocean dynamics in midlatitude air-sea interactions is presented and tested against observations. It is based on the analysis of the time variability of the net ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux (FS). A hierarchy of air-sea interaction models indicate that, in the absence of ocean dynamics, the power spectrum of FS should be blue at time-scales longer than a threshold set by the late-winter mean mixed-layer thickness and the sensitivity of FS to sea surface temperature anomalies. Comparison of the predicted FS spectrum with observations over the North Atlantic shows a good agreement over the subpolar gyre where the deep ocean mixed layer combined with strong stochastic forcing allows large fluctuations in FS at decadal and longer time-scales. Discrepancies, however, arise over the Gulf Stream extension region. Here it is suggested that the observed variability of FS at time-scales longer than a decade is controlled by geostrophic ocean dynamics rather than local atmospheric forcing. The diagnostic appears to be a useful and simple tool to investigate the role of ocean dynamics in the upper-ocean heat budget. It is particularly well suited to the analysis of long simulations of coupled ocean-atmosphere models. One implication of the study for ocean-only numerical simulations is that one cannot specify externally the low-frequency variability of FS. The latter should only arise as a consequence of ocean dynamics.
AU  - Czaja,A
DO  - 10.1256/003590003769682084
EP  - 2878
PY  - 2003///
SN  - 0035-9009
SP  - 2867
TI  - On the time variability of the net ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux in midlatitudes with application to the North Atlantic basin
T2  - Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1256/003590003769682084
VL  - 129
ER  - 

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