A model for the aqueous thermal boundary layer at an air-water interface

A fundamental understanding of the thermal characteristics of the air-water boundary is critical to applications such as remote sensing of the bulk sea temperature and modeling of the heat transfer through the interface. The objective of the current work is to develop a model of the thermal boundary layer on the aqueous side of an air-water interface. This model is based on the surface strain model Csanady [1990] developed for gas transfer. The primary underlying assumption is. that a quasi-steady straining exists at the air-water interface. This quasi-steady straining field maintains a steady state aqueous thermal boundary. With this approach the properties of the thermal boundary layer can then be related to a variety of hydrodynamic conditions. This approach is motivated by experimental evidence and validated with simulation results