232 INTERACTION BETWEEN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE OCEANS 



two oceans at distances of a few hundred kilometers from the coasts. 

 Along the western sides — that is, off the eastern coasts of the continents — 

 the greatest amounts of energy in all seasons except summer are given off 

 between latitudes 25°N and 40° to 50°N, but along the eastern sides — 

 that is, off the western coasts of the continents — the energy given off in 



WESTERN NORTH PACIFIC 



EASTERN NORTH PACIFIC 



ENtRGY U5CD FOR EVAPORATION 



■ DEC JAN FEB 

 ' MAR APR MAY 

 • JUN JUL AUG • 

 SEP Oct NOV 



HEAT GIVEN OFF FROM SEA SURFACE 



TOTAL ENERGY LOSS FROM SEA SURFACE 



Fig, 69. Energy exchange between the sea surface and the atmosphere in different, 

 seasons of the year along the western and eastern coasts of the North Pacific Ocean. 



winter is at a minimum in these latitudes. In the Tropics the seasonal 

 variations are small except near the Equator off South America, where 

 complicated hydrographic conditions are encountered, but in middle 

 latitudes the seasonal variations are very large on the western sides. 



The meteorological consequences of these conditions have not yet 

 been examined, and it is therefore impossible to indicate more than a few. 

 In fig. 64 the average locations in winter of the Polar and Arctic Fronts 

 over the Pacific and the Atlantic are indicated according to Petterssen. 

 The two main fronts both lie on the eastern side of the areas from which 

 large amounts of energy are supplied to the atmosphere. The secondary 

 Polar Front in the Pacific, which Petterssen places to the west of the 

 Hawaiian Islands, also lies close to a region that shows a secondary 



