Seasonal and intraseasonal modulation of near-inertial wind power associated with fluctuations in unidirectional wind speed in the Bay of Bengal

Abstract

This study examines the seasonal and intraseasonal modulation of near-inertial wind power associated with fluctuations in unidirectional wind speed in the Bay of Bengal (BoB). For that purpose, we use concurrent measurements of high-resolution in situ near-surface current and wind speed from six moorings in the BoB. It is found that the annual mean of near-inertial wind power in the BoB shows roughly similar magnitude (0.25–0.35 mW m⁻²) at all the mooring locations. However, in response to the seasonal evolution of monsoonal wind forcing, near-inertial wind power shows significant annual variability, with a maximum during summer (~ 0.4–0.5 mW m⁻²) and fall (~ 0.3–0.4 mW m⁻²) and a minimum during winter (~ 0.1 mW m⁻²) and spring (~ 0.2 mW m⁻²). In addition, it is also found that modulation of near-inertial wind power due to summer monsoon intraseasonal oscillation (MISO), such as its magnitude, reaches as large as ~ 1 mW m⁻² at the mooring in the northern BoB during phases 3–4 of MISO. Using a high vertical resolution of current profile data, the near-inertial kinetic energy (NIKE) budget in the mixed layer in the northern BoB shows good temporal correspondence with the magnitude of the rate of change of NIKE and near-inertial wind power, with a maximum magnitude of the rate of change of NIKE lags the wind power by 24 hr. The NIKE budget also indicates that a significant portion of near-inertial wind power dissipates in the mixed layer and rarely energises the depth regime underneath the mixed layer.