• Rashmi Sharma

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science

• Altimeter data assimilation in the tropical Indian Ocean using water property conserving scheme

Altimeter data have been assimilated in an ocean general circulation model using the water property conserving scheme. Two runs of the model have been conducted for the year 2004. In one of the runs, altimeter data have been assimilated sequentially, while in another run, assimilation has been suppressed. Assimilation has been restricted to the tropical Indian Ocean. An assessment of the strength of the scheme has been carried out by comparing the sea surface temperature (SST), simulated in the two runs, with in situ derived as well as remotely sensed observations of the same quantity. It has been found that the assimilation exhibits a significant positive impact on the simulation of SST. The subsurface effect of the assimilation could be judged by comparing the model simulated depth of the 20°C isotherm (hereafter referred to as D20), as a proxy of the thermocline depth, with the same quantity estimated from ARGO observations. In this case also, the impact is noteworthy. Effect on the dynamics has been judged by comparison of simulated surface current with observed current at a moored buoy location, and finally the impact on model sea level forecast in a free run after assimilation has been quantified in a representative example.

• Evaluation of OSCAR ocean surface current product in the tropical Indian Ocean using in situ data

The OSCAR (ocean surface current analysis real-time),which is a product derived from various satellite observations,has been evaluated in the tropical Indian Ocean (TIO)in two di ﬀerent ways.First,the OSCAR-derived monthly climatology has been compared with available drifter-derived climatology in the TIO.From the comparison of the two climatologies,one can infer that OSCAR product is able to capture the variabilities of the well-known surface current systems in the TIO reasonably well.Fourier analysis of the major current systems,as reproduced by OSCAR,shows that the dominant annual and semiannual periodicities,known to exist in these systems,have been faithfully picked up by OSCAR. Next,the evaluation has been carried out by comparing the OSCAR currents with currents measured by moored buoys.The zonal component of OSCAR-current is in good agreement with corresponding component of buoy-observed current with a correlation exceeding 0.7,while the match between the meridional components is poorer.The locations of the peaks of the mean and eddy kinetic energies are matching in both the climatologies,although the peak in the drifter climatology is stronger than the same in the OSCAR product.Finally,an important feature of Indian Ocean circulation,namely the reverse Wyrtki jet,occurring during anomalous dipole years,has been well-reproduced by OSCAR currents.

• Investigation of rip current processes along Visakhapatnam beaches, east coast of India: A study based on GNSS drifters and dye experiments

Rip currents are known as one of the most dangerous hazards on sandy beaches worldwide. Indian beaches are least explored to study the variability of rip currents in space and time. The present study is the first attempt made to understand its dynamics by utilizing indigenously developed GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) drifters and Rhodamine-B dye experiments. The Rama Krishna (RK) and Rushikonda Beaches of Visakhapatnam are chosen for this study, due to a recorded number of rip current-related drowning cases observed during the past decade. Few experiments were conducted during pre- and post-monsoon seasons of 2018. Drifters work on the Lagrangian principle, where they measure the current velocities along their paths driven by the surface currents. Error analysis of drifter measurements showed that they are capable of resolving surf zone motions very accurately. Strong rip currents were observed in few locations in the study area, where at times current velocities reached ${\sim}$1 ms$^{-1}$. Also, Rhodamine-B dye was released into the rip current prone zones along with the drifters and observed that the dye patches also followed the drifters. From these experiments, it has been observed that the rip currents are relatively strong during the post-monsoon season, which could be due to the change in the beach morphology. Similar experiments with more number of drifters would help in understanding rip current dynamics and would help in reducing rip current drowning in the beaches.

$\bf{Highlights}$

$\bullet$ GNSS based drifters have been designed, developed and field-tested to measure rip currents in the surf zone.

$\bullet$ Post-Processing Kinematic (PPK) resulted in position estimates with centimeter level accuracy.

$\bullet$ The drifters are capable to resolve the surf zone motions more accurately in the order of greater than 0.02 ms$^{-1}$.

$\bullet$ Several drifter deployments and Rhodamine-B dye experiments were carried out at RK and Rushikonda Beaches to measure the dangerous rip currents and coastal currents.

• # Journal of Earth System Science

Volume 132, 2023
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019