Strengthening of Basin-Scale Ocean Currents in Winter Drives Decadal Salinity Decline in the Eastern Arabian Sea

Varna, M and Singh, A and Sahoo, D and Sengupta, DV (2021) Strengthening of Basin-Scale Ocean Currents in Winter Drives Decadal Salinity Decline in the Eastern Arabian Sea. In: Geophysical Research Letters, 48 (16).

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Abstract

Observations show a decreasing trend in sea surface salinity during the winter months in 1990�2010 in the southeastern Arabian Sea. To explain the observed salinity decline, we analyze changes in evaporation and precipitation, surface winds, sea level anomaly, and the transport of low-salinity water from the Bay of Bengal to the eastern Arabian Sea via westward flow south of Sri Lanka and a northward coastal current. We find a 2�3 fold increase in the influx of low-salinity water to the eastern Arabian Sea in 1990�2010 associated with strengthening of the Northeast Monsoon Current and the West India Coastal Current. The observed decreasing trend of sea surface salinity in the southeastern Arabian Sea is due to the changes in basin-scale circulation of the northern Indian Ocean in winter. © 2021. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	Geophysical Research Letters
Publisher:	John Wiley and Sons Inc
Additional Information:	The copyright for this article belongs to John Wiley and Sons Inc
Keywords:	Sea level; Surface waters, Basin-scale circulation; Eastern Arabian Sea; Low-salinity water; Northeast monsoon; Northern indian oceans; Sea level anomaly; Sea surface salinity; Southeastern arabian seas, Ocean currents
Department/Centre:	Division of Mechanical Sciences > Centre for Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
Date Deposited:	02 Dec 2021 12:58
Last Modified:	02 Dec 2021 12:58
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/70080

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