Near-surface heating in the arabian sea during the pre-onset regime of MONEX-79

Summary During the pre-onset regime of MONEX-79, the short period (1–2 weeks) time series measurements of surface meteorological elements, vertical profiles of temperature (BT) and salinity (Nansen casts) made from 5 former USSR and 2 Indian research vessels were utilised to investigate the observed near-surface heating rates at a few selected locations in the Arabian Sea. The influence of local surface heat fluxes on the upper ocean heat content variability is explored. The associated synoptic scale variability in the thermohaline structure of the upper layers is presented. The efficacy of a simple Kraus-Turner type one dimensional numerical model in simulating the observed variability of mixed layer heating rates is evaluated.With 7 Figures