An Estimate of the Climatological Heat Fluxes over the Tropical Pacific Ocean

Abstract

Weather reports for the 1970s decade were used to derive the mean annual distributions of surface properties and to compute the surface fluxes of heat over the tropical Pacific Ocean. The net heat flux obtained was greater than other estimates, and there is an annual heat gain by the ocean everywhere between 20°N and 20°S. The amounts and patterns appear plausible when compared with major features of the ocean circulation. The seasonal cycles of sea surface temperature, net heat flux, and wind speed were examined for eight regions; the results suggest that, except off Peru and near the equator, the seasonal variation of surface temperature is caused by variations in surface heat flux.