Air-Sea Fluxes
-image: Jan Bödewadt/Hereon-
The exchange of energy, heat, momentum and mass between the atmosphere and the coastal ocean significantly influences the formation of extreme weather and storm surges. It also influences the carbon and energy budgets of the ocean and atmosphere, which is of particular interest in light of climate change. This exchange and the flow of energy and carbon are fundamentally controlled by small-scale turbulent processes at the ocean and atmosphere boundary layers. The “Air-Sea Fluxes” department is working to quantify, understand and parameterize the physical mechanisms that influence this air-sea exchange. To do so, we develop and utilize novel imaging measurement methods that measure the situation a few meters above and below the highly dynamic and undulating sea surface.