SST Control by Subsurface Mixing during Indian Ocean Monsoons: 1-yr Pilot Project.

摘要

Our objectives are to: (1) quantify the variability in upper ocean mixing associated with changes in barrier layer thickness and strength across the BoB and under different forcing conditions; (2) quantify the subsurface heat flux divergence across the thermocline and through the barrier layer that contributes to changes in SST; and (3) contrast barrier layer character (e.g., maintenance, turbulent mixing, strength) associated with relatively weak but uniform freshwater pools (e.g., originating from distant storms and/or riverine sources) to that of strong, patchy pools created through local precipitation. Our long-term goals are: to better understand the dynamics, including internal wave interactions, governing the fate of freshwater input into the Bay of Bengal, feedbacks between salt-stratification and heat flux, and the role these processes play in maintaining the barrier layer and affecting SST, and to provide the observational basis and physical interpretation for new mixing parameterizations that will contribute to improved monsoon predictions in this sensitive part of the global ocean.