Flux measurements in the surface marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer over the Aegean Sea, Greece

Abstract

Micro-meteorological measurements within the surface Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer took place at the shoreline of two islands at northern and south-eastern Aegean Sea of Greece. The primary goal of these experimental campaigns was to study the momentum, heat and humidity fluxes over this part of the north-eastern Mediterranean Sea, characterized by limited spatial and temporal scales which could affect these exchanges at the air–sea interface. The great majority of the obtained records from both sites gave higher values up to factor of two, compared with the estimations from the most widely used parametric formulas that came mostly from measurements over open seas and oceans. Friction velocity values from both campaigns varied within the same range and presented strong correlation with the wind speed at 10 m height while the calculated drag coefficient values at the same height for both sites were found to be constant in relation with the wind speed. Using eddy correlation analysis, the heat flux values were calculated (virtual heat fluxes varied from −60 to 40 W/m2) and it was found that they are affected by the limited spatial and temporal scales of the responding air–sea interactionmechanism. Similarly, the humidity fluxes appeared to be strongly influenced by the observed intense spatial heterogeneity of the sea surface temperature.