engleski

Small-scale spatial variability of surface heat flux over the northern Adriatic

Coastal meteorological data and sea surface temperature collected over a six-year interval (1966-1971) have been used to evaluate seasonal cycle of surface heat flux at three locations in the northern Adriatic (Trieste, Rovinj, Mali Lošinj) by means of three bulk formulae sets. The flux is found to be highly variable in space: e. g. upward December flux varies from 142 W m-2 at Rovinj, via 207 W m-2 at Trieste, to 248 W m-2 at Mali Lošinj. The conclusion remains valid if error bounds, of the order of ą10 W m-2, are taken into account. The variability arises mainly from variable amount of heat lost by evaporation, which in turn is primarily controlled by wind speed. The computed surface heat flux is verified through a comparison with sea temperature data collected at a northern Adriatic profile since 1966. A side result of the comparison is an estimate of vertical eddy diffusion coefficient in the surface layer, the most probable value of which lies between 2.1 and 2.7 x 10-4 m2 s-1.

Small-scale spatial variability ; surface heat flux ; northern Adriatic

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