Decadal Variability of the Upper-Ocean Salinity in the Southeast Indian Ocean: Role of Local Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics

Ocean salinity plays a crucial role in the upper-ocean stratification and local marine ecosystem. This study reveals that ocean salinity presents notable decadal variability in upper 200 m over the southeast Indian Ocean (SEIO). Previous studies linked this salinity variability with precipitation anomalies over the Indo-Pacific region modulated by the tropical Pacific decadal variability. Here we conduct a quantitative salinity budget analysis and show that, in contrast, oceanic advection, especially the anomalous meridional advection, plays a dominant role in modulating the SEIO salinity on the decadal time scale. The anomalous meridional advection is mainly associated with a zonal dipole pattern of sea level anomaly (SLA) in the south Indian Ocean (SIO). Specifically, positive and negative SLAs in the east and west of the SIO correspond to anomalous southward oceanic current, which transports much fresher seawater from the warm pool into the SEIO and thereby decreases the local upper-ocean salinity, and vice versa. Further investigation reveals that the local anomalous wind stress curl associated with tropical Pacific forcing is responsible for generating the sea level dipole pattern via oceanic Rossby wave adjustment on decadal time scale. This study highlights that the local ocean-atmosphere dynamical adjustment is critical for the decadal salinity variability in the SEIO.