Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development
Abstract Sea spray, originating from wave breaking under high wind conditions, can significantly affect turbulent heat fluxes at the air–sea interface. Even though polar lows (PLs) can become extreme weather features with gale‐force wind, the impact of sea spray on their development has rarely been...
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crwiley:10.1002/qj.4746 2024-09-15T17:57:58+00:00 Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development Lin, Ting Spengler, Thomas Rutgersson, Anna Wu, Lichuan 2024 http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.4746 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/qj.4746 en eng Wiley http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society volume 150, issue 762, page 2976-2990 ISSN 0035-9009 1477-870X journal-article 2024 crwiley https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4746 2024-08-09T04:30:49Z Abstract Sea spray, originating from wave breaking under high wind conditions, can significantly affect turbulent heat fluxes at the air–sea interface. Even though polar lows (PLs) can become extreme weather features with gale‐force wind, the impact of sea spray on their development has rarely been investigated and is not considered in operational forecast models. In this study, the impact of sea spray on the development of two PLs over the Barents Sea is studied based on sensitivity experiments with an atmosphere–wave coupled model, where the spray‐mediated heat fluxes are parameterized. The results show that the impact of sea‐spray‐mediated heat fluxes on PL development is sensitive to the surface wind speed. In the case of the stronger PL, the higher surface wind speed results in significantly higher spray‐mediated heat fluxes. Consequently, these spray‐mediated heat fluxes intensify the convection and diabatic heating of the PL, resulting in its intensification. In comparison, the case with a weaker PL experiences less sea spray production and lower spray‐mediated heat fluxes due to its weaker surface wind speeds. Overall, we find that spray‐mediated sensible heat fluxes play an important role in the development of PLs, while the latent heat fluxes induced by sea spray have a relatively minor impact. Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Wiley Online Library Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society 150 762 2976 2990 |
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Open Polar |
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Wiley Online Library |
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English |
description |
Abstract Sea spray, originating from wave breaking under high wind conditions, can significantly affect turbulent heat fluxes at the air–sea interface. Even though polar lows (PLs) can become extreme weather features with gale‐force wind, the impact of sea spray on their development has rarely been investigated and is not considered in operational forecast models. In this study, the impact of sea spray on the development of two PLs over the Barents Sea is studied based on sensitivity experiments with an atmosphere–wave coupled model, where the spray‐mediated heat fluxes are parameterized. The results show that the impact of sea‐spray‐mediated heat fluxes on PL development is sensitive to the surface wind speed. In the case of the stronger PL, the higher surface wind speed results in significantly higher spray‐mediated heat fluxes. Consequently, these spray‐mediated heat fluxes intensify the convection and diabatic heating of the PL, resulting in its intensification. In comparison, the case with a weaker PL experiences less sea spray production and lower spray‐mediated heat fluxes due to its weaker surface wind speeds. Overall, we find that spray‐mediated sensible heat fluxes play an important role in the development of PLs, while the latent heat fluxes induced by sea spray have a relatively minor impact. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lin, Ting Spengler, Thomas Rutgersson, Anna Wu, Lichuan |
spellingShingle |
Lin, Ting Spengler, Thomas Rutgersson, Anna Wu, Lichuan Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
author_facet |
Lin, Ting Spengler, Thomas Rutgersson, Anna Wu, Lichuan |
author_sort |
Lin, Ting |
title |
Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
title_short |
Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
title_full |
Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
title_fullStr |
Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
title_full_unstemmed |
Impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
title_sort |
impact of sea spray‐mediated heat fluxes on polar low development |
publisher |
Wiley |
publishDate |
2024 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/qj.4746 https://rmets.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/qj.4746 |
genre |
Barents Sea |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea |
op_source |
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society volume 150, issue 762, page 2976-2990 ISSN 0035-9009 1477-870X |
op_rights |
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/qj.4746 |
container_title |
Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society |
container_volume |
150 |
container_issue |
762 |
container_start_page |
2976 |
op_container_end_page |
2990 |
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1810434176267059200 |