Investigation of Water Circulation And Temperature Effect In Indian Ocean By Perturbation Method

The tropical Indian Ocean forms the major part of the largest warm pool on Earth, and its interaction with the atmosphere plays an important role in shaping climate on both regional and global scales. Three dimensional temperature and velocity fields are calculated analytically for an ocean forced by wind stress and surface heat flux. A basic thermal state involving a balance of lateral and vertical heat diffusion is assumed.  The wind stress is chosen such that a tropical mass transport gyre is generated. An effect of nonlinear heat advection is calculated by a perturbation method. This circulation is closed through thin up and downwelling layers at the sides. Superimposed there is a barotropic wind driven circulation, with a transport field of the type described by Munk. The interior temperature field to the next order is affected not only by interior heat advection but by heat advection in the Ekman layer, in the up and downwelling layers and in the main western boundary current. We have compared Sepherical and Cartesian computational results.

Keywords:

perturbation method , heat advection , ocean circulation