Warmest Sea Surface Temperature Event in the South Eastern Arabian Sea over the Decade using Satellite and INS Sagardhwani Observations

Abstract

South Eastern Arabian Sea is well known for its prolonged and warmer sea surface temperature (>30 °C) events generally known as Arabian Sea mini warm pool occurring during the pre-monsoon periods (March-May). To study the intensity and spatial extent of the warm pool, ten years (2007-2016) of satellite-derived weekly averaged SST and in-situ data measured from INS Sagardhwani are used. The analysis is done based on the precondition ‘sea surface temperature > 30 °C’ and lasts more than a week. These analysis demonstrate the existence of a strong inter-annual variability. It is also identified that the sea surface temperature in the year 2016 is the hottest over the decade with maximum spatial coverage and prolonged period of occurrence. These anomalous events are also explained in terms of variabilities of the atmospheric water vapour and wind at the sea surface.