Spatiotemporal characteristics of water exchange between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

A high-resolution customized numerical model is used to analyze the water transport in the three major water passages between the Andaman Sea (AS) and the Bay of Bengal, i.e., the Preparis Channel (PC), the Ten Degree Channel (TDC), and the Great Channel (GC), based on the daily averaged simulation results ranging from 2010 to 2019. Spectral analysis and Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) methods are employed to investigate the spatiotemporal variability of the water exchange and controlling mechanisms. The results of model simulation indicate that the net average transports of the PC and GC, as well as their linear trend, are opposite to that of the TDC. This indicates that the PC and the GC are the main inflow channels of the AS, while the TDC is the main outflow channel of the AS. The transport variability is most pronounced at surface levels and between 100 m and 200 m depth, likely affected by monsoons and circulation. A 182.4-d semiannual variability is consistently seen in all three channels, which is also evident in their second principal components. Based on sea level anomalies and EOF analysis results, this is primarily due to equatorial winds during the monsoon transition period, causing eastward movement of Kelvin waves along the AS coast, thereby affecting the spatiotemporal characteristics of the flow in the AS. The first EOF of the PC flow field section shows a split at 100 m deep, likely due to topography. The first EOF of the TDC flow field section is steady but has potent seasonal oscillations in its time series. Meanwhile, the first EOF of the GC flow field section indicates a stable surface inflow, probably influenced by the equatorial Indian Ocean’s eastward current.