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ESTIMATES OF THE LATENT AND SENSIBLE HEAT FLUX FOR THE CARIBBEAN SEA AND THE GULF OF MEXICO 1
Author(s) -
Hastenrath Stefan L.
Publication year - 1968
Publication title -
limnology and oceanography
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.7
H-Index - 197
eISSN - 1939-5590
pISSN - 0024-3590
DOI - 10.4319/lo.1968.13.2.0322
Subject(s) - sensible heat , latent heat , radiosonde , climatology , environmental science , allowance (engineering) , meteorology , geography , geology , mechanical engineering , engineering
Monthly mean values of the latent and sensible heat flux at the sea‐air interface (Q e + Q s ) are derived for the areas of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico, separately: 1) from the multiannual mean of the oceanic heat budget; 2) from the atmospheric energy budget, on the basis of the available radiosonde data for the entire year 1960; and 3) by the bulk‐aerodynamic method, using 1960 ship observations. The annual average of the latent and sensible heat transfer in the area of the Central American Seas is of the order of 270 ly/day. Making allowance for the propagation of errors and the different time periods used, the results of the three independent approaches are in fair agreement. The shortcomings inherent in all the procedures make various independent approaches desirable wherever possible.