Gemessene Strahlungs- und Wärmeflüsse über dem tropischen Ozean

The net flux of all irreversible fluxes of radiation and heat crossing the ocean surface is determined for phase III of GATE at position no. 27 (WFS "Planet", FRG). The radiation fluxes have been measured directly, while the heat fluxes have been parameterized with the bulk formula however with bulk coefficients depending on stability. The heat loss of the ocean due to warming of the cooler precipitation is included for the determination of the net flux at the ocean surface. Some examples of hourly mean values of different fluxes during different weather conditions are additionally shown

The cryosphere: an early indicator and global player

Ice at or below the surface of the planet Earth is an important part of the climate system. The solid phase of water has two unique characteristics which make it both an early indicator of climate change and a global player. First, if warmed to the melting point at 0°C, higher air temperatures and/or higher long-wave back radiation just increase the melting rate but not - as with all other surfaces- the temperature, which stays at 0°C. Small icecaps and mountain glaciers thus become early indicators of a changed climate. Second. If seawater is cooled to the freezing point at about- 1.8"C. the sea ice formation process ejects salt causing the denser water to sink, thereby filling the global ocean interior with very cold water. The location where most of this deep convection occurs is strongly dependent on the freshwater balance and thus on the average salinity of ocean basins. Present ocean configuration and ocean topography, as well as precipitation distribution, make the northern North Atlantic more saline than any other high latitude ocean part and thus the site with most of this deep water formation. Sea ice formation is therefore of high significance for the European climate. Since it drives the near surface warm North Atlantic current northward off the European coast in compensation for southward deep water flow in the western Atlantic, northwestern Europe is warmer by about 4°C than the same latitudes on the eastern Pacific coast of America

Radiation balance of the tropical ocean surface measured during Atlantic Expedition GARP 1974 (Table 1)

The net flux of all irreversible fluxes of radiation and heat crossing the ocean surface is determined for phase III of GATE at position no. 27 (WFS "Planet", FRG). The radiation fluxes have been measured directly, while the heat fluxes have been parameterized with the bulk formula however with bulk coefficients depending on stability. The heat loss of the ocean due to warming of the cooler precipitation is included for the determination of the net flux at the ocean surface. Some examples of hourly mean values of different fluxes during different weather conditions are additionally shown

Statistical Analyses of Ocean Wave and Wind Parameters Retrieved with an Empirical SAR Algorithm

A global dataset of two years (September 1998 to December 2000) of ERS SAR data was reprocessed to more than one million SAR imagettes. Met ocean Parameters like significant ocean wave height (Hs), wind speed (U10) and mean wave period (Tm-10) are derived from the SAR images using a new empirical algorithm CWAVE [1]. The results are compared to collocated ERS altimeter data and in Situ measurements from NOAA buoys and observations taken onboard the vessel Polarstern. It is shown that the SAR derived Hs is comparable in quality to altimeter measurements and can thus be used for real time assimilation