Role of physical processes in the distribution of chlorophyll a in the northwest Bay of Bengal during pre and post-monsoon seasons

Abstract

Distribution of Chlorophyll–a (Chl–a) in the north west Bay of Bengal during pre-monsoon (4-15th and 21-28th March) and post-monsoon (5-12th and 13-19th October) seasons of 2000 has been reported from MODIS. These are compared with the in situ measurements in the coastal waters off Orissa and Andhra Coast, India. The influence of East India Coastal Current (EICC) which flows equatorward during October – December and poleward during Feb – May is seen in the distribution of Chl–a. Large errors are noticed between the observed and satellite estimations particularly off river mouths, during both the seasons. From the few available in situ measurements, it appears that there is a need to improve the algorithms to retrieve Chl–a off the river mouths along the east coast of India.