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4: Atmospheric Influences

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    The sun and the atmosphere drive, directly or indirectly, almost all dynamical processes in the ocean. The dominant external sources and sinks of energy are sunlight, evaporation, infrared emissions from the sea surface, and sensible heating of the sea by warm or cold winds. Winds drive the ocean’s surface circulation down to depths of around a kilometer. Wind and tidal mixing drive the deeper currents in the ocean.

    The ocean, in turn, is the dominant source of heat that drives the atmospheric circulation. The uneven distribution of heat loss and gain by the ocean leads to winds in the atmosphere. Sunlight warms the tropical ocean, which evaporate, transferring heat in the form of water vapor to the atmosphere. The heat is released when the vapor condenses as rain. Winds and ocean currents carry heat poleward, where it is lost to space.

    Because the atmosphere drives the ocean, and the ocean drives the atmosphere, we must consider the ocean and the atmosphere as a coupled dynamic system. In this chapter we will look mainly at the exchange of momentum between the atmosphere and the ocean. In the next chapter, we will look at heat exchanges. In Chapter 14 we will look at how the ocean and the atmosphere interact in the Pacific to produce El Niño.

    • 4.1: The Earth in Space
      Orbit of the Earth around the Sun, and how the orbit's ellipticity effects on the seasons.
    • 4.2: Atmospheric Wind Systems
      Sea-level wind velocities and pressure, with geographic and seasonal trends.
    • 4.3: The Planetary Boundary Layer
      The atmospheric boundary layer, and how it is influenced by the turbulent drag of the wind on the sea and fluxes of heat through the surface.
    • 4.4: Measurement of Wind
      Methods and means of measuring wind at sea, including the Beaufort scale for wind speed and water appearance, scatterometers on satellites, Windsat, SSM/I, and anemometers on ships and weather buoys.
    • 4.5: Calculations of Wind
      Sources of wind data over the ocean on a fixed grid, including surface analysis from numerical weather models and reanalyzed data collected over long periods of time.
    • 4.6: Wind Stress
      Calculations for wind stress, or the horizontal force of the wind on the sea surface.
    • 4.7: Important Concepts
      Summary of important concepts in this chapter.

    This page titled 4: Atmospheric Influences is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Robert H. Stewart via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform.