Monthly variations of net heat flux at the air‐sea interface in coastal waters near Jeddah, Red sea

Abstract

Based on 16 years of oceanographic and meteorological data the monthly variations of the net heat flux at the air‐sea interface in coastal waters near Jeddah show that the sea gains an average of about 14 ±2 W m−2 from April to October and loses about 79± 4W m−2from November to March. The loss of heat during the winter months is not compensated by the gain during the summer months and therefore leads to an annual average deficit of 25 ± 3 Wm−2. The gain during summer may not favour the formation of a strong seasonal thermocline. © 1989 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.