articleJournal of ClimateApr 1, 2002BRONZE OA

Structure and Mechanisms of South Indian Ocean Climate Variability*

SXShang‐Ping XieHAH. AnnamalaiFSFriedrich SchottJPJulian P. McCreary

University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa · Kiel University

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Abstract

A unique open-ocean upwelling exists in the tropical South Indian Ocean (SIO), a result of the negative wind curl between the southeasterly trades and equatorial westerlies, raising the thermocline in the west. Analysis of in situ measurements and a model-assimilated dataset reveals a strong influence of subsurface thermocline variability on sea surface temperature (SST) in this upwelling zone. El Nin o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is found to be the dominant forcing for the SIO thermocline variability, with SST variability off Sumatra, Indonesia, also making a significant contribution. When either an El Nin o or Sumatra cooling event takes place, anomalous easterlies appear in the equatorial Indian Ocean,…

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Topics & keywords

Topics
Keywords
  • Thermocline
  • Rossby wave
  • Climatology
  • Downwelling
  • Geology
  • Sea surface temperature
  • Upwelling
  • Indian Ocean Dipole
UN Sustainable Development Goals
  • Life below water
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