Effect of seasonal barrier layer on mixed-layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal

Gayan Pathirana; Dongxiao Wang; Gengxin Chen; M. K. Abeyratne; Tilak Priyadarshana

doi:10.1007/s13131-021-1966-0

Volume 41 Issue 9

Aug. 2022

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Gayan Pathirana, Dongxiao Wang, Gengxin Chen, M. K. Abeyratne, Tilak Priyadarshana. Effect of seasonal barrier layer on mixed-layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2022, 41(9): 38-49. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1966-0

Citation:

Gayan Pathirana, Dongxiao Wang, Gengxin Chen, M. K. Abeyratne, Tilak Priyadarshana. Effect of seasonal barrier layer on mixed-layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal[J]. Acta Oceanologica Sinica, 2022, 41(9): 38-49. doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1966-0

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Effect of seasonal barrier layer on mixed-layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal

doi: 10.1007/s13131-021-1966-0

1.
State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
2.
Department of Oceanography and Marine Geology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, University of Ruhuna, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka
3.
Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou 511458, China
4.
School of Marine Sciences, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 519082, China
5.
Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510301, China
6.
Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, University of Ruhuna, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka
7.
Department of Limnology and Water Technology, Faculty of Fisheries and Marine Sciences & Technology, University of Ruhuna, Matara 81000, Sri Lanka

Funds: The Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract No. XDA 20060502; the National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract Nos 41976016, 42076021 and 41521005; the Key Special Project for Introduced Talents Team of Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory under contract No. GML2019ZD0306; the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under contract No. 2021A1515011534; the Grant for Innovation Academy of South China Sea Ecology and Environmental Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences under contract No. ISEE2021ZD01; the Grant for State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology under contract No. LTOZZ2002.

More Information

Corresponding author: Email: chengengxin@scsio.ac.cn
Received Date: 2021-08-01
Accepted Date: 2021-09-22

Available Online: 2022-04-18

Publish Date: 2022-08-31

Abstract

Abstract

Time series measurements (2010–2017) from the Research Moored Array for African–Asian–Australian Monsoon Analysis and Prediction (RAMA) moorings at 15°N, 90°E and 12°N, 90°E are used to investigate the effect of the seasonal barrier layer (BL) on the mixed-layer heat budget in the Bay of Bengal (BoB). The mixed-layer temperature tendency (∂T/∂t) is primarily controlled by the net surface heat flux that remains in the mixed layer (${Q}^{{'}}$) from March to October, while both ${Q}^{{'}}$ and the vertical heat flux at the base of the mixed layer ($ {Q}_{h} $), estimated as the residual of the mixed-layer heat budget, dominate during winter (November–February). An inverse relation is observed between the BL thickness and the mixed-layer temperature ($ \mathrm{M}\mathrm{L}\mathrm{T} $). Based on the estimations at the moorings, it is suggested that when the BL thickness is ≥25 m, it exerts a considerable influence on ∂T/∂t through the modulation of $ {Q}_{h} $ (warming) in the BoB. The cooling associated with $ {Q}_{h} $ is strongest when the BL thickness is ≤10 m with the $ \mathrm{M}\mathrm{L}\mathrm{T} $ exceeding 29°C, while the contribution from $ {Q}_{h} $ remains nearly zero when the BL thickness varies between 10 m and 25 m. Temperature inversion is evident in the BoB during winter when the BL thickness remains ≥25 m with an average MLT<28.5°C. Furthermore, $ {Q}_{h} $ follows the seasonal cycle of the BL at these RAMA mooring locations, with r>0.72 at the 95% significance level.
- barrier layer,
- vertical heat flux,
- temperature inversion,
- Bay of Bengal

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References(38)

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