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An observational analysis of the evolution of a mesoscale anti-cyclonic eddy over the Northern Bay of Bengal during May–July 2014

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Abstract

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) is a distinct oceanic region for mesoscale oceanic eddies. The sea level anomaly from the Archiving, Validation, and Interpretation of Satellite Oceanographic (AVISO) help to identify an unusual anti-cyclonic eddy (ACE) over head BoB during May–July 2014. Two Indian moored buoys (BD08 and BD09) located over this region aided to study the subsurface thermohaline structures of the ACE. Compared to no-eddy environment, the temperature and salinity showed an increment of ~ 3–4 °C and ~ 1–2 PSU, respectively, during the ACE life period. The temperature and depth of the isothermal layer at genesis (peak) stages are increased to ~ 30 °C (~ 30.7 °C) and ~ 20 m (30 m) when compared with no-eddy conditions (28.2 °C and 10 m). The thermocline depth is deepened to 75 m at the peak stage, while it is 50 m in no-eddy condition. A temperature difference of 3 °C between no-eddy and peak stages of ACE is observed up to 50 m. The ocean heat content (OHC) at BD08 (BD09) during genesis and peak stages has increased by ~ 72% (~ 50%) and ~ 247% (~ 181%), respectively, when compared with no-eddy conditions. Moreover, the MOHC also shows a similar increment of ~ 125% (~ 123%) and ~ 258% (~ 284%), respectively. A noticeable influence is seen in turbulent fluxes and lower atmospheric variables during eddy life. This study highlights the capability of moored buoys in understanding the subsurface thermohaline features of the eddies over northern BoB.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank the Ministry of Earth Science (MoES), Govt. of India, New Delhi, for maintaining the moored buoy network over North Indian Ocean. The authors also acknowledge the Department of Space (DOS), Govt. of India, for providing the salient features of anti-cyclonic eddy. The authors also thank Dr. Jishad M, Scientist/Engineer in Space Application Centre (ISRO), for providing the eddy parameter product over the Bay of Bengal.

Funding

Financial support (ECR/2016/001637) was provided by SERB, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, and the financial support of ESSO, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, National Institute of Technology, Rourkela, Odisha, 769008, India

    Nanda Kishore Reddy Busireddy & Krishna K. Osuri

  2. Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services, Hyderabad, Telangana, 500090, India

    Sanikommu Sivareddy

  3. National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600100, India

    Ramasamy Venkatesan

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  1. Nanda Kishore Reddy Busireddy
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Correspondence to Krishna K. Osuri.

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Busireddy, N.K.R., Osuri, K.K., Sivareddy, S. et al. An observational analysis of the evolution of a mesoscale anti-cyclonic eddy over the Northern Bay of Bengal during May–July 2014. Ocean Dynamics 68, 1431–1441 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10236-018-1202-4

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