Experimental Study of the Role of the Vertical Structure of the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer on the Air-Sea Exchange During the LASIE Experiment

Several atmospheric parameters play a crucial role in the air-sea exchange of momentum and matter relevant for the ocean general and local circulations, biological activities and in monitoring the ocean from space-borne observations. Here, we address two issues: the height of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL) and its role in governing turbulent fluxes at the air-ocean interface, and the correlation amongst scalars used in assessing scalar transfer for estimating surface fluxes and in the atmospheric refraction index. We present a dataset spanning through the entire height of the Marine ABL collected during the Ligurian Air-Sea Interaction Experiment (LASIE) performed in the Western Mediterranean Sea. LASIE was organized to evaluate and develop parameterizations of the oceanic BL and ABL and their interactions. A detailed characterization of the mean and turbulent structure of the ocean and ABL has been carried out using ship and buoy -based meteorological and oceanographic observations. The main purpose of this contribution is to present this CNR's activity related to the air-sea exchange processes in an international context, and to draw the attention of the scientific community to the LASIE uncommon database. Here, we address the atmospheric part of the experiment In the meantime, we outline the on a case study of and present a case study of the evolution of the vertical structure of the ABL according to the synoptic conditions change, i.e. shift offshore-onshore flow, and the work in progress to identify the relationship with surface air-sea exchange.