Features and mechanisms of sea surface salinity intraseasonal variability in the Northern Bay of Bengal

Abstract

In response to abundant freshwater input from rainfall and river discharge, the northern Bay of Bengal (BoB) is featured by low sea surface salinity (SSS) and strong intraseasonal variability (ISV). This study investigates the characteristic and dynamic mechanisms of SSS ISV in the northern BoB based on satellite observations and the output of Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). The strong SSS ISV is mainly concentrated near the mouth of the Ganges–Brahmaputra River and along the east coast of India, where the horizontal salinity gradient varies greatly. SSS ISV in the northern BoB is notably in phase with freshwater transport, which peaks from July to November. The contribution of riverine freshwater is significant both geographically and temporally. The SSS budget analysis indicates that the horizontal advection plays a dominant role in SSS ISV. Once currents cross the salinity field, large horizontal advection anomalies become important and favor SSS ISV. Altered SSS patterns can impact water density, potentially influencing the strength and direction of currents. This, in turn, may have cascading effects on local and regional climate patterns.