Seasonal SST patterns along the West India shelf inferred from AVHRR

Sea surface temperature (SST) patterns along the west India shelf, extending from 8° to 24°N, are analyzed during 1993–1996 to characterize seasonal variability using the advanced very high-resolution radiometer (AVHRR) SST, momentum and heat fluxes derived from ERS-1 winds and NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. During winter monsoon (December–March), a 4-year mean SST spatial pattern shows a strong cooling north of 15°N due to surface heat depletion, while warm SSTs evolve in the south due to the intrusion of warm equatorial water. Cold water occupies the entire shelf during summer monsoon, with high degree of SST cooling dominating the Kerala coast, where Ekman pumping and upwelling promoted by the dominant alongshore wind stress component overwhelms the surface heat loss. The spectral analysis reveals semiannual and annual peaks in SST and forcing functions, which highlight the influence of monsoon forcing on the SST variability along the west India shelf.