Satellite-derived surface latent heat fluxes in a rapidly intensifying marine cyclone

The aim of this article is to estimate surface latent heat fluxes in the vicinity of a rapidly deepening cyclone before and during its period of most rapid intensification. This is done with a bulk parameterization scheme and remotely sensed input data. A method for estimating the difference in specific humidity between the surface and a 10-m height is investigated using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager-observed integrated water vapor field and a sea surface temperature analysis. The surface latent heat flux fields generally have estimated errors below 40 percent south of 40 deg N and outside the region of high integrated water vapor values associated with frontal bands. The method of estimating surface latent heat fluxes for the case study was found to be usable in most regions of the northwest Atlantic Ocean except for those locations directly adjacent to coastlines in instances of offshore flow and in the vicinity of surface fronts.