A prolonged high-salinity event in the northern Arabian sea during 2014-17

Yuhong Zhang, Yan Du, W. N.D.S. Jayarathna, Sun Qiwei, Ying Zhang, Yao Fengchao, Ming Feng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

A prolonged high-salinity event in the northern Arabian Sea, to the east of the Gulf of Oman, during 2014-17 was identified based on Argo datasets. The prolonged event was manifested as enhanced spreading of the surface Arabian Sea high-salinity water and the intermediate Persian Gulf water. We used satellite altimetric data and geostrophic current data to understand the oceanic processes and the salt budget associated with the high-salinity event. The results indicated that the strengthened high-salinity advection from the Gulf of Oman was one of the main causes of the salinity increase in the northern Arabian Sea. The changes of the seasonally dependent eddies near the mouth of the Gulf of Oman dominated the strengthened high-salinity advection during the event as compared with the previous 4-yr period: the westward shifted cyclonic eddy during early winter stretched to the remote western Gulf of Oman, which carried the higher-salinity water to the northern Arabian Sea along the south coast of the Gulf. An anomalous eddy dipole during early summer intensified the eastward Ras Al Hadd Jet and its high-salinity advection into the northern Arabian Sea. In addition, the weakened low-salinity advection by coastal currents along the Omani coast caused by the weakened south-west monsoon contributed to the maintenance of the high-salinity event. This prolonged high-salinity event reflects the upper-ocean responses to the monsoon change and may affect the regional hydrography and biogeochemistry extensively.
Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)849-865
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Physical Oceanography
Volume50
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 3 2020

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A prolonged high-salinity event in the northern Arabian sea during 2014-17'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this