Altimeter-derived flow field over a newly identified coastal ocean boundary in the eastern Arabian Sea
Abstract
A hitherto unknown coastal ocean dynamic boundary has been identified from hydrographic and TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimeter data in the eastern Arabian Sea recently (Antony et al., 2000). This boundary, with a width of about 450 km in the central part, tapers off towards north and bulges towards south. In the present communication, the T/P-derived flow pattern over this new boundary is presented. The derived flow pattern shows the general dominance of meso-scale eddies in the Arabian Sea circulation. However, the flow is meridional within the new boundary and nearly zonal outside. The offshore limit of the meridional flow coincides with the offshore limit of the coastal boundary. As expected, the meridional flow is poleward during November-December-January (NE monsoon) and equatorward during June-July-August (SW monsoon). The offshore boundary of the meridional flow is more prominent during the NE monsoon than during SW monsoon. The flow width increases near the southern tip of the Indian Peninsula during the NE monsoon. These results show that the offshore boundary of the derived coastal current coincides with the new coastal ocean boundary identified earlier in the eastern Arabian Sea
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