, the mixed layer
temperature equation can be written as:U.S. Dept. of Commerce / NOAA / OAR / PMEL / Publications
To investigate the processes which lead to the SST changes shown in Figures
2 and 3, we examined the heat budget of the
surface mixed layer using the formalism discussed in McPhaden
[1982]. With the assumption of vertically uniform mixed layer temperature
of depth h, the mixed layer
temperature equation can be written as:
(1)
with
The rate of change of sea surface temperature, T
,
is expressed in terms of Q
.
The density of seawater is 
= 1022.4 kg m
and the heat capacity is C
= 3.94 × 10
J kg
°C. The net surface heat flux from the atmosphere
into the mixed layer ( Q
)
is composed of the shortwave (Q
),
longwave (Q
), latent (Q
),
and sensible (Q
) heat fluxes
and the penetrative radiation (Q
)
at the bottom of the mixed layer. The oceanic processes (Q
)
which contribute to changes in mixed layer temperature are zonal (Q
)
and meridional (Q
) advection,
entrainment cooling across the base of the mixed layer ( Q
),
and vertical (Q
) and meridional
(Q
) eddy heat flux. Zonal
eddy heat flux has been ignored, since previous studies suggest that it is small
[Bryden
and Brady, 1985].
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