On the total geostrophic circulation of the Indian Ocean: Flow patterns, tracers, and transports

Abstract

The large-scale circulation of the Indian Ocean has several major components. There is a cyclonic gyre in the far southwest with its axis along about 60°S. It extends to the bottom. North of this the Circumpolar Current flows eastward south of 40°S to more than 3000 m. The axis of the great anticyclonic gyre lies along 35°S to 40°S down to about 2000 m. Below there the western end shifts northward and the axis lies along the central and southeast Indian ridges, with southward flow west of the ridges and northward flow on the east side. There is a westward flow along 10°S to 15°S, which includes water from the Pacific, through the Banda Sea. The flow near the equator is eastward down to the depth of the ridge near 73°E. Flow within both the Arabian Sea and Bay of Bengal is cyclonic down to great depth. There is a southward flow along the coast of Africa in the upper 2000 m joining the Circumpolar Current, and a southward flow along the coast of Australia that does not reach the Circumpolar Current. Below 2500 m there is a northward flow from the Circumpolar Current along the east coast of Madagascar and on into the Somali and Arabian basins. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.