edu.ucar.opensky::articles:14099 UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact 2025-12-26T03:29:26.332952 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata - Part 2: Extensions for Imagery and Gridded Data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7b27w7g Evidence of spray-mediated air-sea enthalpy flux within tropical cyclones 2014-04-28T00:00:00Z publication https://n2t.org/ark:/85065/d7b27w7g https://doi.org/10.1002/2014GL059746 Richter, D. author Stern, Daniel P. author UCAR/NCAR - Library publisher It has long been conjectured that spray ejected from the high-wind ocean surface enhances air/sea enthalpy fluxes, but a lack of observational data, particularly at wind speeds exceeding 20 m s⁻¹, has prevented either confirmation or refutation of this hypothesis. The current study has two aims: first, to provide an estimate of surface enthalpy fluxes obtained from dropsonde data and second, to provide evidence of spray-mediated enthalpy transfer. These are accomplished first by assuming that Monin-Obukhov similarity is satisfied throughout the bottom 100 m of the high-wind boundary layer, then by focusing on the enthalpy flux HK rather than its transfer coefficient CK. The scaling of HKwith wind speed in observational data sets reveals similarities to spray-mediated fluxes predicted by a newly developed surface flux model, in contrast with measurements made in a laboratory setting. This behavior supports the claim that surface enthalpy fluxes are dominated by spray within tropical cyclones. UCAR/NCAR - Library OpenSky Support PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 opensky@ucar.edu http://opensky.ucar.edu/ homepage pointOfContact PDF Text theme Resource Type 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z publication Copyright 2014 American Geophysical Union. None eng geoscientificInformation