Study of surface fluxes over the Northern Indian Ocean Seas

The open waters of the north Indian Ocean (NIO), which itself includes the Persian Gulf (PG), the Gulf of Oman (GO), and the Arabian Sea (AS), are subject to different meteorological forcing that can affect surface fluxes of these environments. In this study, latent heat flux (QLH), sensible heat flux (QSH), and surface wind stress (τ) between these regions are investigated. The reanalysis data from the data sets of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) and the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) for these three regions for 14 years (2013-2000) are used. The results are compared with the measured data in the GO that show ECMWF reanalysis data are more consistent with the measured data in this period. We compare the average monthly, seasonal and annual values of QLH, QSH and τ of the PG, GO, and AS. The annual averages of QLH for the PG, the GO, and the AS are -128.63, -118.76, and -118.03 (Wm-2) and the annual averages of QSH are -1.28, -3.88, and -5.67 (Wm-2) respectively. The annual averages of τ are 0.074, 0.075, 0.036 (Pa) for these areas respectively. Also the annual average SST is 27, 26.56, and 27.14 (⁰C) respectively for these areas. Based on the results, different regimes of the PG wind with dust storms, and the limited and semi-closed space of the PG with its shallow depth, leads to different behaviors of QLH and QSH in PG area, in comparison with the other two environments (namely GO and AS).