Energy Exchange Between The Sea And The Atmosphere At Doha Harbour (Qatar) In The Arabian Gulf

Abstract

Meteorological and oceanographic data from 1979 to 1988 have been analyzed and utilized to calculate the heat budget terms of the water at Doha Harbour. The monthly mean of solar radiation has the largest annual amplitude, with a minimum (119 W/m2) and maximum (374 W/m2) occurring in December and June, respectively. The annual mean of the net absorbed solar radiation is 248 W/m2. Heat loss by effective back radiation varied between 64 and 76 W/m2, with an annual mean of 66 W/m2. Heat loss due to evaporation oscillated between 101 and 301 W/m2 with an annual mean of 181 W/m2. Heat loss (or gain) by conduction of sensible heat is very small. The maximum heat loss by conduction (11 W/m2) is found during December, whereas the maximum heat gain (30 W/m2) occurred during June. The annual cycle of total heat transfer across the air-sea boundary is quite marked with maximum loss (about 91 W/m2) during December and maximum gain (about 86 W/m2) during July. There was a gain of heat at the air-sea boundary during the period from 1979 to 1988. This gain might be balanced by the advection term which is not considered due to lack of current data.