Intraseasonal Variability of SST and Precipitation in the Arabian Sea during the Indian Summer Monsoon: Impact of Ocean Mixed Layer Depth

Abstract This study investigates sea surface temperature (SST) and precipitation variations in the eastern Arabian Sea (EAS) induced by the northward-propagating Indian summer monsoon (ISM) intraseasonal oscillations (MISOs) through analyzing satellite observations and the Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) and performing ocean general circulation model (OGCM) experiments. MISOs in the EAS achieve the largest intensity in the developing stage (May–June) of the ISM. The MISOs induce intraseasonal SST variability primarily through surface heat flux forcing, contributed by both shortwave radiation and turbulent heat flux, and secondarily through mixed layer entrainment. The shallow mixed layer depth (MLD 40 m) in the developing stage and decaying stage (September–October) of the ISM significantly amplifies the heat flux forcing effect on SST and causes large intraseasonal SST variability. Meanwhile, the high SST (29°C) in the developing stage leads to enhanced response of MISO convection to SST anomaly. It means that the ocean state of the EAS region during the developing stage favors active two-way air–sea interaction and the formation of the strong first-pulse MISO event. These results provide compelling evidence for the vital role played by the ocean in the MISO mechanisms and have implications for understanding and forecasting the ISM onset. Compared to satellite observation, MISOs in CFSR data have weaker SST variability by ~50% and biased SST–precipitation relation. Reducing these biases in CFSR, which provides initial conditions of the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Climate Forecast System version 2 (CFSv2), may help improve the ISM rainfall forecast.