SARCCM student Haifeng Zhang’s work has been featured in the recent issue of Marine Matters Issue 25:

Investigating sea surface temperature (SST) diurnal variation (DV) over the tropical warm pool (TWP) region

Sea surface temperature diurnal   variation, or diurnal warming, normally   refers to the daily temperature rise in the   upper few meters of the ocean. Diurnal   warm layers have typical temperature   differences relative to the body of water   below in the order of 0.5-3°C. However,   in some extreme cases such as when   the wind is very calm and solar radiation   is very strong, the differences can reach   values up to 7-8°C. It is expected that   the proper inclusion of sea surface   temperature diurnal variation effects in   air-sea coupled models, numerical weather   prediction models, and climate models   can enhance the model accuracy.   Therefore, a comprehensive study of the   spatial extent, frequency and amplitude   of diurnal warming events is essential,   particularly over the tropical warm pool   region (90°E-170°E, 25°S-15°N) given its   special location and role in global climate.   University of New South Wales student   Haifeng Zhang’s PhD project is using IMOS   satellite and modelled data to focus on the   description of the general features (Zhang   et al., 2016a) and seasonal patterns (Zhang   et al., 2016b) of diurnal variation events,   the relationship between diurnal variation   events and the driving meteorological   variables (winds, solar radiation, etc.)  It also has evaluated empirical diurnal   variation models, physical diurnal variation   models, and air-sea coupled model with   diurnal variation scheme implemented.   Initial results have shown the large   amplitude (up to 6-8°C) and high frequency   (especially in the austral summer) of sea   surface temperature diurnal variation   events over the tropical warm pool region.   The more important role of morning   winds, in comparison to 24-hour mean   winds, has also been highlighted, which   could be useful for diurnal variation model   improvement. A future research will   investigate the relationship between diurnal   variation events and other meteorological   phenomena, such as Madden-Julian   Oscillation and precipitation.  

REFERENCES  

Zhang, H., H. Beggs, L. Majewski, H.   Wang, and A. Kiss (2016a), Investigating   sea surface temperature diurnal variation   over the Tropical Warm Pool using MTSAT-  1R data, Remote Sens. Environ., 183,   1–12, doi:10.1016/j.rse.2016.05.002.  

Zhang, H., H. Beggs, X. H. Wang, A. E.   Kiss, and C. Griffin (2016b), Seasonal   patterns of SST diurnal variation over the   Tropical Warm Pool, J. Geophys. Res.,   121, doi:10.1002/2016JC012210.