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Seasonality and interannual variability of particle-fluxes to the deep Arabian Sea

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

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Title Seasonality and interannual variability of particle-fluxes to the deep Arabian Sea
 
Creator Haake, B.
Ittekkot, V.
Rixen, T.
Ramaswamy, V.
Nair, R.R.
Curry, W.B.
 
Subject particulate flux
seasonal variations
annual variations
sediment analysis
surface temperature
 
Description Long-term sediment trap studies have been carried out since 1986 at three locations in the western, central and eastern Arabian Sea. Total and bulk component fluxes measured for 3 years at the central station and for 4 years at the western and eastern stations are presented. Particulate fluxes to the deep sea are controllEd. by the monsoons with generally higher fluxes during the SW and NE monsoons and lower fluxes during the intermonsoon periods. The increase of particle fluxes occurs simultaneously with a drop in surface water temperature, inducEd. by wind or convective-mixing and an associated entrainment of nutrients into the euphotic zone. More than 50% of the annual particle fluxes to the deep sea occurs during the SW monsoon at the western location due to the prolonged influence of the monsoonal upwelling as indicatEd. by increased biogenic carbonate and opal fluxes. However, the opal fluxes peak a month later than the carbonate fluxes. The delayed onset of opal flux peak appears to be controllEd. by the observed premonsoon silica distribution in the Arabian Sea, where the subsurface waters are silica depleted down to the thermocline at 150 m. At the central location particle fluxes are of similar magnitude during the SW and NE monsoons. The interannual variability of particle fluxes at the eastern location is determinEd. by the NE monsoon. At the western and central locations, on the other hand, maximum interannual variability of fluxes occurs during the SW monsoon and particle fluxes were higher during years of stronger SW monsoon. The results further suggest that, apart from monsoon strength, geographic shifts of the area of maximum wind-stress may produce significant variabilities in particle fluxes to the deep ocean at the western Arabian Sea site.
 
Date 2009-05-06T10:55:46Z
2009-05-06T10:55:46Z
1993
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Deep-Sea Research (I: Oceanographic Research Papers), Vol.40; 1323-1344p.
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/2870
 
Language en
 
Rights Copyright [1993]. All efforts have been made to respect the copyright to the best of our knowledge. Inadvertent omissions, if brought to our notice, stand for correction and withdrawal of document from this repository.
 
Publisher Pergamon