| The evolution of surface circulation, heat budget and processes at intermediate depth in the Indian Ocean are studied with a global version of the Miami Isopycnal Coordinate Model (MICOM). The model results are analyzed in conjunction with TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetry to detect the primary heat transport mechanisms in the Indian Ocean.; The air-sea interaction study done as part of the Indian Ocean Experiment (INDOEX) depicts considerable spatial and temporal variability in the marine atmospheric boundary layer. Air-sea fluxes depend not only on sea surface temperature and air mass characteristics but also on the variability in the thermal exchange coefficients. Analysis of turbulence data reveals that the thermal exchange coefficients are wind speed dependent.; The seasonal and interannual variability of model fields are analyzed in greater detail in four important regimes of the Indian Ocean. In the Somali current region, the subsurface processes play an important role in determining the upper-layer characteristics. The Monsoon Currents are semiannually reversing shallow but strong currents. In the equatorial regime the interannual variability in the Wyrtki Jet results from the variability in the eastward equatorial winds along the equator during the fall and spring intermonsoon periods. For most years, strengths of the zonal wind stress components along the equator and the Monsoon current regime, vary with the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) phenomenon, with weaker (stronger) winds during El Nino (La Nina). In the Indonesian Throughflow region, the transports are generally stronger (weaker) during years with La Nina (El Nino) events.; Estimates of the heat budget of the Indian Ocean computed using T/P SLA and MICOM are compared in order to look at the redistribution of heat in the Indian Ocean. In particular, the horizontal heat transport and heat storage are used because they typically change on time scales of months or years or longer, and are therefore a predictable element of the climate system. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)... |
