Map of observations of hurricanes and their paths
Locations of Air Launched Autonomous Micro Observer (ALAMO) floats relative to the tracks of Hurricanes Irma (2017, black circles) and Florence (2018, black triangles) and pre-storm satellite-derived sea surface temperatures (oC, shaded) below and above white line, respectively. Locations of inset satellite infrared brightness temperatures (K) are indicated (black squares), as are the ALAMO positions when Irma (red circles) and Florence (blue triangles) crossed the float array. Credit: Sanabia & Jayne, 2020, Figure 1
Source: AGU Advances

Tropical cyclones leave cooler surface ocean temperatures in their wake, as a result of intense mixing of the upper ocean. Details of this upper ocean structure under two hurricanes are revealed in high resolution measurements presented by Sanabia and Jayne [2020]. These unique measurements, derived from a variety of sensors deployed on floats, capture the space and time variability in the across-path asymmetry in ocean mixed layer properties and show the importance of salinity in controlling this structure. The view of the upper ocean provided by these measurements allows improved understanding of that layer’s influence on the intensity of the hurricane, which in turn contributes to better forecasts of hurricane intensity.

Citation: Sanabia, E. & Jayne, S. [2020]. Ocean observations under two major hurricanes: Evolution of the response across the storm wakes. AGU Advances, 1, e2019AV000161. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019AV000161

—Eileen Hofmann, Editor, AGU Advances

Text © 2020. The authors. CC BY-NC-ND 3.0
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