Intercomparison of Air-Sea Interface Fluxes over the Yellow Sea and Korea Strait: Impact of Tsushima Warm Current

摘要

Surface-layer meteorological observations obtained from oceanic buoys over the Korean Strait and the Yellow Sea are used to estimate surface-layer turbulent fluxes of heat, moisture and momentum over the East-Asian Marginal Seas. Special emphasis is paid towards explanation of the impact of the Tsushima warm current flowing through the Korean Strait on air-sea interface fluxes. During the active phase of the Tsushima warm current, when the difference in sea surface temperature and air temperature becomes as large as 8 degree C, the sensible heat flux increases to a value of about 135 W m super(-2), while the latent heat flux is around 200 W m super(-2). The study attempts to broaden our understanding on the air-sea interaction processes over the Yellow Sea and Korean Strait.