Interannual Variability of the Dynamics and Thermodynamics of the Tropical Indian Ocean

Abstract

Interannual variability of the tropical Indian Ocean is studied with a reduced gravity, primitive equation, ocean general circulation model (OGCM). The OGCM is coupled to an atmospheric mixed layer model for surface heat flux computation. The seasonal simulation of sea surface temperatures (SST), current, and thermocline structures are in good agreement with observations and other models. The seasonal cycle of SST along the equator exhibits an eastward propagation with larger variability in the west. The interannual simulations are carried out over 1980–95 with interannual wind stresses and wind speeds but climatological data for solar radiation and cloudiness. The SST anomalies are smaller than 1°C over most of the basin and the leading EOF shows an ENSO-related warming. However, the correlation between the Southern Oscillation index and the time series of the leading EOF is only −0.51 and SST anomalies of similar magnitudes as an El Niño year appear in other years too. ENSO-related equatorial winds determine the SST anomalies along the coast of Sumatra and this anomaly in the eastern southern tropical Indian Ocean (STIO) is typically opposite in sign to the anomaly in the western STIO. The western STIO has some of the largest SSTA because of a shallow thermocline and the entrainment effects associated with wind stress curl anomalies in the region. The quasi-biennial oscillation in the thermocline and the SST gradient in the STIO is correlated with the Somali jet, which in turn is correlated with the Indian summer monsoon. An experiment with climatological wind stresses but interannual wind speeds demonstrates that the wind-driven variations in SST are larger than previously estimated with relaxation type heat fluxes. A parallel experiment with climatological wind speeds but interannual wind stresses shows that there are regions where heat fluxes contribute significantly to SST variability. Another simulation with interannual data for radiation and cloudiness shows that model simulation is affected significantly in some regions by the use of climatological data for solar radiation and cloudiness. A model experiment with an open eastern boundary provides a simplistic illustration of the effects of the Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). The main influence of the ITF is to warm the Indian Ocean and reduce the effect of upwelling on SST.