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View on Bay of Bengal upwelling area on the basis of 19-years of satellite sea
surface temperature
K. Muni Krishna a
a
Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam-, India

First Published:January2008

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 International Journal of Digital Earth,
Vol. 1, No. 3, September 2008, 304
314

View on Bay of Bengal upwelling area on the basis of 19-years of satellite sea
surface temperature
K. Muni Krishna

Department of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University Visakhapatnam-530003, India

(Received 25 December 2007; final version received 12 March 2008)

The seasonal and interannual variation of upwelling along the east coast of India
between 68N and 228N was studied for the period 1985
2003 using NOAA
AVHRR sea
surface temperature data. The seasonal migration of pronounced upwelling, which
follows the seasonal shift of the winds in transition period and northeast monsoon, was
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confined. The temporal mean sea surface temperature images clearly show the upwelling
season, as does the seasonal sea surface temperature anomaly. These dominant features
of the upwelling system are also the most variable, with most of the variance being
explained by the seasonal cycle. Quasi-cyclic behaviour of sea surface temperature on
interannual scales has also been observed.
Keywords: AVHRR; sea surface temperature; seasonal; interannual

Introduction
The Bay of Bengal is situated in the eastern part of the north Indian Ocean. It is smaller
and occupies about 2.2 106 km2 (La Fond 1966). Its zonal and meridional dimensions are
comparable; each about 1500 km. The bathymetry of the open Bay shoals from 4 km at the
southern end (approximately 58N) to about 2 km near the northern end, at about 208N.
The Bay experiences seasonal reversal of winds owing to the monsoons. A unique feature
of the Bay is the fresh water influx it receives. Figure 1 depicts the geography of the study
area, which extends from 68 N to 228 N.
Most of the information on the physical oceanography of this region is derived from the
hydrographic surveys that have documented the seasonal variability in the salinity and
temperature distribution in the area. The sea surface temperature (SST) in the Bay of
Bengal exhibits a well-marked annual cycle (Hastenrath and Lamb 1979) owing to a semi-
annual reversal of trade winds. On the other hand, before the monsoon, upwelling lowers
SST along the east coast of India, and an equatorward coastal current advects this cold
water south of the Indian tip and promotes 1.88C SST cooling (Luis and Kawamura
2002). Researchers have identified upwelling as a possible mechanism for SST cooling
along the east coast of India. La Fond (1954, 1957, 1958, 1966) studied upwelling and
sinking along the east coast of India from March to May and from September to
November. Two different regimes of upwelling and sinking off the Visakhapatnam coast
during pre-monsoon and autumn periods respectively under the influence of seasonally
varying wind and current systems (Rao 1956, Murty and Sastry 1957, Balaramamurty
1958, Ramanatham et al. 1967, Suryanarayana et al. 1992). At greater depths the

Email: kailasam15@yahoo.co.in

ISSN 1753-8947 print/ISSN 1753-8955 online

# 2008 Taylor & Francis
DOI: 10.1080/17538940802149965
http://www.informaworld.com
 International Journal of Digital Earth 305
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Figure 1. Location map of six stations along the East coast of India (6 228N and 77 908E).
Visakhapatna, Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Nellore, Chennai and Nagapatnam.

isotherms were closely packed due to intense upwelling from deeper layers bringing up
colder waters. He further found that the month maximum intensity of upwelling varied
between March and April off the coast of Visakhapatnam, although the period of
upwelling generally extends until May. Varadachari (1958) studied upwelling and sinking
off Visakhapatnam. The seasonal fluctuation of the surface temperature during 1964
66
indicated the occurrence of upwelling (April
June) and sinking (September
October) off
Visakhapatnam (Mojumder 1967, Murty and Varadachari 1968). Anand et al. (1968)
found that upwelling occurred off Chennai and further north off Visakhapatnam, during
the summer monsoon. De Souza et al. (1981) observed two regions of upwelling near
Chennai and Visakhapatnam during September. Rao et al. (1986) found upwelling of cold
water up to the surface from February to May off Visakhapatnam at 60 m depth. Early
studies on the variability of water characteristics off Visakhapatnam coast mainly dealt
with the temperature and salinity (La Fond and Rao 1954, Varadachari 1958 and Rao
et al. 1986, Rao 2002). Channelling of northeasterly winds (gap winds) through the
elevated barriers on Sri Lanka and south India during November
March enhances heat
loss from the Gulf of Mannar and lowers SST by 18C (Luis and Kawamura 2000, 2001).
Although the above studies have related upwelling to the SST variability over the Bay
of Bengal, a complete description on the SST patterns that evolve owing to upwelling or
coastal currents forced by monsoons is not available. The purpose of this work is to
address seasonal spatial and temporal SST variability along the east coast of India,
 306 K. Muni Krishna

extending from 68 to 228N, using a 19-year advanced very high-resolution radiometer

(AVHRR) SST data set.

Data and methodology

SST maps with 9-km spatial resolution were derived from measurements made by the
advanced very high resolution radiometer onboard the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) polar orbiting satellites for the period January 1985 to December
2003 (19 years). The data were processed using a nonlinear SST operational algorithm as a
part of Pathfinder reprocessing project at Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), California
(Kilpatrick et al. 2001). The algorithm uses monthly calibration coefficients on the basis of
the brightness temperature difference between channel 4 (10.3
11.3 mm) and channel 5
(11.5
12.5 mm). Further processing includes the use of decision trees to determine
objectively cloud contamination and quality level of the SST retrievals. In the post-
processing, the ascending and descending passes were averaged to produce daily mean SST
maps. Gaps between swaths and cloud-masked regions were filled in by taking a 5-day
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running mean and by using bi-cubic spline interpolation. Statistical measure of the
AVHRR SST relative to drifting buoys shows consistent biases (buoy minus satellite) and
root mean square of 0.1 and 0.5 0.78C, respectively (McClain et al. 1985). For the Bay
of Bengal, 401 AVHRR and in situ SST matchups indicate a bais and root mean square
deviation of -0.14 and 1.558C, respectively (Sreejith and Shenoi 2002).

Temporal statistics (spatial variability)

Descriptive statistical images (mean SST, standard deviation) were calculated across time
from the weekly SST composite images to show the mean spatial pattern for the whole time
series and areas of greatest variance, as well as the seasonal and interannual spatial
variability. These images were examined to identify important oceanographic features, as
well as large scale patterns of seasonal and interannual variability.

Spatial statistics (temporal variability)

The weekly composite images were averaged spatially to show temporal trends in SST.
Time series charts were constructed to show temporal variability in mean SST, both of a
seasonal and interannual nature. The resulting mean SST time series was subjected to a 49
point moving average smoothing routine (modified from Chatfield 1989) to emphasise
interannual variability.
Standardised SST anomalies were calculated to show unsmoothed seasonal and
interannual variability on a weekly time scale. Interannual variability was shown by
standardising data with respect to the week of the year (1
48), thereby eliminating seasonal
variability (see Equations (1)). Seasonal variability was shown by standardising with
respect to the year (1981
1991), thereby eliminating interannual variability (see Equation
1(b)).


rj  rweek
Xjweek  (1a)
sweek
 International Journal of Digital Earth 307

r  r
year
Xjyear  (1b)
syear

where Xjweek and Xjyear are the SST anomalies standardised with respect to the week and the
year, respectively, rj is the weekly mean SST value, r 
week and ryear are the weekly and annual
means, respectively and sweek and syear are the weekly and annual standard deviations
respectively.

Results and discussions

Seasonal variations of sea surface temperature
The seasonal migration of the upwelling belt is clearly visible in Figure 2. During January
along the east coast of India signature of warm waters (278C) are observed, brought
from the southern Bay. The lowest SST (258C) northeast Bay of Bengal upto
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Visakhapatnam confirms strong upwelling. Some degree of winter cooling is also observed
in the northern Bay. In January low sea surface temperatures over the shelf south of 198N
indicates coastal upwelling. The cool surface water extends the shelf break. Between 138N
and 178 N relatively warm oceanic surface water (288C) extends over the shelf (Figure 2),
so there is no evidence of upwelling occurring along this coastal section in January.
The temperature distribution in February suggests upwelling from Visakhapatnam to
all along the coast down to south of 148N. The cool upwelling induced surface water was
covering practically the entire shelf. South 198N the cool shelf waters spread beyond the
shelf break towards the open ocean between 158N and 178N reflecting the offshore
advection of coastal upwelled water by the East India Coastal Current. In the middle of
February upwelling appears to be moderate around latitudes of Machilipatnam,
Kakinada, Nellore, Chennai, whereas in Visakhapatnam, the upwelling is most intensive
The sea surface temperature from 138N to 188N varies from 26.58C to 27.58C during
the transition period. At all five stations Visakhapatnam. Kakinada, Machilipatnam,
Nellore and Chennai there is a decreasing trend in sea surface temperature from the open
ocean to the coast. The differences range from 0.68C to 1.38C. The tendency towards SST
decrease in all places indicates coastal upwelling. The intensity of upwelling along the east
coast of India (Kakinada, Machilipatnam, Nellore and Chennai) is apparently with less
intensity than at Visakhapatnam.
At Nagapatnam and Tuticorin stations the situation is reversed due to the warmer SST
from the equatorial region during March
April. But in the middle/end of May cool sea
surface temperatures are observed at the above stations. The drop of SST is about 1.58C
shows the high intensity of coastal upwelling compared to the above five coastal stations.
During SW monsoon, near Tuticorin coast strong upwelling is visible (Figure 2). The
low SST indicates upwelling along the Visakhapatnam to Chennai coast upwelling noticed
during the southwest monsoon season appears to be mainly due to the effect of alongshore
wind. When compared to the transition period upwelling is very low.
After the onset of NE monsoon, again upwelling occurs along the northeastern margin
of the Bay of Bengal due to offshore northeasterlies. During December there is evidence of
strong upwelling in the northeastern corner of the Bay. Large wedge-like areas of upwelled
water are observed at 158N and 188N along the east coast of India (Figure 2).
 308 K. Muni Krishna
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Figure 2. 19-years monthly mean sea surface temperature (8C) images along the east coast of India.
 International Journal of Digital Earth 309

Seasonal anomaly
The spatially averaged seasonal SST anomalies were calculated for each station of the
southwest coast of India to provide a between-year comparison of variability in the
seasonal cycle, with annual trends removed (Figure 3). During January to April strong
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Figure 3. Charts showing the spatially averaged seasonal SST for each week of the AVHRR time
series for each subsystem along the east coast of India.
 310 K. Muni Krishna

negative anomalies (cool) appear along the Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, Machilipatnam

and Nellore stations (i.e. from 148N to 188N) and the positive anomalies (warm) during
May to September at these stations, but at Chennai and Tuticorin stations negative
anomalies appeared during the above period. During the Northeast monsoon we also get
negative anomalies from 148N to 188N. These negative anomalies represent strong
upwelling along the coast.
The strong negative anomalies is due to the strong upwelling along the coast, while the
later warming is due to the absence of coastal upwelling and the influx of river waters due
to the southwest monsoon rainfall over the land. The strong upwelling period from
February to April is caused by general cooling seen in the northeast coast of India at this
time of year, as previously described.

Temporal variability
The seasonal fluctuations discussed in the previous section are derived from the long term
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means of sea surface temperature data. Figure 3 gives an impression of the seasonal
upwelling cycle through time. The SST anomaly in the northern region is more than 0.58C
during February
April and November
December (Figure 3) while in the southern region
(Tuticorin) it is more than 0.78C during June
September and upwelling is therefore
considered to be seasonal. In the northern part of the east coast of India, CUIs (based on
SST) show a much stronger seasonal pattern, February
April and June-September at the
southern (Tuticorin) part (Figure 4).
The large negative upwelling indices are due to the effect of strong coastal upwelling,
and to differences between horizontal advection in the offshore region and that in the
coastal region. There is also the possibility of significant spatial differences in ocean-

Figure 4. Monthly variation in coastal temperature anomalies (difference between coastal and mid-
ocean temperature) at different latitudes along the East coast of India. Shaded areas indicate strong
coastal upwelling. Three distinct patterns of strongest upwelling can be seen:
1. 8.58 9.58N
upwelling June through December.
2. 10815.58N upwelling April through May.
3. During the winter time the entire east coast of India gets upwelling Sea surface temperature
(AVHRR) data cover the period from 1985 to 2003.
 International Journal of Digital Earth 311

atmosphere heat exchanges. A more rapid increase of indices near the coast during the end
of the winter season (17.58N) represents the starting and intensity, off the coastal upwelling
along the coast.

Inter-annual variability
Figure 5 shows the mean SST images for each year, In general, 1985
87, 1989
92, 1994

1995, 1999 and 2003 were cool periods and 1984, 1993, 1996
98, 2000
02 were warm
periods. The stronger warm period coincides with the El Niño event. The time series of
spatial means show SST oscillates between warm and cool periods (Figure 5). This pattern
is also clearly shown for subsystem in the charts of inter-annual variability in SST anomaly
values for each week in the time series (Figure 6). The warming is greater in the southern
part compared to the northern part; this is because of coastal upwelling in the northern
part of the east coast of India. This situation is reversed compared with the west coast of
India.
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Conclusions
The 19-year mean spatial and temporal AVHRR, SST images along the east coast are
analysed to characterise the seasonal variability. The seasonal variation of upwelling shows
a peak in April and December at 138N
188N followed by a minimum in August. The

Figure 5. Time series plots showing the spatial mean SST (black line) for each week of the AVHRR
series and the 49-point moving average (bold black line), showing interannual variability, for each
subsystem along the east coast of India.
 312 K. Muni Krishna
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Figure 6. Charts showing the spatially averaged inter-annual SST anomaly for each week of
AVHRR time series for each subsystem along the east coast of India.

maximum intensity of upwelling is in the south of 188N during April, December and
summer at Tuticorin. Upwelling in the north ceases completely during June-July, apart
from a very small tongue of colder water off Chennai which survives to penetrate
southward throughout most of the summer months. A very large tongue of colder water off
Tuticorin is also observed during the summer monsoon season. During October and
November the tropical waters start to separate from the coast by a small tongue of
upwelled water, gradually increase in size towards December and January. During the
 International Journal of Digital Earth 313

subsequent months the temperature gradient runs mostly parallel to the coast, but seems
to be slightly reduced during March. Then, in April, the patterns start to change when a
very strong upwelling develops at 138N
188N
The increased near surface stratification due to warm SST and large freshwater flux
together with less stronger winds in comparison to the Arabian Sea inhibits the turbulent
vertical mixing to a shallow depth in the Bay of Bengal owing to the fact this coastal
upwelling is weaker that along the east coast of India than the west coast of India.

Acknowledgements
This research forms part of the author’s PhD completed at the Andhra University and funding
thereof by the Indian Space Research Organization under RESPOND Program. This author is very
thankful to reviewers for their constructive comments to improve the quality of the manuscript.

Notes on contributor
Kailasam Muni Krishna, born in 1978, had his postgraduation from Andhra University in 2001.
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Later he joined research in 2002, carrying out remote sensing research in many parts of Indian coasts
for more than five years and was awarded his PhD in 2007 on the work of coastal upwelling studies
along the Indian coasts using satellite data and model simulations. He is well experienced in
processing satellite data products using ENVI and ERDAS softwares. Recently he joined Teaching
Associate in the Deptartment of Meteorology and Oceanography, Andhra University and is also a
member of the Indian Science Congress. He also participated in a number of cruises during the
Arabian Sea Monsoon Experiment programme. He has published seven research papers in both
International (five) and National journals (two). Currently his main research interests are in air
sea
interaction studies, numerical modelling and satellite oceanography.

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