LARGE-SCALE ASPECTS OF ENERGY TRANSFORMATION OVER THE OCEANS 
CONCLUSIONS 
It should be emphasized that the mean seasonal and 
annual distributions of the several ocean-atmosphere 
energy components which have been discussed here are 
by no means representative of instantaneous conditions 
over the oceans. It is to be expected that large non- 
periodic variations in the seasonal (and perhaps annual) 
Q rates will occur and that the areas of maximum and 
minimum values will vary in both intensity and posi- 
tion. It is quite probable, also, that the relative magni- 
tudes of the various Q values will exhibit important 
regional variations of a nonperiodic nature. The daily 
synoptic patterns of each energy factor should be as 
complex and individualistic as are the synoptic patterns 
of other meteorological elements such as pressure and 
winds. If the tracks of pressure centers or the zonal 
circulations show a progressive shifting from decade to 
decade, as has been pointed out by Petterssen [21], 
then corresponding shifts in the normal patterns of the 
several @ values should be expected. If secular varia- 
tions in the amount of solar energy received at the sur- 
face of the earth occur, it is to be expected that similar 
secular variations in Q;, Q., and Q, will occur. However, 
it is not suggested that such variations must be pro- 
portional, since the effects of increased humidity, cloudi- 
ness, etc., may be important. 
For the purpose of filling the gaps in our knowledge 
of the interrelations between oceanic energy trans- 
formation processes and fluctuations in the general 
circulations of the atmosphere and oceans, the short- 
term and nonperiodic aspects of the exchange of energy 
between ocean and atmosphere should be investigated. 
Furthermore, from the climatic point of view, the 
seasonal and annual analyses of the exchange of sensible 
heat and water vapor between sea and atmosphere 
should be extended to the Southern Hemisphere as 
soon as the necessary humidity data become available.’ 
In viewing the major unsolved problems associated 
with the transformation of energy over the oceans it 
should be pointed out that a consideration of the 
convective transfer of energy between ocean and at- 
mosphere does not, itself, complete the analysis of the 
ocean-atmosphere energy cycle. The quantity Q, dis- 
cussed on pp. 1065 ff. does not include the large fraction 
of stored heat that the sea surface loses through direct 
radiation to space nor does it take into account the 
smaller fraction of heat that is locally made available to 
(or removed from) the water mass through the dissipa- 
tion (or creation) of the kinetic energy represented by 
current, wave, and tidal motions. 
7. Sz4va-Kovats [37] has presented charts, which have been 
rather widely published in climatological texts, showing the 
January and July distributions of relative humidity and vapor 
pressure over all oceans. However, an examination of the 
original paper reveals that, the values have been obtained on 
the basis of simple assumptions as to the average relationship 
between sea-surface temperatures and the humidities at a 
standard height in the overlying atmosphere. Obviously, such 
data are not suitable for the evaporation computations where 
no such assumptions are allowable. 
1069 
The quantity Q,, discussed in the last section does 
not include the amount of heat the moist atmosphere 
receives through the absorption of long-wave sea-surface 
radiation or through the small absorption of direct 
solar energy. Neither does Q,; include the regionally 
important fractions of heat energy locally made avail- 
able to the atmosphere (or removed) through the dis- 
sipation (creation) of kinetic energy of atmospheric 
motion or the “layer heating” resulting from the re- 
duction of gravitational potential energy through sub- 
sidence (or the ‘ayer cooling” resulting from the 
creation of gravitational potential energy through lift- 
ing). The end result, of course, is that the total energy 
acquired by the whole atmosphere through conduction, 
condensation, and radiation must exactly balance the 
radiative loss. 
It is the author’s opinion that a nonexhaustive list of 
the more important phases of the ocean-atmosphere 
energy relationships that need investigation should 
include: 
1. The determination of the nonperiodic and short- 
term variations in the energy exchange between ocean 
and atmosphere. 
2. The analysis of the seasonal and regional aspects 
of the radiative transfer of energy between sea surface 
and atmosphere. 
3. The determination of the surplus of solar energy 
stored in the oceans and transported by ocean currents. 
4. The analysis of the large-scale aspects of the 
transport of internal energy by the atmosphere over 
the oceans. 
5. The analysis of the large-scale aspects of the 
interconversion of heat and kinetic and gravitational 
potential energy of atmosphere and oceans. 
REFERENCES 
1. AnBRecut, F., ‘‘Die Aktionsgebiete des Wasser- und War- 
mehaushaltes der Erdoberfliiche.”? Z. Meteor., 1: 97-109 
(1947). 
2. Anesrr6n, A., “Applications of Heat Radiation Measure- 
ments to the Problems of Evaporation from Lakes and 
the Heat Convection at Their Surfaces.’’ Geogr. Ann., 
Stockh., 2: 237-252 (1920). 
3. Bowen, I. S., ‘“The Ratio of Heat Losses by Conduction 
and by Evaporation from any Water Surface.’”’ Phys. 
Rev., 27: 779-787 (1926). 
4. Burge, C. J., ‘Transformation of Polar Continental Air to 
Polar Maritime Air.’”’ J. Meteor., 2: 94-112 (1945). 
5. Cummines, N. W., and Ricwarpson, B., ‘Evaporation 
from Lakes.’”’ Phys. Rev., 30: 527-534 (1927). 
6. Jacogps, W. C., ‘‘On the Energy Exchange Between Sea 
and Atmosphere.’ J. mar. Res., 5:37-66 (1942). (Contains 
charts of winter and summer values for Qa over the 
North Pacific and North Atlantic.) 
7. —— ‘Sources of Atmospheric Heat and Moisture over the 
North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans.”’ Ann. N.Y. 
Acad. Sci., 44: 19-40 (1943). (Contains charts of winter 
and summer values of Q; and E over the North Pacific 
and North Atlantic.) 
8. —— ‘‘The Energy Acquired by the Atmosphere over the 
8. The author has considered the latter aspects in some de- 
tail elsewhere [8]. 
