Satellite Observations on Cyclone-Induced Upper Ocean Cooling and Modulation of Surface Winds—A Study on Tropical Ocean Region

Abstract

In this letter, we evaluate the relationships between the sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) and meteorological parameters over the Bay of Bengal region, India, using microwave satellite remote sensing data. Most of the cyclones in this region occur during the premonsoon period in April-June and are associated with SSTs greater than 26degC. We particularly analyzed the data from two recent cyclonic events: Mala that occurred in April 24, 2006 and Tropical Cyclone 01B (TC 01B) that occurred in May 11, 2003. We used two different remote sensing data sets, sea surface temperature (SST) from the Tropical Rainfall Measurement Mission and the NASA QuikSCAT ocean surface wind vectors to characterize the ocean-atmosphere interactions in cold SST regions formed in the trail of the aforementioned two cyclone events. The results from the satellite data analysis suggested the systematic weakening of wind speed over the cold patch, along the trail of the cyclone. A cooling of around 4deg-5deg was observed to be associated with the passage of cyclone Mala. Wind speed gradually increased from 2 to 9 m/s from the center to the boundary of the cold patch and showed good correlation with SST (r = 0.97). These observations have been validated with another cyclone data (TC 01B) over the Bay of Bengal region that occurred during May 2003. Our results were consistent with the Wallace hypothesis that SST modulates the surface winds via stability.