| Session Details | |
| Section | OS - Ocean Sciences |
| Session Title | Equatorial Indian Ocean: Observations, Dynamics and Biogeochemistry |
| Main Convener | Dr. Murty Vadlamani (National Institute of Oceanography, India) |
| Co-convener(s) | Dr. Prasanna Kumar S. (National Institute of Oceanography, India) Dr. Yukio Masumoto (University of Tokyo, Japan) |
| Session Description | Compared to the equatorial Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, the Equatorial Indian Ocean (EIO) still remains poorly sampled and studied. The semi-annual reversal of monsoon winds and the associated reversal of monsoon currents and occurrence of equatorial jets during northern spring and fall are the major interesting features. The recent discovery of Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event demonstrates the intense coupling between ocean and atmosphere. The convection over the EIO plays a key role for the active and break cycles of Asian monsoon, and the convection related westerly wind bursts may trigger disturbances in the western equatorial Pacific leading to onset of El Nino. With regard to biogeochemistry of tropical Indian Ocean, carbon budget of EIO is yet to be understood. Description and understanding the ocean-atmospheric coupling on various time scales, based on modeling studies and recent observations through moorings and field campaigns (such as MISMO, JAMSTEC, Japan and CERENE, LOYDC, France) in the EIO, are essential in the development of a dynamic prediction model for Asian monsoon and climate variability and thus to the economic development of the Asian nations. Following are the major themes of the session 1) Intraseasonal to interannual variability in the EIO from the observations and modeling 2) Atmospheric intraseasonal variability and convection over the EIO and their impact on the monsoon variability 3) Upper ocean mixed layer heat budget in relation to Sea Surface Temperature variability 4) Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and the El Nino in 2006 5) Variability in the biogeochemical parameters in the EIO and regional carbon budget. |