Effects of monsoon onset vortex on heat budget in the mixed layer of the Bay of Bengal

We investigated the effects of monsoon onset vortex(MOV)on the mixed layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal(BOB)in spring 2003 using the reanalysis datasets.The results suggest that the solar radiation flux penetrating the mixed layer and the existence of barrier layer are both able to modulate the effects of MOV on the evolution of sea surface temperature(SST)in the BOB.Prior to the formation of BOB MOV,the local SST raised quickly due to mass of solar radiation reaching the sea surface under the clear-sky condition.Meanwhile,since the mixed layer was shallow before the onset of the Asian summer monsoon(ASM),some solar radiation flux could penetrate to directly heat the deeper water,which partly offset the warming effect of shortwave radiation.On the other hand,the in-situ SST started to cool due to the upwelling of cold water when the MOV generated over the BOB,along with the rapidly increased surface wind speed and its resultant deeper mixed layer.As the MOV developed and moved northward,the SST tended to decrease remarkably because of the strong upward surface latent heat flux over the BOB ascribed to the wind-evaporation mechanism.However,the MOV-related precipitation brought more fresh water into the upper ocean to produce a thicker barrier layer,whose thermal barrier effect damped the cooling effect of entrainment upwelling on the decrease tendency of the BOB SST.In other words,the thermal barrier effect could slow down the decreasing trend of the BOB SST even after the onset of ASM,which facilitated the further enhancement of the MOV.

Sustained Decadal Warming Phase in the Southwestern Indian Ocean since the Mid-1990s

Regardless of the slowdown in global warming during the hiatus period, sea surface temperatures(SSTs) in the southwestern Indian Ocean(SWIO) have experienced sustained decadal warming for more than two decades since the mid-1990 s. The SWIO SSTs warmed steadily during 1996–2016, causing a warming hot spot of 0.4 K decade-1 in a large region east of Madagascar. An upper-layer heat budget analysis indicated that heat advection by ocean currents was the greatest contributor to the warming of the SWIO SSTs. The existence of an anticyclonic geostrophic current along the western boundary of the SWIO tended to maintain such warming by transporting warmer water from the west into the SWIO region. In addition, net positive heat transport by ocean currents also occurred at the southern boundary of the SWIO as the climatological northward transport of cold water from the Southern Ocean weakened. This reduction in northward ocean currents at the surface was caused by local wind stress changes, leading to a southward Ekman current. Below the surface, an anticyclonic geostrophic current pattern existed around the warming center near the southeastern SWIO, which reduced the transport of cold waters from the Southern Ocean and warmed the SWIO. These processes near the two boundaries formed a self-sustaining positive feedback mechanism and favored the maintenance of sustained warming in the SWIO. More attention is needed to analyze the sustained long-lasting warming in the SWIO, as it is a unique phenomenon occurring under the background of the ongoing global warming.