Weller, R, Bradley, EF, Edson, JB et al. (4 more authors) (2008) Sensors for physical fluxes at the sea surface: energy, heat, water, salt. Ocean Science, 4 (4). 247 - 263. ISSN 1812-0792
Abstract
The current status of meteorological sensors used aboard ships and buoys to measure the air-sea fluxes of momentum, heat, and freshwater is reviewed. Methods of flux measurement by the bulk aerodynamic, inertial dissipation and eddy-correlation methods are considered; and areas are identified where improvements are needed in measurement of the basic variables. In some cases, what is required is the transition from emergent to operational technology, in others new technologies are needed. Uncertainties in measured winds caused by flow distortion over the ship are discussed; and the possible role of computational fluid mechanics models to obtain corrections is considered. Basic studies are also needed on the influence of waves and rain on the fluxes. The issues involved in the specification of sea surface temperature are described, and the relative merits of the available sensors are discussed. The improved capability of buoy-mounted systems will depend on the emergence of low-power instruments, and/or new means of increasing the available power capacity. Other issues covered include the continuing uncertainty about the performance of rain gauges and short-wave radiometers. Also, the requirements for new instruments to extend the range of observations to extreme wind conditions are outlined, and the latest developments in the measurement of aerosol fluxes by eddy-correlation are presented.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | (c) 2008, Weller, R, Bradley, EF, Edson, JB, Fairall, CW, Brooks, IM, Yelland, MJ and Pascal, RW. This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 3.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. |
Keywords: | Air-sea flux; Instrumentation |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Environment (Leeds) > School of Earth and Environment (Leeds) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 13 Jan 2014 12:06 |
Last Modified: | 29 Mar 2018 08:12 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/os-4-247-2008 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Copernicus GmbH on behalf of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) |
Identification Number: | 10.5194/os-4-247-2008 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:77229 |