UPPER OCEAN RESPONSE TO THE HISTORICAL TROPICAL CYCLONE GONU IN THE GULF OF OMAN AND THE NORTHERN ARABIAN SEA

Tropical Cyclone Gonu (Figure 1) that affected the northern Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman in the early June 2007 was as intense as a category 5 hurricane and significantly affected ocean dynamics aspects of the region including waves [1], water level [2], sea surface temperature/salinity, and the oceanic mixed layer. In the present study, data of sea surface temperature from an optimally interpolated product are used along with the climatology data of water temperature vertical profiles and the cyclone wind filed to study and quantify the effect of Gonu on the upper water column dynamics including SST and the mixed layer depth (MLD).