Global Sea Surface Temperature and Winds 

This visualization shows the directional flow and magnitude of surface wind-vector data (calibrated to a 10 meter reference height) from June 1, 2011 to October 31, 2011. In addition to surface winds, global sea surface temperature (SST) data are shown. 

Notice how the SST cools in the wake of large storms such as hurricanes. Warm surface water powers these storms and as they absorb energy (heat), the water they pass over tends to cool. A great example is Hurricane Irene, which became a hurricane as it crossed the island of Puerto Rico and skirted the eastern and northern coastlines of Hispaniola on August 22, 2011. As Hurricane Irene enters the open Atlantic Ocean, the storm intensifies and the SST cooling effect is clearly visible in the wake of the storm. This cooling effect takes place due to latent and sensible heat fluxes as well as wind-induced upwelling. The wind-induced upwelling is most pronounced to the right of the storm track. 

The wind data are from the Cross-Calibrated Multi-Platform project, while SST data are from the Multi-scale Ultra-high Resolution (MUR) Sea Surface Temperature (SST) analysis. Both CCMP and MUR data were funded by the NASA MEaSUREs program. 


For more information: podaac.jpl.nasa.gov 

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