Labrador Sea Deep Convection Experiment:

- The 1998 cruise of the R/V Knorr -

Meteorology Results

The R/V Knorr in "warm" weather conditions. (Christopher Griner©WHOI)

Overview

Meteorological conditions during the 1998 cruise were more variable than during the 1997 cruise. In 1997 a virtually continuous "cold air outbreak" situation brought cold, dry air masses over the Labrador Sea. In 1998, conditions were more typical, with different types of air masses affecting the weather and surface fluxes experienced during the cruise. Southerly air flow periods brought relatively warm and moist air to the region which decreased the turbulent latent and sensible heat loss from the ocean. There were cold air outbreak periods with weather and flux conditions similar to 1997, except lasting only a day or so. More overview information is available.

This site shows meteorological data, including surface fluxes, from the 1998 Knorr cruise of the Labrador Sea Deep Convection Experiment. Similar to the 1997 pages, here you can find links to some plots of surface meteorology variables and descriptions of available data sets for the 1998 cruise.

Plots

Following are links to some plots of meteorological parameters and other quantities measured during the cruise. These may be freely copied, but please contact Peter Guest if the plots are used in any publication or presentation. This is to insure that you are aware of any changes or problems discovered with the data. Make sure other people who receive anything here are also aware of this request.

Available Meteorological Data from the Knorr

All the data shown on these plots (and more) are available from a public ftp site. Also available are MATLAB programs used to read the data sets and create the above plots. For details on data quality and ftp address information, send an e-mail to Peter Guest or call him at 1-831-656-2451.

Comprehensive surface meteorology - five minute averages of
- Knorr location
- Surface true and relative wind vector, air temperature, humidity, pressure
- Sea surface temperature
- Bulk estimates of the turbulent fluxes of sensible heat, latent heat (evaporation) and momentum (wind stress)
- Direct measurements of downwelling shortwave radiation
- Estimates of upwelling shrtwave radiation and longwave radiation
- Total heat flux
- Detailed description of surface data set

Acknowledgements

I thank all the crew of the R/V Knorr and all the scientists and technicians who helped make these successful cruises. In particular, I would like to thank the ship's marine technician, Greg Packard. Greg was responsible for measuring and storing the basic ship meteorological data from both cruises. Peter Guest's Labrador Sea deep convection studies and the preparation of these web sites were sponsored by the Office of Naval Research grant number N0001498WR30126.

Last update: 5/4/99

Please send all comments and suggestions to the author, Peter Guest