Chapter 8: Thermodynamics

8.1 Sea surface heat budget

In Chapter 6, we have introduced the oceanic planetary boundary layer-the Ekman layer.
The observed T and S in this layer are almost uniform vertically, thus it is also referred to
as the surface mixed layer. This layer is in direct contact with the atmosphere and thus is
subject to forcings due to windstress (which enters the ocean as momentum ux), heat ux,
and salinity ux. Heat and salinity uxes combine to form buoyancy ux.
Below, we will discuss the heat uxes that force the ocean, and examine the processes
that can cause mixed layer temperature changes by introducing the mixed layer temperature
equation.
Why is the surface heat budget important? Heating and cooling at the ocean surface
determine the sea surface temperature (SST), which is a major determinant of the static
stability of both the lower atmosphere and the upper ocean. For example, the wintertime
cold SST in the North Atlantic and in the GIN Seas (Greenland, Ice land, and Norwegian
Seas) increase density, destabilizing the stratication of the ocean, resulting in deep water
formation and therefore aecting the global thermohaline circulation. On the other hand, in
the equatorial Western Pacic and eastern Indian Ocean warm pool region, SST exceeds 29

C
and thus destabilize the atmosphere (because the atmosphere is heated from below), causing
convection. Convection in the warm pool region is an important branch for the Hadley and
Walker circulation and therefore is important for the global climate. The surface heat uxes
at the air/sea interface are central to the interaction and coupling between the atmosphere
and ocean.
Before we discuss the processes that determine the SST variation, lets rst look at the
annual mean SST distribution in the world oceans (Figure 1).
Why SST is generally warm in the tropics and cold poleward? Solar shortwave ux is
high in the tropics and low near the poles. There is net heat ux surplus at lower latitudes
and decit at high latitudes (Figure 2). Why the SST is cold in the eastern Pacic (cold
tongue)? Upwelling - Ocean processes. Therefore, SST distribution is determined from both
surface heat ux forcing and from the oceanic processes.
For simplicity, we will examine the temperature equation for the surface mixed layer, and
assume solar shortwave radiation is completely absorbed by the surface mixed layer. In fact,
this is a mixed layer model for temperature. [RECALL that some light can penetrate down
to the deeper layers, depending on the turbidity of the water.]
The processes that determine the temperature change of a (Lagrangian) water parcel in
the surface mixed layer are:
net surface radiation ux Q
nr
;
the surface turbulent sensible heat ux Q
s
;
the surface turbulent latent heat ux Q
l
;
i
Figure 1: Annual mean SST in the Pacic, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans.
Figure 2: Latitudinal distribution of net surface radiative uxes.
ii
heat transfer by precipitation (usually small) Q
pr
;
entrainment of the colder, subsurface water into the surface layer Q
ent
.
The rst law of thermodynamics tells us that heat absorbed by a system is used to increase
the internal energy of the system and used to do work to its environment. An example is
a metal box that is full of air with a sliding door on one side. Initially air pressure on
both sides of the door are the same, which equals the atmospheric pressure. When the box
is heated up from below, air temperature inside the box will increase because its internal
energy increases and molecules motion increases. This will increase the air pressure on the
inner side of the door and thus pushes it to move outside. If the sliding door is xed, all the
heat will be used to increase the internal energy of the air inside the box.
For the oceanic mixed layer, energy absorbed by the mixed layer per unit area is used to
increase the internal energy (temperature) of the water column. Now, lets apply the rst
law of thermodynamics to the oceanic mixed layer with depth h
m
for a unit area (Figure 3).
Figure 3: Schematic diagram showing the oceanic mixed layer and heat uxes that act on
the ocean.
For a water column of the mixed layer with an area of xy, internal energy increase
is:

w
c
pw
dTm
dt
h
m
xy. For a unit area, it is:
w
c
pw
dTm
dt
h
m
,
where
w
is water density, c
pw
is specic heat of water (J/kg/

C).
This energy increase will be caused by the net heat ux due to both heating from the
surface and cooling from the bottom of the mixed layer. That is:

w
c
pw
dT
m
dt
h
m
= Q
nr
+ Q
s
+ Q
l
+ Q
pr
+ Q
ent
, (1)
where Q
ent
=
w
c
pw
w
ent
(T
m
T
d
) and T
d
is the temperature of the thermocline.
Rewriting the equation by expanding
dTm
dt
=
Tm
t
+V T
m
+ w
TmT
d
hm
we have:
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T
m
t
=
Q
nr
+ Q
s
+ Q
l
+ Q
pr

w
c
pw
h
m
V T
m
w
T
m
T
d
h
m
H(w) w
ent
T
m
T
d
h
m
= Q
net
. (2)
Next, well discuss each term in detail and Q
net
is the net surface heat ux.
(a) Q
nr
The net surface radiation ux, Q
nr
, is the sum of the net solar and long wave uxes at
the surface.
Q
nr
= (1
0
)Q
sw
0
+ Q
lw
0

0
T
4
0
. (3)
Figure 4: Schematic diagram showing radiative uxes.
In the above,
Q
sw
0
- downward solar radiation ux at the surface;

0
- is the shortwave surface albedo (reectivity);
Q
lw
0
- is the downward infrared radiation ux at the surface.
-
0
T
4
0
- outgoing longwave radiation of the ocean. This is from the Stefan-Boltzmans
law of radiation. To a fairly high accuracy, a black body (100% emmisivity) with temperature
T emits radiative ux as E = T
4
where = 5.67 10
8
wm
2
K
4
.
T
0
is the skin temperature at the very surface; but if we consider the mixed layer is well
mixed, T
0
represents the mixed layer temperature T
m
.
0
- surface longwave emissivity (0.97
for the ocean). The ocean is close to a black body.
The surface downward short wave and long wave uxes Q
sw
0
and Q
lw
0
depend on the
amount of radiation incident at the top of the atmosphere and on the atmospheric conditions:
Temperature prole, gaseous constituents, aerosols, clouds. Radiative transfer processes and
models are covered by the radiation class. So we will not get deep into this part here.
.
iv
(b) Q
s
and Q
l
The surface turbulent sensible and latent heat uxes. Turbulent is a small-scale irregular
ow that often occurs in atmospheric and oceanic planetary boundary layers (PBL). It is
characterized by eddy motion. It has a wide range of spectra in spatial and temporal scales.
Unlike the large scale deterministic ow whose horizontal scale is much larger than its vertical
scale, turbulent ow has comparable horizontal and vertical scales and thus is bounded by the
planetary boundary depth 1km. Its smallest scale is 10
3
m. These eddies produce ecient
mixing in the PBL, bring heat from the oceanic surface to the top of the PBL and bring the
cooler air from the PBL top to the surface. Since it is not possible to predict the behavior
of the wide range of eddies using analytical or numerical methods, we usually determine the
turbulent motion using statistical approximations. To do so we separate the total ow into
mean (deterministic) and the turbulent component, and obtain empirical formulae. That is,
u
T
= u + u

where u
T
, u, and u

represent total, mean, and turbulent ow.

Q
s
=
a
c
pd
(w

)
0
, (4a)
Q
l
=
a
L
lv
(w

v
)
0
, (4b)
where w

- turbulent vertical velocity;

is the turbulent potential temperature, overline

- is time mean, q
v
is air specic humidity, and L
lv
is the latent heat of evaporation.
Potential temperature of a water or air parcel is dened to be the temperature of the parcel
when it is adiabatically bring to the sea level pressure. It is used here rather than in situ
temperature for convenience (so that we dont have to worry about the temperature change
due to pressure).
Figure 5: Schematic diagram showing eddy sensible and latent heat transport.
In Figure 5, SST is higher than air temperature and thus it warms up the air right above
the sea surface. Eddies bring the warm air from the surface upward and bring the colder
air down to the sea surface, producing the mixing. As a result, the ocean loose heat to the
atmosphere. The latent heat ux in fact is turbulent moisture transport. Why moisture
v
transport is related to heat ux? Because evaporation, which produces the moist air, needs
to cost the internal energy of the ocean to overcome the molecular attractions of sea water to
become water vapor. As a result, SST decreases and the ocean looses heat to the atmosphere.
The covariances (w

)
0
and (w

v
)
0
can be determined from high-frequency measure-
ments of w, , and specic humidity q
v
. However, such measurements are rarely available.
Therefore, we usually use bulk aerodynamic formulae to estimate them. The bulk formu-
lae are based on the premise that the near-surface turbulence arises from the
mean wind shear near the surface, and that the turbulent uxes of heat and
moisture are proportional to their gradients just above the ocean surface.
According to these assumptions, we obtain the bulk formulae:
Q
s
=
a
c
pd
C
DH
(V
a
V
o
)(T
a
T
o
), (5a)
Q
l
=
a
L
lv
C
DE
(V
a
V
o
)(q
va
q
vo
), (5b)
where c
pd
= 1004J/kg/

C-specic heat of air, C

DE
is close to C
DH
under ordinary con-
ditions. V
a
- 10m windspeed, V
o
oceanic surface current in the wind direction, T
a
surface
air temperature, and T
o
is the SST and is T
m
if we consider the surface layer is well mixed.
In fact, potential temperatures should be used but at the oceanic surface (sea level), po-
tential temperature is equivalent to in situ temperature so people often use T instead of .
L
lv
= 2.44 10
6
J/kg - latent heat of evaporation. q
va
is surface air humidity, and q
vo
is
saturation specic humidity when T
a
= T
o
.
(c) Q
pr
Heat transfer by precipitation occurs if the precipitation has a dierent temperature than
SST. It is small for a long term mean (say monthly mean),maybe is important during a short
rainfall period.
Q
pr
=
w
c
pw
p
r
(T
wa
T
o
)
where p
r
is precipitation rate, T
wa
is atmospheric wet bulb temperature (rain drop tem-
perature).
(d) Horizontal advection -V T
This processes is signicant only when SST gradient is strong and current speed is large.
(e) Entrainment cooling -w
ent
TmT
d
hm
where T
d
is the temperature of the thermocline water. Entrainment of colder, subsurface
water (thermocline water) into the surface mixed layer. Entrainment rate w
ent
is a function
of windspeed and buoyancy. When windspeed is strong, w
ent
is large and the ocean tends
to entrain the colder subsurface water into the mixed layer. When the ocean is weakly
stratied, w
ent
also tends to increase. When winds is strong and the ocean is weakly stratied,
instability (K-H) is favored and thus mixing is strong. Even the ocean is stable, strong wind
input mechanical energy into the ocean and thus produce entrainment. This cooling is due
to the mixed layer process.
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(f) Upwelling cooling -w
TmT
d
hm
H(w)
Figure 6: Schematic diagram showing eastern Pacic upwelling.
In a continuously stratied model, strong upwelling in the eastern Pacic Ocean makes
the thermocline outcrop and thus directly cools the oceanic surface (Figures 6 and 7). This
cooling process is due to dynamic reason: Surface Ekman divergence shoals the surface
mixed layer and the thermocline, resulting in the colder, thermocline water entering the
surface mixed layer. Meanwhile, strong winds produce entrainment and thus still maintain a
well-mixed surface layer. That is, the mixed layer depth is not zero but the mixed layer water
is replaced by the colder thermocline water. In the mixed layer model were discussing, this
process can be represented by assuming a minimum mixed layer thickness h
min
. When h
m
goes to or is smaller than h
min
(say h
min
= 5m) due to strong divergence (and thus w > 0),
we let the thermocline water upwell to the mixed layer to maintain h
m
= h
min
. The heaviside
function H(w) = 1 when w > 0 and otherwise H(w) = 0. This indicates that upwelling
cools the SST; downwelling should not aect the SST directly. Note, however, that in a
vii
Figure 7: Observed SST in the eastern tropical Pacic.
mean upwelling zone, anomalous downwelling associated with surface Ekman convergence
will increase SST by reducing the mean upwelling cooling.
Note that the eastern equatorial Pacic cold tongue SST has a signicant annual cycle.
The processes that determine the annual SST variability have been well studied (e.g., Wang
B. and X. Fu, Journal of Climate, 2001; Swenson and Hansen, 1999, Journal of Physical
Oceanography).
8.2 Sea surface salinity budget
Except for the SST, the sea surface salinity (SSS) budget also plays an important role
in determining the stability of the upper ocean because its variation will cause density
change. The saline surface water in the high-latitude North Atlantic Ocean (say MOW) is
a key factor that allows surface water to sink deep into the ocean. In all the concentration
basins (Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, Persian Gulf), evaporation is greater than precipitation,
increasing SSS and thus increasing density, resulting in deep water formation and therefore
aect global thermohaline circulation. On the other hand, fresh surface water acts to stabilize
the mixed layer in the Arctic Ocean (dilution basin) and in the tropical western Pacic and
east Indian Ocean warm pool region.
Heat and salinity uxes combine to form buoyancy ux.
For simplicity, we will examine the salinity equation for the surface mixed layer.
The processes that contribute to the salinity change in the surface mixed layer are:
viii
(i) precipitation;
(ii) evaporation;
(iii) river runo;
(iv) formation and melting of sea ice;
(v) oceanic transport below the surface mixed layer due to entrainment.
Figure 8: Schematic diagram showing salinity budget in the surface mixed layer.
Next, we will quantify the eects for each of the above processes. The combination
of these processes determines the mixed layer salinity change (also called salinity storage).
First, we need to quantify the salinity change in the surface mixed layer.
Change of salinity. For a mixed layer water column with area x y and density

w
, the volume of this column is: h
m
xy (m
3
) and mass is
w
h
m
xy (kg). For
a unit area, the mass is
w
h
m
(kg m
2
). Recall that the denition of salinity is the
number of grams of dissolved matter per kilogram of seawater. Therefore the salinity
ux (kg m
2
s
1
) that is required to increase the salinity of a water column by the
amount of
dSm
dt
is

w
h
m
dSm
dt
.
If we take salinity as no unit as we discussed in the ocean observation section, salinity
ux has a unit of (kg m
2
s
1
) and is produced by the combination of all the ve
processes listed above. If we use psu as salinity unit, salinity ux has a unit of psu kg
m
2
s
1
.
(i) Precipitation induced salinity ux. Assume the precipitation rate is

P either due
to rainfall (

P
r
) or snow (

P
s
). It has a unit of m/s (speed). Salinity ux due to this
process can be written as:
ix
-
r

P
r
S
0
or -
s

P
s
S
0
.
As we shall see later, the negative sign indicates that precipitation will reduce the SSS,
S
0
. If we consider the mixed layer is well mixed, S
0
is the mixed layer salinity S
m
.
(ii) Evaporation induced salinity ux. Similar to the precipitation, salinity ux due to
evaporation can be written as:

E
0
S
0
,
where

E
0
is the evaporation rate (m/s) at the oceanic surface. Note that evaporation
tends to increase salinity, as the situation in the concentration basins of the world
ocean.
(iii) River runo induced salinity ux. Similar to the precipitation, river runo induced
salinity ux is:
-
rv

RS
0
,
where

R is the river runo rate (m/s).
(iv) Salinity ux due to sea ice melting and freezing. Sea ice melting and freezing aect
the salinity in the ocean. When sea ice melts, it increases fresh water in the ocean
and thus decreases salinity. When sea ice freezes, fresher water freezes rst because
of its low freezing point (0

C for fresh water and -2

C for salty water), and therefore

increases SSS. Consequently, sea ice melting and freezing can aect salinity and thus
density in the ocean, inuencing global thermohaline circulation. Salinity ux due to
this process can be parameterized as:

i
dh
i
dt
(S
0
S
i
),
where i, h
i
, and S
i
represents the sea ice density, thickness, and salinity.
(v) Salinity ux due to entrainment. Similar to the mixed layer temperature equation,
entrainment due to surface wind-stirring and cooling will entrain the subsurface water
into the surface mixed layer, aecting the SSS. This process is due to mixed layer
physics, which is dierent from the upwelling process caused by ocean dynamics.
Salinity ux due to entrainment can be written as:

w
w
ent
(S
0
S
d
),
where w
ent
is the entrainment rate as discussed in the previous class. It is determined
by wind-stirring and surface cooling. Entrainment is strong in regions with strong
winds and weakly stratied ocean. S
d
is the salinity below the surface mixed layer,
which represents the salinity in the thermocline layer.
If we consider a uniform salinity in the surface mixed layer, we can use S
m
to replace S
0
and thus give rise to the following salinity equation in the surface mixed layer:

w
h
m
dS
m
dt
=
r

P
r
S
m

P
s
S
m
+
w

E
0
S
m

rv

RS
m
+
i
dh
i
dt
(S
m
S
i
)
w
w
ent
(S
m
S
d
). (6)
x
Rewriting the equation by expanding
dSm
dt
=
Sm
t
+V S
m
+ w
SmS
d
hm
we have:
Sm
t
=

r

PrSm
s

PsSm+
w

E
0
Sm
rv

RSm+
i
dh
i
dt
(SmS
i
)

w
hm

went(SmS
d
)
hm
V S
m
w
SmS
d
hm
H(w).
(7)
The last two terms are salinity change due to horizontal advection (V S
m
) and
upwelling (w
SmS
d
hm
H(w)), respectively. As discussed in the T
m
equation, upwelling is
caused by surface Ekman divergence, which is a dynamical process, whereas entrainment is
due to mixed layer process.
From the above equation, we can see that salinity change in the surface mixed layer
is determined by the following processes: (i) Precipitation (rain or snow) reduces SSS; (ii)
Evaporation increases SSS; (iii) Fresh water from river runo reduces salinity; (iv) Sea ice
melting (freezing) reduces (increases) SSS; (v) entrainment can either increase or decreases
SSS depends on the value of S
d
; (vi) Horizontal advection can aect SST in regions where
salinity gradients are strong; (vii) Oceanic upwelling can bring the subsurface water into the
surface layer and thus change SSS.
Processes (i) and (ii) (Precipitation and evaporation: P-E) play a deterministic role in
the open ocean. The latitudinal distribution of P-E agrees well with the salinity distribution
in the subtropical-mid latitude oceans and to a lesser degree, in the tropics (Figures 9 and
10). Process (iii) river runo can be important in coastal regions, such as the Bay of Bengal
in the Indian Ocean where Ganges-Bramaputra rivers discharge a large amount of fresh
water into the Bay (Figure 10). In the Arctic Ocean, river runo is also very important.
Process (iv) is important at high latitudes and in the Arctic Ocean. Oceanic processes due
to entrainment, advection, and upwelling can have large inuence in certain regions of the
ocean, depending on the ocean dynamics and mixed layer process.
Figure 9: Latitudinal distribution of P-E and sea surface salinity.
8.3 The ocean surface buoyancy ux.
xi
Figure 10: Observed mean sea surface salinity distribution in the Worlds oceans.
The net surface heat ux combined with the net surface salinity ux produces the ocean
surface buoyancy ux, F
Bo
, which can be written as (Curry and Webster book, Chapter 9):
F
BO
= g(

T
c
p0
Q
net

s
F
net
), (8)
where
T
< 0 is thermal expansion coecient (unit:

C
1
),
S
> 0 is the salinity
expansion coecient (unit: psu
1
), and
S
is greater than the absolute value of
T
, c
p0
is
the specic heat of surface water (J kg
1
C
1
), and g is the acceleration of gravity (m s
2
).
In the above, Q
net
is the net surface heat ux (wm
2
=J m
2
s
1
),
Q
net
= Q
nr
+ Q
s
+ Q
l
+ Q
pr

w
c
pw
h
m
[V T
m
w
TmT
d
hm
H(w) w
ent
TmT
d
hm
],
F
net
is the net surface salinity ux (psu kg m
2
s
1
),
F
net
=
r

P
r
S
m

s

P
s
S
m
+
w

E
0
S
m

rv

RS
m
+
i
dh
i
dt
(S
m
S
i
)
w
h
m
[
went(SmS
d
)
hm

V S
m
w
SmS
d
hm
H(w)].
Thus, buoyancy ux has the unit of N m
2
s
1
=kg m s
2
m
2
s
1
=kgm
1
s
3
.
As can be seen from F
BO
equation,
xii
(i) when there is surface heating Q
net
> 0 and fresh water input (F
net
< 0), F
BO
> 0 and
the ocean is stabilized.
(ii) When there is surface cooling (Q
net
< 0) and salty water input (F
net
> 0), F
BO
is
negative and the ocean is destabilized.
These are quantitative expression for what we have discussed in earlier classes. Buoyancy
is an upward force exerted by a uid, that opposes the weight of an immersed object. The
stronger the stratication, the larger the buoyancy forcing.
xiii