Evolution and collapse of Arabian Sea warm pool during two contrasting monsoons 2002 and 2003

Abstract

During the month of April - May, the Sea Surface Temperature (SST) over the South East Arabian Sea (SEAS) attains a maximum over 30° C or more (warmest in the world ocean), called the Arabian Sea warm pool. The warming continues throughout the pre-monsoon period and collapses with the onset of southwest monsoon. The warm pool location is very important in the sense that over this part of the Arabian Sea, the monsoon onset vortex normally forms. One of the objectives of the Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment (ARMEX) is to understand the mechanism responsible for the evolution and collapse of warm pool. The contrasting monsoon years (2002 and 2003) and the coincidental ARMEX observations during these years give a unique opportunity to understand how the ocean during this period responded to the local and remote forcing. A three-dimensional ocean model of the North Indian Ocean (NIO) is used to simulate temperature over the Arabian Sea warm pool region and detailed analysis is performed especially during the evolution and collapse of the warm pool. The model could successfully simulate the observed inter-annual differences using Quikscat wind fields.