Surface heat flux in the Gulf of Maine

The surface heat flux in the Gulf of Maine is estimated on a daily basis for the period 1979–1987 by combining air temperature, water temperature and wind speed data measured at a NOAA buoy in the central Gulf with insolation data from coastal stations and climatological parameters. The heat flux is compared with water column temperatures measured during the same period. The mean annual cycle of heat flux is similar to that reported by Bunker (1976) and to the rate of change in the heat content of the upper 100 m of the water column across the Gulf. The interannual variability in heat flux is dominated by the latent and sensible heat flux terms during winter and by insolation variability during summer. In the western Gulf the interannual variability in water temperature is significantly correlated with the heat flux variations. In the eastern Gulf, no relationship is found and the temperature variability is believed dominated by advective changes.