Indian Ocean response to anomalous conditions in 2006

From satellite observations over the oceans from that time, Vinayachandran et al. find that the eastern Indian Ocean not only exhibited colder sea surface temperatures, but also showed lower sea levels and higher chlorophyll content than normal. By contrast, the western Indian ocean was marked by warmer sea surface temperatures, higher sea level, and a steep, deeper thermocline. The authors model this event using an ocean general circulation model forced with satellite-derived wind data. Their reproductions match well with the actual event, and reveal that air-sea heat fluxes initiated the cold sea surface temperatures in the east, which were sustained by ocean dynamics. Similar fluxes fueled the warm surface temperatures in the west. The event reverted back to initial conditions in the fall of 2006.-American Geophysical Union