Wind-induced surface heat exchange

The wind-induced surface heat exchange (WISHE) is a positive feedback mechanism between the ocean and atmosphere in which a stronger ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux results in a stronger atmospheric circulation, which results in a strong heat flux.[1] It has been hypothesized that this is the mechanism by which low pressure areas in the tropics develop into tropical cyclones.

The WISHE mechanism was proposed by Kerry Emanuel in a Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences article published in 1986 – though it was first termed "air–sea interaction instability" – as an alternative to the more prevalent conditional instability of a second kind (CISK) hypothesis.[2]

References edit

  1. ^ "Wind-induced surface heat exchange". AMS Glossary. Retrieved 7 March 2010.
  2. ^ Craig, George C.; Gray, Suzanne L. (1 December 1996). "CISK or WISHE as the Mechanism for Tropical Cyclone Intensification". Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences. 53 (23): 3528–3540. Bibcode:1996JAtS...53.3528C. doi:10.1175/1520-0469(1996)053<3528:COWATM>2.0.CO;2.