Upper ocean mixing, surface heat fluxes, and heat content variability in the upper 150 m during Hurricane Laura (2020)

Tsai, Senam; Howden, Stephen; Diercks, Arne-R; Balaguru, Karthik (ORCID:0000000301812687); Le Henaff, Matthieu; Zhang, Jun; Pun, Iam-Fei; Martin, Kevin

doi:10.3389/fmars.2026.1698557

DOE OSTI · 3797063

Upper ocean mixing, surface heat fluxes, and heat content variability in the upper 150 m during Hurricane Laura (2020)

Tsai, Senam·Howden, Stephen·Diercks, Arne-R·Balaguru, Karthik (ORCID:0000000301812687)·Le Henaff, Matthieu·Zhang, Jun·Pun, Iam-Fei·Martin, Kevin

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Abstract

Observations (from thermistor sensors and a hurricane glider) and model-based temperature were used to answer questions including the following: 1) What physical and environmental conditions explain the rapid intensification of Hurricane Laura? 2) How did the pre-existing warm mixed layer at Stone mooring (StM) influence the degree of cooling in the mixed layer? 3) How did vertical mixing, surface heat fluxes, and advective processes collectively shape the mixed layer heat evolution at StM? Observations measured by thermistor sensors showed that Hurricane Laura induced a cooling of -1.2oC in the mixed layer when Hurricane Laura’s wind speed increased to 47 m/s on 26 August. This contrasts with the -1.04oC mixed layer temperature change estimated from model-based temperature. At StM, the presence of a 31oC warm mixed layer and elevated heat content (60-80kJ/cm2) effectively preconditioned the upper ocean ahead of Hurricane Laura’s passage. After Hurricane Laura passed, turbulent mixing associated with the storm transported the heat anomalies downward into subsurface layers. In addition, this study shows that a surface heat flux of 5.04 kJ/cm2 supported the intensity of Hurricane Laura as it traversed over the StM. Using a mixed layer heat balance model, this study shows that entrainment flux and surface flux mostly contributed to the observed change in the mixed layer temperature.

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Tsai, Senam, Howden, Stephen, Diercks, Arne-R, Balaguru, Karthik (ORCID:0000000301812687), Le Henaff, Matthieu, Zhang, Jun, Pun, Iam-Fei, Martin, Kevin. 2026-04-06. Upper ocean mixing, surface heat fluxes, and heat content variability in the upper 150 m during Hurricane Laura (2020). https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2026.1698557

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