Role of external forcing on the seasonal and interannual variability of mixed layer depth over the Bay of Bengal using reanalysis datasets during 1980–2015

Abstract

The monsoon reversal winds in different seasons and high influx of freshwater from various rivers make the Bay of Bengal (BoB) a unique region. Thus, the knowledge of the dynamics of the mixed layer over this region is very important to assess the climatic variation of the Indian subcontinent. A comprehensive study of the role of external forcing on the seasonal and interannual mixed layer depth (MLD) variability over the BoB is carried out for 36 years (1980–2015) using reanalysis products. A weak and strong seasonality of MLD is observed over the northern and the southern BoB (NBoB and SBoB) respectively. The partial correlation suggests that the net heat flux (Qnet) is the major contributor to the deepening of MLD over the NBoB, whereas the wind stress controls the deepening over the SBoB. The seasonal variability reveals the deepening of MLD during summer and winter monsoon and the shallowing during pre- and post-monsoon over the BoB. The relation of the interannual MLD variability and the different phases of the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) reveals that the negative phase of IOD is associated with deeper MLD over BoB while the positive phase of IOD depicts shallower MLD. In addition, the opposing characteristic of MLD is highly prominent during October-December. This is majorly contributed by variations related to the second downwelling Kelvin and associated Rossby waves over BoB for the opposing phases of the IOD years.