Multidecadal to decadal variability in the equatorial Indian Ocean subsurface temperature and the forcing mechanisms

2020 ◽  
Vol 54 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 3475-3487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Mohapatra ◽  
C. Gnanaseelan ◽  
J. S. Deepa
2017 ◽  
Vol 50 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 1659-1673 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Srinivas ◽  
Jasti S. Chowdary ◽  
C. Gnanaseelan ◽  
K. V. S. R. Prasad ◽  
Ananya Karmakar ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 216 ◽  
pp. 103511
Author(s):  
Shuangwen Sun ◽  
Yue Fang ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
Huiwu Wang ◽  
Yanliang Liu ◽  
...  

2005 ◽  
Vol 18 (17) ◽  
pp. 3450-3469 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Annamalai ◽  
J. Potemra ◽  
R. Murtugudde ◽  
J. P. McCreary

Abstract Sea surface temperature observations in the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean (EEIO) during the period 1950–2003 indicate that Indian Ocean dipole/zonal mode (IODZM) events are strong in two decades, namely, the 1960s and 1990s. Atmospheric reanalysis products in conjunction with output from an ocean model are examined to investigate the possible reason for the occurrence of strong IODZM events in these two decades. Specifically, the hypothesis that the mean thermocline in the EEIO is raised or lowered depending on the phase of Pacific decadal variability (PDV), preconditioning the EEIO to favor stronger or weaker IODZM activity, is examined. Diagnostics reveal that the EEIO is preconditioned by the traditional PDV signal (SVD1 of SST), deepening or shoaling the thermocline off south Java through its influence on the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF; oceanic teleconnection), and by residual decadal variability in the western and central Pacific (SVD2 of SST) that changes the equatorial winds over the Indian Ocean (atmospheric teleconnection). Both effects produce a background state that is either favorable or unfavorable for the thermocline–mixed layer interactions, and hence for the excitation of strong IODZM events. Collectively, SVD1 and SVD2 are referred to as PDV here. This hypothesis is tested with a suite of ocean model experiments. First, two runs are carried out, forced by climatological winds to which idealized easterly or westerly winds are added only over the equatorial Indian Ocean. As might be expected, in the easterly (westerly) run a shallower (deeper) thermocline is obtained over the EEIO. Then, observed winds from individual years are used to force the model. In these runs, anomalously cool SST in the EEIO develops only during decades when the thermocline is anomalously shallow, allowing entrainment of colder waters into the mixed layer. Since 1999 the PDV phase has changed, and consistent with this hypothesis the depth of the mean thermocline in the EEIO has been increasing. As a consequence, no IODZM developed during the El Niño of 2002, and only a weak cooling event occurred during the summer of 2003. This hypothesis likely also explains why some strong IODZM events occur in the absence of ENSO forcing, provided that PDV has preconditioned the EEIO thermocline to be anomalously shallow.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zheen Zhang ◽  
Thomas Pohlmann ◽  
Xueen Chen

Abstract. Lead-lag correlations between the subsurface temperature/salinity anomalies in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are revealed in model results, ocean synthesis, and observations. Mechanisms for such correlations are further investigated using the Hamburg Shelf Ocean Model (HAMSOM), mainly on the salinity variability. It is found that the subsurface salinity anomaly of the BoB positively correlates to the IOD with a lag of three months on average, while the subsurface temperature anomaly negatively correlates. The model results suggest the remote forcing from the equatorial Indian Ocean dominates the interannual subsurface salinity variability in the BoB. The coastal Kelvin waves carry signals of positive (negative) salinity anomalies from the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and propagate counterclockwise along the coasts of the BoB during positive (negative) IOD events. Subsequently westward Rossby waves propagate these signals to the basin at a relatively slow speed, which causes a considerable delay of the subsurface salinity anomalies in the correlation. By analyzing the salinity budget of the BoB, it is found that the diffusion dominates the salinity changes near the surface, while the advection dominates the subsurface; the vertical advection of salinity contributes positively to this correlation, while the horizontal advection contributes negatively. These results suggest that the IOD plays a crucial role in the interannual subsurface salinity variability in the BoB.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep Mohapatra ◽  
Chellappan Gnanaseelan

<p>Similar to the Pacific and Atlantic, Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) has its own internal climate mode of variabilities such as Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and subsurface mode (SSM). A typical interannual SSM is characterized by the meridional gradient in opposing subsurface temperature anomalies in the eastern equatorial IO and in the southwestern IO. Here in the present study, we have explored the structure and the underlying dynamics for the SSM in decadal time scale which has not been reported before. By analyzing different reanalysis products we observe that decadal SSM is characterized by a pure north-south pattern with the northern mode covering the entire equatorial belt which is different from interannual SSM. A north-south SSM is the leading mode of decadal variability in the thermocline and subsurface temperature over the TIO. Our preliminary analysis suggests that the decadal variability in the surface winds along the equatorial IO and the associated wind stress curl are found to be the primary forcing mechanisms for the decadal evolution of the north-south mode. Positive wind stress curl anomalies south of 8<sup>o</sup>S intensify the downwelling Rossby waves in the south during the positive phase of the decadal SSM. On the other hand, the northern cooling is driven mostly by the equatorial upwelling Kelvin waves and the Ekman divergence. Further, the phase transition in the SSM is primarily determined by the strength of the surface wind and the associated Ekman transport. The equatorial easterlies (westerlies) diverge (converge) the meridional Ekman transport, transporting heat towards the off-equatorial (equatorial) region during the positive (negative) phase. Consistently with SSM, upper 500m oceanic heat content reveals a conventional north-south dipole highlighting the importance of SSM on the TIO heat redistribution. This is further supported by the modulation of meridional overturning circulation and the meridional heat balance across the southern Indian Ocean (SIO). Overall the present study explores the underlying mechanism responsible for decadal SSM and its association with the heat distribution across the SIO.</p>


Ocean Science ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 393-409
Author(s):  
Zheen Zhang ◽  
Thomas Pohlmann ◽  
Xueen Chen

Abstract. Lead–lag correlations between the subsurface temperature and salinity anomalies in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) are revealed in model results, ocean synthesis, and observations. Mechanisms for such correlations are further investigated using the Hamburg Shelf Ocean Model (HAMSOM), mainly relating to the salinity variability. It is found that the subsurface salinity anomaly of the BoB positively correlates to the IOD, with a lag of 3 months on average, while the subsurface temperature anomaly correlates negatively. The model results suggest the remote forcing from the equatorial Indian Ocean dominates the interannual subsurface salinity variability in the BoB. The coastal Kelvin waves carry signals of positive (negative) salinity anomalies from the eastern equatorial Indian Ocean and propagate counterclockwise along the coasts of the BoB during positive (negative) IOD events. Subsequently, westward Rossby waves propagate these signals to the basin at a relatively slow speed, which causes a considerable delay of the subsurface salinity anomalies in the correlation. By analyzing the salinity budget of the BoB, it is found that diffusion dominates the salinity changes near the surface, while advection dominates the subsurface; the vertical advection of salinity contributes positively to this correlation, while the horizontal advection contributes negatively. These results suggest that the IOD plays a crucial role in the interannual subsurface salinity variability in the BoB.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumya Mukhopadhyay ◽  
C. Gnanaseelan ◽  
J.S. Chowdary ◽  
Sandeep Mohapatra

<p>In the present study, heat distribution in the Tropical Indian Ocean (TIO) associated with the prolonged La-Nina events during 1958–2017 is examined using reanalysis/observations. A detailed analysis revealed that in response to prolonged La-Nina forcing, prominent east-west thermocline gradient in the equatorial Indian Ocean and the eastward extension of thermocline ridge in the southwestern TIO (TRIO) are noted. Anomalous subsurface warming, thermocline deepening, and sea-level increase are also evident in the eastern and southeastern TIO and Bay of Bengal (BoB) during the prolonged La-Nina events. Cross equatorial volume transport near the eastern boundary during the prolonged La-Nina years especially at 50m-150m depth levels indicates the pathways of Pacific water entering the north Indian Ocean (NIO), a feature that has a strong impact on the BoB dynamics and thermodynamics. Intense cooling of TRIO and the Arabian Sea and the eastward extension of TRIO are some of the characteristic features of the prolonged La-Nina years. These may have strong implications on the air-sea interaction associated with inter-annual and intra-seasonal variability over this region. Further, the subsurface heat content (50m–150m) in the eastern and southeastern TIO in general dominated by interannual variability whereas the TRIO region experienced the decadal variability. Subsurface heat content variations associated with prolonged La Niña years are discussed. This study shows that the warming and cooling events of TIO are very closely tied to the internal dynamics of the IO driven remotely by the Pacific through modulation of surface winds.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Shi ◽  
Menghua Wang

AbstractThe 2019 positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event in the boreal autumn was the most serious IOD event of the century with reports of significant sea surface temperature (SST) changes in the east and west equatorial Indian Ocean. Observations of the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) onboard the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (SNPP) between 2012 and 2020 are used to study the significant biological dipole response that occurred in the equatorial Indian Ocean following the 2019 positive IOD event. For the first time, we propose, identify, characterize, and quantify the biological IOD. The 2019 positive IOD event led to anomalous biological activity in both the east IOD zone and west IOD zone. The average chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) concentration reached over ~ 0.5 mg m−3 in 2019 in comparison to the climatology Chl-a of ~ 0.3 mg m−3 in the east IOD zone. In the west IOD zone, the biological activity was significantly depressed. The depressed Chl-a lasted until May 2020. The anomalous ocean biological activity in the east IOD zone was attributed to the advection of the higher-nutrient surface water due to enhanced upwelling. On the other hand, the dampened ocean biological activity in the west IOD zone was attributed to the stronger convergence of the surface waters than that in a normal year.


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