Surface heat budgets and sea surface temperature in the pacific warm pool during TOGA COARE

The daily mean heat and momentum fluxes at the surface derived from the Spe cial Sensor Microwave/Imager and Japan's Geostationary Meteorological Satel lite radiance measurements are used to study the temporal and spatial varia bility of the surface energy budgets and their relationship to the sea surf ace temperature during the Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere Response Experiment int ensive observing period (IOP). For three time legs observed during the IOP, the retrieved surface fluxes compare reasonably well with those from the I mproved Meteorological Instrument (IMET) buoy, RV Moana Wave, and RV Wecoma . The characteristics of surface heat and momentum fluxes are very differen t between the southern and northern warm pool. In the southern warm pool, t he net surface hear flux is dominated by solar radiation, which is, in turn , modulated by the two Madden-Julian oscillations. The surface winds are ge nerally weak, leading to a shallow ocean mixed layer The solar radiation pe netrating through the bottom of the mixed laver is significant, and the cha nge in the sea surface temperature during the IOP does not follow the net s urface heat flux. In the northern warm pool, the northeasterly trade wind i s strong and undergoes strong seasonal variation. The variation of the net surface heat nux is dominated by evaporation. The two westerly wind bursts associated with the Madden-Julian oscillations seem to have little effect o n the net surface heat flux. The ocean mixed layer is deep, and the solar r adiation penetrating through the bottom of the mixed layer is small. As opp osed to the southern warm pool, the trend of the sea surface temperature in the northern warm pool during the IOP is in agreement with the variation o f the net beat flux at the surface.