Diurnal Warming at the Ocean Surface

Diurnal warming (DW) at the ocean surface occurs when there is sufficient solar heating in the absence of vertical mixing. DW has been well described using satellite and in-situ observations, but there are very few reports at northerly latitudes. We focus on such events based on measurements conducted with an upwardly-rising microstructure profiler. We are especially interested in the conditions of DW event formation, their vertical and horizontal extension and their dynamics and evolution.

Furthermore, we investigate whether DW events at northerly latitudes are also detected by satellite observations. First assessments indicate that there are certain conditions under which DW events can form, but detection by remote sensing systems is not possible. As this is the most prevalent detection method, DW events have the potential to occur more frequently than satellites can observe.