• SIMI MATHEW

Articles written in Journal of Earth System Science

• Comparison of AMSR-2 wind speed and sea surface temperature with moored buoy observations over the Northern Indian Ocean

The Northern Indian Ocean (NIO) is unique due to seasonal reversal of wind patterns, the formation of vortices and eddies which make satellite observations arduous. The veracity of sea surface wind (SSW) and sea surface temperature (SST) products of sun-synchronous AMSR-2 satellite are compared with high-temporal moored buoy observations over the NIO. The two year-long (2013–2014) comparisons reveal that the root-mean-square-error (RMSE) of AMSR-2 SST and SSW is <0.4◦C and <1.5 ms⁻¹, respectively, which are within the error range prescribed for the AMSR-2 satellite (±0.8◦C, ±1.5 ms⁻¹). The SST–wind relation is analyzed using data both from the buoy and satellite. As a result, the low- SST is associated with low-wind condition (positive slope) in the northern part of the Bay of Bengal (BoB), while low SST values are associated with high wind conditions (negative slope) over the southern BoB. Moreover, the AMSR-2 displayed larger slope for SST–wind relation and could be mainly due to overestimation of SST and underestimation of wind as compared to the buoy. The AMSR-2 SSW exhibited higher error during post-monsoon followed by monsoon season and could be attributed to the high wind conditions associated with intense oceanic vortices. The study suggests that the AMSR-2 products are reliable and can be used in tropical air–sea interactions, meso-scale features, and weather and climate studies.

• Latent heat Cux variation during the warming phase of intraseasonal oscillations over northern Bay of Bengal

The sensitivity of latent heat flux to the warming phase of intra-seasonal oscillation in the Bay of Bengal is studied with the help of in-situ data. This was analyzed from 2012 to 2015 with the help of data obtained from moored buoys deployed in the northern Bay of Bengal. The annual secondary peaks in sea surface temperature is observed in the northern Bay of Bengal associated with the warming phase of the intra-seasonal oscillation during southwest monsoon season, with net heat flux dominantly governing the mixed layer temperature. An increase in the release of latent heat flux from the northern bay is observed with the warming phase of intra-seasonal oscillation, which again leads to cooling of sea surface temperature. Higher latent heat flux release associated with the intra-seasonal warming phase during southwest monsoon season has intrigued us to study the sensitivity of latent heat flux with sea surface temperature. The sensitivity of gradient in saturation specific humidity is comparatively higher than the sensitivity of wind speed to sea surface temperature variations during southwest monsoon season. The gradient in sea–air saturation specific humidity is largely driven by saturation specific humidity of air ($Q_{a}$) during both the seasons. However, the correlation of gradient in saturation specific humidity with surface saturation specific humidity is higher during southwest monsoon season compared to northeast monsoon season. Thus, the warming phase of sea surface temperature associated with intra-seasonal oscillation during southwest monsoon season always lead to an increase in latent heat flux release, favoured by high sensitivity of surface saturation specific humidity to variations in sea surface temperature.

• # Journal of Earth System Science

Volume 129, 2020
All articles
Continuous Article Publishing mode

• # Editorial Note on Continuous Article Publication

Posted on July 25, 2019