PDFArticle Abstract
With a focus on the Bay of Bengal, models ranging from a 1/12.5° global ocean model to a ¼° regional Indian Ocean model to a 2 km local high-resolution coupled model are used to simulate salinity exchanges in the Indian Ocean. Global Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model simulations show a surprisingly large persistent flow of high-salinity water from the equatorial Indian Ocean into the Bay of Bengal during the northeast monsoon, although it is weaker than during the southwest monsoon. On average, salt is transported into the Bay of Bengal between 83°E and 95°E, and low-salinity water flows southward near the east coast of Sri Lanka and east of 95°E. The Regional Ocean Modeling System shows that knowledge of river input of freshwater is essential for modeling surface salinities correctly in the Bay of Bengal. High-resolution coupled model simulations are in agreement with recent observations and show that a strong subsurface current with a speed of about 1 m s–1 intrudes into the Bay of Bengal beneath southward-flowing low-salinity water during the northeast monsoon. The subsurface high-salinity water, which originates in the northern Arabian Sea, spreads northward into the Bay of Bengal and downward along constant density surfaces. North of 10°N, the model simulation implies that mixing takes place on density surfaces at depths of 100–150 m after advection of cold, low-salinity water from the north, and subsequent stirring of the two water masses. Vertical diffusion plays an insignificant role in this mixing.