Sub-surface temperature oscillations and associated flow in the western Bay of Bengal

Unusual temperature variations at subsurface depths were noticed while making continuous observations (for 13 h) on temperature, salinity and currents at a point in the vicinity of river Krishna in the western Bay of Bengal. Sharp temperature oscillations recorded at four different levels between 14 and 20·1 m had an average periodicity of about 1·6 h. Similar periodicities were also observed in the case of flow components. Computed Brunt-Vaisälä frequency, vertical shear and Richardson number showed remote possibilities of vertical mixing occurring in this area. These oscillations showed features of internal waves propagating with a speed of about 13·3 cm s⁻¹ and wavelengths between 0·8 and 1·3 km and apparently generated as a result of flood current passing over a submarine obstacle in the presence of stratification.     

Characteristics of Tides in the Bay of Bengal

A vertically integrated 2D numerical model was developed for the simulation of major tidal constituents (M₂, S₂, N₂, K₁ and O₁) in the Bay of Bengal. The bathymetry for the model domain was derived from an improved ETOPO5 dataset prepared in our earlier work. The simulated tidal elevations showed good agreement with the hourly tide gauge observations at Paradip, Visakhapatnam, and Chennai. The amplitudes and phases of M₂, S₂, K₁, and O₁ at the coastal stations, obtained from harmonic analysis of simulated tides, were found to agree well with those obtained from Admiralty Tide Tables with the RMS misfit 9.2, 5.6, 2.9 and 3.1 cm, respectively. In the Bay of Bengal, semi-diurnal tides (M₂, S₂, and N₂) attain highest amplitudes (180, 80, 30 cm, respectively) in the Gulf of Martaban while amplitudes of diurnal tides (K₁, O₁) reaches maximum (20, 12 cm, respectively) in the Malacca Strait. The continental shelf in the head bay and along the southern coast of Myanmar is about 200 km wide and the amplitudes of semi-diurnal tides are doubled in these regions while the diurnal tides amplify only marginally, which is consistent with Clarke and Battisti theory. In the north eastern end of the head bay and the Gulf of Martaban, the geometrical configuration of the coastline, in addition to the wide continental shelf, could contribute to the amplification of both semi-diurnal and diurnal constituents. In the Malacca Strait, the amplitudes of both semi-diurnal and diurnal tides are found to increase gradually from the northern end to the 2.5°N and decreases towards southern boundary. The co-tidal and co-range charts of M₂ and S₂ tidal constituents also show the presence of two degenerate amphidromic points in the head bay. A virtual amphidromic point for M₂ is identified in the Malacca Strait.     

Magnetic basement in the central Bay of Bengal

Analyses of about 6000 km of processed magnetic data in the central Bay of Bengal using Analytical Signal Processing and Werner Deconvolution techniques revealed that the depth to top of the magnetic basement varies between 5 and 12 km from the sea surface, where the water column thickness is about 3.4 km. These inferred depths are comparable to the reported acoustic basement depths. The basement map derived from magnetic interpretation defines the general configuration of the central Bay of Bengal. The N10–12° W trending subsurface 85° E Ridge buried under 2 to 3 km thick sediments is a prominent tectonic feature. Offshore basins characterised by deeper magnetic basement (9 km) and 100–200 km wide are present on either sides of the ridge. These basins were filled with 6–8 km thick lower Cretaceous to recent sediments. Integrated geophysical study depicts that the magnetic basement is characterised by NW-SE, NE-SW, NNE-SSW, N10-12° W and E-W trending structural features that are associated with the lower Cretaceous ocean floor. The Analytical Signal Processing and Werner Deconvolution techniques proved to be effective in determining the depth to the basement in areas covered by thick sediment overburden and characterized by a complex geologic/tectonic framework.     

Magnetic studies in the northern Bay of Bengal

Total magnetic intensity and bathymetric surveys were carried out in the northern Bay of Bengal between 6° to 11° 45 N latitudes and east of 84° to 93° 30 E longitudes. The hitherto known 85° E Ridge is characterised as a subsurface feature by a large amplitude, positive magnetic anomaly surrounded by Mesozoic crust. A newly identified NE to NNESSW trending magnetic anomaly between 7° N, 87° 30 E and 10° 30 N, 89–90° E may be one of the unidentified Mesozoic lineations in the northern Bay of Bengal. The Ninetyeast Ridge is not associated with any recognizable magnetic anomaly. The Sunda Trough to the east of the Ninetyeast Ridge is characterised by a positive magnetic anomaly. A combined interpretation, using Werner deconvolution and analytical signal methods, yields basement depths ~ 10 km below sea level. These depths are in agreement with the seismic results of Curray (1991).Deceased 24 December 1991     

Seafloor electromagnetic induction studies in the Bay of Bengal

Seafloor magnetometer array experiments were conducted in the Bay of Bengal to delineate the subsurface conductivity structure in the close vicinity of the 85°E Ridge and Ninety East Ridge (NER), and also to study the upper mantle conductivity structure of the Bay of Bengal. The seafloor experiments were conducted in three phases. Array 1991 consisted of five seafloor stations across the 85°E Ridge along 14°N latitude with a land reference station at Selam (SLM). Array 1992 also consisted of five seafloor stations across 85°E Ridge along 12°N latitude. Here we used the data from Annamalainagar Magnetic Obervatory (ANN) as land reference data. Array 1995 consisted of four seafloor stations across the NER along 9°N latitude with land reference station at Tirunelveli (TIR). OBM-S4 magnetometers were used for seafloor measurements. The geomagnetic Depth Sounding (GDS) method was used to investigate the subsurface lateral conductivity contrasts. The vertical gradient sounding (VGS) method was used to deliniate the depth-resistivity structure of the oceanic crust and upper mantle. 1-D inversion of the VGS responses were conducted and obtained a 3-layer depth-resistivity model. The top layer has a resistivity of 150–500 m and a thickness of about 15–50 km. The second layer is highly resistive (2000–9000 m) followed by a very low resistive (0.1–50 m) layer at a depth of about 250–450 km. The 3-component magnetic field variations and the observed induction arrows indicated that the electromagnetic induction process in the Bay of Bengal is complex. We made an attempt to solve this problem numerically and followed two approaches, namely (1) thin-sheet modelling and (2) 3-D forward modelling. These model calculations jointly show that the observed induction arrows could be explained in terms of shallow subsurface features such as deep-sea fans of Bay of Bengal, the resistive 85°E Ridge and the sea water column above the seafloor stations. VGS and 3-D forward model responses agree fairly well and provided depth-resistivity profile as a resistive oceanic crust and upper mantle underlained by a very low resistive zone at a depth of about 250–400 km. This depth-range to the low resistive zone coincide with the seismic low velocity zone of the northeastern Indian Ocean derived from the seismic tomography. Thus we propose an electrical conductivity structure for the oceanic crust and upper mantle of the Bay of Bengal.     

Surface layer temperature inversion in the Bay of Bengal

Surface layer temperature inversion occurring in the Bay of Bengal has been addressed. Hydrographic data archived in the Indian Oceanographic Data Center are used to understand various aspects of the temperature inversion of surface layer in the Bay of Bengal, such as occurrence time, characteristics, stability, inter-annual variability and generating mechanisms. Spatially organized temperature inversion occurs in the coastal waters of the western and northeastern Bay during winter (November–February). Although the inversion in the northeastern Bay is sustained until February (with remnants seen even in March), in the western Bay it becomes less organized in January and almost disappears by February. Inversion is confined to the fresh water induced seasonal halocline of the surface layer. Inversions of large temperature difference (of the order of 1.6–2.4°C) and thin layer thickness (10–20 m) are located adjacent to major fresh water inputs from the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Krishna and Godavari rivers. The inversion is stable with a mean stability of 3600×10^–8 m⁻¹. Inter-annual variability of the inversion is significantly high and it is caused by the inter-annual variability of fresh water flux and surface cooling in the northern Bay. Fresh water flux leads the occurrence process in association with surface heat flux and advection. The leading role of fresh water flux is understood from the observation that the two occurrence regions of inversion (the western and northeastern Bay) have proximity to the two low salinity (with values about 28–29‰) zones. In the western Bay, the East India Coastal Current brings less saline and cold water from the head of the Bay to the south-west Bay, where it advects over warm, saline water, promoting temperature inversion in this region in association with the surface heat loss. For inversion occurring in the northeastern Bay (where the surface water gains heat from atmosphere), surface advection of the less saline cold water from the head of the Bay and Irrawaddy basin is found to be the major causative factor.     

Amino acid biogeochemistry and bacterial contribution to sediment organic matter along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal

Six sediment cores collected from various water depths and sampling locations along the western margin of the Bay of Bengal (BOB) were investigated for the total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) and d-amino acids (d-AA) to understand their distribution, digenetic alteration and bacterial contribution to organic matter (OM). Irrespective of their location, THAA concentrations and yields generally decreased and mol% glycine increased with increasing water depth indicating that OM was degraded during its transit through the water column. Amino acid based degradation index (DI) indicated that OM of the surface sediments of shallow stations, BOB-1 to BOB-3 was relatively fresher than that of deeper stations, BOB-4, BOB-5 and BOB-6. The concentrations and mol% of the d-AA varied from 0.04 to 0.76 µmol gdw⁻¹ and 0.3 to 8.5 mol%, respectively. Contribution of bacterial peptidoglycan amino acids to THAA (% THAA_pep/THAA) ranged between 4.0% and 55.0%. Both % THAA_pep/THAA and mol% d-AAs were significantly (p<0.01) higher in the surface sediments and decreased with sediment core depth. Based on the d-AA yields, bacterial OM accounted for 1.5–15.6% of TOC, and 3.7–50.0% of TN of the sediments of BOB.     

Intensified oxygen minimum zone on the western shelf of Bay of Bengal during summer monsoon: influence of river discharge

A study on biogeochemical cycling in the west coastal Bay of Bengal was undertaken during the peak discharge period to understand the influence of enhanced stratification and primary production on the possible intensification of the oxygen minimum zone (OMZ). Our study reveals that oxygen concentrations were below the detection limits in the northwestern (NW) coastal Bay of Bengal between 100 and 500 m associated with strong stratification and high phytoplankton biomass. Such low oxygen concentrations have never been reported so far from the coastal Bay of Bengal. Despite the existence of an environment conducive to denitrification in the coastal Bay of Bengal, accumulation of neither secondary nitrite nor nitrous oxide (N₂O) was observed. The absence of denitrification was reported to be caused by faster scavenging of organic matter and low bacterial respiration rates; in contrast, our results suggest that neither of these factors are potential reasons for the absence of denitrification in the coastal Bay of Bengal.     

Crossover analysis of geophysical data in Bay of Bengal

Geophysical data (magnetic, gravity, and bathymetric) collected by international and national agencies along intersecting track lines in the Bay of Bengal show discrepancies that are analyzed and adjusted by crossover techniques. The original magnetic anomaly map over this region exhibits high gradients over the entire region, which do not fit with the known geological framework. The corrected map is devoid of artifacts, and the contours became smooth, which can be utilized for meaningful geological interpretation. The corrected free-air gravity map indicates improvements from the original in resolution with clear isolated anomalies in high track density areas. Corrected bathymetry does not show much improvement. Received: 29 May 1998 / Revision received: 23 February 1999     

Submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal

The unbalanced submesoscale motions and their seasonality in the northern Bay of Bengal(BoB) are investigated using outputs of the high resolution regional oceanic modeling system. Submesoscale motions in the forms of filaments and eddies are present in the upper mixed layer during the whole annual cycle. Submesoscale motions show an obvious seasonality, in which they are active during the winter and spring but weak during the summer and fall. Their seasonality is associated with the mixed layer...     

孟加拉扇沉积作用与古气候研究进展

"气候-构造-沉积"耦合问题是全球变化研究的重要内容,孟加拉深海扇作为世界第一大浊积扇,沉积物主要来自喜马拉雅山及青藏高原的侵蚀物质,且处于亚洲两大季风区之一的印度季风区,是研究三者相互关系的天然实验室。通过总结该区前人研究成果,对孟加拉扇沉积作用与古气候研究现状进行了综述,提出了该区尚存争议的主要科学问题并展望了今后的研究方向。研究认为,除来自喜马拉雅山和青藏高原的物质外,孟加拉扇还受到印度、东南亚大陆等源区的影响,另外还有少量生物沉积和火山来源物质等。孟加拉扇沉积物以细粒物质为主,扇体表面遍布浊流通道。浊流和等深流是孟加拉扇主要的沉积动力机制。目前对孟加拉扇扇体沉积模式及其在青藏高原隆升、孟加拉扇"源-汇"过程、"气候-构造-沉积"耦合研究中的作用仍存在不同见解,尚需更加深入的研究。     

Shelf sediments of the Ganges delta with special emphasis on the mineralogy of the western part,Bay of Bengal,Indian Ocean

Shelf sediments at the mouth of the Hooghly River which forms the western part of the Ganges—Brahmaputra delta consist of sands, silts and clays and their various admixtures. The bulk of the sediments consists of moderately sorted fine sand to very fine sand. There is variation in lithology in the vertical and horizontal directions, as revealed from the study of the grab and core samples collected in this area, suggesting growth of the delta in different stages. In most of the samples three populations have been recognised. The grain-size variation has resulted from mixing of a number of different grain-size populations. A detailed study of the heavy minerals indicates that the suite consists of hornblende, tremolite/actinolite, opaques, zircon, pyroxenes (ortho-and clino-), garnet, sillimanite, chlorite, muscovite, biotite, epidote, monazite, kyanite, staurolite, riebeckite, carbonates and glauconite. The assemblage and the distribution patterns suggest two distinct mixed igneous and metamorphic sources for the sediments—the Himalayas to the north, mainly drained by the Ganges—Brahmaputra and their tributaries, and the peninsular shield drained by the Dhamra and other easterly-flowing rivers debouching into the Bay of Bengal. The mineralogy of the core samples in the top and bottom layers does not differ, indicating that the source area remained the same during the time of deposition of the sediments. The mineralogy of the sediments in this area, when compared with the mineralogy of the Deep-Sea Drilling Project site in the Bengal fan situated very far to the south, shows similarity because the sediments of the Ganges are carried to the deep-sea. Depending on the mineral assemblage, the area has been divided into four distinct zones: (1) Hooghly River province, consisting of hornblende, tremolite/actinolite, epidote and garnet; (2) a mixed province characterised by epidote, monazite, zircon, kyanite, staurolite, hornblende, tremolite/actinolite, biotite; (3) Dhamra River province characterised by opaques, sillimanite and orthopyroxene; (4) an offshore province comprising muscovite, chlorite and pyroxene. ILlite and kaolinite are the principal clay minerals in the sediments. The mineralogical, grain size and the lithologic studies of the sediments from the core samples suggest a southward to south-southwestward direction of dispersals of the sediments in the eastern part of the area.     

Coupled process-based cyclone surge simulation for the Bay of Bengal

We have developed a wind-wave-surge coupled process-based numerical model for simulating storm surge, consisting of a meso-scale atmospheric model (MM5), a third-generation spectral wave model (WW3) and a coastal ocean model (POM). We introduced an additional sea surface shear stress by wave dissipation into the model to consider the process of energy transfer from winds to currents through whitecap breaking. We demonstrate the importance of this energy transfer path through a hindcast simulation of a cyclone surge in April, 1991 in the Bay of Bengal: it helps generate mean current and has wave effects on wind-induced current fields in extremely shallow water areas.     

Coupled process-based cyclone surge simulation for the Bay of Bengal

We have developed a wind-wave-surge coupled process-based numerical model for simulating storm surge, consisting of a meso-scale atmospheric model (MM5), a third-generation spectral wave model (WW3) and a coastal ocean model (POM). We introduced an additional sea surface shear stress by wave dissipation into the model to consider the process of energy transfer from winds to currents through whitecap breaking. We demonstrate the importance of this energy transfer path through a hindcast simulation of a cyclone surge in April, 1991 in the Bay of Bengal: it helps generate mean current and has wave effects on wind-induced current fields in extremely shallow water areas.     

孟加拉湾上层环流研究综述

综述了孟加拉湾上层环流研究的主要成果并指出,研究海区环流与季风转换不完全同步。在西南季风期间,南、北海区各有一气旋式环流;在秋季季风过渡期间,出现海湾尺度的气旋式环流;在东北季风期间,气旋式环流减弱北移,南部则为一反气旋式环流控制;春季与秋季的情形相反,整个湾出现一海湾尺度的反气旋式环流。研究海区环流的变异主要受季风、赤道远地作用和浮力通量等复杂外源作用的影响。东印度沿岸流的季节变化与季风转换也不同步,局地风、内部Ekman抽吸、远地沿岸风及赤道远地作用的影响对沿岸流周年变化有重要作用。孟加拉湾上层环流年际变化显著,此年际变化主要受赤道风场的影响。     

孟加拉湾海洋热浪季节变化特征与可能成因

本文基于1982−2021年的NOAA最优插值海表温度等资料,分析了孟加拉湾海洋热浪季节分布特征与可能成因。结果表明：大致以斯里兰卡岛与缅甸伊洛瓦底江河口连线为界,孟加拉湾西北部与东南部海域海洋热浪频率和天数呈现出不同的季节变化特征。在湾西北部海域,海洋热浪频率和天数季节变化较显著,均在夏季达到最大,春、秋季次之,冬季最少。而在湾东南部海域,二者的季节变化相对较弱。依据海洋热浪累积强度将海洋热浪从弱至强分为I～IV4种等级。分析显示,I类和II类较弱海洋热浪主要发生于夏、秋季的湾西部或西北部海域;III类以上严重海洋热浪则多发于春季的安达曼海和湾东南部海域以及夏季的缅甸西南部海域。进一步分析表明,在春、夏和秋季大部分海洋热浪活跃区,较浅的混合层及海表净热通量的变化对这些海区海洋热浪活动可能起主要作用,而冬季湾东南部海域海洋热浪形成与维持可能主要与赤道远地强迫有关。     

Sedimentary sources in the surface and near-surface sediments of the Bay of Bengal

High quartz and low calcium carbonate percentages in the surface sediments of the Bay of Bengal adjacent to the Indian subcontinent result from the massive influx of terrigenous clastics. Fine-fraction (<2 ) mineralogy and heavy minerals in (turbidite) sands suggest that sediments of the western Bengal Fan (high in smectite, sillimanite, garnet) have been derived from peninsular Indian rivers; sediments of the rest of the fan (high in illite, hornblende, epidote) are derived from Himalayan rivers. The sediments on the Ninety East Ridge and in the deep southerly areas beyond the reach of fan deposition result from thein situ alteration of volcanics.     

孟加拉湾海洋划界案初步研究

孟加拉湾划界案是国际海洋法法庭审理的第一起海洋划界案。法庭对盂加拉国与缅甸的领海、专属经济区及大陆架的划界纠纷进行了裁决。分析研究了该案中法庭对这种大陆架案件的管辖权、当事国双方对这一区域的权利主张以及法庭划界采用的法律与划界的方法(等距离/相关情况方法)。     

Effect of River Discharge on Bay of Bengal Circulation

The seasonal circulation and mixed layer depths in Bay of Bengal is modeled using the three-dimensional Princeton Ocean Model (POM). Along the coastal boundaries a higher resolution is accomplished using the curvilinear orthogonal grid. Model uses a free-surface and terrain following sigma coordinates. The initial climatological salinity and temperature fields for the model are derived from the World Ocean Atlas-2001(WOA01). The Model is forced with wind stress derived from COADS wind climatology. Bilinear interpolation is used to obtain the initial fields and wind stress to the required model specification. Using the seasonal fields and wind stress the model is integrated for simulating Bay of Bengal circulation. The numerical simulations on climatological scale for monsoon months were conducted to study the evolution of dynamics. The simulations bring out not only the typical characteristic features of fresh water plume along the coast but also intensification of the flow over the monsoon period. The increase in the fresh water flow found to affect only the western parts of the BoB. The opposing currents due to monsoon winds and southward flowing fresh water discharge (FWD) were also delineated. The model results show that the wind stress induced turbulence process is subdued in the presence of strong vertical salinity stratification due to the influence of FWD. The simulated mixed layer depths are in agreement with the reported analytical energy required for mixing values.     

Phosphorite from the Continental Margin off Madras, Bay of Bengal

A recent survey reveals that phosphorites occur over an area of 800 km2 between 100 and 500 m depths on the outer continental shelf and upper slope ESE off Madras. Appreciable subsurface continuity of phosphorites is not indicated. They mostly occur over two terraces recorded between the 100 and 200, and 350 and 400m isobaths. Sampled phosphorites may be classified under four types: (1) dense conglomeratic phosphorites in the size range 2 5 cm, (2) dark gray phosphatic nodules in the size range 1 3 cm, (3) creamy white calcareous algal nodules with phosphatic laminations in the size range 0.5 3 cm, and (4) recent gastropod shells with phosphatic studs. Conglomeratic phosphorites confined mostly to the upper terrace were recov ered along with calcareous pelecypod and gastropod fossils belonging to Cretaceous to Oligocene age. Gray phosphatic nodules occur over upper as well as lower terraces. The algal nodules are mostly confined to the upper terrace and are less abundant. Acoustic profiles (3.5 kHz) and the recovery of fossils indicate that the upper terrace is a karstic surface of a carbonate platform, probably of Cretaceous to Oligocene age. Petrographic study of the conglomeratic phosphorite shows skeletal matter set in phosphatic matrix and what appears to be the phosphatized limestone. Selective phosphatization of foraminiferal tests is common. Dark gray phosphatic nodules show brownish-gray laminations containing phosphatized skeletal fragments set in phosphatic matrix. Creamy white calcareous algal nodules exhibit alternate gray phosphatic and white calcitic laminations. All the phosphorite types are composed of carbonate fluorapatite and calcite as major minerals, followed by quartz and aragonite. Phosphorous pentoxide content of conglomeratic type varies from 15% to 20%, dark gray nodules from 16% to 19.98%, and calcareous algal nodules from 8.10% to 17.54%. The significant enrichment of Mo and Pb in phosphorites is attributed to their fixation in organic matter under reduced condition. SEM studies indicate a microbial origin for the gray phosphatic and algal nodules. Studies suggest four episodes of phosphatization with intervening reworking and redoposition, probably commencing from the Eocene period. Phosphatization during the late Pleistocene and early Holocene period also can be ruled out.