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Impact of barrier layer on winter‐spring variability of the southeastern Arabian Sea
Author(s) -
Masson S.,
Luo J.J.,
Madec G.,
Vialard J.,
Durand F.,
Gualdi S.,
Guilyardi E.,
Behera S.,
Delecluse P.,
Navarra A.,
Yamagata T.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2004gl021980
Subject(s) - climatology , sea surface temperature , precipitation , spring (device) , monsoon , environmental science , oceanography , barrier layer , stratification (seeds) , salinity , mixed layer , geology , atmospheric sciences , layer (electronics) , geography , meteorology , chemistry , botany , germination , organic chemistry , dormancy , engineering , biology , mechanical engineering , seed dormancy
In the present study, we use a coupled model to evaluate the effect of shallow salinity stratification on the sea surface temperature (SST) and on the monsoon onset in the southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS). A 100‐year control experiment shows that the coupled model reproduces the main climatic features in this region in terms of SST, precipitation and barrier layer (BL). A 100‐year sensitivity experiment (where BL effects have been suppressed in the SEAS) shows that BL enhances the spring SST warming by 0.5°C, and leads to a statistically significant increase of precipitation in May (3 mm/day) linked to an early (10 to 15 days) monsoon onset. This suggests that the BL extent may be a useful predictor of the summer monsoon onset in the area with a two‐month lead‐time. However the effect above is mostly concentrated in the SEAS, and there is no significant impact over continental India.