Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

Dipanjan Chaudhuri; Eric D'Asaro

REVIEW 3 major objections 6 minor 58 references

Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

T0 review · 3 major / 6 minor · reviewed 2026-08-07 · deepseek-v4-flash

Challenge this review Re-run · record.json Download PDF Read on arXiv ↗

Pith's one-line read Rain does not always make the tropical ocean lighter: net surface buoyancy flux is destabilizing near half of all rain hours, especially for light and nighttime rain.

desk verdict Solid empirical study showing rain isn't uniformly stabilizing—light and nighttime rain often destabilize the tropical ocean surface; worth refereeing with a demand for threshold sensitivity analysis. read the letter →

arxiv 2505.24277 v1 pith:SOAB4X6O submitted 2025-05-30 physics.ao-ph

Dipanjan Chaudhuri , Eric D'Asaro This is my paper

classification physics.ao-ph

keywords rainfallbuoyancyfluxair-seainteractioncoldpoolstropicaloceanrainsensibleheatmixedlayermooredbuoys

verification ladder T0 review T1 audit T2 compute T3 formal

The pith

A machine-rendered reading of the paper's core claim, the machinery that carries it, and where it could break.

The reading

Rain is usually assumed to make the tropical ocean surface lighter, because freshwater dilutes and lightens the seawater. Using hourly in situ data from 22 moored buoys in the equatorial oceans, the authors estimate the net surface buoyancy flux during rain as a balance between that stabilizing haline effect and the destabilizing thermal effect of the cold pools, cloud shadows, and cool raindrops that accompany tropical rain systems. They find that the net flux is destabilizing (positive $B_0$) close to 50% of all rain hours, about 60% of light rain hours, and about 60% of nighttime rain hours, whereas heavy rain almost always stabilizes the surface. The result matters because the sign of the buoyancy flux controls whether rain drives mixing and deepens the mixed layer or creates a stable fresh layer, and most current treatments of rain in ocean models include only the freshening part.

What carries the argument

The load-bearing object is the surface buoyancy flux written as two opposing terms, a haline part from precipitation minus evaporation and a thermal part from net heat flux: $B_0 = -g\alpha Q_N/(\rho C_P) + g\beta (E-P) S_0$. The decisive addition is the rain sensible heat flux $Q^{\rm Rain}_{\rm SEN}=\rho_w C_p RR(T_R-T_S)$, computed on the assumption that raindrops arrive at the wet-bulb temperature of the atmosphere; this term is a small cooling for light rain (median $-2$ W/m$^2$) but a large one for heavy rain (median $-25$ W/m$^2$), which is what separates the two rainfall regimes. The empirical basis is hourly data from 22 equatorial moorings, with turbulent fluxes and evaporation from the COARE 3.0b bulk algorithm, rain rates from self-siphoning gauges, and a 0.2 mm/hr threshold chosen from gauge error estimates.

What would settle it

Measure the temperature of raindrops at the sea surface during tropical rain, especially heavy rain above 4 mm/hr, and compare it with the simultaneous wet-bulb temperature; if the average difference substantially exceeds the $\pm 0.4$ K uncertainty cited in the paper, the heavy-rain stabilization result and the reported buoyancy-flux statistics would need revision.

Watch

Extended reading notes

Core claim

The paper's central claim is that rainfall over the tropical ocean does not act as a one-way buoyancy source. During rain, the freshwater flux tends to reduce surface density, but the same convective systems reduce shortwave radiation, bring cold and dry air to the surface via cold pools, and deliver raindrops colder than the sea surface, all of which cool the water and increase its density. Summing the haline and thermal contributions across 150 buoy-years of hourly mooring observations, the authors find that the net buoyancy flux is destabilizing in nearly half of all rain hours; for light rain (0.2-4 mm/hr) the destabilizing fraction is about 60%, and nighttime rain is about twice as likely to be destabilizing as daytime rain at the same intensity. Heavy rain (>4 mm/hr) is the exception, almost always producing a stabilizing net buoyancy flux, mainly because the sensible heat carried by the rain adds a median cooling of about $-25$ W/m$^2$. The paper therefore challenges the common assumption that rainfall always makes the ocean surface lighter.

Load-bearing premise

The calculation assumes raindrops reach the sea surface at the atmospheric wet-bulb temperature; if real raindrops are systematically warmer or colder than that, the rain sensible heat flux shifts and the reported balance between stabilizing and destabilizing rain hours could change.

Editorial extensions

If this is right

If these estimates are right, ocean models that treat precipitation only as a freshening input will misrepresent rain-driven mixed-layer deepening in about half of all tropical rain hours.
Nighttime rain would be roughly twice as likely as daytime rain to drive convective mixing, so the timing of rain should matter for sea surface temperature and the diurnal warm layer.
The heavy-rain stabilizing result depends on the rain sensible heat flux, meaning better global or moored constraints on raindrop temperature directly improve buoyancy flux estimates.
The 'cold rain' and 'hot rain' regional contrast implies that a single tropical-mean rain buoyancy flux is insufficient; regional and perhaps event-type dependent parameterizations would be needed.
Precipitation effects on the upper ocean should be treated as part of the whole convective system, including cold pools and cloud shading, rather than as rainfall alone.

Reading between the lines

Editorial extensions of the paper, not claims the author makes directly.

Beyond the paper, the same freshening-versus-cooling balance should apply to extratropical rain with cold downdrafts and cloud cover, so the analysis could be repeated with extratropical moorings or coastal flux towers.
Beyond the paper, direct surface-level raindrop temperature measurements during heavy tropical rain would be the sharpest test of the heavy-rain stabilization result.
Beyond the paper, comparing these moored-derived fluxes with reanalysis or satellite products would show where rain forcing is misrepresented; discrepancies should concentrate in cold-pool-heavy and nighttime hours.

Share X Bluesky LinkedIn Reddit HN

Editorial analysis

A structured set of objections, weighed in public.

Desk editor's note, referee report, and a circularity audit.

Desk Editor's Note

read the letter

Here's my read. The paper's new result is that during tropical rain, the net surface buoyancy flux is positive (destabilizing) about half the time overall, and light rain is destabilizing about 60% of the time while heavy rain is almost always stabilizing. Nighttime rain is twice as likely as daytime rain to be destabilizing. That's a genuinely new empirical claim, assembled from 150 buoy-years of moored data with standard bulk flux formulas. The data are public, and the analysis is straightforward enough to check. The use of medians with bootstrap intervals for the spatial averages and the explicit statement that means give the same qualitative result are good signs.

What I like: this doesn't just repeat the known idea that cold pools cool the surface. It quantifies the balance between freshwater stabilization and thermal destabilization across rain intensity and time of day, and it finds a clear separation between light and heavy rain. The heavy-rain result is robust—the heat loss is large enough that the freshwater effect is overwhelmed. That's a useful constraint for mixed-layer and barrier-layer studies.

The soft spots are real but not fatal, in my view. The most important is the threshold sensitivity. The 4 mm/hr cutoff is arbitrary, and the lower bound of 0.2 mm/hr sits only 0.04 mm/hr above the hourly gauge noise of 0.16 mm/hr. The paper gives no sensitivity analysis showing how the '60% positive' fraction changes if you move the thresholds, and the pooled fractions lack confidence intervals. That doesn't sink the qualitative claim—light rain is probably still mostly destabilizing if you drop the near-noise hours—but the authors need to show it. The rain-temperature assumption (wet-bulb, ±0.4 K) is a genuine uncertainty but less concerning; for light rain Q_Rain_SEN is only -2 W/m2 and can't change the sign, and for heavy rain the buoyancy flux is far from zero. Still, propagating it would be proper. The mechanical issues—a literal '[?]' citation, 22 vs 23 moorings, duplicate references—are minor but sloppy.

Bottom line: this deserves a serious referee. The central argument holds up in its qualitative form. I'd ask the authors for a threshold sensitivity analysis and a cleanup before acceptance, but I'd send it to review rather than desk reject. It's the kind of paper I'd cite for the empirical reframing of rain buoyancy forcing.

Who reads it: physical oceanographers and air-sea flux modelers, especially those working on the tropical mixed layer and barrier layers.

Referee Report

3 major / 6 minor

Summary. The paper estimates the net surface buoyancy flux during tropical rainfall from hourly data at 22 moored buoys, combining COARE 3.0b bulk fluxes with a rain sensible heat term. Rain events are split into light (0.2–4 mm/hr) and heavy (>4 mm/hr) categories, and the authors report that light rain is associated with positive (destabilizing) buoyancy flux about 60% of the time, heavy rain is stabilizing, nighttime rain is about twice as likely as daytime rain to produce destabilizing flux, and the overall chance of positive buoyancy flux during rain is close to 50%. The paper argues that the common assumption that rainfall always stabilizes the ocean surface is incomplete because cold-pool-driven heat losses and shortwave suppression often offset the freshwater effect.

Significance. If the conclusions hold, the paper would be an important observational correction to a common simplifying assumption used in mixed-layer and ocean-circulation studies. The use of a multi-mooring tropical dataset, publicly available data, and a straightforward bulk-formula approach are strengths, as is the authors' attention to the qualitative robustness of the spatial results to medians versus means. However, the headline quantitative claims are aggregate percentages that depend on arbitrary rain-rate thresholds and are reported without confidence intervals; the supporting statistical tests do not directly address those percentages. With additional sensitivity and uncertainty analysis, the paper could provide a valuable basis for reevaluating precipitation-driven buoyancy forcing.

major comments (3)

[Section 2.1.1 and Figure 2m] The central claims that light rain produces positive (destabilizing) B0 about 60% of the time and that the overall fraction is close to 50% (Section 2.1.4, Figure 5) are computed from a rain-rate classification with a lower bound of 0.2 mm/hr and an upper bound of 4 mm/hr. Section 4.3 reports an hourly rain-gauge noise of 0.16 mm/hr, so the light-rain bin begins only 0.04 mm/hr above the noise floor, and the 4 mm/hr boundary is not derived from any objective criterion. No sensitivity analysis or confidence intervals are provided for these fractions, so the quantitative headline statements could be artifacts of bin definition. Please show how the positive-B0 fraction and median B0 vary with both thresholds (for example, lower bounds of 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 mm/hr and upper bounds of 2, 4, 6, and 8 mm/hr) and report bootstrap uncertainties on all reported fractions.
[Section 4.2, Eq. (3)] The rain sensible heat flux assumes raindrops reach the surface at the wet-bulb temperature, with an acknowledged uncertainty of ±0.4 K, but this uncertainty is not propagated into the reported B0 statistics. The median QRain_SEN is -25 W/m2 for heavy rain and is an important part of the heavy-rain stabilization result, so a systematic bias in rain temperature could affect the light-versus-heavy contrast. Please provide a sensitivity test (for example, recompute B0 with TR = Ta and with TR = Tw ± 0.4 K) and state whether the sign statistics change.
[Section 2.1.2 and abstract] The claim that nighttime rain is twice as likely to produce instability 'even at the same rainfall intensity' is not supported by the analysis as presented. The 60% versus 30% comparison in Figure 3d is for all rain hours, not for matched intensity bins, and the only intensity-stratified numbers (67% versus 18% for light rain) are stated without showing the calculation or confidence intervals. In addition, the text says 'even under the same haline fluxes (Figure 3a),' but Figure 3a displays the diurnal distribution of rainfall events, not haline fluxes. Please present day/night fractions stratified by rain-rate category with confidence intervals, and correct the figure reference.

minor comments (6)

[Figure 4g] The colorbar label says 'B0, m2/m3' but the correct units for buoyancy flux are m2/s3; please correct the label.
[Section 4.3] The text says 'all twenty-three moorings are equipped' but the paper otherwise states that twenty-two moorings were used; please reconcile the count.
[Discussion bullets] The bullet 'Heavy rain always leads to buoyant buoyancy fluxes' appears to be a typo; it should probably say 'stabilizing buoyancy fluxes.' Also, the same bullet states light rain occurs 90% of the time, whereas Figure 2a and Section 2.1.1 report 84%; please make these consistent.
[Section 2.1.1] The phrase 'P−E medians are reduced by 30% and 3%' is ambiguous; please specify the reference value for this reduction (for example, relative to precipitation alone).
[Section 1, Figure 1i] The text describes 'incoming longwave radiation' with a mean of -420 W/m2, but incoming longwave radiation should be positive; if the quantity is net longwave or if the sign convention differs, please clarify.
[References] Several references have LaTeX artifacts, including '[?]' in Section 2.1.3 and 'African?asian? australian' in reference [51]; please repair these and ensure no duplicate entries (for example, Weller and Anderson 1996 appears as both [33] and [54]).

Circularity Check

0 steps flagged · score 0.0 of 10

No circularity: buoyancy fluxes are computed from measured meteorology and published bulk formulae; no fitted parameter is renamed as a prediction.

full rationale

The paper's derivation chain is B0 = -g alpha Q_N/(rho C_P) + g beta (E-P) S_0 (Eq. 2), with Q_N and E estimated using the COARE 3.0b bulk algorithm from mooring meteorology, and rain sensible heat flux from Eq. 3 (Q_Rain_SEN = rho_w Cp RR (T_R - T_S)) with T_R at wet-bulb temperature. Every input is either a measurement or an externally published transfer formula; no result is fed back to set a parameter that then produces the result. The rainfall categories (0.2-4 mm/hr light, >4 mm/hr heavy) and day/night split are imposed before computing B0; the lower bound 0.2 mm/hr is tied to a stated gauge-noise estimate (0.16 mm/hr), and neither boundary is fitted to the sign of B0. The wet-bulb assumption for raindrop temperature is supported by published observational/model studies with +/-0.4 K uncertainty; even if that assumption were biased, that would be an accuracy or robustness concern, not circularity. The only self-citation (Weller et al. 2016, ref. [55]) is a data-provenance reference for WHOI moorings and is not load-bearing for any scientific claim. The central '60% light-rain positive' and '~50% overall positive' statistics are computed, not imposed, from the resulting B0 field, so there is no reduction of a prediction to its inputs. Threshold sensitivity could be a correctness or robustness concern, but it is not circularity.

Assumptions & free parameters 1 free parameters · 4 assumptions · 0 invented entities

The central calculation uses measured meteorology and standard bulk formulas; the only hand-chosen number that affects the categorical results is the 4 mm/hr heavy-rain threshold. The lower threshold 0.2 mm/hr is set by rain gauge noise (Section 4.3). No model parameters are fitted to the buoyancy flux results.

free parameters (1)

Rain intensity threshold for 'heavy' category = 4 mm/hr
Hand-set boundary separating light (0.2-4 mm/hr) from heavy (>4 mm/hr) rain; not justified by a cited prior definition, and the reported destabilization fraction depends on where this boundary is drawn.

assumptions (4)

domain assumption COARE 3.0b bulk flux algorithm accurately estimates latent, sensible, and net heat fluxes at moored buoys during rain and cold pool conditions
Used for all flux estimates (Section 4.1); the algorithm may have unquantified biases under heavy rain and strong wind gusts, which would affect the net buoyancy flux.
domain assumption Raindrop temperature equals the atmospheric wet-bulb temperature
Section 4.2, Eq. 3; supported by prior studies with plus or minus 0.4 K uncertainty, but not propagated into flux uncertainties.
standard math The linearized equation of state with constant alpha and beta applies at the ocean surface
Standard in bulk flux calculations; acceptable for surface buoyancy flux estimates.
domain assumption Rain measurements from the buoy rain gauge are representative of the rain falling on the ocean at that location
Rain is spatially variable; wind-induced undercatch is corrected statistically but residual error may affect event classification.

how reviews work

0 comments

Cite this review

Pith. "Pith review of Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?." pith.science (2026). https://pith.science/paper/SOAB4X6O

@misc{pith2026250524277,
  author       = {Pith},
  title        = {Pith review of: Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://pith.science/paper/SOAB4X6O}},
  note         = {Machine review of arXiv:2505.24277}
}

read the original abstract

Rain affects the buoyancy of the upper ocean in two ways: The freshwater flux in rain makes the water fresher and lighter, stabilizing the ocean (a negative buoyancy flux). The convective systems that produce rain are often accompanied by cold, dry air, often called 'cold pools', and reduced short-wave radiation, which makes the water colder and heavier, destabilizing the ocean (a positive buoyancy flux). We estimate net buoyancy fluxes using in situ measurements from twenty-two moored buoys in the equatorial oceans under different rainfall categories. We find that buoyancy fluxes tend to destabilize the ocean during light rain (0.2-4 mm/hr) and stabilize the ocean during heavy rain (>4 mm/hr). Furthermore, buoyancy fluxes during rain tend to be more positive at night than during the day, with nighttime rain twice as likely to cause instability compared to daytime rain, even at the same rainfall intensity. Average buoyancy fluxes across the tropics during rain can have either sign. These findings challenge the common assumption that rainfall makes the ocean surface lighter and provide a starting point for focusing on the overall effect of precipitation on the ocean.

Figures

Figures reproduced from arXiv: 2505.24277 by the authors.

**Figure 2.** Probability density function (PDF) of (a) rain rate ( [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p004_2.png] view at source ↗

**Figure 3.** (a) Normalized histograms of diurnal variation of rainfall events across the tropical ocean. Probability density [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p005_3.png] view at source ↗

Figures from the paper (2 more)

**Figure 4.** Figure 4: Geographical variation of heat fluxes during rainfall. (a) Stars, circles, and squares represent the position [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_4.png]

**Figure 5.** Figure 5: PDFs of net buoyancy flux (m2 /s3 ; black), buoyancy flux due to rain (m2 /s3 ; green), and buoyancy flux due to heat (m2 /s3 ; yellow). 7 [PITH_FULL_IMAGE:figures/full_fig_p007_5.png]

Discussion (0). Sign in to comment.

Reference graph

Works this paper leans on

58 extracted references · 58 canonical work pages

[1]

History of the equation of state of seawater.Oceanography, 23(3):18–33, 2010

Frank J Millero. History of the equation of state of seawater.Oceanography, 23(3):18–33, 2010

work page 2010
[2]

Academic press, 2011

Benoit Cushman-Roisin and Jean-Marie Beckers.Introduction to geophysical fluid dynamics: physical and numerical aspects. Academic press, 2011

work page 2011
[3]

Academic press, 2011

Lynne D Talley.Descriptive physical oceanography: an introduction. Academic press, 2011

work page 2011
[4]

On the wind-driven ocean circulation.Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 7(2):80–93, 1950

Walter H Munk. On the wind-driven ocean circulation.Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 7(2):80–93, 1950

work page 1950
[5]

Anderson, Robert A

Steven P. Anderson, Robert A. Weller, and Roger B. Lukas. Surface buoyancy forcing and the mixed layer of the western pacific warm pool: Observations and 1d model results.Journal of Climate, 9(12), 1996

work page 1996
[6]

Vertical mixing, energy, and the general circulation of the oceans.Annu

Carl Wunsch and Raffaele Ferrari. Vertical mixing, energy, and the general circulation of the oceans.Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 36:281–314, 2004

work page 2004
[7]

Robert H

Robert H Stewart.Introduction to physical oceanography. Robert H. Stewart, 2008

work page 2008
[8]

Andrew McC. Hogg. An antarctic circumpolar current driven by surface buoyancy forcing.Geophysical Research Letters, 37(23), 2010. 9 Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

work page 2010

Show all 58 references

[9]

Hogg and Bishakhdatta Gayen

Andrew McC. Hogg and Bishakhdatta Gayen. Ocean Gyres Driven by Surface Buoyancy Forcing.Geophysical Research Letters, 47(16):e2020GL088539, 2020

2020
[10]

Thermohaline circulation: The current climate.Nature, 421(6924):699–699, 2003

Stefan Rahmstorf. Thermohaline circulation: The current climate.Nature, 421(6924):699–699, 2003

2003
[11]

Cambridge University Press, 2020

Kris Karnauskas.Physical Oceanography and Climate. Cambridge University Press, 2020

2020
[12]

Routledge, 2009

Roger G Barry and Richard J Chorley.Atmosphere, weather and climate. Routledge, 2009

2009
[13]

Trenberth

Aiguo Dai and Kevin E. Trenberth. Estimates of freshwater discharge from continents: Latitudinal and seasonal variations.Journal of Hydrometeorology, 3(6):660 – 687, 2002

2002
[14]

Fekete, Charles J

Balázs M. Fekete, Charles J. Vörösmarty, and Wolfgang Grabs. High-resolution fields of global runoff combining observed river discharge and simulated water balances.Global Biogeochemical Cycles, 16(3):15–1–15–10, 2002

2002
[15]

Daniel Jacob and Chester J

S. Daniel Jacob and Chester J. Koblinsky. Effects of precipitation on the upper-ocean response to a hurricane. Monthly Weather Review, 135(6):2207 – 2225, 2007

2007
[16]

Neetu, Matthieu Lengaigne, Emmanuel M

S. Neetu, Matthieu Lengaigne, Emmanuel M. Vincent, Jérôme Vialard, Gurvan Madec, Guillaume Samson, M. R. Ramesh Kumar, and Fabien Durand. Influence of upper-ocean stratification on tropical cyclone-induced surface cooling in the bay of bengal.Journal of Geophysical Research: O...

2012
[17]

Foltz, L

Karthik Balaguru, Gregory R. Foltz, L. Ruby Leung, and Samson M. Hagos. Impact of rainfall on tropical cyclone-induced sea surface cooling.Geophysical Research Letters, 49(10):e2022GL098187, 2022

2022
[18]

E. J. Zipser. Mesoscale and convective–scale downdrafts as distinct components of squall-line structure.Monthly Weather Review, 105(12):1568 – 1589, 1977

1977
[19]

Academic press, 2014

Robert A Houze Jr.Cloud dynamics, volume 104. Academic press, 2014

2014
[20]

van den Heever, Leah D

Susan C. van den Heever, Leah D. Grant, Sean W. Freeman, Peter J. Marinescu, Julie Barnum, Jennie Bukowski, Eleanor Casas, Aryeh J. Drager, Brody Fuchs, Gregory R. Herman, Stacey M. Hitchcock, Patrick C. Kennedy, Erik R. Nielsen, J. Minnie Park, Kristen Rasmussen, Muhammad Nau...

2021
[21]

A survey of precipitation-induced atmospheric cold pools over oceans and their interactions with the larger-scale environment.Surveys in Geophysics, 38(6):1283–1305, 2017

Paquita Zuidema, Giuseppe Torri, Caroline Muller, and Arunchandra Chandra. A survey of precipitation-induced atmospheric cold pools over oceans and their interactions with the larger-scale environment.Surveys in Geophysics, 38(6):1283–1305, 2017

2017
[22]

de Szoeke, Eric D

Simon P. de Szoeke, Eric D. Skyllingstad, Paquita Zuidema, and Arunchandra S. Chandra. Cold pools and their influence on the tropical marine boundary layer.Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 74(4):1149 – 1168, 2017

2017
[23]

Wills, Meghan F

Samantha M. Wills, Meghan F. Cronin, and Dongxiao Zhang. Cold pools observed by uncrewed surface vehicles in the central and eastern tropical pacific.Geophysical Research Letters, 48(10):e2021GL093373, 2021. e2021GL093373 2021GL093373

2021
[24]

Diurnal variability of atmospheric cold pool events and associated air-sea interactions in the bay of bengal during the summer monsoon.Climate Dynamics, 56:837–853, 2021

Jofia Joseph, MS Girishkumar, MJ McPhaden, and E Pattabhi Rama Rao. Diurnal variability of atmospheric cold pool events and associated air-sea interactions in the bay of bengal during the summer monsoon.Climate Dynamics, 56:837–853, 2021

2021
[25]

Simoes-Sousa, Amit Tandon, Jared Buckley, Debasis Sengupta, Sree Lekha J., Emily Shroyer, and Simon P

Iury T. Simoes-Sousa, Amit Tandon, Jared Buckley, Debasis Sengupta, Sree Lekha J., Emily Shroyer, and Simon P. de Szoeke. Atmospheric cold pools in the bay of bengal.Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 80(1):167 – 180, 2023

2023
[26]

Walesby, J

K. Walesby, J. Vialard, P. J. Minnett, A. H. Callaghan, and B. Ward. Observations indicative of rain-induced double diffusion in the ocean surface boundary layer.Geophysical Research Letters, 42(10):3963–3972, 2015

2015
[27]

Reverdin, A

G. Reverdin, A. Supply, K. Drushka, E. J. Thompson, W. E. Asher, and A. Lourenço. Intense and small freshwater pools from rainfall investigated during spurs-2 on 9 november 2017 in the eastern tropical pacific.Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 125(2):e2019JC015558, 2020

2017
[28]

Turbulence within rain-formed fresh lenses during the spurs-2 experiment.Journal of Physical Oceanography, 51(5):1705 – 1721, 2021

Suneil Iyer and Kyla Drushka. Turbulence within rain-formed fresh lenses during the spurs-2 experiment.Journal of Physical Oceanography, 51(5):1705 – 1721, 2021

2021
[29]

Teo, H.-N

C.-K. Teo, H.-N. Huynh, T.-Y . Koh, K. K. W. Cheung, B. Legras, L. Y . Chew, and L. Norford. The universal scaling characteristics of tropical oceanic rain clusters.Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres, 122(11):5582– 5599, 2017

2017
[30]

Trenberth and Yongxin Zhang

Kevin E. Trenberth and Yongxin Zhang. How often does it really rain?Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 99(2):289 – 298, 2018. 10 Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

2018
[31]

Zuluaga and Robert A

Manuel D. Zuluaga and Robert A. Houze. Evolution of the population of precipitating convective systems over the equatorial indian ocean in active phases of the madden–julian oscillation.Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 70(9):2713 – 2725, 2013

2013
[32]

Johnson, Paul E

Hungjui Yu, Richard H. Johnson, Paul E. Ciesielski, and Hung-Chi Kuo. Observation of quasi-2-day convective disturbances in the equatorial indian ocean during dynamo.Journal of the Atmospheric Sciences, 75(9):2867 – 2888, 2018

2018
[34]

R. A. Weller, J. T. Farrar, Hyodae Seo, Channing Prend, Debasis Sengupta, J. Sree Lekha, M. Ravichandran, and R. Venkatesen. Moored observations of the surface meteorology and air–sea fluxes in the northern bay of bengal in 2015.Journal of Climate, 32(2):549 – 573, 2019

2015
[35]

Gosnell, C

R. Gosnell, C. W. Fairall, and P. J. Webster. The sensible heat of rainfall in the tropical ocean.Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans, 100(C9):18437–18442, 1995

1995
[36]

Flament and M

P. Flament and M. Sawyer. Observations of the effect of rain temperature on the surface heat flux in the intertropical convergence zone.Journal of Physical Oceanography, 25(3):413 – 419, 1995

1995
[37]

Anderson, Alan Hinton, and Robert A

Steven P. Anderson, Alan Hinton, and Robert A. Weller. Moored observations of precipitation temperature. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 15(4):979 – 986, 1998

1998
[38]

Mapes and Robert A

Brian E. Mapes and Robert A. Houze. Cloud clusters and superclusters over the oceanic warm pool.Monthly Weather Review, 121(5):1398 – 1416, 1993

1993
[39]

Diurnal precipitation regimes in the global tropics.Journal of Climate, 21(11):2680 – 2696, 2008

Kazuyoshi Kikuchi and Bin Wang. Diurnal precipitation regimes in the global tropics.Journal of Climate, 21(11):2680 – 2696, 2008

2008
[40]

Shoshiro Minobe, Jun Hyock Park, and Katrina S. Virts. Diurnal cycles of precipitation and lightning in the tropics observed by trmm3g68, gsmap, lis, and wwlln.Journal of Climate, 33(10):4293 – 4313, 2020

2020
[41]

A global survey of diurnal offshore propagation of rainfall.Nature Communications, 13(1):7437, 2022

Junying Fang and Yu Du. A global survey of diurnal offshore propagation of rainfall.Nature Communications, 13(1):7437, 2022

2022
[42]

Chuntao Liu and Edward J. Zipser. Diurnal cycles of precipitation, clouds, and lightning in the tropics from 9 years of trmm observations.Geophysical Research Letters, 35(4), 2008

2008
[43]

Very high resolution rainfall patterns measured by TRMM precipitation radar: Seasonal and diurnal cycles.Climate dynamics, 39:239–258, 2012

Michela Biasutti, Sandra E Yuter, Casey D Burleyson, and Adam H Sobel. Very high resolution rainfall patterns measured by TRMM precipitation radar: Seasonal and diurnal cycles.Climate dynamics, 39:239–258, 2012

2012
[44]

On the kolmogorov-smirnov test for normality with mean and variance unknown.Journal of the American statistical Association, 62(318):399–402, 1967

Hubert W Lilliefors. On the kolmogorov-smirnov test for normality with mean and variance unknown.Journal of the American statistical Association, 62(318):399–402, 1967

1967
[45]

Ocean–atmosphere coupling over monsoon regions.Nature, 312(5990):141–143, 1984

Sulochana Gadgil, PV Joseph, and NiranjanV Joshi. Ocean–atmosphere coupling over monsoon regions.Nature, 312(5990):141–143, 1984

1984
[46]

N. E. Graham and T. P. Barnett. Sea surface temperature, surface wind divergence, and convection over tropical oceans.Science, 238(4827):657–659, 1987

1987
[47]

Effect of deep convection on the regulation of tropical sea surface temperature.Nature, 357(6375):230–231, 1992

John M Wallace. Effect of deep convection on the regulation of tropical sea surface temperature.Nature, 357(6375):230–231, 1992

1992
[48]

Trenberth, Aiguo Dai, Roy M

Kevin E. Trenberth, Aiguo Dai, Roy M. Rasmussen, and David B. Parsons. The changing character of precipitation. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 84(9):1205 – 1218, 2003

2003
[49]

Changes in precipitation with climate change.Climate research, 47(1-2):123–138, 2011

Kevin E Trenberth. Changes in precipitation with climate change.Climate research, 47(1-2):123–138, 2011

2011
[50]

What are climate models missing?Science, 340(6136):1053–1054, 2013

Bjorn Stevens and Sandrine Bony. What are climate models missing?Science, 340(6136):1053–1054, 2013

2013
[51]

M. J. McPhaden, G. Meyers, K. Ando, Y . Masumoto, V . S. N. Murty, M. Ravichandran, F. Syamsudin, J. Vialard, L. Yu, and W. Yu. Rama: The research moored array for african?asian?australian monsoon analysis and prediction*. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 90(4)...

2009
[52]

McPhaden, Antonio J

Michael J. McPhaden, Antonio J. Busalacchi, Robert Cheney, Jean-René Donguy, Kenneth S. Gage, David Halpern, Ming Ji, Paul Julian, Gary Meyers, Gary T. Mitchum, Pearn P. Niiler, Joel Picaut, Richard W. Reynolds, Neville Smith, and Kensuke Takeuchi. The tropical ocean-global at...

1998
[53]

McPhaden, Fabrice Hernandez, Paulo Nobre, Edmo Campos, Lisan Yu, Serge Planton, Antonio Busalacchi, Antonio D

Bernard Bourl`s, Rick Lumpkin, Michael J. McPhaden, Fabrice Hernandez, Paulo Nobre, Edmo Campos, Lisan Yu, Serge Planton, Antonio Busalacchi, Antonio D. Moura, Jacques Servain, and Janice Trotte. The pirata program: History, accomplishments, and future directions.Bulletin of t...

2008
[54]

R. A. Weller and S. P. Anderson. Surface meteorology and air-sea fluxes in the western equatorial pacific warm pool during the toga coupled ocean-atmosphere response experiment.Journal of Climate, 9(8):1959 – 1990, 1996

1959
[55]

Weller, J

Robert A. Weller, J. Thomas Farrar, Jared Buckley, Simi Mathew, R. Venkatesan, India J. Sree Lekha, Dipanjan Chaudhuri, India N. Suresh Kumar, and B. Praveen Kumar. Air-sea interaction in the bay of bengal.Oceanography, 29(2):28 – 37, June 2016

2016
[56]

Thomas Farrar and Albert J

J. Thomas Farrar and Albert J. Plueddemann. On the factors driving upper-ocean salinity variability at the western edge of the eastern pacific fresh pool.Oceanography, 32(2):30 – 39, June 2019

2019
[57]

C. W. Fairall, E. F. Bradley, J. E. Hare, A. A. Grachev, and J. B. Edson. Bulk Parameterization of Air-Sea Fluxes: Updates and Verification for the COARE Algorithm.Journal of Climate, 16(4):571–591, 2003

2003
[58]

Serra, Patrick A’Hearn, H

Yolande L. Serra, Patrick A’Hearn, H. Paul Freitag, and Michael J. McPhaden. Atlas self-siphoning rain gauge error estimates.Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 18(12):1989 – 2002, 2001

1989
[59]

Serra and Michael J

Yolande L. Serra and Michael J. McPhaden. In situ observations of diurnal variability in rainfall over the tropical pacific and atlantic oceans.Journal of Climate, 17(18):3496 – 3509, 2004. 12

2004

Pith tools

Reviewed August 7, 2026 · model on record in the stance chip above.

[1] [1]

History of the equation of state of seawater.Oceanography, 23(3):18–33, 2010

Frank J Millero. History of the equation of state of seawater.Oceanography, 23(3):18–33, 2010

work page 2010

[2] [2]

Academic press, 2011

Benoit Cushman-Roisin and Jean-Marie Beckers.Introduction to geophysical fluid dynamics: physical and numerical aspects. Academic press, 2011

work page 2011

[3] [3]

Academic press, 2011

Lynne D Talley.Descriptive physical oceanography: an introduction. Academic press, 2011

work page 2011

[4] [4]

On the wind-driven ocean circulation.Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 7(2):80–93, 1950

Walter H Munk. On the wind-driven ocean circulation.Journal of Atmospheric Sciences, 7(2):80–93, 1950

work page 1950

[5] [5]

Anderson, Robert A

Steven P. Anderson, Robert A. Weller, and Roger B. Lukas. Surface buoyancy forcing and the mixed layer of the western pacific warm pool: Observations and 1d model results.Journal of Climate, 9(12), 1996

work page 1996

[6] [6]

Vertical mixing, energy, and the general circulation of the oceans.Annu

Carl Wunsch and Raffaele Ferrari. Vertical mixing, energy, and the general circulation of the oceans.Annu. Rev. Fluid Mech., 36:281–314, 2004

work page 2004

[7] [7]

Robert H

Robert H Stewart.Introduction to physical oceanography. Robert H. Stewart, 2008

work page 2008

[8] [8]

Andrew McC. Hogg. An antarctic circumpolar current driven by surface buoyancy forcing.Geophysical Research Letters, 37(23), 2010. 9 Does rainfall create buoyant forcing at the ocean surface?

work page 2010