Sri Lanka seasonal warm pools

Sri Lanka seasonal warm pools (SSWPs) with high sea surface temperature (SST) (greater than 29.6 °C in summer and greater than 28 °C in winter) around the Sri Lanka Island are discovered using 37-year (1982–2018) satellite remote sensing SST data. It is identified that during the onset of the summer (winter) monsoon, the maximum SST in the SSWPs can be 1.8 °C (0.8 °C) higher than the surrounding ocean. Due to orographic influences, the wind intensity on the leeward side of Sri Lanka is weakened, reducing evaporation and oceanic mixing, and resulting in higher SST. The analysis of the long-term data shows that SSWPs are related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. Background currents are also found to play important roles in governing the SSWPs intensities through the heat advection.