Inertial-Dissipation flux measurements over south Bay of Bengal during BOBMEX-Pilot experiment

This paper describes measurement of air-sea parameters and estimation of se nsible and latent heat fluxes by the "Inertial-Dissipation" technique over south Bay of Bengal. The data were collected on ORV Sagar Kanya during BOBM EX-Pilot cruise during the period 23rd October 1998 to 12th November 1998 o ver south Bay of Bengal. The fluxes are estimated using the data collected through fast response sensors namely Gill anemometer, Sonic anemometer and IR Hygrometer. In this paper the analyses carried out for two days, one rel atively cloud free day on November 3rd and the other cloudy with rain on No vember Ist, are presented. Sea surface and air temperatures are higher on N ovember 3rd than on November Ist. Sensible heat flux for both the days does not show any significant variation over the period of estimation, whereas latent heat flux is more for November 3rd than November Ist. An attempt is made to explain the variation of latent heat flux with a parameter called t hermal stability on the vapor transfer from the water surface, which depend s on wind speed and air to sea surface temperature difference.