Field collections in the Southern Gulf of Oman and the Northwestern Arabian Sea, and examination of museum collections from this study area, yielded 7 genera and 33 species of apogonid fishes. Twenty one species of Apogon, one Archamia, four Cheilodipterus, three Fowleria, one Rhabdamia, two Siphamia, and one Holapogon are reviewed and illustrated. The Dhofar Cardinalfish, Apogon dhofar, nov. sp. is described from 21 specimens collected in the Arabian Sea, off southern Oman. It differs from the very similar A. pseudotaeniatus Gon, 1986 in its higher gill-raker count (12-17 developed rakers vs. 9-11) and coloration. Apogon dhofar has narrower dark vertical bars (one scale row or less wide vs. two or more for A. pseudotaeniatus) which are often indistinct or absent in life and tend to fade with size; and a caudal spot which is much smaller (2-3% SL vs. 4-6% SL for pseudotaeniatus) and often absent in life. Both A. dhofar and A. pseudotaeniatus have small dark chromatophores covering their bodies, but A. dhofar differs in having these chromatophores concentrated under the posterior edge of each scale producing a reticulate pattern on the body. The Cryptic Cardinalfish, Apogon species C., is described from 19 specimens collected in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Gulf It differs from the similar A. taeniatus Ehrenberg, 1828 in its lower gill-raker count (8 developed rakers vs. 10-15) and horizontal stripes (7-8 dark stripes vs. 5-6 indistinct stripes). Apogon species C. also has 3-4 short brown stripes radiating away from the eye whereas A. taeniatus occasionally has one narrow dark stripe. Apogon species C. lacks any caudal spot which is usually present in A. taeniatus. Apogon thurstoni Day, 1888 is shown to be a junior synonym of Apogon nigripinnis Cuvier, 1828, and Apogon smithvanizi Allen and Randall, 1994 is shown to be a junior synonym of Apogon gularis Fraser and Lachner, 1986. Apogon pharaonis Bellotti, 1874, formerly considered a junior synonym of Apogon nigripinnis Cuvier, 1828, is shown to be a valid species occurring in the Red Sea and western Indian Ocean, and the range of A. nigripinnis is redefined as eastern Indian to western Pacific. Apogon suezi Sauvage, 1883 is shown to be a junior synonym of A. pharaonis. A review is presented of the systematic literature of the apogonid fishes from the study area, and a key to genera and species is provided. Included in the key are 33 apogonid species known from the area and an additional 7 species (and one genus) not yet recorded but likely to occur. / Graduation date: 1997

The Sultanate of Oman has 1700 km of coastline extending from the Arabian Gulf south to the Arabian Sea. The demersal fish distributions and assemblages have not previously been well defined. In winter, variations in the oceanography of the area are minimal. In summer, however, the Arabian Sea is strongly influenced by the southwest monsoon. For this study the continental shelf off Oman was divided into eight regional areas and research trawl data on the distribution of demersal fish assemblages was studied using two forms of multivariate statistical analysis: two-way indicator species analysis and detrended correspondence analysis. The study was carried out to examine the influence on the species assemblages of geographical zonation, seasonal variation, and factors such as depth, time of day, and distance from untrawlable ground. There was seasonal variation in the fish assemblages and this variation was greatly influenced by the summer monsoon. Within each regional area depth appeared to be the major factor determining species distribution. In addition to the multivariate analyses, univariate techniques were applied to the catch rate data for forty commercial species to study in detail the influence of time of day and distance from untrawlable ground, factors which could potentially influence stock assessment estimates of fish biomass. Because the data were highly unbalanced, they were analyzed using General Linear Model with five factors, two continuous variables, and ten interaction terms to examine variation in the log-transformed catch rates. The factors time of day and distance from untrawlable ground, in combination with other factors, had significant effects on the catch rates for half of the species. / Graduation date: 1995

A method is described for determining the absolute dynamic topography of the sea surface. Using hydrographic and wind data obtained in 1963, the surface topography and the horizontal and vertical mass transports off the southeast Arabian coast during the summer monsoon are calculated. As indicated by the calculations, upwelling occurs throughout a region extending at least 400 km offshore and paralleling the Arabian coast for over 1000 km. Upwelling is most intense in a narrow band adjacent to the coast. Because of the great breadth of the upwelling zone, the upwelled water is supplied from levels considerably deeper than those observed elsewhere in coastal upwelling areas. / Graduation date: 1969

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Joint Program in Physical Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-222). / Estimation of the upper ocean heat budget from one year of observations at a moored array in the north central Arabian Sea shows a rough balance between the horizontal advection and time change in heat when the one-dimensional balance between the surface heat flux and oceanic heat content breaks down. The two major episodes of horizontal advection, during the early northeast (NE) and late southwest (SW) monsoon seasons, are both associated with the propagation of mesoscale eddies. During the NE monsoon, the heat fluxes within the mixed layer are not significantly different from zero, and the large heat flux comes from advected changes in the thermocline depth. During the SW monsoon a coastal filament exports recently upwelled water from the Omani coast to the site of the array, 600 km offshore. Altimetry shows mildly elevated levels of surface eddy kinetic energy along the Arabian coast during the SW monsoon, suggesting that such offshore transport may be an important component of the Arabian Sea heat budget. The sea surface temperature (SST) and mixed layer depth are observed to respond to high frequency (HF, diurnal to atmospheric synoptic time scales) variability in the surface heat flux and wind stress. The rectified effect of this HF forcing is investigated in a three-dimensional reduced gravity thermodynamic model of the Arabian Sea and Indian Ocean. Both the HF heat and wind forcing act locally to increase vertical mixing in the model, reducing the SST. Interactions between the local response to the surface forcing, Ekman divergences, and remotely propagated signals in the model can reverse this, generating greater SSTs under HF forcing, particularly at low latitudes. The annual mean SST, however, is lowered under HF forcing, changing the balance between the net surface heat flux (which is dependent on the SST) and the meridional heat flux in the model. A suite of experiments with one-dimensional upper ocean models with different representations of vertical mixing processes suggests that the rectified effect of the diurnal heating cycle is dependent on the model, and overstated in the formulation used in the three-dimensional model. / by Albert Sok Fischer. / Ph.D.

The most important component of the climate system over the Indian Ocean region is the southwest monsoon, which dictates the life and economy of billions of people in the tropics. Being a phenomena that involves interaction between atmosphere, ocean and land, the southwest monsoon is strongly influenced by upper ocean, primarily through warm sea surface temperature (SST). This is particularly true about the southeastern Arabian Sea (SEAS) and the onset of southwest monsoon over the peninsular India. A localized patch of warm water, known as the Arabian Sea mini warm pool (ASMWP), forms in the SEAS during February–March. It remain as the warmest spot in the northern Indian Ocean till early April. A large region, surrounding the SEAS, attains SST exceeding 30°C during April–May, with often the ASMWP as its core. The ASMWP is believed to have a critical impact on the air-sea interaction during the onset phase of southwest monsoon and on the formation of the onset vortex, during late May or early June. This thesis addresses the formation mechanisms of ASMWP, using a high-resolution Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM) of the Indian Ocean. In addition to the formation of ASMWP, the SEAS is characterized by several features in its hydrography and circulation, which have been invoked in the past to explain the preferential warming of this oceanic region. During November–January, the prevailing surface currents transport low-salinity water from the Bay of Bengal into the SEAS and leads to strong haline stratification in the upper layer and formation of barrier layer (layer between mixed layer and isothermal layer). The vertical distribution of temperature in the SEAS exhibit inversions (higher subsurface temperature than that at surface) during December–February. A high in sea level and anticyclonic eddies develop in the SEAS during December and they propagate westward. These eddies modify the hydrography through downwelling and play an important role in the redistribution of advected low-salinity water within the SEAS. The seasonally reversing coastal and equatorial currents present in and around SEAS also have a major contribution in setting up the hydrography, through the advection and redistribution of cooler low-salinity water. These features make the SEAS a unique oceanographic region. The first hypothesis on the formation of ASMWP, which has been suggested by diagnostic studies, is based on the barrier layer mechanism. The barrier layer, caused by the influx of low-salinity water at surface, is argued to maintain a shallow mixed layer which can warm more efficiently. In addition, presence of barrier layer can prevent mixed layer cooling, by cutting off the interaction of mixed layer with cooler thermocline water below. However, a coupled model study have shown that there is no significant impact on the ASMWP formation from barrier layer, but only a weak warming effect during it mature phase during April. The second hypothesis, which is based on an OGCM study, has suggested that the temperature inversions present within the barrier layer can heat the mixed layer through turbulent entrainment and in turn lead to the formation of ASMWP during February–March. Both hypotheses rule out the possibility of air-sea heat fluxes being the primary reason in its formation. The strong salinity stratification in the SEAS during December–March is central to the hypotheses about formation of the ASMWP. Observational studies have only limited success in assessing the contribution from barrier layer and temperature inversions, as the ASMWP always form in their presence. OGCMs offer a better alternative. However, modelling processes in the northern Indian Ocean, especially that in the SEAS, is a challenging problem. Previous Indian Ocean models have had serious difficulties in simulating the low-salinity water in the Bay of Bengal and its intrusion into the SEAS. The northward advection of low-salinity water in the SEAS, along the west coast of India, is used to be absent in model simulations. Moreover, the coarse resolution inhibited those models from simulating faster surface currents and vigorous eddies as seen in the observations. In this thesis, we use an OGCM of the Indian Ocean, based on the recent version of Modular Ocean Model (MOM4p0), to study the ASMWP. The model has high resolutions in the horizontal (1/4o x 1/4o) and vertical (40 levels, with 5 m spacing in upper 60 m), and has been forced with daily values momentum, heat and freshwater fluxes. The turbulent (latent and sensible) and long wave heat fluxes have been calculated as a function of model SST. The freshwater forcing consists of precipitation, evaporation and river runoff, and there are no surface restoring or flux adjustments. The river runoff has been distributed over several grid points about the river mouth instead of discharging into a singe grid point, which has resulted in remarkable improvements in salinity simulation. The model simulates the Indian Ocean temperature, salinity and circulation remarkably well. The pattern of model temperature distribution and evolution matches very well with that in the observations. Significant improvements have been made in the salinity simulation, including the Bay of Bengal freshwater plume and intrusion of low-salinity water from the bay into the SEAS. The salinity distribution within the SEAS is also well represented in the model. The use of appropriate horizontal friction parameters has resulted in the simulation of realistic currents. The observed features in the SEAS, including the life cycle of the ASMWP, low-salinity water, barrier layer, temperature inversions, eddies and currents are well represented in the model. Present study has unraveled the processes involved in the life cycle of barrier layer and temperature inversions in the SEAS. Presence of low-salinity water is necessary for their formation. Barrier layer develops in the SEAS during November, after the intrusion of low-salinity water from the Bay of Bengal. The barrier layer is thickest during January–February, and it dissipates during March–April. The variations and peak of barrier layer thickness is controlled by variations in isothermal layer depth, which in turn is dominated by the downwelling effects of anticyclonic eddies. The intense solar heating during March–April leads to the formation of shallow isothermal layer and results in the dissipation of barrier layer. Temperature inversions starts developing in the SEAS during December, reaches its peak during January–February and dissipates in the following months. Advection of cooler low-salinity water over warmer salty water and penetrating shortwave radiation is found to cause temperature inversions within the SEAS, whereas winter cooling is also important to the north and south of the SEAS. There is significant variation in the magnitude, depth of occurrence and formation mechanisms of temperature inversions within the SEAS. Analysis of model mixed layer heat budget has shown that the SEAS SST is mainly controlled by atmospheric forcing, including the life cycle of ASMWP. It has also shown that the heating from temperature inversions do not contribute to the formation of ASMWP. In an experiment in which a constant salinity of 35 psu was maintained over the entire model domain, the ASMWP evolved very similar to that in the standard run, suggesting that the salinity effects are not necessary for the formation of ASMWP. Examination of wind field show that the winds over the SEAS during November–February are low due to the blocking of northeasterly winds by Western Ghats. Several process experiments by modifying the wind and turbulent heat fluxforcing fields have shown that these low winds lead to the formation of ASMWP in the SEAS during February–March. The low winds reduce latent heat loss, resulting in net heat gain by the ocean. This helps the SEAS to keep warmer SST while the surrounding region experience intense cooling under the strong dry northeasterly winds. As the winds are weak over the SEAS, the mixed layer is not able to feel the stratification beneath and the mixed layer depth is determined by solar heating, with or without salinity effects. In addition, the weak winds are not able to entrain the temperature inversions present in the barrier layer. The winds are weak during March–April too, and the air-sea heat fluxes dictate the SST evolution during this period. Therefore, during November–April, the SEAS acts as a low wind heat-dominated regime, where the evolution of sea surface temperature is solely determined by atmospheric forcing. We show that, in such regions, the evolution of surface layer temperature is not dependent on the characteristics of subsurface ocean, including the presence of barrier layer and temperature inversions.

A high-resolution multi-proxy reconstruction of the Arabian Sea Summer Monsoon (ASSM) intensity over the past 90,000 years has been determined using two marine sediment cores: one from the Somali margin and one from the Indian margin. This reconstruction indicates that changes in monsoon- induced upwelling, primary productivity and denitrification have varied in synchrony with Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles. Increased monsoon intensity correlates with warm climate events (interstadials) and decreased monsoon intensity, which coincides with stadials and Heinrich Events, is confirmed by elevated dust concentrations in the marine cores. A comparison of the Somali and Indian margin cores with previously reported studies from the Northern and Western Basin allows the identification of discrete sediment signals from the Indus River, the Arabian Peninsula and from local riverine runoff. Sedimentary deposition on the Indian margin during interglacials is dominated by local terrestrial runoff, whereas during glacial periods increased dust input from the Arabian Peninsula is evident. Both signals are related to changes in the intensity of the ASSM. Monsoon intensity has decreased during the Holocene as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has moved to a more southerly position. The ASSM-ITCZ relationship (increased ASSM intensity and a northern ITCZ, decreased ASSM intensity and a southern ITCZ) has remained consistent over the last glacial cycle suggesting that global millennial scale climatic variability is in part driven by modulations in tropical hydrological cycle. This ASSM reconstruction provides evidence that rearrangements in the tropical convection system affected atmospheric dust concentrations as well as the concentration and location of atmospheric water vapour. In addition to modulating terrestrial and marine emissions of greenhouse gases, variation in the tropical hydrological cycle provides a mechanism of amplifying and perpetuating millennial-scale climatic changes.

Internal waves (IWs) owe their existence to the stratification in the medium. These waves affect acoustic transmission greatly. Impact of these waves on acoustic transmission in deep water is fairly well understood due to better performance of well-celebrated Garrett-Munk (GM) model. However, in shallow waters, predicting these waves is not as easy, because of interactions with the bottom and surface. Hence two experiments, one during October 2002 and the other during October 2004 were conducted to characterize IWs in the shallow waters of northeastern Arabian Sea. The first experiment was carried out during October 2002 south of Gulf of Kutch (GOK) and the second experiment during October 2004 both south and north of GOK. During these experiments CTD moorings were deployed and temperature and salinity (TS) data were collected at 5 seconds interval. CTD Yo-Yo collected vertical profiles of TS at a sampling interval of 2.5 minutes for 3.5 hours during October 2002 and 1 hour during October 2004 experiment. In addition, during the first experiment, currents were measured using a vessel mounted Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP), and in both experiments CTD TS profiles were taken from the ship. This data set has been used for characterizing internal waves in the northeastern Arabian Sea. Experiment conducted during October 2002, south of GOK has revealed large tidal ranges. The barotropic tidal range at the experimental site was 1.5m. Current observations made using the vessel mounted ADCP, along the shore and across the shore, showed signs of first mode (baroclinic) oscillations; currents in the top and bottom layers were in opposing directions. They were found to be southwesterly in the top layer and northeasterly in the bottom layer. Time - depth sections of TS profiles from CTD yo-yo data, revealed the presence of high frequency internal waves and solitons overriding on low frequency trend. Moored CTD time series of temperature records showed the presence of internal solitons, which caused a vertical displacement of about 8m in the isotherms, which is equivalent to 3OC change in temperature, in less than 10 minutes. Passage of internal solitons induced vertical mixing causing the mixed layer to deepen by about 10m and current speed increased by about 0.1 m/s. Internal solitons were traveling towards northwest and current vectors suggest that they were generated when the internal tide is reflected from the bottom. Vertical displacement spectra agreed well with GM spectra when solitons were not present. However, when the solitons were present the displacement spectra had higher energy levels compared to the GM spectra. Another experiment was done in October 2004, mainly aimed at characterizing internal solitons and to verify the consistency of the results obtained during October 2002 experiment. This experiment also showed that IWs of both high and low frequency along with internal solitons were present at the experimental site. It was found that internal solitons were more energetic during spring tide than the neap. The observed amplitudes of these solitons were around 12m and were not rank ordered suggesting that the experimental site is close to the generation point. It is believed that, generally, solitons get phase locked to the barotropic tide’s trough and travel. Such phase locking was not observed at the experimental site. They were observed riding on both troughs and crests of barotropic tide. One of the aims of this thesis is to develop a simulation model based on Garrett-Munk steady state internal wave spectrum. Hence, an internal wave model IWAVE was developed to simulate the sound speed structure due to internal waves. Sound speed structure is simulated instead of TS structure, because of their direct utility in sonar range prediction models. Since the GM model is a deep-water and mid-latitude model, it was calibrated to suite shallow-water tropical environment by incorporating the site and region specific parameters. EOFs and Dynamical modes estimated using TS profiles were used to identify the site-specific parameters of the GM model. Values for characteristic mode number and spectral slope used in the GM model are 3 and 2 respectively. However, it was found that they are different in the northeastern Arabian Sea. At this site, the characteristic mode number was found to be 1 and the spectral slope was found to be 3. The modified model was validated against the measured sound speed profiles. In the first case, the first sound speed profile (TS) of the CTD yo-yo data (20 October 2002) was used for predicting the remaining profiles and compared them with observations. This was done to verify the model’s ability to predict high frequency case (TS profiles are measured at every 2.5min.). In the second case, during October 2004, TS profiles collected at every one-hour for 24 hours were used. This gives an idea of the model’s performance for the low frequency case. The variances of the measured and simulated sound speed profiles matched well in both cases with the modified GM model.

Les zones à oxygène minimum (OMZs) sont des régions océaniques pratiquement dépourvues d'oxygène. Au cours des derniers milliers d'années, des changements climatiques globaux ont influencé l'intensité et l'extension spatiale de ces zones. Cette thèse propose de reconstruire les concentrations en oxygène dissous des eaux de fond au large de la marge Nord Est du Pacifique pour le Quaternaire supérieur à travers trois méthodes indépendantes, ayant pour dénominateur commun l'enregistrement fossile des foraminifères benthiques. Une première méthode dite micropaléontologique, basée sur l’abondance relative de trois assemblages, est développée dans un premier article. Un second article établit une relation entre l’oxygénation et la porosité de l'espèce Bolivina seminuda, caractérisée par une variation de couverture de pores de la [O$_2$]. Un troisième article est consacré à une méthode morphométrique, basée sur un indice prenant en compte la taille et la circularité des spécimens de chaque échantillon. Chacune de ces méthodes a pu être calibrée grâce aux foraminifères benthiques prélevés dans des sommets de carottes dont la teneur actuelle en oxygène dissous est connue. Ainsi, les estimations quantitatives montrent des valeurs d'oxygène faibles ($\sim$ 0.05 mL.L$^{-1}$) durant les évènements climatiques chauds (évènements de Dansgaard-Oeschger) et plus élevées ($\sim$ 0.5 mL.L$^{-1}$) pendant les évènements froids, pouvant atteindre $\sim$ 1 mL.L$^{-1}$ durant les stades associés aux évènements de Heinrich. Dans un dernier chapitre, ces trois méthodes sont appliquées à l'OMZ de la Mer d'Arabie, et un lien entre oxygénation, mousson indienne, et régime des vents est discuté. / Oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) are areas in the ocean that are almost completely devoid of dissolved oxygen. For several decades, global climate changes are known to be responsible for fluctuations in the intensity and spatial extent of these OMZs. In this thesis, three independent methods were developed for reconstructing the oxygen concentration of OMZ bottom waters during the late Quaternary. All these methods are based on benthic foraminifera preserved in the fossil record. A micropaleontological method is described in a first publication. This approach is based on the relative abundance of three benthic foraminiferal assemblages. A second publication explores the connection between oxygenation and porosity of the benthic foraminiferal species Bolivina seminuda, characterised by a pore surface area that depends on the [O$_2$]. A third article describes a morphometric approach to past oxygen reconstruction based on a semi-automatic method used to calculate an averaged size and roundness index for each sample. Recent benthic foraminifera, recovered from core-top sediments for which the modern bottom water dissolved oxygen content is known, are used to calibrate the three methods. It is found that warm interstadials (corresponding to Dansgaard-Oeschger events) exhibit conditions almost depleted in [O$_2$] ($\sim$ 0.05 mL.L$^{-1}$) while cold stadials show higher values ($\sim$ 0.5 mL.L$^{-1}$) reaching $\sim$ 1 mL.L$^{-1}$ during stadials associated with Heinrich events. In the final chapter, all three methods are successfully applied to the Arabian Sea OMZ, and a link between oxygenation, the indian monsoon, and the local wind regime is discussed.