An atlast of XBT thermal structures and TOPEX/POSEIDON sea surface heights in the north Indian Ocean

Abstract

The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), Goa, India has been taking a leading role in the in situ data collection and analysis for several years. In this atlas the temperature profiles collected by a dedicated team of NIO scientists during the Indian XBT Program were used to plot the sub-surface thermal structures of the Indian Ocean for 1993 to 2003. Since these in situ measurements are just along the ship tracks, sea surface height observations from the TOPEX altimeter were also plotted over a broader area so that a synoptic view of this structure can be obtained in conjunction with the in situ information.