Characteristic study of the boundary layer parameters over the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal using the QuikSCAT dataset

Abstract

The marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL) plays a vital role in the transport of momentum and heat from the surface of the ocean into the atmosphere. A detailed study on the MABL characteristics was carried out using high-resolution surface-wind data as measured by the QuikSCAT (Quick scatterometer) satellite. Spatial variations in the surface wind, frictional velocity, roughness parameter and drag coefficient for the different seasons were studied. The surface wind was strong during the southwest monsoon season due to the modulation induced by the Low Level Jetstream. The drag coefficient was larger during this season, due to the strong winds and was lower during the winter months. The spatial variations in the frictional velocity over the seas was small during the post-monsoon season (∼0.2 m s−1). The maximum spatial variation in the frictional velocity was found over the south Arabian Sea (0.3 to 0.5 m s−1) during the southwest monsoon period, followed by the pre-monsoon over the Bay of Bengal (0.1 to 0.25 m s−1). The mean wind-stress curl during the winter was positive over the equatorial region, with a maximum value of 1.5×10−7 N m−3, but on either side of the equatorial belt, a negative wind-stress curl dominated. The area average of the frictional velocity and drag coefficient over the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal were also studied. The values of frictional velocity shows a variability that is similar to the intraseasonal oscillation (ISO) and this was confirmed via wavelet analysis. In the case of the drag coefficient, the prominent oscillations were ISO and quasi-biweekly mode (QBM). The interrelationship between the drag coefficient and the frictional velocity with wind speed in both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal was also studied.