WHOI PO

Title: Eddy-induced air-sea coupling in momentum and heatbudgets 

Abstract: The debate over air-sea coupling centers on determiningwhether the ocean or the atmosphere serves as the primary driver for momentumand heat transfers, as well as clarifying the mechanisms that characterizethese phenomena across different scales. In this presentation, I will discussthree sub-studies that explore eddy-induced air-sea coupling: 1) investigatingthe impact of balanced vortices (eddies) on the nonlinear responses of oceanEkman layer to wind stress in an idealized setting, 2) understanding whysignatures of mesoscale eddies in SSH and SST may exhibit seemingly paradoxicalsigns from a statistical analysis, and 3) recalibrating surface water masssubduction by tracking the migration of isopycnals in ocean state estimates,thereby negating the need to capture transformation at the sea surface. Thesestudies are “coupled” to demonstrate how sea surface heat budget may either becoupled or decoupled from the momentum budget.