Projects per year
Abstract
The Southwest Monsoon Current (SMC) flows eastward from the Arabian Sea into the Bay of Bengal (BoB) during summer, advecting a core of high salinity water. This high salinity core has been linked with Arabian Sea High Salinity Water that is presumed to enter the BoB directly from the Arabian Sea via the SMC. Here we show that the high salinity core originates primarily from the western equatorial Indian Ocean, reaching the BoB via the Somali Current, the Equatorial Undercurrent and the SMC. Years with anomalously saline high salinity cores are linked with the East Africa Coastal Current and the Somali Current winter convergence, and an anomalously strong Equatorial Undercurrent. Seasonal reversals that occur at the Somali Current and SMC junctions act as 'railroad switches' diverting water masses to different basins in the northern Indian Ocean. Interannual fluctuations of the Equatorial Undercurrent are linked to wind stress and El Nino.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 6005-6014 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Geophysical Research Letters |
Volume | 46 |
Issue number | 11 |
Early online date | 8 May 2019 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 16 Jun 2019 |
Profiles
-
Adrian Matthews
- School of Environmental Sciences - Professor of Meteorology
- Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences - Member
- Fluids & Structures - Member
- Numerical Simulation, Statistics & Data Science - Member
- ClimateUEA - Member
Person: Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research
-
Ben Webber
- School of Environmental Sciences - Associate Professor in Climate Science
- Centre for Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences - Member
- Climatic Research Unit - Member
- ClimateUEA - Member
Person: Member, Research Group Member, Academic, Teaching & Research
Projects
- 1 Finished
-
BoBBLE: Bay of Bengal Boundary Layer Experiment.
Matthews, A., Heywood, K., Joshi, M., Webber, B. & Woodward, S.
Natural Environment Research Council
15/01/15 → 14/07/20
Project: Research