CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles
Abstract This study employs CYGNSS data to explore the life cycle of atmospheric rivers (ARs) on a near global scale, focusing on ocean surface turbulent heat flux variations. Using spaceborne measurements matched to different stages of full AR life cycles for the first time, we show declining laten...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113370 |
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| author | Shakeel Asharaf Bin Guan Duane E. Waliser |
| author_facet | Shakeel Asharaf Bin Guan Duane E. Waliser |
| author_sort | Shakeel Asharaf |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract This study employs CYGNSS data to explore the life cycle of atmospheric rivers (ARs) on a near global scale, focusing on ocean surface turbulent heat flux variations. Using spaceborne measurements matched to different stages of full AR life cycles for the first time, we show declining latent and sensible heat fluxes throughout the AR life cycle, with the latent heat flux dominating. The observed reduction in heat fluxes, despite increasing wind speed, suggests that temperature and humidity vertical gradients are the primary drivers of these changes during the AR life cycle. The decreasing temperature and humidity gradients indicate rapid declines in air temperature and humidity levels relative to the ocean surface. Our findings suggest the potential role of air‐sea interactions in driving moisture transport from the tropics to higher latitudes within ARs, and offer a satellite‐based benchmark for improving model fidelity in representing air‐sea processes during ARs. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-49ab09a0540e4cd68b0c818ed907ecd2 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-49ab09a0540e4cd68b0c818ed907ecd22025-08-20T02:30:58ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-05-015210n/an/a10.1029/2024GL113370CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life CyclesShakeel Asharaf0Bin Guan1Duane E. Waliser2Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles CA USAJoint Institute for Regional Earth System Science and Engineering University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles CA USAJet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USAAbstract This study employs CYGNSS data to explore the life cycle of atmospheric rivers (ARs) on a near global scale, focusing on ocean surface turbulent heat flux variations. Using spaceborne measurements matched to different stages of full AR life cycles for the first time, we show declining latent and sensible heat fluxes throughout the AR life cycle, with the latent heat flux dominating. The observed reduction in heat fluxes, despite increasing wind speed, suggests that temperature and humidity vertical gradients are the primary drivers of these changes during the AR life cycle. The decreasing temperature and humidity gradients indicate rapid declines in air temperature and humidity levels relative to the ocean surface. Our findings suggest the potential role of air‐sea interactions in driving moisture transport from the tropics to higher latitudes within ARs, and offer a satellite‐based benchmark for improving model fidelity in representing air‐sea processes during ARs.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113370atmospheric riverCYGNSSsurface heat fluxlife cycle |
| spellingShingle | Shakeel Asharaf Bin Guan Duane E. Waliser CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles Geophysical Research Letters atmospheric river CYGNSS surface heat flux life cycle |
| title | CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles |
| title_full | CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles |
| title_fullStr | CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles |
| title_full_unstemmed | CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles |
| title_short | CYGNSS Satellite Sampling of Surface Heat Fluxes Across Atmospheric River Life Cycles |
| title_sort | cygnss satellite sampling of surface heat fluxes across atmospheric river life cycles |
| topic | atmospheric river CYGNSS surface heat flux life cycle |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL113370 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shakeelasharaf cygnsssatellitesamplingofsurfaceheatfluxesacrossatmosphericriverlifecycles AT binguan cygnsssatellitesamplingofsurfaceheatfluxesacrossatmosphericriverlifecycles AT duaneewaliser cygnsssatellitesamplingofsurfaceheatfluxesacrossatmosphericriverlifecycles |