The phosphate levels of the major surface currents of the Indian Ocean

1967 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Rochford
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
North Indian Ocean ◽  
Surface Currents ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
South Indian ◽  
South West Monsoon

The principal surface currents of the north Indian Ocean are much richer in phosphate (greater than 0.25 �g-atom/l) than those of the south Indian Ocean (less than 0.15 �g-atom/I). In summer large areas of the surface waters of the south-east Indian Ocean have a very low phosphate content (less than 0.10 �g-atom/l). These waters are by far the lowest in phosphate of the whole Indian Ocean. Their salinity-temperature- phosphate relations show that waters from two regions, the South Equatorial Current in the north and the high salinity belt around 30-35� S., contribute to their formation. Waters of this high salinity belt are carried northward into the low phosphate region by the West Australian Current in summer. These high-salinity waters most probably form by evaporation of an upper 50-m mixed layer of waters of the south-east Atlantic drifting eastward in the south Indian Ocean at an average rate of 15 cm per sec. In the eastern Indian Ocean north of 10�S., surface phosphate levels in summer are governed by the circulation of the richer phosphate waters of the counter current. In winter the circulation of richer phosphate waters of the South-west Monsoon Current governs the phosphate level.

Source regions of oxygen maxima in intermediate depths of the Arabian Sea.

1966 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
DJ Rochford
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Arabian Sea ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Source Regions ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Indian Central ◽  
South West Monsoon ◽  
The Indian Ocean

Oxygen maxima, in relation to σt salinity maxima and minima, and other hydrological structural features, have been examined along three meridional sections of the Indian Ocean. These relations have provided a background for the interpretation of the water mass sources of oxygen maxima of the whole Indian Ocean. After grouping these oxygen maxima according to density, their salinities have been used to identify mixing circuits in which the following waters are involved: from the south (1) South Indian Central, (2) Subtropical oxygen maximum, (3) Antarctic Intermediate; from the east (4) Equatorial Frontal water; and from the north (5) Persian Gulf, and (6) Red Sea. The principal routes whereby oxygen-rich mixtures of these waters enter the Arabian Sea, during the south-west monsoon, have been determined. The directions of flow along several of these routes agreed with measured directions of current flow. Where these currents disagreed the measured current was generally very weak.

scholarly journals Recent emergence of CAT5 tropical cyclones in the South Indian Ocean

2018 ◽  
Vol 114 (11/12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer M. Fitchett
Keyword(s):  
Tropical Cyclone ◽  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Tropical Cyclones ◽  
Satellite Imagery ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
The North ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Recent Emergence

The IBTrACS global best track data set endorsed by the World Meteorological Organization provides a valuable global record of tropical cyclone genesis, track and intensity, and spans 1842 to the present. The record is significantly more robust from the late 1970s onwards, as it is supported by satellite imagery. These records indicate that the first tropical cyclone in the South Indian Ocean to intensify to CAT5 status did so in 1994. This date is significantly later than the first CAT5 storms recorded in the IBTrACS database for the Atlantic Ocean (1924) and the North Pacific (1951) recorded from ship records, and half a decade later than those of the North Indian Ocean (1989) and South Pacific (1988), captured from satellite imagery. Following this late emergence, in the period 1990–2000, eight CAT5 tropical cyclones were recorded for the South Indian Ocean. A further four have been recorded for the period 2010–2015. This recent emergence of tropical cyclones attaining category five intensity in the South Indian Ocean is of significance for the forecasting of tropical cyclone landfall and the anticipation of storm damage for the developing economies that characterise the region. Although an increase in tropical cyclone intensity is frequently projected under global climate change scenarios, the dynamics for the South Indian Ocean have remained poorly understood. Notable are early results indicating an increased frequency and poleward migration of these CAT5 storms, concurrent with a poleward migration in the position of the 26.5 °C, 28 °C and 29 °C sea surface temperature isotherms in the South Indian Ocean. Significance: Category 5 tropical cyclones, the strongest category of storms, have only recently emerged in the South Indian Ocean. Since 1989, their frequency of occurrence has increased. This increase poses a heightened risk of storm damage for the South Indian Ocean Island States and the countries of the southern African subcontinent as a result of the strong winds, heavy rainfall and storm surges associated with these storms, and the large radial extent at category 5 strength.

scholarly journals On the Leeuwin Current System and Its Linkage to Zonal Flows in the South Indian Ocean as Inferred from a Gridded Hydrography

2017 ◽  
Vol 47 (3) ◽  
pp. 583-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Furue ◽  
Kévin Guerreiro ◽  
Helen E. Phillips ◽  
Julian P. McCreary ◽  
Nathaniel L. Bindoff
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Current System ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Zonal Flows ◽  
Leeuwin Current ◽  
The North ◽  
South Indian ◽  
The Tropics ◽  
First Time

AbstractThe Leeuwin Current System (LCS) along the coast of Western Australia consists of the poleward-flowing Leeuwin Current (LC), the equatorward-flowing Leeuwin Undercurrent (LUC), and neighboring flows in the south Indian Ocean (SIO). Using geostrophic currents obtained from a highly resolved (⅛°) hydrographic climatology [CSIRO Atlas of Regional Seas (CARS)], this study describes the spatial structure and annual variability of the LC, LUC, and SIO zonal currents, estimates their transports, and identifies linkages among them. In CARS, the LC is supplied partly by water from the tropics (an annual mean of 0.3 Sv; 1 Sv ≡ 106 m3 s−1) but mostly by shallow (200 m) eastward flows in the SIO (4.7 Sv), and it loses water by downwelling across the bottom of this layer (3.4 Sv). The downwelling is so strong that, despite the large SIO inflow, the horizontal transport of the LC does not much increase to the south (from 0.3 Sv at 22°S to 1.5 Sv at 34°S). This LC transport is significantly smaller than previously reported. The LUC is supplied by water from south of Australia (0.2 Sv), by eastward inflow from the SIO south of 28°S (1.6 Sv), and by the downwelling from the LC (1.6 Sv) and in response strengthens northward, reaching a maximum near 28°S (3.4 Sv). North of 28°S it loses water by outflow into subsurface westward flow (−3.6 Sv between 28° and 22°S) and despite an additional downwelling from the LC (1.9 Sv), it decreases to the north (1.7 Sv at 22°S). The seasonality of the LUC is described for the first time.

Impacts of ocean currents on the South Indian Ocean extratropical storm track through the relative wind effect

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-61
Author(s):  
Hyodae Seo ◽  
Hajoon Song ◽  
Larry W. O’Neill ◽  
Matthew R. Mazloff ◽  
Bruce D. Cornuelle
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Ocean Circulation ◽  
Storm Track ◽  
Ocean Current ◽  
Wind Effect ◽  
Turbulent Heat ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Relative Wind

AbstractThis study examines the role of the relative wind (RW) effect (wind relative to ocean current) in the regional ocean circulation and extratropical storm track in the South Indian Ocean. Comparison of two high-resolution regional coupled model simulations with/without the RW effect reveals that the most conspicuous ocean circulation response is the significant weakening of the overly energetic anticyclonic standing eddy off Port Elizabeth, South Africa, a biased feature ascribed to upstream retroflection of the Agulhas Current (AC). This opens a pathway through which the AC transports the warm and salty water mass from the subtropics, yielding marked increases in sea surface temperature (SST), upward turbulent heat flux (THF), and meridional SST gradient in the Agulhas retroflection region. These thermodynamic and dynamic changes are accompanied by the robust strengthening of the local low-tropospheric baroclinicity and the baroclinic wave activity in the atmosphere. Examination of the composite lifecycle of synoptic-scale storms subjected to the high THF events indicates a robust strengthening of the extratropical storms far downstream. Energetics calculations for the atmosphere suggest that the baroclinic energy conversion from the basic flow is the chief source of increased eddy available potential energy, which is subsequently converted to eddy kinetic energy, providing for the growth of transient baroclinic waves. Overall, the results suggest that the mechanical and thermal air-sea interactions are inherently and inextricably linked together to substantially influence the extratropical storm tracks in the South Indian Ocean.

Eastward Shift of Interannual Climate Variability in the South Indian Ocean since 1950

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-46
Author(s):  
Lei Zhang ◽  
Weiqing Han ◽  
Kristopher B. Karnauskas ◽  
Yuanlong Li ◽  
Tomoki Tozuka
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Decadal Variability ◽  
Dominant Role ◽  
Tropical Pacific ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Climate Modes ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Interannual Climate Variability

AbstractThe subtropical Indian Ocean Dipole (SIOD) and Ningaloo Niño are the two dominant modes of interannual climate variability in the subtropical South Indian Ocean. Observations show that the SIOD has been weakening in the recent decades, while Ningaloo Niño has been strengthening. In this study, we investigate the causes for such changes by analyzing climate model experiments using the NCAR Community Earth System Model version 1 (CESM1). Ensemble-mean results from CESM1 large-ensemble (CESM1-LE) suggest that the external forcing causes negligible changes in the amplitudes of the SIOD and Ningaloo Niño, suggesting a dominant role of internal climate variability. Meanwhile, results from CESM1 pacemaker experiments reveal that the observed changes in the two climate modes cannot be attributed to the effect of sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) in either the tropical Pacific or tropical Indian Oceans. By further comparing different ensemble members from the CESM1-LE, we find that a Warm Pool Dipole mode of decadal variability, with opposite SSTA in the southeast Indian Ocean and the western-central tropical Pacific Ocean plays an important role in driving the observed changes in the SIOD and Ningaloo Niño. These changes in the two climate modes have considerable impacts on precipitation and sea level variabilities in the South Indian Ocean region.

Spiciness Anomalies of Subantarctic Mode Water in the South Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 34 (10) ◽  
pp. 3927-3953
Author(s):  
Motoki Nagura
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Mixed Layer ◽  
Mixed Layer Depth ◽  
Surface Mixed Layer ◽  
The South ◽  
South Indian Ocean ◽  
Mode Water ◽  
Horizontal Advection ◽  
South Indian ◽  
Subantarctic Mode Water

AbstractThis study investigates spreading and generation of spiciness anomalies of the Subantarctic Mode Water (SAMW) located on 26.6 to 26.8 σθ in the south Indian Ocean, using in situ hydrographic observations, satellite measurements, reanalysis datasets, and numerical model output. The amplitude of spiciness anomalies is about 0.03 psu or 0.13°C and tends to be large along the streamline of the subtropical gyre, whose upstream end is the outcrop region south of Australia. The speed of spreading is comparable to that of the mean current, and it takes about a decade for a spiciness anomaly in the outcrop region to spread into the interior up to Madagascar. In the outcrop region, interannual variability in mixed layer temperature and salinity tends to be density compensating, which indicates that Eulerian temperature or salinity changes account for the generation of isopycnal spiciness anomalies. It is known that wintertime temperature and salinity in the surface mixed layer determine the temperature and salinity relationship of a subducted water mass. Considering this, the mixed layer heat budget in the outcrop region is estimated based on the concept of effective mixed layer depth, the result of which shows the primary contribution from horizontal advection. The contributions from Ekman and geostrophic currents are comparable. Ekman flow advection is caused by zonal wind stress anomalies and the resulting meridional Ekman current anomalies, as is pointed out by a previous study. Geostrophic velocity is decomposed into large-scale and mesoscale variability, both of which significantly contribute to horizontal advection.

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