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Results for “ocean-atmosphere interactions”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRS1984

Mechanisms of interannual ocean-atmosphere interactions

Results of an investigation to study the interaction between ocean and atmosphere on the annual to decadal time scale are reported. Separate studies of the ocean response to atmospheric forcing, and of atmospheric response to ocean forcing were also conducted. The main findings are the dynamics of sea surface temperature anomalies, the role of short time scale weather fluctuations in the seasonal cycle of the upper ocean variability, and the planetary wave response to sea surface temperature anomalies. A numerical model of the ocean atmosphere continent system and a two layer quasi-geostropic ocean model is discussed.

Frankignoul, C.↗
DOE OSTI2025

The Observed and Projected Changes of Global Monsoons: Current Status and Future Perspectives

The global monsoon system, encompassing the Asian-Australian, African, and American monsoons, sustains two-thirds of the world’s population by regulating water resources and agriculture. Monsoon anomalies pose severe risks, including floods and droughts. Recent research associated with the implementation of the Global Monsoons Model Intercomparison Project under the umbrella of CMIP6 has advanced our understanding of its historical variability and driving mechanisms. Observational data reveal a 20th-century shift: increased rainfall pre-1950s, followed by aridification and partial recovery post-1980s, driven by both internal variability (e.g., Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation) and external forcings (greenhouse gases, aerosols), while ENSO drives interannual variability through ocean-atmosphere interactions. Future projections under greenhouse forcing suggest long-term monsoon intensification, though regional disparities and model uncertainties persist. Models indicate robust trends but struggle to quantify extremes, where thermodynamic effects (warming-induced moisture rise) uniformly boost heavy rainfall, while dynamical shifts (circulation changes) create spatial heterogeneity. Volcanic eruptions and proposed solar radiation modification (SRM) further complicate predictions: tropical eruptions suppress monsoons, whereas high-latitude events alter cross-equatorial flows, highlighting unresolved feedbacks. The emergent constraint approach is booming in terms of correcting future projections and reducing uncertainty with respect to the global monsoons. Critical challenges remain. Model biases and sparse 20th-century observational data hinder accurate attribution. The interplay between natural variability and anthropogenic forcings, along with nonlinear extreme precipitation risks under warming, demands deeper mechanistic insights. Additionally, SRM’s regional impacts and hemispheric monsoon interactions require systematic evaluation. Addressing these gaps necessitates enhanced observational networks, refined climate models, and interdisciplinary efforts to disentangle multiscale drivers, ultimately improving resilience strategies for monsoon-dependent regions.

climate extreme events↗
NASA NTRS1984

Satellite derived atmosphere water vapor as a tracer of large scale interactions between the atmosphere and ocean

Two water-vapor distributions and the accompanying circulation patterns which occurred over the North and South Atlantic Ocean during February 1979 are described. It is shown that scanning multichannel microwave radiometer observations from the Nimbus-7 satellite are used to remotely sense the vertically integrated atmospheric water vapor and liquid water, and the surface wind speed over the ocean and that they provide information on the ocean-atmosphere interaction. To provide evidence of the events revealed in the satellite observations, FGGE data are used.

Short, D. A.↗
NASA NTRS1986

Experimental forecasts of El Nino

A deterministic numerical model of the coupled evolution of the tropical ocean and atmosphere was used to forecast all El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events from 1970 to 1986. More particularly, the model, originally developed for studying large-scale ocean-atmosphere interactions in the tropics, successfully predicted the characteristics of the spatial and temporal structure of ENSO observed in the study interval. The model indicated that rainfall moving eastward over the Pacific slackens the surface winds that would otherwise cool the eastern Pacific by drawing up cooler subsurface waters. The oceanic thermocline increases, a poleward flow of westerly flowing warn waters deplets the equatorial warm water reservoir, and sea surface temperatures decline. These ENSO conditions are statistically tractable with the model several months in advance, provided upper ocean layer thermal data are available.

Cane, M. A.↗
NASA NTRS1988

Principal components of the North American summer temperature field and the antecedent oceanic and atmospheric conditions

The North American summer temperature field is evaluated in terms of the preceding patterns of the ocean and atmosphere. It is found that the planetary scale circulation associated with the thermal field over the western tropical Pacific and the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the central North Pacific-Aleutian region are important in determining the summer surface temperature pattern over North America. Also, evidence is presented for the possible impact of the El Nino-Southern Oscillation on the summer circulation pattern. It is suggested that by using the principal components, the predictability of regional circulation can be evaluated as a linear combination of independent sources of variability.

Park, Chung-Kyu↗
NASA NTRS1991

The role of global cloud climatologies in validating numerical models

Reliable estimates of the components of the surface radiation budget are important in studies of ocean-atmosphere interaction, land-atmosphere interaction, ocean circulation and in the validation of radiation schemes used in climate models. The methods currently under consideration must necessarily make certain assumptions regarding both the presence of clouds and their vertical extent. Because of the uncertainties in assumed cloudiness, all these methods involve perhaps unacceptable uncertainties. Here, a theoretical framework that avoids the explicit computation of cloud fraction and the location of cloud base in estimating the surface longwave radiation is presented. Estimates of the global surface downward fluxes and the oceanic surface net upward fluxes were made for four months (April, July, October and January) in 1985 to 1986. These estimates are based on a relationship between cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere and the surface obtained from a general circulation model. The radiation code is the version used in the UCLA/GLA general circulation model (GCM). The longwave cloud radiative forcing at the top of the atmosphere as obtained from Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) measurements is used to compute the forcing at the surface by means of the GCM-derived relationship. This, along with clear-sky fluxes from the computations, yield maps of the downward longwave fluxes and net upward longwave fluxes at the surface. The calculated results are discussed and analyzed. The results are consistent with current meteorological knowledge and explainable on the basis of previous theoretical and observational works; therefore, it can be concluded that this method is applicable as one of the ways to obtain the surface longwave radiation fields from currently available satellite data.

HARSHVARDHAN↗
NASA NTRS1991

Biological control of surface temperature in the Arabian Sea

In the Arabian Sea, the southwest monsoon promotes seasonal upwelling of deep water, which supplies nutrients to the surface layer and leads to a marked increase in phytoplankton growth. Remotely sensed data on ocean color are used here to show that the resulting distribution of phytoplankton exerts a controlling influence on the seasonal evolution of sea surface temperature. This results in a corresponding modification of ocean-atmosphere heat exchange on regional and seasonal scales. It is shown that this biological mechanism may provide an important regulating influence on ocean-atmosphere interactions.

Sathyendranath, Shubha↗
NASA NTRS1985

Evolution of Titan's coupled ocean-atmosphere system and interaction of ocean with bedrock

A recent model for the surface state of Titan proposes a liquid ethane-methane-molecular nitrogen layer of order one kilometer thick which because of stratospheric methane photolysis has become increasingly ethane-rich with time. The interaction of such an ocean with the underlying 'bedrock' of Titan (assumed to be water-ice or ammonia hydrate) and with the primarily nitrogen atmosphere is explored. It is concluded that although modest exchange of oceanic hydrocarbons with enclathrated methane in the bedrock can in principle occur, it is unlikely for reasonable regolith depths. The surprisingly high solubility of water-ice in liquid methane implies that topographic features on Titan of order 100 meters in height can be eroded away on a time scale of one-billion years. The large solubility difference of N2 in methane versus ethane implies that the ocean composition is a strong determinant of atmospheric pressure; a simple radiative model of the Titan atmosphere is employed to demonstrate that significant surface pressure and temperature changes can occur as the oceanic composition evolves with time.

Lunine, J. I.↗
DOE OSTI2026

The Role of Tropical Cyclone—Ocean Interactions in Future Changes in Hurricane Katrina

Tropical cyclone (TC) intensity and precipitation are projected to increase in the future. However, some projections are based on atmosphere‐only models in which sea surface temperatures are prescribed, whereas projections based on global atmosphere‐ocean coupled models can be subject to long‐term ocean biases. We investigated the role of TC‐ocean interactions in future changes in TC intensity and precipitation in Hurricane Katrina. We performed four‐member ensembles using convection‐permitting atmosphere‐only and atmosphere‐ocean regional models for the historical climate and four future climates. We found that although future TC intensity and precipitation increased regardless of ocean coupling, ocean coupling dampened the future minimum sea‐level pressure decrease by half and amplified future precipitation scaling. Compared to future changes in upper‐ocean temperature, changes in salinity contributed little to future changes in TC intensity. This study highlights the importance of considering TC‐ocean interactions to reduce uncertainty in the magnitude of future TC intensity and precipitation projections.

climate change↗
DOE OSTI2025

Sea surface warming and ocean-to-atmosphere feedback driven by large-scale offshore wind farms under seasonally stratified conditions

Offshore wind farms may induce changes in the upper ocean and near-surface atmosphere through coupled ocean-atmosphere feedbacks. Yet, the role of air-sea interactions mediated by offshore wind farms remains poorly understood. Using fully coupled ocean-atmosphere-wave model simulations for seasonally stratified conditions along the US East Coast, we show that simulated cumulative reductions in wind stress due to large-scale wind farm clusters lead to sea surface warming of 0.3° to 0.4°C and a shallower mixed layer. This warming drives upward heat fluxes, destabilizing the atmospheric boundary layer and enhancing wind stress, which partially offsets wake-induced wind deficits. These wake-ocean interactions influence near-surface meteorology and air-sea fluxes, suggesting that a coupled modeling approach may be necessary for assessing potential oceanographic impacts of offshore wind developments. However, ocean coupling exerts limited influence on winds at turbine-relevant heights or within downstream wakes, resulting in minimal impact on long-term energy. These findings suggest that models without ocean coupling may be adequate for wind energy applications.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Mantaray: A Rust Package for Ray Tracing Ocean Surface Gravity Waves

Ocean surface gravity waves are an important component of air-sea interaction, influencing energy, momentum, and gas exchanges across the ocean-atmosphere interface. In specific applications such as refraction by ocean currents or bathymetry, ray tracing provides a computationally efficient way to gain insight into wave propagation. In this paper, we introduce Mantaray, an open-source software package implemented in Rust, with a Python interface, that solves the ray equations for ocean surface gravity waves. Mantaray is designed for performance, robustness, and ease of use. The package is modular to facilitate further development and can currently be applied to both idealized and realistic wave propagation problems (Fig. 1).

16 TIDAL AND WAVE POWER↗
NASA NTRS1990

Intraseasonal and interannual oscillations in coupled ocean-atmosphere models

An investigation is presented of coupled ocean-atmosphere models' behavior in an environment where atmospheric wave speeds are substantially reduced from dry atmospheric values by such processes as condensation-moisture convergence. Modes are calculated for zonally periodic, unbounded ocean-atmosphere systems, emphasizing the importance of an inclusion of prognostic atmosphere equations in simple coupled ocean-atmosphere models with a view to simulations of intraseasonal variability and its possible interaction with interannual variability. The dynamics of low and high frequency modes are compared; both classes are sensitive to the degree to which surface wind anomalies are able to affect the evaporation rate.

Hirst, Anthony C.↗
NASA NTRS1981

A climate model with cryodynamics and geodynamics

A simplified, zero-dimensional model of the climatic system is presented which attempts to incorporate mechanisms important on the time scale of glaciation cycles: 10,000 to 100,000 years. The ocean-atmosphere radiation balance, continental ice sheet plastic flow, and upper mantle viscous flow are taken into account, with stress on the interaction between the ice sheets and the upper mantle. The model exhibits free, self-sustained oscillations of an amplitude and period comparable to those found in the paleoclimatic record of glaciations, offering mild support for the idea that unforced oscillations can actually exist in the real climatic system itself. The careful study of the interplay between internal mechanisms and external forcing is held to represent an interesting challenge to the theory of ice ages.

Ghil, M.↗
NASA NTRS1992

Air-sea interactions and precipitation over the tropical oceans

In this lecture, the author principally discusses air-sea exchanges that are relevant to climate and global problems. The processes of interest are those acting over time scales of months to decades, which in some instances are influenced by smaller-time-scale processes, down to the diurnal time scale. The repsective influence of these processes varies with regions, seasons and scales over which they occur and, because these processes are mostly nonlinear, scale interactions can be quite complex. Owing to the breadth of the topic addressed, the discussion is mostly focused on the tropical regions where air-sea interactions and precipitation processes eventually affect the entire globe. This allows a look in more detail at some air-sea processes, such as those associated with the El Nino southern oscillation (ENSO). This oscillation, which affects the climate of the entire globe, acts over periods of a year or longer and is caused, primarily, by sea surface temperature (SST) variations in the tropical Pacific. As a result, SST variability is often used as an indicator of coupled ocean-atmosphere low-frequency variability. Global or basin scale processes can uniquely be observed from space-born instruments with the coverage required. Space based techniques have been developed during the last decade which can now be used to illustrate the scientific issues presented and the presentation concludes with an overview of some Earth Observing System (EOS) capabilities for addressing air-sea interactions and hydrology issues.

Gautier, C.↗
DOE OSTI2026

Response of marine post-frontal clouds to Gulf Stream variability

Understanding how Gulf Stream variation influences cloud morphology is critical for evaluating cloud feedback in the western North Atlantic Ocean and beyond, where mesoscale air-sea interactions dominate. This study investigates the impact of altered mean sea surface temperature (SST) and SST gradients on post-frontal cloud characteristics during cold-air outbreaks, using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Three sensitivity experiments are conducted: a control simulation (default SST), Plus4 (uniform SST increase of 4 K), and Gradplus (SST gradient enhanced by 25 %, centered around mean SST). Results reveal distinctly different responses in boundary layer dynamics and cloud macro-physics. In Plus4, a warmer and moister boundary layer reduces total cloud cover but promotes larger cloud sizes and elongated cloud streets, with diminished liquid water and enhanced ice-phase hydrometeors. Conversely, Gradplus amplifies impacts in the upwind colder SST regions, yielding a drier, colder boundary layer, weaker energy transport, and higher liquid water path but reduced ice water content and cloud lines. Tracer analysis highlights that SST modifications alter airmass sources near cloud tops due to the entrainment of ambient air, with Plus4 amplifying boundary layer contributions to cloud-top regions. These findings underscore the spatially varying effects of SST gradients and mean SST on cloud organization and microphysics, emphasizing the need to resolve ocean-atmosphere coupling in global models to improve the prediction of marine cloud feedback under warming scenarios.

AIR-SEA INTERACTION↗
NASA NTRS1983

Satellite-derived sea surface temperature: Introduction

Satellites now play an increasing role in systematic monitoring of the global oceans. Measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) are of primary importance in understanding heat storage and transport within the ocean and cross the ocean-atmosphere boundary. In some regions, local changes in SST of only 1 to 2 C have major effects on global climate and weather patterns. The satellite measurements provide a data base complementary to the (sometimes) accurate but sparsely-distributed point measurements available from ships and buoys. The demands placed on satellite sensors are stringent. Accuracies of better than 1 C are required and are often desired to a few tenths of a degree. Furthermore, measurement accuracies must be stable spatially and temporally in order for satellite data to be used with confidence in models of air-sea interaction and climate. There now exists a need to evaluate objectively the performance of the latest generation of sensors under a sufficient variety of environmental conditions to indicate present accuracies, deficiencies, and potential for improvement.

Njoku, E. G.↗
NASA NTRS1984

Design of coupled ocean-atmosphere experiments

A series of numerical experiments which couple an atmospheric general circulation model to an ocean model in an idealized basin are discussed. The role of ocean atmosphere interactions in the development of anomalous sea surface temperatures during an El Nino event is outlined.

Suarez, M. J.↗