Coastal and Submesoscale Process Studies for ASIRI

Our over-arching objective is to gain an understanding of upper ocean processes and air-sea interaction in the Bay of Bengal. This, in the long run, would contribute toward improving the intra-seasonal Monsoonal forecast in ocean-atmosphere coupled models. Several specific goals are listed below.1. To determine the upper ocean structure of temperature and salinity at different times of year, and to understand its relationship with air-sea fluxes of heat and moisture in the Bay of Bengal.2. To determine what processes control the surface temperature, the mixed layer depth, and the density stratificaiton in the Bay.3. To examine the influence of surface freshwater on the stratificaiton, submesoscale dynamics, and mixing.4. To examine the mechanisms by which the surface freshwater is dispersed.5. To determine how one-dimensional and three-dimensional mixing and advective processes in the upper ocean influence the upper ocean temperature and air-sea fluxes.6. Develop and foster collaboration with Indian scientists through ASIRI-OMM and offer training and educational opportunities as part of this collaboration.