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01:19Mechanism of heat transfer
Understanding heat transfer mechanisms is essential for understanding how our bodies maintain balance in different environmental conditions. When the environment is thermoneutral, the body is in a state of balance, neither using nor releasing energy to maintain its core temperature. However, when the environment is not thermoneutral, the body employs four heat transfer mechanisms to maintain homeostasis: conduction, convection, evaporation, and radiation. These mechanisms facilitate heat...
01:05Absorption of Radiation
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01:12Heat Flow and Specific Heat
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01:20Mechanisms of Heat Transfer II
In convection, thermal energy is carried by the large-scale flow of matter. Ocean currents and large-scale atmospheric circulation, which result from the buoyancy of warm air and water, transfer hot air from the tropics toward the poles and cold air from the poles toward the tropics. The Earth’s rotation interacts with those flows, causing the observed eastward flow of air in the temperate zones. Convection dominates heat transfer by air, and the amount of available space for the airflow...
02:46Quantifying Heat
Thermal Energy Microscopically, thermal energy is the kinetic energy associated with the random motion of atoms and molecules. Temperature is a quantitative measure of “hot” or “cold”, which depends on the amount of thermal energy. When the atoms and molecules in an object are moving or vibrating quickly, they have a higher average kinetic energy (KE) (or higher thermal energy), and the object is perceived as “hot”, or it is described as being at a higher temperature. When the atoms and...
01:14Mechanisms of Heat Transfer I
Just as interesting as the effects of heat transfer on a system are the methods by which the heat transfer occur. Whenever there is a temperature difference, heat transfer occurs. It may occur rapidly, such as through a cooking pan, or slowly, such as through the walls of a picnic ice box. So many processes involve heat transfer that it is hard to imagine a situation where no heat transfer occurs. Yet, every heat transfer takes place by only three methods: conduction, convection, and radiation.
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Updated: Jul 12, 2026
09:55
Surface Renewal: An Advanced Micrometeorological Method for Measuring and Processing Field-Scale Energy Flux Density Data
Published on: December 12, 2013
The possible link between net surface heating and el nino.
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|September 2, 1983
Summary
Local surface heating significantly influences El Niño events in the eastern Pacific. Atmospheric forcing and ocean dynamics play key roles throughout the El Niño life cycle.
Area of Science:
- Oceanography
- Atmospheric Science
- Climate Dynamics
Background:
- El Niño is a major air-sea phenomenon in the eastern tropical Pacific.
- Understanding El Niño's life cycle is crucial for climate prediction.
- The role of local surface heating in El Niño dynamics requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the influence of local net surface heating on El Niño.
- To analyze the relationship between sea surface temperature and heat flux.
- To identify precursors and contributing factors to El Niño events.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of monthly marine weather summaries from 1957 to 1976.
- Calculation of correlations and coherence spectra.
- Development of a proxy variable for ocean dynamics' effect on El Niño.
Main Results:
- Strong correlation found between net surface heat flux and sea surface temperature in the eastern equatorial Pacific.
- A sea temperature precursor identified near 25 degrees S, preceding changes near 5 degrees S.
- Local surface heating is vital in early El Niño stages; dynamics dominate later.
Conclusions:
- Local net surface heating is a key driver in the El Niño life cycle.
- Atmospheric forcing via surface heat flux is suggested as a significant factor.
- Both thermal and dynamical processes are integral to El Niño development and progression.