Observed Buildup and Collapse of Warm Pool in the Eastern Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal from Moored Buoy SST Records during 1998–2008

Abstract

The observed nature of buildup and collapse of warm pool in the eastern Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal is examined with help of sea surface temperature (SST) data collected by NIOT buoy network during the period 1998–2008. During the buildup phase, the SSTs showed a progressive increase in both the eastern Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. During this phase, the amplitudes of the diurnal oscillations of SST are relatively larger in the Bay of Bengal compared to those in the Arabian Sea. During the collapse phase, the SST cooling was dramatic in the eastern Arabian Sean caused by the monsoon onset vortex. Relatively larger amplitude intraseasonal oscillations are seen only in the Bay of Bengal and off the southwest coast of India during the collapse phase.