Global estimation of freshwater fluxes and freshwater oceanic transport from satellite data
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States). Inst. for Computational Earth System Science
The exchange of moisture and heat fluxes across the ocean-atmosphere interface exerts a strong influence on the oceanic and atmospheric circulations, and therefore on the maintenance of the climate system equilibrium. Observational measurements of these fluxes over large areas of the ocean`s surface are limited by the lack of in-situ data. This paper reports research efforts to estimate the freshwater budget and freshwater oceanic transport using remotely sensed data. Six years (1988--1993) of surface evaporation estimated with satellite and in-situ data re combined with satellite-derived precipitation to compute the freshwater budget and freshwater oceanic transport. The interannual variability of the freshwater budget and oceanic transport eliminates are examined for two contrasting events: the La Nina of 1988--89 and the El Nino condition during 1991--92, one of the longest El Nino episodes on record. Possible implications for future climate change are discussed.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Washington, DC (United States); National Science Foundation, Washington, DC (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 445370
- Journal Information:
- World Resource Review, Vol. 8, Issue 4; Other Information: PBD: Dec 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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