A View of Recent Air-Sea Interaction Research

Abstract

An important function of the AMS technical committees provides for the dissemination of information about recent progress in specialized fields of interest to meteorology. This survey deals with the variety of research conducted on air-sea interaction phenomena during the past few years. The article is organized in such a way as to present a sequel to the report from the NAS committee on air-sea interaction, published in 1963. Review of the literature in this framework shows that many of the critical areas identified at that time have been researched extensively. However, as in most problem areas in atmospheric research, progress has been made, but there remain many questions that require answers before our understanding of the dynamic relationships between the sea and the air emerges into greatly improved methods of weather forecasting. In viewing the current status of this field, some recommendations are made as important objectives in the next ten years for the meteorological and oceanographic community.