What question did this study set out to answer?

To calculate a comprehensive climatological inventory of the near-surface oceanic heat balance across the equatorial Pacific and assess its seasonal and zonal variations.

June 1, 1986Journal of Physical Oceanography

Zonal and Seasonal Variations of the Near-Surface Heat Balance of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

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To calculate a comprehensive climatological inventory of the near-surface oceanic heat balance across the equatorial Pacific and assess its seasonal and zonal variations.
Derived net surface heating and advection using gridded climatologies of wind stress, sea surface temperature, and estimated zonal transport.
Calculated meridional diffusion into the equatorial cold tongue and compared multiple surface heating climatologies (Weare et al., Esbensen and Kushnir, Reed).
Evaluated residual flux divergences under varying uniform and regionally adjusted meridional diffusivity values (2 × 10^4 to 6 × 10^4 m^2 s^-1).
Total advective heat flux divergence reached −27 ± 7 W m^-2 in the western, −91 ± 17 W m^-2 in the central, and −48 ± 17 W m^-2 in the eastern equatorial Pacific, with meridional advection and upwelling removing approximately three times more heat than zonal advection.
Seasonal peaks showed maximum contributions from zonal advection during boreal fall, meridional advection during boreal winter, and meridional diffusion during boreal fall–winter.
Increasing central Pacific meridional diffusivity to 6 × 10^4 m^2 s^-1 produced physically realistic negative residuals matching equatorial turbulence measurements, showing distinct balances dominated by surface heating, advection, and vertical diffusion across zones.

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Implication

Climatological modeling reveals regional and seasonal oceanic heat flux mechanisms across the equatorial Pacific, indicating crucial roles for turbulent diffusion and upwelling.

Cite This Study

David B. Enfield (1986) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a998cc2ee60764e37aabd2a https://doi.org/10.1175/1520-0485(1986)016<1038:zasvot>2.0.co;2

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Implication

Climatological modeling reveals regional and seasonal oceanic heat flux mechanisms across the equatorial Pacific, indicating crucial roles for turbulent diffusion and upwelling.

Zonal and Seasonal Variations of the Near-Surface Heat Balance of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

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Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

Zonal and Seasonal Variations of the Near-Surface Heat Balance of the Equatorial Pacific Ocean

Key Points

Discussion

Implication

Cite This Study

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