Does winter cooling lead to the subsurface salinity minimum off Saurashtra, India?

Abstract

Cold and dry winds of the northeast monsoon cool the northern Arabian Sea during November-January. The intensity of cooling is highest in the proximity of the peninsula of Saurashtra, India. Using hydrographic data, we propose that the cooling in this region, particularly during cold outbreaks, increases the density of shelf waters sufficiently to form a water mass which sinks and spreads at a depth of about 150 m and is characterized by a weak salinity minimum with sigma-theta in the range of 25.5-26.6 gm/cm³. It appears that the advection of lower salinity water into the basin by the northeast monsoon coastal current and subsequent evaporation in the mixed-layer also plays a role in recharge of the salinity minimum.