Abstract
In this work, we present a study of the horizontal mixing properties in the North Indian Ocean using finite size Lyapunov exponents (FSLE) analysis generated using numerical ocean model simulated surface velocity fields. The period of analysis in this study is from December 2016 to 2020. Sensitivity of FSLE fields with respect to the final relative dispersion distance suggest that the FSLE features are optimally resolved when the distance is set at 110 km. Based on mixing activities inferred from the annual mean of backward and forward FSLE (bFSLE and fFSLE) fields, few sub-domains are selected in the western, southeastern Arabian Sea and in the Bay of Bengal. An investigation of links between satellite derived chlorophyll concentration and biological activity is done in the selected subregions and relation between surface horizontal stirring and chlorophyll standing stocks is also studied. Seasonal and interannual variations of bFSLEs field are analyzed to study the mixing characteristics of ocean on these time scales. Further, co-variability between FSLE field structure and chlorophyll-field structure is also studied. The current study is useful to understand the relationship between the horizontal mixing and chlorophyll concentration.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express their sincere gratitude to the Director, Space Applications Centre for motivation. They are also indebted to the Deputy Director, Earth Ocean Atmosphere Planetary Sciences and Applications Area, to the Group Director, Signal and Image Processing Group, and to the Division Head, Optical Data Processing Division for useful comments and discussions. Velocity field data and chlorophyll concentrations used in the work are taken from https://resources.marine.copernicus.eu/?option=com_csw&task=results and https://oceancolor.gsfc.nasa.gov/, respectively.
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Kumar, J., Choudhary, R.K., Mathur, M. et al. A Study of Mixing and Biological Activity in the North Indian Ocean Using Finite Size Lyapunov Exponents. J Indian Soc Remote Sens 51, 395–403 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-022-01564-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-022-01564-1