Bay of Bengal 2013 Northeast Monsoon Upper-Ocean Circulation

Gordon, Arnold L and Shroyer, Emily L and Mahadevan, Amala and Sengupta, Debasis and Freilich, Mara (2016) Bay of Bengal 2013 Northeast Monsoon Upper-Ocean Circulation. In: OCEANOGRAPHY, 29 (2, SI). pp. 82-91.

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Abstract

The upper 200 m of the two northern Indian Ocean embayments, the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS), differ sharply in their salinity stratification, as the Asian monsoon injects massive amounts of freshwater into the BoB while removing freshwater via evaporation from the AS. The ocean circulation transfers salt from the AS to the BoB and exports freshwater from the BoB to mitigate the salinity difference and reach a quasi-steady state, albeit with strong seasonality. An energetic field of mesoscale features and an intrathermocline eddy was observed within the BoB during the R/V Revelle November and December 2013 Air-Sea Interactions Regional Initiative cruises, marking the early northeast monsoon phase. Mesoscale features, which display a surprisingly large thermohaline range within their confines, obscure the regional surface water and thermohaline stratification patterns, as observed by satellite and Argo profilers. Ocean processes blend the fresh and salty features along and across density surfaces, influencing sea surface temperature and air-sea flux. Comparing the Revelle observations to the Argo data reveals a general westward migration of mesoscale features across the BoB.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	OCEANOGRAPHY
Additional Information:	Copy right for this article belongs to the OCEANOGRAPHY SOC, P.O. BOX 1931, ROCKVILLE, MD USA
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Date Deposited:	08 Oct 2016 05:35
Last Modified:	08 Oct 2016 05:35
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/54709

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