Observation and Modeling of Low Saline Water Flow through Gulf of Mannar during December 2016

Abstract

Anand, P.; Anubhav, C.A., and Albert, P.I., 2020. Observation and modeling of low saline water flow through Gulf of Mannar during December 2016. In: Sheela Nair, L.; Prakash, T.N.; Padmalal, D., and Kumar Seelam, J. (eds.), Oceanic and Coastal Processes of the Indian Seas. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 89, pp. 20-25. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.Indian Ocean is unique as it features the reversal of currents in relation to the monsoonal winds. During the north-east monsoon season (November-February), the East Indian Coastal Current (EICC) is known to flow round Srilanka into the South Eastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) which transports low saline waters from the Bay of Bengal (BoB). Till now, due to lack of observational data along the Gulf of Mannar (GoM), it is not evident, whether part of the water that flows from BoB is passing through the Palk Strait/Bay and GoM to reach SEAS. There are two schools of thought existing, one is that, the flow exists through this passage. Efforts have been made to prove this using simulation studies. The second thought is that the Pamban Pass as well as the Adam's Bridge act as barriers for this passage of water. To study the subject in detail, CTD observations during December 2016 along GoM and west coast of India are utilized. Analysis shows that, the surface waters along transect of GoM is lower in salinity (33 psu) than that of SEAS (34 psu) with the lowest surface salinity along the easternmost transect. Different case studies, carried out using high resolution (10 km) Princeton Ocean Model (POM), suggested that the flow exists through the GoM. The signature of low saline water (33.2 psu) in this region is also well matched with that of the observations. The study concludes that, the flow through the Palk Bay/Strait and GoM have a distinct role in bringing the water from the Bay to SEAS.