Publication Date:
2022-10-26
Description:
© The Author(s), 2022. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Rathore, S., Goyal, R., Jangir, B., Ummenhofer, C., Feng, M., & Mishra, M. Interactions between a marine heatwave and tropical cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal in 2020. Frontiers in Climate, 4, (2022): 861477, https://doi.org/10.3389/fclim.2022.861477.
Description:
Interactions are diagnosed between a marine heatwave (MHW) event and tropical super cyclone Amphan in the Bay of Bengal. In May 2020, an MHW developed in the Bay of Bengal driven by coupled ocean-atmosphere processes which included shoaling of the mixed layer depth due to reduced wind speed, increased net surface shortwave radiation flux into the ocean, increased upper ocean stratification, and increased sub-surface warming. Ocean temperature, rather than salinity, dominated the stratification that contributed to the MHW development and the subsurface ocean warming that also increased tropical cyclone heat potential. The presence of this strong MHW with sea surface temperature anomalies 〉2.5°C in the western Bay of Bengal coincided with the cyclone track and facilitated the rapid intensification of tropical cyclone Amphan to a super cyclone in just 24 h. This rapid intensification of a short-lived tropical cyclone, with a lifespan of 5 days over the ocean, is unprecedented in the Bay of Bengal during the pre-monsoon period (March-May). As the cyclone approached landfall in northern India, the wind-induced mixing deepened the mixed layer, cooled the ocean's surface, and reduced sub-surface warming in the bay, resulting in the demise of the MHW. This study provides new perspectives on the interactions between MHWs and tropical cyclones that could aid in improving the current understanding of compound extreme events that have severe socio-economic consequences in affected countries.
Description:
CU acknowledges support from the James E. and Barbara V. Moltz Fellowship for Climate-Related Research and the Independent Research & Development Program at WHOI. MF was supported by the Centre for Southern Hemisphere Oceans Research (CSHOR), which is a joint initiative between the Qingdao National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology (QNLM), CSIRO, University of New South Wales, and the University of Tasmania.
Keywords:
Compound extreme events
;
Marine heatwave
;
Tropical cyclone
;
Amphan
;
Fani
;
Super cyclone
;
Rapid intensification
;
Extremely severe cyclone
Repository Name:
Woods Hole Open Access Server
Type:
Article
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