Task 3.7: Surface radiative fluxes

The EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice SAF routinely produce surface radiative fluxes from remote sensing data (AVHRR on NOAA POES and EPS METOP in the future) at high latitudes (Godøy, 2005).

These products are made for each available passage and integrated to a daily estimate as well. Validation of these products over ocean areas have proven difficult as none observations have been available. This proposal presents an opportunity to proper validate these products in this area. The remote sensing products can either be used for validation of forcing fields of numerical ocean models or as forcing fields if found suitable.
Using the measurements of turbulent heat fluxes at OWS MIKE in addition to the radiative fluxes, instrument measurements can be used to examine which bulk parameterisations that are best suited under the climatological conditions experienced in this area. The best bulk parameterisations will be used to generate time series of the surface heat budget components from 1948 until this day. The surface net heat budget will be compared with temporal changes in the heat content of the water column below OWS MIKE as represented by the oceanographic measurements and changes in the heat content not attributed to changes in the surface fluxes are attributed to changes in heat advection of the Norwegian Atlantic Current. This is a coarse estimate, neglecting other processes, but provides valuable temporal information.

Major outcome of this task
Validated EUMETSAT Ocean and Sea Ice SAF surface radiative flux products. Temporal information on the heat content and the surface heat budget from 1948 until this date.