Georgia Tech investigators will provide an improved data synthesis in the area of air-sea interaction, combining available satellite data, historic and recent field observations and improved turbulent flux models for the high wind conditions that are so common in the Southern Ocean. A proposed new ~20 year flux climatology for Southern Ocean atmospheric exchanges of heat, water vapor and momentum will be produced. This is necessary for continued refinement of our understanding of the variability of coupled ocean-atmosphere processes and their important feedbacks into the global climate system. In several instances both the magnitude and even the sign of the Southern hemisphere air-sea flux terms is uncertain. A broader impact goal is the establishment of a web-site aimed at scientific users of new in-situ and flux data sets for the Southern Ocean, along with the development of seminar courses at GIT.
"This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Public Law 111-5)."
