Highlights

Salt and the Wind

  • The ocean and sky are intricately linked through the exchange of energy and moisture.
    The ocean and sky are intricately linked through the exchange of energy and moisture.
  • These exchanges between the ocean and sky can be observed as changes in the sea surface salinity. But sometimes they are more complicated than you would think!
    These exchanges between the ocean and sky can be observed as changes in the sea surface salinity. But sometimes they are more complicated than you would think!
  • Sometimes a large rainstorm can increase sea surface salinity…
    Sometimes a large rainstorm can increase sea surface salinity…
  • …and sometimes the weakening of a large storm, like a monsoon, can decrease salinity.
    …and sometimes the weakening of a large storm, like a monsoon, can decrease salinity.
  • How? The answer is blowing in the wind. Wind plays a key role in mixing the ocean, bringing deeper, salty, water to the surface.
    How? The answer is blowing in the wind. Wind plays a key role in mixing the ocean, bringing deeper, salty, water to the surface.
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"We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails.” – Anonymous

The ocean and atmosphere are intricately linked. As such, it is not surprising that wind can influence the salinity of the ocean. Winds can decrease salinity by blowing in storm fronts that carry heavy rains and increase salinity by accelerating evaporation at the sea surface. But winds can also transfer energy into the ocean, vertically mixing fresh rainwater deep into the ocean or pushing surface water away from the coast causing the upwelling of cold, salty nutrient-rich waters. In this way, these salt-wind linkages are powerful forces on our planet shaping ocean circulation, driving the global water cycle, and fueling life.

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Related Publications

  • Meissner, T., Wentz, K., Ricciardulli, L., and Wentz, F. (2023). Passive microwave satellite sensors of the next decade for observing ocean vector winds, temperature, and salinity: WSF-MWI, COWVR, AMSR3, CIMR, EGU General Assembly 2023, EGU23-3701, doi: 10.5194/egusphere-egu23-3701.
    EGU »
  • Yurovsky, Y.Y., Kudryavtsev, V., Grodsky, S., and Chapron, B. (2022). Ka-Band Doppler Scatterometry: A Strong Wind Case Study, Remote Sens., 14(6), 1348, doi: 10.3390/rs14061348.
    MDPI »
  • Du, Y., Ma, W., Yang, X., and Yang, J. (2022). Direction Dependence of the Fully Polarimetric Wind-induced Ocean Emissivity at L-band: Modeling and Anisotropy Analyses, 2021 Photonics & Electromagnetics Research Symposium (PIERS), 2298-2306, doi: 10.1109/PIERS53385.2021.9695020.
    IEEE »
  • Knaff, J., Sampson, C., Kucas, M., Slocum, C., Brennan, M., Meissner, T., Ricciardulli, L., Mouche, A., Reul, N., Morris, M., Chirokova, G., and Caroff, P. (2021). Estimating Tropical Cyclone Surface Winds: Current Status, Emerging Technologies, Historical Evolution, and a Look to the Future, Trop. Cyclone Res. Rev., 10(3), 125-150, doi: 10.1016/j.tcrr.2021.09.002.
    ScienceDirect »
  • Kumar, P. and Gairola, R. (2021). Fostering the Need of L-Band Radiometer for Extreme Oceanic Wind Research, IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sens., doi: 10.1109/TGRS.2021.3105333.
    IEEE »
  • Schlundt, M., Farrar, J., Bigorre, S., Plueddemann, A., and Weller, R. (2020). Accuracy of Wind Observations from Open-Ocean Buoys: Correction for Flow Distortion, J. Atmos. Ocean. Tech., 37(4), 687-703, doi: 10.1175/JTECH-D-19-0132.1.
    AMS »
  • Sharma, N. (2019). A New Approach for Estimating Ocean-Surface Wind Speed Using an SMAP L-band Radiometer, Weather, 74(S1), S7-S12, doi: 10.1002/wea.3415.
    Wiley »
  • Hwang, P., Reul, N., Meissner, T., and Yueh, S. (2019). Whitecap and Wind Stress Observations by Microwave Radiometers: Global Coverage and Extreme Conditions, J. Phys. Oceanogr., 49(9), 2291-2307, doi: 10.1175/JPO-D-19-0061.1.
    AMS »
To view all salinity publications, visit the publications page.
Time scales over which salinity varies without seasons
Click to view a StoryMap that explores more examples of exchanges between the sea and sky.

Featured Publications

Heavy rain over the ocean

This study examined the relationship between rainfall, wind speed, and near-surface salinity in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. This work was part of the larger SPURS-2 field program focused on the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The relationship was not as simple, however, as strong winds leading to high precipitation leading to mixing of low salinity water. Instead, researchers puzzled out that the important element was the variation in the zonal (east-west) component of the winds. Changes in zonal winds lead to strong storms, high rainfall, and a decrease in salinity.

Reference

Riser, S.C., Yang, J., and Drucker, R. (2019). View the full paper.

NOAA mooring at sunset

Though known by different names (e.g., Rockies, Sierra Nevada, Andes), the Cordillera Mountain chain extends from Alaska to the tip of South America along the Pacific Coast. As these mountains extend through Central America, several small passes or breaks in the mountains lead to interesting wind features that can impact ocean salinity. These breaks act as wind tunnels, seasonally creating episodic gale-force offshore jets of wind, known as gap winds. Two such breaks occur at the Gulfs of Tehuantepec and Papagayo. In this study, researchers examine how gap wind events facilitate the upwelling of saltier deeper waters.

Reference

Grodsky, S.A., Carton, J.A., and Bentamy, A. (2014). View the full paper.

Argo deployment

This paper introduces the Combined Active/Passive (CAP) data produced for SMAP that combines wind and salinity data together. While this paper is quite technical in its description of this algorithm, it provides key insights into a novel way to process salinity and wind data.

Reference

Fore, A.G., Yueh, S.H., Tang, W., Stiles, B.W., and Hayashi, A.K. (2016). View the full paper.

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