The Surface Processes subgroup
Key to understanding the interaction between the ocean and atmosphere is the study of those processes driving air-sea exchange of heat, salt, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The Surface Processes subgroup measure and analyse turbulence in the atmospheric and oceanic boundary layers in order to provide accurate parameterisations of air-sea exchange of momentum, heat, freshwater, CO2 and other climatically-active gases.
The group also develops long-term global datasets of ocean near-surface parameters and exchanges (turbulent and radiative) based on observations from platforms, ships and satellites. These datasets are used by other international researchers to understand the long-term variability of surface fluxes, and they provide an important forcing term for global climate models. This team is concerned with time and space scales from micrometeorological to global climate. Their work is used to design and improve global observational systems and monitoring programmes.
