A study on energy fluxes in the surface boundary layer of the Indian seas during different epochs of the Asian summer monsoon

Abstract

In the present study an attempt has been made to examine the possible link between air-sea interface fluxes of heat and moisture and monsson activity over the Indian subcontinent. Computations of radiative fluxes, viz, shortwave and longwave, have been performed using semi-empirical models. Estimations of latent and sensible heat fluxes have been carried out using bulk aerodynamic method. The transfer coefficients for heat and moisture were computed as a function of atmospheric stability and wind speed. The present study shows that there is a net oceanic heat loss during the active convective period of the summer monsoon. This net oceanic heat loss produces a positive feedback for the maintenance of deep cumulus convection above the marine boundary layer (MBL). The main hindrance in establishing a possible link between the air-sea interface fluxes and monsoon activity over the Indian subcontinent is the paucity of adequate observations over the Indian seas.