Characterization of the Seasonal Circulation Patterns and Its Application on Oil Spill Transport in the Northwestern Continental Shelf of India

We implemented the Princeton Ocean Model to study the seasonal circulation patterns in the Gulf of Khambhat and surrounding oceans on the northwestern continental shelf of India. Simulated currents are used in General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment to track a past oil spill event in this regi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Marine geodesy 2015-07, Vol.38 (3), p.241-260
Main Authors: Salim, M., Nayak, R.K., Mohanthy, P.C., Sasamal, S.K., Dadhwal, V.K., Dutt, C.B.S., Rao, M.S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chlorophyll
Circulation
coastal circulation
Computer simulation
Continental shelves
Gulfs
Keywords tides
Marine
Mathematical models
Monsoons
Oceans
oil spill
Oil spills
SAR
Seasons
shelf circulation
Simulation
Southwest
Synthetic aperture radar
west coast of India
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Summary:We implemented the Princeton Ocean Model to study the seasonal circulation patterns in the Gulf of Khambhat and surrounding oceans on the northwestern continental shelf of India. Simulated currents are used in General NOAA Operational Modeling Environment to track a past oil spill event in this region. The model's performance is evaluated against the Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and in situ measurements. Mean currents, computed by subtracting tidal components from the simulated currents, are used together with satellite images of Chlorophyll-a to describe spatial patterns of the circulation. Mean-flow patterns inside the gulf are characterized with strong along-channel flow during southwest monsoon and spring seasons, which are weak during winter and autumn seasons. On the proximity of the gulf mouth currents are northwestward throughout the year except the southwest monsoon when the circulations are southwestward. Coastal boundary currents parallel to the 60 m isobath are prominent during the inter-monsoon and weak during the monsoon periods. Slope currents, near the shelf-break, are strong during southwest monsoon and spring periods. Numerical experiments suggest that ocean current is the main driver of the net transport of spilled oil in this region and other factors such as direct wind drift play negligible role.
ISSN:0149-0419
1521-060X
DOI:10.1080/01490419.2015.1008709