Upper Ocean Thermal Responses to Sea Spray Mediated Turbulent Fluxes during Typhoon Passage

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.