Demonstrating the potential of regional ocean model system in simulating the upper ocean characteristic over the Arabian Sea: impact of horizontal resolution

• Published in: Theoretical and applied climatology 2022-04, Vol.148 (1-2), p.427-439
• Main Authors: Kushwaha, Prabha, Pandey, Vivek Kumar
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Analysis; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Atmospheric Sciences; Boundary currents; Climate science; Climatology; Earth and Environmental Science; Earth Sciences; Equatorial currents; Ocean; Ocean currents; Ocean models; Oceans; Original Paper; Properties; Resolution; Salinity; Salinity effects; Sea currents; Sea surface; Sea surface temperature; Seasonal variability; Seasonal variation; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Spatial distribution; Summer monsoon; Surface currents; Surface salinity; Surface temperature; Temporal distribution; Upper ocean; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control
• ISSN: 0177-798X; 1434-4483
• DOI: 10.1007/s00704-022-03934-8

This study intended to demonstrate the capability of the regional ocean model system (ROMS) in reproducing the Arabian Sea’s hydrographic properties (AS). The effect of the horizontal resolution is also explored. The ROMS is integrated over Arabian Sea (AS) for 10 years, encompassing 30 E–80 E and 5 N–30 N at two distinct horizontal resolutions of 1/6 (17 km) and 1/4 (25 km). The results obtained from both simulations show reasonable resemblances to observation and reanalysis in reproducing the spatiotemporal distribution of surface as well as subsurface hydrographic properties such as sea surface temperature (SST), sea surface salinity (SSS), sea surface currents, and subsurface temperature and salinity. The study shows that the variability is governed by annual and seasonal high-resolution setup, which shows better performance for both seasons. The latitude depth plot at 70° E shows the subsurface variability over the AS. The seasonal variability of the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) is dominated by westward north equatorial current and southward moving currents, which are confined to the boundary currents, where basin circulation is generally observed. The increasing resolution shows minimal improvement for AS characteristics on the climatological scale, indicating that it is not always guaranteed to enhance the performance towards increasing horizontal resolution for every aspect.