Abstract
Momentum, sensible heat, a n d vapor fluxes are measured by using the observed wind as well as the geostrophic wind. There is a somewhat systematic difference between the two methods. Sensible heat flux measured geostrophically attains its maximum at the ground surface, whereas that obtained by the observed wind is largest at 850 mb level. The geostrophically measured momentum flux is larger than the actual momentum flux measured by the observed wind at almost all latitudes and heights, the largest difference being encountered at 300 mb,50°N. As for the north-south net vapor flux, a large fraction of it is accomplished by the mean meridional current and only a small fraction of it, by the disturbances. Such a situation makes it very difficult to evaluate the net vapor flux by geostrophic approximation.
