Evaporation over the Arabian Sea during two contrasting monsoons

Abstract

Monthly mean surface fields of different meteorological parameters and evaporation are studied for the 1979 (poor monsoon) and 1983 (good monsoon) monsoon seasons over the Arabian Sea, in order to understand the role of evaporation on the Indian monsoon rainfall. It is noticed that in general, the sea surface temperatures are higher in 1983 throughout the monsoon season than in 1979 in the Arabian Sea excepting western region. The mean rates of evaporation on a seasonal scale are found to be equal in both years (3.66 x 10 super(10) tons/day in 1979 and 1983, respectively). No coherence is observed between the evaporation and the west coast rainfall within a season. It is also noted that the pressure distribution over the Arabian Sea is even important to advect the moisture towards the west coast of India, through winds