Numerical modelling of salinity variations due to wind and thermohaline forcing in the Persian Gulf

Abstract

Salinity is an important component of the marine system. Due to shallow nature of the Persian Gulf, the salinity has been influenced by both wind driven and surface thermohaline fluxes (heat and moisture fluxes). In this study, the seasonal distribution of salinity and its variations due to wind stress and thermohaline forcing are investigated by using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model, Coupled Hydrodynamical–Ecological Model for Regional and Shelf Seas (COHERENS). The simulation results show that the salinity in the Persian Gulf experiences dramatic spatial and temporal variations. The influence of the thermohaline forcing is considerably more than the wind stress on the salinity. The effect of the surface thermohaline fluxes over the salinity field is generally to increase the salinity for almost all the water column during the year. This effect is high during September–November where the evaporative surface salinity flux dominates over inflow of low-salinity values of Indian Ocean Surface Water. The wind forcing at the most regions of the Persian Gulf, in particular at the United Arab Emirate (UAE) coast and Bahrain–Qatar shelf, freshens the water all the year round. The wind and thermohaline forcing in March–June have strong potential to generate stratification in salinity structure. The model predictions, which are successful in simulating many features of observed pattern, indicate that the surface water of the Gulf is saltier in winter than that in spring and early summer. Both heat fluxes and wind stress play an important role for this seasonal cycle of the surface salinity.