Satellite observations of the northeast monsoon coastal current

Abstract

Satellite Infrared observations, from Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR), during November 1987-February 1988 and hydrographic data from the eastern Arabian Sea are used to describe the poleward flowing coastal current in the eastern Arabian Sea during the northeast monsoon. The current, identifiEd. by a band of warm water, forms in November in the south, and is best developed during December-January when it can be traced along the entire coast of the eastern Arabian Sea. Off the southwest coast of India (10 degrees N) the current was approximately 400 km wide. At about 22 degrees N, the flow was restricted mainly to the vicinity of the continental slope and the current was a narrow jet of about 150 km width. Further north the core of the current narrowed down to about 50 km and turned west following the shelf off Pakistan. The current carried warmer waters (greater than 29 degrees C) of southern origin to the North Arabian Sea. In the northern half of the coastline (north of 15 degrees N), the temperature within the core of the current was about 1 degrees C above the ambient temperatures