The variation of surface heat fluxes during Arabian Sea monsoon experiment

Abstract

Direct measurement of radiative fluxes on board ORV Sagar Kanya were made during Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) phases I & II for a total of 120 days. The variation of surface heat fluxes has been studied in this article. Negative values of net heat flux are predominant during the active phase of monsoon. The incoming short wave radiation is minimum on 3 August 2002 and on 8 June 2003 in association with heavy rainfall. The SST is 2° C higher during Warm Pool Experiment (WPE) (ARMEX-II 2003) than Offshore Trough Experiment (OSTE)-ARMEX-2002. Also, the mean SST is 2.4° C higher during WPE than OSTE in June. During OSTE, SST is showing negative correlation (- 0.75) with wind speed and positive correlation (0.52 and 0.48) with latent heat and net heat fluxes respectively. Where as during WPE, the SST is having a positive correlation (0.74) with wind speed and a negative correlation with latent heat flux (- 0.42) and net heat flux (- 0.48). During WPE, advection is strong than the vertical net heat flux. The mean net heat flux is positive during March, April and May and is negative during June, July and August during the OSTE as well as WPE.