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Variations in eastern Indian Ocean upper-ocean thermal properties are assessed for the period 1970–2004, with a particular focus on asymmetric features related to opposite phases of Indian Ocean dipole events, using high-resolution ocean model hindcasts. Sensitivity experiments, where interannual atmospheric forcing variability is restricted to the Indian or Pacific Ocean only, support the interpretation of forcing mechanisms for large-scale asymmetric behavior in eastern Indian Ocean variability. Years are classified according to eastern Indian Ocean subsurface heat content (HC) as proxy of thermocline variations. Years characterized by an anomalous lowHCfeature a zonal gradient in upper-ocean properties near the equator,while high events have a meridional gradient from the tropics into the subtropics. The spatial and temporal characteristics of the seasonal evolution of HC anomalies for the two cases is distinct, as is the relative contribution from Indian Ocean atmospheric forcing versus remote influences from Pacific wind forcing: low events develop rapidly during austral winter/spring in response to Indian Ocean wind forcing associated with an enhanced southeasterly monsoon driving coastal upwelling and a shoaling thermocline in the east; in contrast, formation of an anomalous high eastern Indian Ocean HC is more gradual, with anomalies earlier in the year expanding from the Indonesian Throughflow(ITF) region, initiated by remote Pacificwind forcing, and transmitted through the ITF via coastal wave dynamics. Implications for seasonal predictions arise with high HC events offering extended lead times for predicting thermocline variations and upper-ocean properties across the eastern Indian Ocean.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Research Division:	Earth Sciences
Research Group:	Oceanography
Research Field:	Oceanography not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Environmental Management
Objective Group:	Marine systems and management
Objective Field:	Measurement and assessment of marine water quality and condition
UTAS Author:	Meyers, GA (Professor Gary Meyers)
ID Code:	89598
Year Published:	2013
Web of Science® Times Cited:	20
Deposited By:	IMAS Research and Education Centre
Deposited On:	2014-03-07
Last Modified:	2014-06-30
Downloads:	0