Air-sea heat exchange, an element of the water cycle

The distribution and variation of water vapor, clouds and precipitation are examined. Principal driving forces for these distributions are energy exchange and evaporation at the air-sea interface, which are also important elements of air-sea interaction studies. The overall aim of air-sea interaction studies is to quantitatively determine mass, momentum and energy fluxes, with the goal of understanding the mechanisms controlling them. The results of general circulation simulations indicate that the atmosphere in mid-latitudes responds to changes in the oceanic surface conditions in the tropics. This correlation reflects the strong interaction between tropical and mid-latitude conditions caused by the transport of heat and momentum from the tropics. Studies of air-sea exchanges involve a large number of physica, chemical and dynamical processes including heat flux, radiation, sea-surface temperature, precipitation, winds and ocean currents. The fluxes of latent heat are studied and the potential use of satellite data in determining them evaluated. Alternative ways of inferring heat fluxes will be considered.