Two decades of operating the Indian moored buoy network: significance and impact

Abstract

ABSTRACTOcean–atmosphere interactions in the North Indian Ocean play a vital role in the onset, progression and withdrawal of the Indian monsoon. This paper describes the Ocean Observation System (OOS), an operational observational programme of the Earth System Science Organization and the National Institute of Ocean Technology (ESSO-NIOT) under India’s Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Since 1997 it has provided oceanographic and surface meteorological data in real time for weather forecasting, climate research and several other applications. The programme focuses on understanding the phenomenon of the mean seasonal cycle of the Indian monsoon, the intra-seasonal to intra-decadal oscillations of air–sea interactions, trends that are related to tropical cyclones and the annual cycle balance in the exchange of waters between the two limbs of North Indian Ocean, i.e. the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. In situ observations are also used to develop, initialise and validate regional forecast models that provide high resolution data. There is also a growing need to understand the spatial phenomenon of oceans using satellite observations, wherein the quality of data needs to be validated and verified carefully. This paper also provides an overview of the scientific and societal impact of the Indian moored buoy network over two decades of operation.