Open AccessMechanism of cold water regions observed in winter in the Indian Ocean
Author(s) -
Masahisa Kubota,
Moriheri Kawaguchi
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
mausam
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0252-9416
DOI - 10.54302/mausam.v48i4.4356
Subject(s) - upwelling , climatology , oceanography , sea surface temperature , shortwave radiation , ekman transport , boreal , geology , latent heat , environmental science , heat flux , meteorology , geography , heat transfer , radiation , paleontology , physics , quantum mechanics , thermodynamics
Two cold sea surface temperature (SST) regions are found in the Arabian Sea in boreal winter. One is located northeast of Madagascar, and another is located in a northern part of Arabian Sea. The mechanism for appearance of the cold water is investigated by using monthly climatological ocean observation data. The cold water found northeast of Madagascar is caused by upwelling owing to Ekman divergence associated with a reversal of wind direction. On the other hand, the decrease in SST in a northern part of Arabian Sea is basically caused by decrease of net heat flux associated with reduced shortwave radiation and increased latent heat flux. These results are consistent with results obtained from a numerical investigation by McCreary and Kundu (1989).