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Observed Seasonal Variations of the Upper Ocean Structure and Air‐Sea Interactions in the Andaman Sea
Author(s) -
Liu Yanliang,
Li Kuiping,
Ning Chunlin,
Yang Yang,
Wang Haiyuan,
Liu Jianjun,
Skhokiattiwong Somkiat,
Yu Weidong
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of geophysical research: oceans
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2169-9291
pISSN - 2169-9275
DOI - 10.1002/2017jc013367
Subject(s) - environmental science , mixed layer , climatology , latent heat , buoy , stratification (seeds) , atmospheric sciences , sea surface temperature , entrainment (biomusicology) , bay , oceanography , geology , meteorology , geography , seed dormancy , botany , germination , dormancy , biology , philosophy , rhythm , aesthetics
The Andaman Sea (AS) is a poorly observed basin, where even the fundamental physical characteristics have not been fully documented. Here the seasonal variations of the upper ocean structure and the air‐sea interactions in the central AS were studied using a moored surface buoy. The seasonal double‐peak pattern of the sea surface temperature (SST) was identified with the corresponding mixed layer variations. Compared with the buoys in the Bay of Bengal (BOB), the thermal stratification in the central AS was much stronger in the winter to spring, when a shallower isothermal layer and a thinner barrier layer were sustained. The temperature inversion was strongest from June to July because of substantial surface heat loss and subsurface prewarming. The heat budget analysis of the mixed layer showed that the net surface heat fluxes dominated the seasonal SST cycle. Vertical entrainment was significant from April to July. It had a strong cooling effect from April to May and a striking warming effect from June to July. A sensitivity experiment highlighted the importance of salinity. The AS warmer surface water in the winter was associated with weak heat loss caused by weaker longwave radiation and latent heat losses. However, the AS latent heat loss was larger than the BOB in summer due to its lower relative humidity.