Impacts of the Red Sea and Persian Gulf on the Northern Indian Ocean in Numerical Simulations

Abstract

Warm saline water masses emanating from the Persian Gulf (PG) and the Red Sea (RS) spread across a large area of the northern Indian Ocean upper layers, affecting the thermocline stratification, the circulation, and the air-sea exchanges over the Arabian Sea (AS) and Bay of Bengal (BoB). To explore the significance of these waters, we use numerical simulations to investigate the impact of isolating (closing) the RS and PG. The results show that the differences between the model runs, with and without the RS and PG, have marked effects on the AS and BoB seasonal variability. As expected, the major differences are concentrated in the surface mixed layer and thermocline of the AS. However, differences are also found further east in the BoB, mainly during the boreal summer. Significant differences are present in the air-sea freshwater and heat fluxes calculated by the model. In addition to the seasonality, there are significant interannual variability, with possible correlation with the El Nino-Southern Oscillation. Results of the experiments suggest that the upwelling in the Sri Lanka Dome, in the southwestern Bay of Bengal, would have responded differently to the 2009-2010 El Niño-La Niña in the absence of PG and RS input.