Submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal

The unbalanced submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal(BoB)are investigated using outputs of the high resolution regional oceanic modeling system.Submesoscale motions in the forms of filaments and eddies are present in the upper mixed layer during the whole annual cycle.Submesoscale motions show an obvious seasonality,in which they are active during the winter and spring but weak during the summer and fall.Their seasonality is associated with the mixed layer instability that depends on the mixed layer depth(MLD).During the winter,the MLD provides a much greater reservoir of the available potential energy,which promotes mixed layer instability to develop active submesoscale motions.The variations of MLD are likely modulated by the larger scale motions and the influxes of freshwater.Further investigations imply that the MLD and the stratified barrier layer are combined to determine the vertical structure of the submesoscale motions.The shallow MLD and strong stratification below during the summer and fall seem to prevent the downward extension of submesoscale motions.But in spring when the weak stratification exists,the penetration depth exceeds the base of the barrier layer.