Show simple item record

dc.contributor.authorVinayachandran, P.N.
dc.contributor.authorMurty, V.S.N.
dc.contributor.authorRameshBabu, V.
dc.date.accessioned2008-08-04T05:40:09Z
dc.date.available2008-08-04T05:40:09Z
dc.date.issued2002
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Geophysical Research (C: Oceans): Vol. 107(12); doi:10.1029/2001JC000831
dc.identifier.urihttp://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/1362
dc.description.abstractTime series of temperature and salinity in the upper ocean, measured at 17 degrees 30'N, 89 degrees E in the northern Bay of Bengal, from 27 July to 6 August 1999 captured an event of upper layer freshening. Initially, the upper layer that is homogeneous in both temperature and salinity was about 30 m deep. Subsequently, the arrival of a freshwater plume caused the depth of the mixed layer to decrease to about 10 m and the salinity in the surface layer by about 4 psu. The plume led to the formation of a new halocline and hence a barrier layer within the upper 30 m of the water column. The ensuing ocean-atmosphere interaction was restricted to the new thinner mixed layer. The cooling that was restricted to the mixed layer led to an inversion in temperature amounting to 0.5 degrees C just below the mixed layer. The source of the plume is traced to freshwater from river discharge and rainfall that was advected by Ekman flow as a 15 m thick layer. This study suggests that wind-driven circulation is crucial in determining the path of freshwater in the Bay of Bengal. The fresh water affects the sea surface temperature and ocean- atmosphere coupling through the dependence of the depth of the mixed layer on salinity.
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherAmerican Geophysical Union
dc.subjectupper ocean
dc.subjecthydrography
dc.subjectmixed layer
dc.subjectmonsoons
dc.subjectplumes
dc.subjectEkman transport
dc.subjectwind driven circulation
dc.subjectsummer
dc.subjectwater column
dc.subjecttime series analysis
dc.titleObservations of barrier layer formation in the Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon
dc.typeJournal Article


Files in this item

Thumbnail

This item appears in the following Collection(s)

Show simple item record