Early Student Support: Effects of Freshwater on Air-Sea Heat Fluxes in the Bay of Bengal
Abstract
The proposal is to support Gualtiero Spiro Jaeger, a Ph.D. student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Physical Oceanography. Gualtiero will participate in ASIRI observational analysis from cruises that were part of the ASIRI DRI. The research complements the science objectives of the ASIRI and NASCar DRIs and will examine the role of the SST and SSS in prohibiting mixing and lateral exchange of heat fluxes. The South Asian Monsoon, which brings rain to a large part of the Indian subcontinent, is strongly modulated by the air-sea fluxes of heat and moisture from the oceans. Our objective is to understand the relationship and feedbacks between the temperature-salinity structure of the upper ocean, which is strongly influenced by freshwater inputs, and air-sea interactions in the Bay of Bengal. We hypothesize that surface freshwater from runoff and rain acts as a barrier to heat loss from the ocean in the winter, affecting sea surface temperature (SST) and the release of heat to the atmosphere. In the summer, surface freshwater inhibits vertical mixing and amplifies the SST response to incoming solar radiation. Here, we will use observations and modeling to gain a process understanding of how the freshwater-influenced density structure of the upper ocean is affected by (and affects) SST and the longwave and latent heat fluxes. The proposal is to support and mentor Gualtiero Spiro Jaeger, a Ph.D. student in the MIT/WHOI Joint Program in Physical Oceanography. Gualtiero has completed his qualifying exam and is in the 3rd year of the Joint Program in Physical Oceanography. He has participated in two ASIRI cruises in the Bay of Bengal (June 2014 and August 2015). Observations being made as part of the ASIRI DRI will form the core of Gualtiero’s Ph.D. research, and will be interpreted using process modeling. The research complements the science objectives of the ASIRI and NASCar DRIs.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 23, 2016
- Source ID
- N000141612470
Entities
People
- Amala Mahadevan
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution