The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling

Abstract By combining volume transport and salinity analysis from 1958 to 2014, this paper investigates how the transient Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) sustains the summer‐fall equatorial eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) upwelling. On seasonal time scales, the EIO upwelling is mainly supplied by the salty...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Gengxin Chen, Weiqing Han, Yeqiang Shu, Yuanlong Li, Dongxiao Wang, Qiang Xie
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2016-06-01
Series:Geophysical Research Letters
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069433
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849725671445626880
author Gengxin Chen
Weiqing Han
Yeqiang Shu
Yuanlong Li
Dongxiao Wang
Qiang Xie
author_facet Gengxin Chen
Weiqing Han
Yeqiang Shu
Yuanlong Li
Dongxiao Wang
Qiang Xie
author_sort Gengxin Chen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract By combining volume transport and salinity analysis from 1958 to 2014, this paper investigates how the transient Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) sustains the summer‐fall equatorial eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) upwelling. On seasonal time scales, the EIO upwelling is mainly supplied by the salty water from the western basin through a buffering process: The winter‐spring EUC carries the salty water from the western basin eastward, induces downwelling in the EIO, and pushes portion of the salty water below the central thermocline, which subsequently upwells to the central thermocline during summer‐fall and sustains the EIO upwelling. On interannual time scales, enhanced upwelling occurs during positive Indian Ocean Dipole (+IOD) years. The strong summer‐fall EUC associated with the +IOD supplies water for the intensified upwelling. This research provides new knowledge for basin‐scale mass and property exchanges associated with the EIO upwelling, contributing to our understanding of three‐dimensional ocean circulation and climate variability.
format Article
id doaj-art-5a58df1a29934da18214016efdec9c86
institution DOAJ
issn 0094-8276
1944-8007
language English
publishDate 2016-06-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Geophysical Research Letters
spelling doaj-art-5a58df1a29934da18214016efdec9c862025-08-20T03:10:24ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072016-06-0143126444645110.1002/2016GL069433The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwellingGengxin Chen0Weiqing Han1Yeqiang Shu2Yuanlong Li3Dongxiao Wang4Qiang Xie5State Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Colorado USAState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaDepartment of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences University of Colorado Boulder Colorado USAState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaState Key Laboratory of Tropical Oceanography, South China Sea Institute of Oceanology Chinese Academy of Sciences Guangzhou ChinaAbstract By combining volume transport and salinity analysis from 1958 to 2014, this paper investigates how the transient Equatorial Undercurrent (EUC) sustains the summer‐fall equatorial eastern Indian Ocean (EIO) upwelling. On seasonal time scales, the EIO upwelling is mainly supplied by the salty water from the western basin through a buffering process: The winter‐spring EUC carries the salty water from the western basin eastward, induces downwelling in the EIO, and pushes portion of the salty water below the central thermocline, which subsequently upwells to the central thermocline during summer‐fall and sustains the EIO upwelling. On interannual time scales, enhanced upwelling occurs during positive Indian Ocean Dipole (+IOD) years. The strong summer‐fall EUC associated with the +IOD supplies water for the intensified upwelling. This research provides new knowledge for basin‐scale mass and property exchanges associated with the EIO upwelling, contributing to our understanding of three‐dimensional ocean circulation and climate variability.https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069433Eastern Indian OceanEquatorial Undercurrentupwelling
spellingShingle Gengxin Chen
Weiqing Han
Yeqiang Shu
Yuanlong Li
Dongxiao Wang
Qiang Xie
The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
Geophysical Research Letters
Eastern Indian Ocean
Equatorial Undercurrent
upwelling
title The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
title_full The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
title_fullStr The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
title_full_unstemmed The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
title_short The role of Equatorial Undercurrent in sustaining the Eastern Indian Ocean upwelling
title_sort role of equatorial undercurrent in sustaining the eastern indian ocean upwelling
topic Eastern Indian Ocean
Equatorial Undercurrent
upwelling
url https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL069433
work_keys_str_mv AT gengxinchen theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT weiqinghan theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT yeqiangshu theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT yuanlongli theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT dongxiaowang theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT qiangxie theroleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT gengxinchen roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT weiqinghan roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT yeqiangshu roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT yuanlongli roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT dongxiaowang roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling
AT qiangxie roleofequatorialundercurrentinsustainingtheeasternindianoceanupwelling