Modelled and Observed Diurnal SST Signals: "SSTDV:R.EX.-IM.A.M." Project Preliminary Results

This study presents some of the preliminary results from the ESA Support To Science Element (STSE) funded project on the Diurnal Variability of the Sea Surface Temperature, regarding its Regional Extend and Implications in Atmospheric Modelling (SSTDV:R.EX.–IM.A.M.). During this phase of the project, the focus is on the regional extend of diurnal variability.

Particularly, extensive sensitivity tests regarding the definition of SSTfound fields show that using only quality 5 SEVIRI data results in warmer foundation fields SSTfound while there is an added ∼0.2 K variability when using multi-day composites. Diurnal warming signals exceeding 1 K are identified in the European Seas but also in the mid-latitudes of the North and South Atlantic as well as in areas with strong currents.

In the attempt to connect temperature measurements from satellites and in situ instruments, the 1-dimensional General Ocean Turbulence Model (GOTM) is applied. Preliminary results show that the initial temperature profiles may give a warmer start-up in the model while the light extinction scheme is a controlling factor for the amplitude and vertical extend of the daily signal.