Impact of physical processes on the chlorophyll distribution in the Bay of Bengal

Vinayachandran, PN (2010) Impact of physical processes on the chlorophyll distribution in the Bay of Bengal. [Book Chapter]

Preview

PDF vinayAGUbook2009.pdf - Accepted Version Download (5MB)

Abstract

Satellite-derived chlorophyll a concentration (chl a) maps show three regions with high chl a in the Bay of Bengal. First among these is close to the coast, particularly off river mouths, with high values coinciding with the season of peak discharge; second is in the southwestern bay during the northeast monsoon, which is forced by local Ekman pumping; and the third is to the east of Sri Lanka in response to the summer monsoon winds. Chlorophyll-rich water from the mouths of rivers flows either along the coast or in an offshore direction, up to several hundred kilometers, depending on the prevailing ocean current pattern. The Irrawady River plume flows toward offshore and then turns northwestward during October–December, but it flows along the coast into the Andaman Sea for the rest of the year. From the Ganga-Brahmaputra river mouth, chl a–rich water flows directly southward into the open bay during spring but along the Indian coast during summer and winter. Along the Indian coast, the flow of chl a–rich water is determined by the East India Coastal Current (EICC). Whenever the EICC meanders off the Indian coast, it leads to an offshore outbreak of chl a–rich water from the coastal region into open ocean. The EICC as well as open ocean circulation in the bay is made up of several eddies, and these eddies show relatively higher chl a. Eddies near the coast, however, can often have higher chl a because of advection from the coastal region rather than generation within the eddy itself. The bay experiences several cyclones in a year, most of them occurring during October–November. These cyclones cause a drop in the sea surface temperature, a dip in the sea level, and a local increase in chl a. The impact of a cyclone is weaker in the northern part of the bay because of stronger stratification compared to the southern parts.

Item Type:	Book Chapter
Series.:	Geophysical Monograph Series 185
Publisher:	American Geophysical Union
Additional Information:	Copyright belogs to American Geophysical Union, Washington, D. C., USA
Keywords:	SIBER
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Date Deposited:	08 Feb 2011 06:38
Last Modified:	08 Feb 2011 06:40
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/35461

Actions (login required)

View Item