Ch. Sui et al., SELECTIVE ABSORPTION OF SOLAR-RADIATION AND UPPER OCEAN TEMPERATURE IN THE EQUATORIAL WESTERN PACIFIC, J GEO RES-O, 103(C5), 1998, pp. 10313-10321
The solar radiation absorbed by seawater in the upper 0.45 m within th
e Tropical Ocean-Global Atmosphere (TOGA) Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Res
ponse Experiment (COARE) domain is estimated from the observed surface
heat fluxes and subsurface temperature during the TOGA COARE Intensiv
e Observation Period. On the average, more than 39% of the net surface
solar irradiance is estimated to be absorbed within the first 0.45 m.
This value is higher than previous estimates. The observed absorption
is applied to modify the parameterized transmittance profile represen
ting the COARE domain, which is bordered by the optical water types IA
, IB, and II [Jerlov, 1968]. The original and modified profiles of sol
ar irradiance are prescribed in a one-dimensional ocean model to test
their effects on the model responses to the observed surface fluxes. T
he modified profiles for the three types of water all produce better s
imulation results than the corresponding original profiles in terms of
the diurnal and intraseasonal sea surface temperature amplitudes. The
model results support our estimate that the near-surface absorption o
f solar radiation in the COARE region is stronger than that suggested
by the water types IA, IB, and II.