Dynamics of Summer Monsoon Current around Sri Lanka

Abstract

Summer monsoon current (SMC) in the north Indian Ocean (NIO) is an open ocean current that flows eastward and enter into Bay of Bengal (BoB) during southwest monsoon (June–September). South of Sri Lanka, the SMC turns north-eastward instead of following eastward course and feeds into the BoB. Understanding the dynamics of SMC is crucial to understanding the interaction between Arabian sea (AS) and BoB. In the year 2009, the current moved north-eastward, meandered and then finally terminated into the southeast BoB. The northward bend of the current southeast of Sri Lanka has been attributed to the interaction of the eastward SMC with Rossby waves radiated from eastern boundary. An anticyclonic vortex formed right of the north-eastward meandering current which was associated with significantly high speeds. Reasons behind the unusually high speeds of SMC in this region remain unknown. Processes involved in the interaction of eddies with eastward SMC, the meandering of the current and its ultimate termination in southeast BoB are also not understood.

Our study investigates the evolution, intensfication and meandering of SMC around Sri Lanka using an Indian Ocean general circulation model (MOM4p1) simulation for the year 2009. The model simulation, when compared with observational data OSCAR, showed good agreement. The study also explores the role of local and remote forcing in modulating the dynamics of SMC in the region.

An eddy kinetic energy budget analysis for the region was performed which indicates the region to be a zone of significant eddy activity. Both barotropic, baroclinic instabilities were found to be the dominant mechanisms behind the generation of eddies. Based on eddy energetic analysis, the evolution of SMC was classified into stages

i

ii

of onset, intensification, anticyclonic bend, anticyclonic vortices formation and meandering.

Effect of eddies on mean flow were studied with the help of a transformed Eulerian mean (TEM) approach under quasi-geostrophic approximation. Eddy potential vorticity fluxes appearing in the TEM momentum equation and eddy enstrophy decay, divergence of eddy enstrophy advection from eddy enstrophy equation, helped to un-derstand when, where and how the eddies tended to drive the mean flow. Rossby waves and other westward propagating eddies arriving from the east, energise the SMC in June and induce an acceleration tendency on the mean flow through regions associated with upgradient eddy potential vorticity flux.

In addition to the eddies, local winds also play a crucial role in driving the mean flow. Wind power, surface mean ocean kinetic energy and available potential energy (APE) were computed, integrated over the region of interest and compared to each other. The effect of local winds appear to be predominant in driving the mean flows as it not only increases the surface mean kinetic energy of the SMC but also raises the isopycnals and builds up large amount of APE in the ocean. Baroclinic instability takes place in late July and early August associated with the release of APE which flattens the isopycnals and thus weakens the SMC. Consequently the SMC meanders in course of time and flows into southeast BoB.